Offender Record · OFF-2026-138
Jesse Pomeroy (photo from the Radford University biography)
Jesse Harding Pomeroy
Also known as The Boy Fiend, The Boy Torturer, The Boston Boy Fiend, The Red Devil, Marble Eye
Sex
Male
Race
White
Eyes
white eye (right eye)
Born
1859
Custody
Deceased
States
MA
Distinguishing featuresRight eye completely white (either due to infection or cataracts); described as having a cleft lip and harelip; overly large facial features
Custody
Died September 29, 1932, at Bridgewater, Massachusetts, aged 72. Spent 58 years in total incarceration including 41 years in solitary confinement at Charlestown State Prison (1876-1917), then moved to general population privileges in 1917. Transferred to Bridgewater in 1929.
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. Where a record says named by police, no charge was ever filed: the record rests on a law enforcement agency's public identification of the deceased person, cited below. Not guilty by reason of insanity means the court found the act proven but the person not criminally responsible. 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
Jesse Harding Pomeroy was convicted of first-degree murder in December 1874 for killing two children: 10-year-old Katie Curran in March 1874 and 4-year-old Horace Millen in April 1874, both in Boston, Massachusetts. Prior to the murders, he confessed to assaulting and torturing at least eight additional children in Chelsea and South Boston between late 1871 and September 1872. Pomeroy was initially sentenced to death in 1874 but the sentence was commuted to life in solitary confinement in 1876. He died in prison on September 29, 1932, at age 72.
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.
Assault and torture of eight children
South Boston Police Station Six, Suffolk County · Juvenile Court, Massachusetts · Arrested Sep 20, 1872 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Six years at House of Reformation in Westborough, Massachusetts (later released after 17 months for good behavior)
Pomeroy confessed to assaulting eight boys ranging in age from approximately 5 to 8 years old between December 26, 1871 and September 17, 1872. Victims were lured to secluded areas, stripped, bound with rope, beaten with sticks and whips, stabbed with knives and needles. Pomeroy bit flesh from some victims and attempted to cut off genitals of at least one. All victims survived.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Pomeroy, Jesse; Jesse Harding Pomeroy: Massachusetts' Youngest Killer - City Archives; Jesse Harding Pomeroy; Jesse Pomeroy
Offense date Mar 18, 1874, South Boston, Massachusetts
Murder of Katie Curran
Suffolk County, Massachusetts · Supreme Judicial Court of Suffolk County, Massachusetts · Docket Commonwealth v. Pomeroy · Arrested Apr 22, 1874 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Death by hanging (commuted to life imprisonment in solitary confinement, August 31, 1876)
Katie Curran, age 10, entered Ruth Pomeroy's dressmaking shop on March 18, 1874, to buy a notebook. Pomeroy lured her to the cellar under pretext of checking for notebooks. Body discovered July 18, 1874, in basement ash heap. Pomeroy confessed July 20, 1874, when threatened with arrest of his mother and brother as accomplices. Stated she was lured downstairs, throat slashed, and genitals stabbed repeatedly.
SourcesJesse Harding Pomeroy: Massachusetts' Youngest Killer - City Archives; Jesse Pomeroy; Jesse Pomeroy - 'Boston Boy Fiend'; The story of Jesse Pomeroy, 14-year-old serial killer; Jesse Pomeroy: What Drove the 14-Year-Old Serial Killer
Offense date Apr 22, 1874, South Boston, Massachusetts
Murder of Horace Millen
Suffolk County, Massachusetts · Supreme Judicial Court of Suffolk County, Massachusetts · Docket Commonwealth v. Pomeroy · Arrested Apr 22, 1874 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Death by hanging (commuted to life imprisonment in solitary confinement, August 31, 1876)
Horace Millen, age 4, was lured away from his mother by Pomeroy on April 22, 1874. Found at 3:45 PM same day at Savin Hill Beach in clambake pit, partially naked. Body bore stab wounds to chest, nearly severed head, and partial castration. Pomeroy was arrested same day. Initially denied, then confessed after confronted with physical evidence (footprints, blood on clothes, scratches on body).
SourcesJesse Harding Pomeroy: Massachusetts' Youngest Killer - City Archives; Jesse Pomeroy; Jesse Pomeroy - 'Boston Boy Fiend'; The story of Jesse Pomeroy, 14-year-old serial killer; The story of Jesse Pomeroy, 14-year-old serial killer
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
8
Victims confessed
0
Victims suspected
Active years
1871–1874
Victim profile
Children
Stated motive
Sexual, Power or control, Thrill
Range from home
local
Confessed
Yes
Education
some high school
Marital history
Never married
Children
0
Died
1932-09-29 · natural
Agencies
Law enforcement, prosecutors and corrections agencies the records show dealing with this person. An investigator working a case with a possible connection can start here.
Charlestown State Prison · MA
Incarcerated Sept 7, 1876-1929 serving life sentence in solitary confinement
Massachusetts House of Reformation (Westborough) · MA
Detained Sept 21, 1872-Feb 6, 1874 for assault and torture charges (6-year sentence served 6 months)
Bridgewater State Hospital for the Criminally Insane · MA
Transferred 1929-Sept 29, 1932; died there of heart disease
South Boston Police Station Six · MA
Police Captain Dyer's station where Pomeroy was identified and arrested Sept 1872
Suffolk County District Attorney's Office · MA
Agency case Commonwealth v. Pomeroy
Prosecuted murder cases in Suffolk County Superior and Supreme Judicial Court
Charles Street Jail · MA
Held April 24, 1874-Sept 7, 1876 awaiting trial and pending sentencing for murders
Massachusetts Attorney General's Office · MA
Agency case Commonwealth v. Pomeroy
Attorney General prosecuted trial in December 1874; prosecutor John May presented case
First arrest Sept 20, 1872 at South Boston Police Station Six; arrested again April 24, 1874 for murders
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.
MA
Charlestown, Massachusetts
1859 – 1872 · Born to Thomas and Ruth Ann (Snowman) Pomeroy
Chelsea, Massachusetts
1871 – Aug 1872 · When reported attacks on children began
South Boston, Massachusetts
Aug 1872 – Apr 1874 · Worked in mother's dressmaking shop and had paper route; residence at 312 Broadway, shop at 327 Broadway
Westborough, Massachusetts
Sep 21, 1872 – Feb 06, 1874 · House of Reformation in Westborough; released after 17 months for model behavior despite 6-year sentence
Boston, Massachusetts
Apr 22, 1874 – Sep 07, 1876 · Charles Street Jail; awaiting trial; attempted escape at least 3 times
Charlestown, Massachusetts
Sep 07, 1876 – Jan 1917 · Charlestown State Prison in solitary confinement for 40+ years; multiple escape attempts
Charlestown, Massachusetts
Jan 1917 – 1929 · Charlestown State Prison; released to general population after 41 years in solitary, allowed to socialize with other inmates and participate in prison activities
Bridgewater, Massachusetts
1929 – Sep 29, 1932 · Bridgewater Hospital for the Criminally Insane; died September 29, 1932, age 72
Timeline
Nov 29, 1859
Jesse Harding Pomeroy born to Thomas and Ruth Ann Snowman Pomeroy in Charlestown, Massachusetts.
Dec 26, 1871
Pomeroy tortures William Paine, first documented victim, age 12.
Feb 21, 1872
Pomeroy beats and tortures 7-year-old Tracy Hayden of Chelsea, leaving him on Powder Horn Hill.
May 20, 1872
Pomeroy beats and tortures 8-year-old Robert Maier, leaving him in abandoned outhouse in Chelsea.
Jul 22, 1872
Pomeroy beats and tortures 7-year-old Johnny Balch in abandoned outhouse on Powder Horn Hill.
Aug 02, 1872
Ruth Ann Pomeroy moves family from Chelsea to South Boston at 312 Broadway after reading description of boy attacker in Boston Globe.
Aug 17, 1872
Pomeroy binds, tortures, and bites 7-year-old George Pratt, found beaten by fishermen in South Boston.
Sep 05, 1872
Pomeroy kidnaps, binds, beats, and stabs 6-year-old Harry Austin, attempting to cut off his penis.
Sep 11, 1872
Pomeroy kidnaps, binds, beats, and stabs 7-year-old Joseph Kennedy near South Boston salt marshes.
Sep 17, 1872
Pomeroy beats and slashes 5-year-old Robert Gould, tied to telegraph pole in South Boston; Gould describes attacker's distinctive white eye.
Sep 20, 1872
Pomeroy arrested after identified by Joseph Kennedy who spots him looking in window of South Boston Police Station Six.
Sep 21, 1872
Pomeroy arraigned before Juvenile Court Judge William G. Forsaith, confesses to assaults on eight children, sentenced to six years at House of Reformation in Westborough.
Feb 06, 1874
Pomeroy released from House of Reformation after 17 months for model behavior, returned to mother's care in South Boston.
Mar 18, 1874
Pomeroy lures 10-year-old Katie Curran to cellar of mother's shop at 327 Broadway, South Boston, and murders her by stabbing.
Apr 22, 1874
Body of 4-year-old Horace Millen found at Savin Hill Beach, South Boston. Pomeroy arrested same day, initially denies, later confesses.
Jul 18, 1874
Body of Katie Curran discovered in basement of mother's dressmaking shop in South Boston.
Jul 20, 1874
Pomeroy verbally confesses to Katie Curran's murder to police.
Dec 08, 1874
Trial of Jesse Pomeroy for murders of Horace Millen and Katie Curran begins in Supreme Judicial Court of Suffolk County.
Dec 11, 1874
Jury finds Pomeroy guilty of first-degree murder; sentenced to death by hanging.
Aug 31, 1876
Death sentence commuted to life in solitary confinement after two Massachusetts governors refused to sign death warrant.
Sep 07, 1876
Pomeroy transferred to Charlestown State Prison to begin life sentence in solitary confinement.
Jan 1917
After 41 years in solitary confinement, Pomeroy's sentence commuted to extent allowing general prison population privileges.
1929
Pomeroy, age 70, transferred to Bridgewater Hospital for the Criminally Insane.
Sep 29, 1932
Pomeroy dies at Bridgewater Hospital for the Criminally Insane, Massachusetts, age 72.
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.
News report · HistoricalCrimeDetective.com ·
Jesse Pomeroy: America's Youngest Serial Killer“On December 10, 1874, Pomeroy was convicted on the charge of murdering the Mullen child and was sentenced to be hanged.”
News report · Texas A&M Forensic and Investigative Sciences ·
Pomeroy, Jesse - Texas A&M Forensic and Investigative Sciences“On September 29, 1932, Pomeroy suffered a heart attack in the State Prison Farm in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.”
News report · The True Crime Database ·
Jesse Pomeroy - The True Crime Database“Jesse Pomeroy was sentenced to life in prison at the Massachusetts State Prison in Charlestown.”
News report · A&E Networks ·
Jesse Pomeroy: What Drove the 14-Year-Old Serial Killer“Pomeroy's lawyers used an insanity defense. They argued that he suffered from what was called in the 19th century 'moral insanity.'”
News report · Crime Library ·
Jesse Harding Pomeroy“Jesse would later recreate his father's abuse on his young victims.”
News report · Wikipedia ·
Jesse Pomeroy“Jesse Harding Pomeroy was an American man who, as a juvenile, tortured and mutilated dozens of young boys in Charlestown, Massachusetts, and murdered at least two.”
Other government record · City of Boston Archives ·
Jesse Harding Pomeroy: Massachusetts' Youngest Killer - City Archives“When Pomeroy was convicted of the murder of Katie Curran and Horace Millen, he became Massachusetts's youngest killer.”
Other · Find a Grave ·
Jesse Harding Pomeroy (1859-1932) - Find a Grave Memorial“He spent 40 of his 56 years in solitary confinement for the murder and mutilation of four year old Horace Millen.”
News report · Grunge ·
All The Theories On What Led Serial Killer Jesse Pomeroy to Murder“By the age of 14, he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.”
News report · CBS News ·
The story of Jesse Pomeroy, 14-year-old serial killer“In late 1871, in the city of Chelsea, just across the river from Charlestown, children began to suffer vicious beatings at the hands of a boy.”
News report · Murder by Gaslight ·
Jesse Pomeroy - 'Boston Boy Fiend'“On April 22, 1874, 4-year-old Horace Millen disappeared.”
Other · Radford University Department of Psychology ·
Radford University serial killer biography: Pomeroy, Jesse“Jesse Harding Pomeroy 'The Boy Fiend' Serial killer researched and summarized by Arthur Reynolds, Jennifer Sandlin, Sarah Rose, & Adam Shomo”
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