The 14th Victim

The 14th Victim explores why Phil DiNatale befriended the man he spent three years of his life hunting and how the fame of the case affected him and his family.

Being the son of a cop is different than being the daughter of a cop. It is especially true when your father is Detective Phil DiNatale, one of the lead investigators on the 1960’s case of the Boston Strangler. It is even more bizarre when he wrote letters and befriended the serial killer he spent three years of his life chasing.

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As seen by Phil’s grandson, Myles David Jewell, The 14th Victim weaves together daughter Jean’s memories of teenage years filled with sordid embarrassment resulting in a permanence of instilled fear; whereas son John feels the case is a source of pride and the legacy he lives under.

Part historical film, part personal documentary, the opposing points of view provide a complex account of the effects this sensational case had on the family of one of its investigators. As Myles documents the process of his family telling Phil’s story by piecing together this journey of a cop– his family and posterity, Myles comes to find out that it was no longer about whether or not DeSalvo killed anybody, and more about how the fame of the case affected his grandfather and wove itself into three generations of one family.

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