Brian De Palma is straight back into directing true life controversial stories with that of the The Boston Strangler basing itself on the book The Boston Stranglers: The Public Conviction of Albert DeSalvo and the True Story of Eleven Shocking Murders ( / / Filmstalker stores).

The film will look into the killings, the capture and the controversial trial of the man suspected of carrying out the murders, a man who was known as a publicity seeker and who many believe may not have been the actual murderer.

The book by Susan Kelly looks into the killings between 1962 and 1964 where eleven women were strangled and murdered in the Boston area. Albert DeSalvo was already in custody and had committed crimes unrelated to those of the Boston Strangler, breaking and entering, armed robbery and sexual offences, however when he was identified as having raped a girl and when his photo was published other women came forward saying that they too had been assaulted by the man.

It was when he was charged with this rape that he confessed he as the Boston Strangler, however not to the police. He revealed all to a fellow inmate who told his attorney, the attorney who went onto represent DeSalvo.

Although there were inconsistencies in his confession and the actual murders it seems that there was enough to make the police believe he was the killer, however there was no physical evidence. So he went to jail for his previous crimes and while there was stabbed and died.

Since then several investigations have revealed some major inconsistencies between the confessions and the actual crimes, from time of deaths to murders were committed in different ways and even to the lack of evidence of a rape with one victim. A DNA test even showed that the DNA found on a victim did not belong to DeSalvo.

So you can see there's plenty of doubt over who really was the killer, and Kelly's book raises a lot of questions about the case and who the real killer could be.

The Hollywood Reporter has the story that Brian De Palma is to direct the film The Boston Stranglers, which does suggest strongly that it will be investigating the theories of who the people were behind the murders rather than of the man who confessed to the crimes.

The story itself has spawned several films, books and stirred debate for some time, and I'm surprised that it didn't come to light again after the release of David Fincher's Zodiac. Now though it looks set to be in good hands and De Palma is sure to bring us something both controversial and exciting.