Offender Record · OFF-2026-047
Antone Costa (photo from the Radford University biography)
Antone Charles Costa
Also known as Tony Costa, The Cape Cod Vampire, The Cape Cod Cannibal
Sex
Male
Race
White
Height
6'0"
Born
1944
Custody
Deceased
States
MA, CA
Custody
Died May 12, 1974 by suicide by hanging.
This record documents arrests, charges and convictions reported by courts, law enforcement agencies and news organizations. Every statement is tied to a cited source with an archived copy. A charge is an accusation, not proof of guilt; a person charged is presumed innocent unless convicted. Solve the Case does not allege that this person committed any offense beyond what the cited records state, and this record is not a suggestion that the person is connected to any unsolved case. How records are built, corrected and removed.
Summary of the record
Antone Charles Costa was convicted of first-degree murder in May 1970 for the deaths of a 23-year-old college student and a 23-year-old second-grade teacher in Massachusetts. Costa was active in Provincetown and Truro during 1968–1969, killing and dismembering young women. He was sentenced to life in prison at Massachusetts Correctional Institution–Walpole and died by suicide in his cell on May 12, 1974.
Documented Arrests, Charges and Convictions
Dispositions are shown exactly as the cited records report them. Pending charges are updated when a court acts; a record with no remaining conviction or pending charge is removed from the site.
Offense date Nov 1961, Somerville, Massachusetts
Burglary and assault
Somerville, Massachusetts · Massachusetts District Court · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: One year suspended sentence with three years probation
In November 1961, at age 17, Costa broke into an apartment and bent over the bed of a sleeping teenage girl before she woke and screamed. Three days later he returned and tried to drag her down the stairs, but neighbors intervened.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Costa, Antone; Tony Costa
Offense date Jan 24, 1969, Provincetown, Massachusetts
Murder in the first degree of Mary Anne Wysocki
Barnstable County Superior Court, Massachusetts · Barnstable County Superior Court · Massachusetts murder statute · Arrested Mar 06, 1969 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Life imprisonment without parole
A 23-year-old college student from Providence, Rhode Island, disappeared on January 24, 1969, while visiting Provincetown. She was found with the other victim on March 4, 1969. She had been shot in the head with her heart removed.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Costa, Antone; Commonwealth v. Antone Charles Costa; Antone Charles Costa
Offense date Jan 24, 1969, Provincetown, Massachusetts
Murder in the first degree of Patricia H. Walsh
Barnstable County Superior Court, Massachusetts · Barnstable County Superior Court · Massachusetts murder statute · Arrested Mar 06, 1969 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Life imprisonment without parole
A 23-year-old second-grade teacher from Providence, Rhode Island, disappeared on January 24, 1969, after visiting Provincetown with a friend. Her remains were found in a forest clearing on March 4, 1969, along with another victim. She had been shot in the head with her heart removed.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Costa, Antone; Commonwealth v. Antone Charles Costa; Antone Charles Costa
Pattern and Background
Victim counts and the pattern of the offenses as stated by courts, agencies and the cited reporting. Suspected counts are what officials have said publicly, not a finding of this site.
2
Victims convicted
0
Victims confessed
6
Victims suspected
Active years
1968–1969
Stated motive
Sexual
Range from home
interstate
Confessed
Yes
Education
high school
Marital history
Divorced
Children
3
Died
1974-05-12 · suicide
Places Lived, Worked and Frequented
Each place and date range comes from a cited record. Dates marked approximate are as reported. Know a place that is missing? Use Edit record under the photo; a moderator reviews it before it appears.
CA
San Francisco, California
approx. Jan 1968 – 1968 · Haight-Ashbury district
MA
Cambridge, Massachusetts
approx. 1944 · birthplace
Provincetown, Massachusetts
approx. 1968 – Mar 1969 · returned from California
Boston, Massachusetts
approx. Feb 1969 – Mar 1969 · half-brother's apartment; arrested here March 5-6, 1969
Provincetown, Massachusetts
approx. until 1968 · hometown
Walpole, Massachusetts
May 29, 1970 – May 12, 1974 · Massachusetts Correctional Institution–Walpole; life sentence
Timeline
Aug 02, 1944
Antone Charles Costa born in Cambridge or Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Nov 1961
Costa broke into an apartment in Somerville, Massachusetts, and bent over a sleeping teenage girl's bed.
Jan 04, 1962
Costa convicted of burglary and assault; sentenced to one year suspended sentence with three years probation.
1963
Costa married a 14-year-old girl and fathered three children with her.
Jan 1968
Costa left Massachusetts for California after his marriage deteriorated over drug use.
May 17, 1968
Costa stole surgical instruments and drugs valued at $5,000 from a doctor's office.
May 24, 1968
Sydney Monson vanished from her home in Provincetown; her remains were later found buried in Costa's drug garden.
Sep 1968
Susan Perry went missing after dating Costa; her remains were found in March 1969.
Jan 24, 1969
Patricia Walsh and Mary Anne Wysocki disappeared while visiting Provincetown and were last seen with Costa.
Mar 02, 1969
Searchers found a mutilated female body at Old Truro Cemetery, later identified as Susan Perry.
Mar 04, 1969
Bodies of Patricia Walsh, Mary Anne Wysocki, and Sydney Monson found buried together 1.5 miles away; all showed signs of gunshot wounds, heart removal, and necrophilia.
Mar 06, 1969
Antone Costa arrested in Boston on suspicion of murder after police discovered the burial site was his personal marijuana garden.
Mar 31, 1969
Costa underwent first psychiatric examination and was diagnosed with schizoid personality.
Jun 1969
Second psychiatric examination characterized Costa as 'a modern-day Marquis de Sade' and 'a sexually dangerous man.'
Jul 12, 1969
Costa confessed to the murder of Mary Anne Wysocki.
Apr 09, 1970
Costa indicted for the crimes.
May 06, 1970
Costa's trial began in Barnstable County Superior Court.
May 29, 1970
Costa convicted of first-degree murder of Mary Anne Wysocki and Patricia Walsh; sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.
May 12, 1974
Antone Costa died in his cell at Massachusetts Correctional Institution–Walpole by suicide by hanging with a leather belt.
Sources
Solve the Case is never the original source. Each item below is the public record a statement on this page rests on, with an archived copy where one exists.
Other · Grokipedia ·
Tony Costa“On June 12, 1969, Antone Charles Costa was arraigned in Barnstable County Superior Court on two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Patricia Walsh and Mary Anne Wysocki.”
News report · Murderpedia ·
Antone Charles Costa“On June 3, 1969, Costa was arraigned on charges of murder for three of the deaths.”
News report · Wikipedia ·
Tony Costa“Antone Charles Tony Costa (August 2, 1944 – May 12, 1974) was an American serial killer who was active in and around the town of Truro, Massachusetts, during 1968–1969.”
News report · Fox News ·
In Cape Cod community, true-crime authors can't speak out about a true crime there“Antone C. Costa, 24, of Provincetown, Mass., was charged with the murders of two Rhode Island women at the Massachusetts State Police Headquarters in Boston on March 5, 1969.”
Other · Radford University Department of Psychology ·
Radford University serial killer biography: Costa, Antone“Convicted of murdering Mary Anne Wysocki and Patricia Walsh. Sentenced to life in prison.”
Court record · Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ·
Commonwealth v. Antone Charles Costa“Costa was found guilty by a jury on two indictments charging him with murder in the first degree of Patricia H. Walsh and Mary Ann Wysocki.”
Discussion
Casual discussion about this record on the community forum. The facts live on this page: to add a place, a vehicle or a source, use the Edit record button under the photo so a moderator can review it. Please name no one else, never name a victim, and do not connect the person to any case not listed here.Open the topic on the forum
Corrections and removal. If a charge on this page has been dismissed, acquitted, overturned, pardoned or expunged, or any fact is wrong, tell us through the correction form. Corrections are free, reviewed within five business days, and a record with no remaining conviction or pending charge is removed. Information here may not be used for decisions about employment, housing, credit, insurance or any purpose covered by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and never to harass, threaten or harm anyone. Where a source is an offender registry, that information is reproduced as of the date shown and is subject to the conditions of use of that registry.