WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Sebastian Junger ranged from the treacherous waters of the North Atlantic to the seedy bars of New Bedford, Mass., hunting the dramatic subject for his first book, 1997's "The Perfect Storm."

Michael Kamber, Norton
Sebastian Junger delves into a 1963 murder in his hometown in "A Death in Belmont."
Click photo for larger image.

His next book started with a much shorter trip -- a walk down memory lane -- but the story's equally compelling.

"A Death in Belmont" (Norton, $23.95) was sparked by "a story that I grew up with in my family, that a guy named Albert DeSalvo worked in our house," Junger said in a chat at BookExpo here last month.

Belmont is a suburb of Boston and recorded its first murder March 11, 1963, the same day DeSalvo, who would later confess to being the "Boston Strangler," was working alone, finishing an addition to the Junger home.

The victim was Bessie Goldberg, a middle-aged housewife who had been raped and strangled, the ninth such case in the Boston area in less than a year.

Roy Smith, a handyman who had done cleaning work for Mrs. Goldberg that day, was convicted of the crime. He died insisting he was innocent.

Although DeSalvo, who confessed in 1965 to 13 similar killings, never admitted to the Goldberg killing, Junger suggests that he, not Smith, was Goldberg's logical killer.

"Al DeSalvo was at our house all day long by himself when Bessie Goldberg was killed," Junger said. "Her killing was the classic rape-strangulation. Smith had no record of any violent behavior in his past, even though he was no saint himself. The fact is, there was no certainty that Smith did it, and it's that element of doubt that I wanted to explore."

Junger speculates that DeSalvo omitted the Goldberg killing because the case was closed. A confession would have forced law authorities to reopen the case and perhaps release Smith from prison.

Because DeSalvo was trying to make a deal, he didn't want to alienate the police, Junger reasons.

Junger, however, has alienated several people by raising questions about the case.

Goldberg's daughter, Leah, who initially cooperated with his research, later charged that his book was inaccurate after learning that he doubted Smith's guilt. Junger disputes her claim.

Then, at a book tour promotion in Portland, Ore., May 4, Junger's presentation was interrupted by Steve Doell, head of a crime victims support group. Organizers escorted him from the Unitarian Church where Junger was speaking.

Also challenging the book at the gathering was Norm Frink, an assistant district attorney who accused him of distorting the facts of the case.

"He was a pro-death penalty advocate. It was undignified and bad," Junger said of Doell's behavior.

"In the civilized world, there's no place for that. You can always raise your hand and ask a civilized question. You cannot stand up in the aisle of a church and scream at somebody."

He was also critical of Frink's outspoken attack. "He's a public servant, paid by the state of Oregon to prosecute criminals and defend law and order. You don't do that in public."

Both men left after the crowd booed them, Junger said. "I was pretty disappointed in them. I will have a rational conversation with anybody. It's all part of the debate.

"I was very careful in my book to not come to a conclusion, because I don't know what really happened, and there's someone screaming at me who thought he did know."

Junger said his family's connection to the case is peripheral, even though his mother, coming across DeSalvo on the job site the day of the killing, told him what happened.

"Al shook his head and said how terrible it was, and he and my mother talked about it for a while," Junger writes in his book.

"My story is the jumping-off place for the book," he said. "It really has very little to do with it. It's just a story I grew up with that I wanted to find more about."

Junger explored the life of Smith, a Mississippi native who wandered north in search of work, falling into heavy drinking and petty crime. Yet, once in prison, he became a model prisoner and was granted commutation of his life sentence in 1976, days before he died of lung cancer.

"In some ways the book is about a crime, but it's really about America in the 1960s," Junger said. "I tried to write a broader treatment than just this murder, about the place and the time, about psychology of serial killers and about how the criminal justice system works.

"It was a much harder book to write than 'The Perfect Storm' because I had to mature as a journalist and a writer to do it, to turn a 40-year-old murder into a readable book."

When Junger's book promotion effort winds down this summer, he intends to resume his reporting career as a foreign correspondent for Vanity Fair.

"In September, I'll look around and see what's going on," he said, mentioning a possible return to Afghanistan, "as things get worse there."

First Published: June 2, 2006, 4:00 a.m.