Hannibal Lecter and Albert Fish

It was June 3, 1928. Albert Fish had a plan. It wasn’t the first plan he had to harm a child.

Fish, however, knew how to take care of himself. He knew when he was in over his head. His intended victim, Edward Budd, was an 18-year-old who could defend himself. Better to choose someone who couldn’t fight back.

During Fish’s trial, Elbert F. Gallagher (Chief Assistant District Attorney and later State Supreme Court Justice) told the jury what happened that Sunday morning.

In 1928, the People will prove, there lived in the city of New York the Budd family. They lived at 406 West 15th Street. They lived in a small apartment in the rear of the apartment house. There was the father Albert, the mother Delia, there was Grace, there was Edward, and several other members of the family.

Edward Budd was looking for a job. And so he made application to the New York World to have them put an ad in their newspaper. That ad appeared on Sunday, May 27, 1928, under the classified ad section, situations wanted, and it read as follows in substance: ‘Youth 18 wishes position in country. Signed, Edward A. Budd, 406 West 15th Street.’

Today, people usually keep their address out of the classifieds. What happened to the Budd family explains why. Albert Fish, calling himself Frank Howard, showed up at the family’s apartment the day the ad ran. He offered Edward a job on his non-existent "farm".

On June 3, "Frank Howard" returned to the Budd apartment. His plan was "to take Edward to the farm." Instead, he met Edward’s little sister, Gracie. She was nearly 11 years old. By the end of the day, she would be dead.