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"Son of Sam," was a 1970s New York City serial killer who killed six people and wounded several others. David Falco Berkowitz was born June 1, 1953. It bothered David that his birth mother did not want him. His murders began after a three-year enlistment in the Army. The first murder took place July 29, 1976, when he fired into a car killing Donna Lauria and wounding Jody Valentini. The title Son of Sam was coined by Sam Carr. According to David, Carr was a "high demon" who sent his "evil" labrador dog to tell David to kill. He targeted adolescent girls with long, dark hair and young couples. David Berkowitz wrote a letter to police while he terrorized the city with a handgun
Because he had a parking citation near the crime scene, an investigation led police to David. He immediately confessed, and was arrested on August 10, 1977. News clip:
June 12, 1978, he was sentenced to 365 years in prison. He first claimed he received orders to kill from a barking dog. Later he retracted that statement as false and said he was a Satanist. He asked a former priest turned exorcist, Malachi Martin, to visit him. In 1987 he became a born-again Christian and is now a prison chaplain. The Son of Sam Meets The Holy Spirit
In March 2002, he wrote a letter to New York governor George Pataki requesting that his parole hearing be cancelled.
2002 Interview on Larry King Live "Son of Sam laws" were enacted in New York out of the fear publishers would offer the killer money for his story. In 1991 the Supreme Court declared such laws unconstitutional. Individual states can still legislate Son of Sam laws. David Berkowitz's victims: 29 July 1976 - Donna Lauria, 18 No Parole For 'Son Of Sam' Killer Calling himself "the Son of Sam" in a letter left at one of the crime scenes, Berkowitz claimed voices were ordering him to kill.
Berkowitz is regularly interviewed on US television and continues to make front page news in The Big Apple. His victims are forgotten by all except their close relatives.
Berkowitz was jailed for 365 years in 1977, he does not want freedom. Every June he is entitled to a parole hearing but, in a letter to New York Governor George Pataki that is posted on his website, Berkowitz writes that he is disappointed there is going to be a hearing and adds: "I have absolutely no interest in parole."
Kari & Associates Copyright
Kari Sable Burns 1994-2007 |
If the Son of Sam hadn't been a serial killer, he'd have been a regular guy -- but then, he wouldn't be the subject of a movie, either.
Summer of Terror: The Real Son of Sam Story
Serial Killers DVD Baton Rouge
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