Tony Costa

Antone Charles "Tony" Costa (August 2, 1944 – May 12, 1974), sometimes referred to as the Cape Cod Vampire or the Cape Cod Cannibal was an American serial killer who was active in and around the town of Truro, Massachusetts, during 1968–1969. The dismembered remains of four women were found in or near a forest clearing where Costa grew marijuana. His crimes gained international media attention when the district attorney falsely alluded to cannibalism.

Early life and crimes Tony Costa was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on August 2, 1944.

Costa was married in 1963 and had three children, but the marriage dissolved over his drug use and he left for California in 1966. Perry's body had been cut into eight pieces. About a month later, parts of Wysocki's body were found, then Walsh and the rest of Wysocki's body were found in a forest clearing.

Police knew that the clearing where the bodies were found was used by Costa for growing marijuana, making him their main suspect. Vonnegut maintained a correspondence with Costa. The author said, "The message of his letters to me was that a person as intent on being virtuous as he could not possibly have hurt a fly. He believed it."

Other cases Costa was considered as a potential suspect in the deaths of 16 women on the west Coast of the United States. This included Bonnie Williams and Diane Federoff, hitchhikers he had picked up while crossing the country in 1966, and his girlfriend in San Francisco, Barbara Spaulding. In May 1970, he was convicted for the murders of Wysocki and Walsh and sentenced to life in prison at Massachusetts' Walpole Correctional Institution. On May 12, 1974, Costa died from an apparent suicide by hanging in his cell, though this was later questioned as a possible murder. The novel also describes the deaths of Susan Perry and Sydney Monzon as being due to drug overdoses. Costa claims it was Carl who dismembered and buried their bodies, and that he had no knowledge of it until after their deaths.

The case was covered by the popular true-crime TV show, Born to Kill?, in season six. The episode aired on television in 2014.