Serial killer, David Berkowitz, A.K.A. Son of Sam. Press and publicity Press conference of March 10th, 1977 In a March 10, 1977 press conference, NYPD officials and New York City Mayor Abraham Beame declared that the same .44 Bulldog revolver had fired the shots that killed Lauria and Voskerichian. Official documents would later surface, however, saying that while police strongly suspected the same .44 Bulldog had been used in the shootings, the evidence was actually inconclusive. The same day, the Operation Omega task force made its public debut. Charged solely with investigating the .44 caliber shootings, the task force was led by Deputy Inspector Timothy J. Dowd, composed of over 300 police officers. Police speculated that the killer had a vendetta against women, perhaps due to chronic social rejection, and also declared that the "chubby teenager" was regarded as a witness, not a suspect in the Voskerichian shooting. The police regarded the taller, black-haired male shooter in the Lauria-Valenti case as the shooter in all of the .44 caliber murders.

Political implications The crimes earned considerable mass media publicity, with television, newspapers and radio publishing every detail and speculation of the case. Australian publisher Rupert Murdoch had recently purchased the New York Post, and the paper offered perhaps the most sensational coverage of the crimes. Mayor Beame, meanwhile, helped funnel unprecedented amounts of money to the NYPD to help solve the case. In many cases serial killers such as Berkowitz draw additional pleasure and power from this type of media response. The feeling of control over the media, law enforcement, and even entire populations provides a source of social power for them. Another shooting In full, with misspellings intact, it read: I am deeply hurt by your calling me a wemon hater. I am not. But I am a monster. I am the "Son of Sam." I am a little "brat". When father Sam gets drunk he gets mean. He beats his family. Sometimes he ties me up to the back of the house. Other times he locks me in the garage. Sam loves to drink blood. "Go out and kill" commands father Sam. Behind our house some rest. Mostly young — raped and slaughtered — their blood drained — just bones now. Papa Sam keeps me locked in the attic, too.

I can't get out but I look out the attic window and watch the world go by. I feel like an outsider. I am on a different wave length then everybody else — programmed too kill. However, to stop me you must kill me. Attention all police: Shoot me first — shoot to kill or else. Keep out of my way or you will die! Papa Sam is old now. He needs some blood to preserve his youth. He has had too many heart attacks. Too many heart attacks. "Ugh, me hoot it urts sonny boy." I miss my pretty princess most of all. She's resting in our ladies house but I'll see her soon. I am the "Monster" — "Beelzebub" — the "Chubby Behemouth." I love to hunt. Prowling the streets looking for fair game — tasty meat. The wemon of Queens are z prettyist of all. I must be the water they drink. I live for the hunt — my life. Blood for papa. Mr. Borrelli, sir, I dont want to kill anymore no sir, no more but I must, "honour thy father." I want to make love to the world.

I love people. I don't belong on Earth. Return me to yahoos. To the people of Queens, I love you. And I wa want to wish all of you a happy Easter. May God bless you in this life and in the next and for now I say goodbye and goodnight. Police — Let me haunt you with these words; I'll be back! I'll be back! To be interrpreted as — bang, bang, bang, bank, bang — ugh!! Yours in murder Mr. Monster Though discovery of the letter was an open secret, the contents were not made public. Only a few hints were leaked: police speculated that the letter-writer might be familiar with Scottish English. The phrase "me hoot, it urts sonny boy" was bizarrely taken as a Scots-accented version of "my heart, it hurts, sonny boy"; and the police also hypothesized that the shooter blamed a dark-haired nurse for his father's death, due to the "too many heart attacks" phrase, and the facts that Lauria was a medical technician and Valenti was studying to be a nurse.

On July 28, New York Daily News columnist Jimmy Breslin alluded to the "wemon" quirk and referred to the shooter watching the world from "his attic window." Psychological profile and other police investigations After consulting with several psychiatrists, police released a psychological profile of their suspect on May 26, 1977. He was described as neurotic and probably suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and believed himself to be a victim of demonic possession. Police questioned the owners of 56 .44 Bulldog revolvers legally registered in New York City, and forensically tested each weapon, ruling them out as the murder weapons. Among other unsuccessful ideas, police created traps with undercover officers posed as lovers parked in isolated areas, hoping to lure the shooter. Breslin letter On May 30, 1977, columnist Jimmy Breslin of the New York Daily News received a hand-written letter from someone who claimed to be the .44 shooter. The letter was postmarked early on May 30 in Englewood, New Jersey.

On the other side of the envelope was hand printed a precisely centered quatrain: Blood and Family/Darkness and Death/Absolute Depravity/.44 The letter read: Hello from the gutters of N.Y.C. which are filled with dog manure, vomit, stale wine, urine and blood. Hello from the sewers of N.Y.C. which swallow up these delicacies when they are washed away by the sweeper trucks. Hello from the cracks in the sidewalks of N.Y.C. and from the ants that dwell in these cracks and feed in the dried blood of the dead that has settled into the cracks. J.B., I'm just dropping you a line to let you know that I appreciate your interest in those recent and horrendous .44 killings. I also want to tell you that I read your column daily and I find it quite informative. Tell me Jim, what will you have for July twenty-ninth? You can forget about me if you like because I don't care for publicity. However you must not forget Donna Lauria and you cannot let the people forget her either. She was a very, very sweet girl but Sam's a thirsty lad and he won't let me stop killing until he gets his fill of blood.

Mr. Breslin, sir, don't think that because you haven't heard from me for a while that I went to sleep. No, rather, I am still here. Like a spirit roaming the night. Thirsty, hungry, seldom stopping to rest; anxious to please Sam. I love my work. Now, the void has been filled. Perhaps we shall meet face to face someday or perhaps I will be blown away by cops with smoking .38's. Whatever, if I shall be fortunate enough to meet you I will tell you all about Sam if you like and I will introduce you to him. His name is "Sam the terrible." Not knowing the what the future holds I shall say farewell and I will see you at the next job. Or should I say you will see my handiwork at the next job? Remember Ms. Lauria. Thank you. In their blood and from the gutter "Sam's creation" .44 Here are some names to help you along.

Forward them to the inspector for use by N.C.I.C:"The Duke of Death" "The Wicked King Wicker" "The Twenty Two Disciples of Hell" "John 'Wheaties' – Rapist and Suffocator of Young Girls. PS: Please inform all the detectives working the slaying to remain. P.S: JB, Please inform all the detectives working the case that I wish them the best of luck. "Keep 'em digging, drive on, think positive, get off your butts, knock on coffins, etc." Upon my capture I promise to buy all the guys working the case a new pair of shoes if I can get up the money. Son of Sam Underneath the "Son of Sam" was a logo or sketch that combined several symbols. The writer's question, "What will you have for July 29?" was taken as an ominous threat: July 29 would be the anniversary of the first .44 caliber shooting. Police and public response to the Breslin letter Breslin notified police, who thought the letter was probably from someone with knowledge of the shootings.

Sophisticated in its wording and presentation, especially when compared to the crudely written first letter, police suspected the Breslin letter might have been created in an art studio or similar professional location by someone with expertise in printing, calligraphy, graphic design or architecture.[20] Based on the "Wicked King Wicker" reference, police arranged a private screening of The Wicker Man, a 1973 horror film. A week later, after consulting with police and agreeing to withhold portions of the text, the Daily News published the letter, and Breslin urged the killer to turn himself over to authorities. Reportedly, over 1.1 million copies of that day's paper were sold. The letter caused a panic in New York, and based on references in the publicized portions of the letter, police received thousands of tips, all of which proved baseless. As all the shooting victims so far had long, dark hair, thousands of women in New York cut or dyed their hair, and beauty supply stores had trouble meeting the demand for blond wigs. Despite being one of the hottest summers on record, people stayed indoors at night, ignoring the longstanding tradition of spending sultry evenings outdoors.

Shootings resume Sal Lupo and Judy Placido shooting On June 26, 1977, there was another shooting. Sal Lupo, 20, and Judy Placido, 17, had left the Elephas discotheque in the Bayside section of Queens. The young couple were sitting in their car at about 3:00 a.m. when three gunshots blasted through the car. Both were struck by bullets, but their injuries were relatively minor, and both survived. Neither Lupo nor Placido had seen their attacker(s), but witnesses reported a tall, stocky, dark-haired man sprinting from the area, and a blond man with a mustache who drove from the neighborhood in a Chevy Nova without turning on its headlights. Police speculated the dark-haired man was the shooter, and that the blond man had observed the crime. Berkowitz later claimed that cult member Michael Carr shot Lupo and Placido. Additionally, Berkowitz claimed that cult members had long wanted to shoot someone at the Elephas disco, thinking the site significant in light of their interest in the work of noted 19th century occultist Eliphas Levi.

Stacy Moskowitz and Robert Violante shooting Gravesend Beach area of Brooklyn where the final killing took place. It was near the one-year anniversary of the first .44 caliber shootings, and police set up a sizable dragnet, focusing on past hunting grounds of Queens and The Bronx. However, the next .44 shooting was in Brooklyn. Early on July 31, 1977, Stacy Moskowitz and Robert Violante, both 20, were in Violante's car, which was parked under a streetlight near a city park. They were kissing when a man approached to within about three feet of the passenger side of Violante's car, fired several gunshots into the car, striking both victims in the head, before running into the park. Moskowitz died several hours later in the hospital. Violante survived, though one of his eyes was destroyed and he retained only very limited vision in the other eye. With her short, curly blond hair, Moskowitz was a departure from the other female victims. Based on telephone calls to police within seconds of the shooting, the crime occurred at 2:35 a.m.

The Moskowitz-Violante crime produced more witnesses than any of the other Son of Sam murders, notably the only direct eyewitness who was not an intended victim. During the shooting, Tommy Zaino, 19, was parked with his date in a car three car lengths ahead of Violante's. Moments before the shooting, Zaino saw a peripheral glimpse of the shooter's approach and happened to glance in his rear view mirror just in time to see the crime occur. Due to the bright street light and full moon, Zaino clearly saw the perpetrator for several seconds, later describing him as 25 to 30 years old, of average height (5'7" to 5'9") with shaggy hair that was dark blond or light brown — "it looked like a wig", Zaino said. About a minute after the shooting, a woman seated next to her boyfriend in his car on the other side of the city park saw a "white male [who was wearing] a light-colored, cheap nylon wig" sprint from the park and enter a "small, light-colored" auto, which drove away quickly.

"He looks like he just robbed a bank," said the woman, who wrote what she could see of the car's license plate: unable to determine the first two characters, she was certain the others were either 4-GUR or 4-GVR. Other witnesses included a woman who saw a light car speed away from the park about 20 seconds after the gunshots, and at least two witnesses who described a yellow Volkswagen driving quickly from the neighborhood with its headlights off. A neighborhood resident given the pseudonym Mary Lyons heard the gunshots and Violante's calls for help, and glancing from her apartment window, she saw a man she later positively identified as Berkowitz, who was walking casually away from the crime scene as many others were rushing towards the scene to help the victims. Shortly after 2:35 a.m., a man given the pseudonym Alan Masters was passing through an intersection a few blocks from the park. Masters was nearly struck by what he described as a yellow Volkswagen Beetle that sped through the intersection, against the red light and without headlights, with the driver holding his door shut with his arm as he drove. Angered and alarmed, Masters followed the Volkswagen at high speed for several minutes before losing sight of the vehicle.

Masters described the driver as a white male in his late 20s or early 30s, with a narrow face; dark, long, stringy hair; several days growth of dark whiskers on his face; and wearing a blue jacket. Upset, Masters neglected to note the Volkswagen's license plate number, but he thought it might have been a New Jersey rather than a New York plate. Violante encountered a very similar man as he and Moskowitz were in the park shortly before the shooting, describing him as a "grubby-looking hippy" with whiskers, wiry hair over his forehead, dark eyes, and wearing a denim jacket. Berkowitz would later claim that the shooter in the Moskowitz-Violante case was a friend of John Carr, who had arrived from North Dakota for the occasion. Additionally, Berkowitz would claim that after his Ford Galaxie, license plate 561 XLB, received a parking ticket at 2:05 a.m. for being parked too close to a fire hydrant near the city park, he tried to persuade two other cult members at the scene to postpone or relocate the crime.

Berkowitz claimed his suggestion was overruled, and he was ordered to remain in the area to make sure no police were nearby. Police activities after the Moskowitz-Violante shooting Police didn't learn of the Moskowitz-Violante shooting until about 2:50 a.m., and Dowd didn't think it was another Son of Sam shooting until an officer at the scene reported that large-caliber shells had been used. About an hour after the shooting, police set up a series of roadblocks, stopping hundreds of cars to question drivers and inspect vehicles. Based on extended interviews of Masters and others who described a Volkswagen speeding from the crime scene, police now suspected that the shooter owned or drove such a vehicle. In subsequent days, police determined there were over 900 Volkswagens in New York or New Jersey, and they made plans to track down each of these cars and their owners.

Justice system Suspicion and capture The evening of the Moskowitz and Violante shooting, Cacilia Davis, who lived near the crime scene, saw Berkowitz loitering in the neighborhood and glaring menacingly at passersby for several hours before removing a parking ticket from his yellow Ford Galaxie, which had been parked too close to a fire hydrant. Two days after the shootings, she contacted police. Despite their claims to the contrary, police initially thought Berkowitz a possible witness, rather than a suspect. Not until August 9, 1977, seven days after Cacilia Davis informed police about the man with the parking ticket, did NYPD Detective James Justis telephone Yonkers police to ask them to schedule an interview with Berkowitz. The Yonkers police dispatcher who first took Justis' call was Wheat Carr, the daughter of Sam Carr and sister of Berkowitz's alleged cult confederates John and Michael Carr. Berkowitz lived on Pine Street in Yonkers at the time of his arrest. Justis asked "the Yonkers police for some help tracking [Berkowitz] down. Mike Novotny was a sergeant at the Yonkers Police Department.

According to Novotny, the Yonkers police had their own suspicions about Berkowitz, in connection with other strange crimes in Yonkers, crimes they saw referenced in one of the Son of Sam letters. To the shock of the NYPD, they told the New York City detective that Berkowitz might just be the Son of Sam." The next day, police investigated Berkowitz's car that was parked on the street outside his apartment in Yonkers. Police saw a Commando Mark III rifle in the backseat. After searching the car, police found a duffel bag filled with ammunition, maps of the crime scenes and a letter to Sgt. Dowd of the Omega task force, threatening further murders. Police decided to wait for Berkowitz to emerge from the apartment, rather than risk a violent encounter in the narrow apartment hallway. Berkowitz emerged from the building shortly before 10:00 p.m., carrying a .44 Bulldog in a paper sack. Police arrested Berkowitz as he was starting the car outside his apartment on Pine Street in Yonkers on August 10, 1977. His first words upon arrest were reported to be, "You got me.

What took you so long?" Police searched his apartment, and found it in disarray, with Satanic graffiti on the walls. They also found a diary wherein Berkowitz took credit for dozens of arsons throughout the New York area (some sources allege that this number might be as high as 1,411). After police had brought Berkowitz into custody, Mayor Beame came out to the public and said, "The people of the City of New York can rest easy because of the fact that the police have captured a man whom they believe to be the Son of Sam." [edit]Questioning Police were worried that, if challenged in court, their initial search of Berkowitz's vehicle might be ruled unconstitutional. Police had no search warrant, and their justification for the search of Berkowitz's car might seem flimsy. They had searched initially based on the rifle visible in the back seat, though possession of such a rifle was legal in New York State, and required no special permit. Berkowitz quickly confessed to the shootings, however, and expressed an interest in pleading guilty in exchange for receiving life imprisonment rather than facing the death penalty.

Berkowitz was questioned for about 30 minutes in the early morning of August 11, 1977, and he quickly confessed to the "Son of Sam" killings. During questioning, Berkowitz said that the "Sam" mentioned in the first letter was Sam Carr, his former neighbor. Berkowitz claimed that Carr's black labrador retriever, Harvey, was possessed by an ancient demon, and that it issued irresistible commands that Berkowitz must kill people. Berkowitz said he once tried to kill the dog, but was unsuccessful due to supernatural interference. Sentencing During his sentencing, Berkowitz repeatedly chanted "Stacy was a whore" at a low yet audible volume.[38] He was referring, presumably, to Stacy Moskowitz, who died in the final .44 caliber shooting. His behavior caused an uproar, and the courtroom was adjourned. Berkowitz later claimed that his statement was a response to Moskowitz's mother, who frequently opined that Berkowitz should be executed. On June 12, 1978, he was sentenced to 25 years-to-life in prison for the murders, making his maximum term 365 years.

He was first imprisoned at the Attica Correctional Facility. Berkowitz's life in prison In 1979, there was an attempt on Berkowitz's life. He refused to identify the person(s) who had attacked him with a knife, but suggested that the act was directed by the cult he once belonged to. He bears a permanent scar from the wound that took 52 stitches to close. In 1987, Berkowitz became a born again Christian in prison. According to his personal testimony, his moment of conversion occurred after reading Psalm 34:6 from a Gideon's Pocket Testament Bible given to him by a fellow inmate. In the same testimony, he stated that his obsession with and heavy involvement in the occult played a major role in the Son of Sam murders. In March 2002, Berkowitz sent a letter to New York Governor George Pataki asking that his parole hearing be canceled, stating: "In all honesty, I believe that I deserve to be in prison for the rest of my life.

I have, with God's help, long ago come to terms with my situation and I have accepted my punishment." In June 2004, he was denied a second parole hearing after he stated that he did not want one. The parole board saw that he had a good record in the prison programs, but decided that the brutality of his crimes called for him to stay imprisoned. In July 2006, the board once again denied parole on similar grounds, with Berkowitz not in attendance at the hearing. He is very involved in prison ministry and regularly counsels troubled inmates. In June 2005, Berkowitz sued his former attorney, Hugo Harmatz, claiming Harmatz had taken possession of Berkowitz's letters and other personal belongings in order to publish a book of his own. Berkowitz stated that he would only drop the lawsuit if the attorney signed over all money he makes to the victims' families. On October 25, 2006, Berkowitz and Harmatz settled out of court, with Harmatz agreeing to return the disputed items to Berkowitz's present attorney Mark Jay Heller, and to donate part of his book profits to the New York State Crime Victims Board.

Shortly before her death in 2006, Stacy Moskowitz's mother wrote Berkowitz a letter saying she had forgiven him for his sins. Moskowitz lived her final days in a Miami co-op, surrounded by pictures of her daughters, whom she talked about constantly. "...she said she did forgive everyone," said her close friend and neighbor, Sharon Denaro. "She needed to relieve herself of anger to be able to move forward with her life. She would say things like, 'This kind of anger can make you sick. Don't let anger eat you up'." Berkowitz is housed in Sullivan Correctional Facility in Fallsburg, New York. His "official" website is maintained on his behalf by a church group as he is not allowed access to a computer. Berkowitz's next parole hearing is scheduled for May 2012. He has been denied parole five times already, most recently in May 2010. Berkowitz plans to write a memoir, entitled Son of Hope: The Prison Journals of David Berkowitz, which will be published through Morning Star Communications.

Berkowitz himself will receive no money from publication, and a portion of the proceeds will go to the New York state crime victims board for distribution to the victims of his crimes. He is also corresponding with an advocate of murder victims and working to stop the sales of memorabilia related to murderers. reversed the order of his first and middle names in addition to giving him their own surname. John Vincent Sanders wrote that Berkowitz's childhood was "somewhat troubled. Although of above-average intelligence, he lost interest in learning at an early age and began an infatuation with petty larceny and pyromania." Berkowitz's adoptive mother died in the occult he would later pursue more actively. served on active duty until his honorable discharge in 1974. He served in both the United States and South Korea. In 1974 Berkowitz located his birth mother, Betty Falco. After a few visits, she disclosed the details of his illegitimate conception and birth, which greatly disturbed him. They fell out of contact, but Berkowitz did stay in touch with his After Service. Cult claims Berkowitz claims that he joined a cult in the spring of 1975.

Initially, he said, the group was involved in supposedly harmless activities, such as séances and fortune telling. Gradually, however, Berkowitz claimed that the group introduced him to drug use, sadistic pornography, and violent crime. First attacks Berkowitz claimed that his first attacks occurred in late 1975, when he attacked two women with a knife on Christmas Eve. One alleged victim was never identified, but the other victim, Michelle Forman, was injured seriously enough to put her in the hospital.[4] Not long afterward, Berkowitz moved to an apartment in Yonkers. Berkowitz claimed that his neighbor's dog was a reason to why he killed, Berkowitz said the dog demanded blood of young pretty girls. Alexander Esau and Valentina Suriani shooting In the early morning of April 17, 1977, Alexander Esau, 20, and Valentina Suriani, 18, were in the Bronx, only a few blocks from the scene of the Lauria-Valenti shooting. At about 3:00 a.m., they were each shot twice and killed.

Suriani died at the scene, and Esau died in the hospital several hours later without being able to describe his attacker(s). In the days afterwards, police repeated their theory that only one man was responsible for the .44 murders: the chubby teenager in the Voskerichian case was still regarded as a witness, while the dark-haired man who shot Lauria and Valenti was considered the suspect. Berkowitz later claimed that he was responsible for the Esau-Suriani shootings. Letters and profiling Son of Sam letter In the street near the Esau-Suriani shooting, a police officer discovered a hand-written letter. Written mostly in block capital letters with some lower-case letters, it was addressed to NYPD Captain Joseph Borrelli. Copyright 2012 More Than Horror. All rights reserved David Berkowitz - Murderer - Biography.com David Berkowitz David Berkowitz was a serial killer active in the 1970s in New York City and was known by the name Son of Sam.

IN THESE GROUPS Famous European Americans Synopsis An American serial killer who murdered six people in New York City in 1976–77, David Berkowitz’s crimes plunged the city into a panic and unleashed one of the largest manhunts in New York history. Known as Son of Sam, Berkowitz was arrested on August 10, 1977, 11 days after his last murder, and was sentenced to 365 years in prison. Early Life During the mid-1970s, serial killer David Berkowitz created terror in the hearts of the residents of New York City. He targeted single women and couples, taking the lives of six people and leaving several others injured. Born Richard David Falco, he was adopted by Nathan and Pearl Berkowitz when he was only a few days old. According to some reports, David Berkowitz was an intelligent but troubled child growing up. He was close to his mother, and he was deeply affected by her death when he was a teenager. At the age of 18, Berkowitz joined the U.S. Army. After leaving the service in 1974, Berkowitz returned to New York City.

He eventually got himself a job at the post office and settled into an apartment in Yonkers. Neighbors and co-workers thought of him as a quiet loner, but they had no idea how lethal he was. 'Son of Sam' Berkowitz's killing spree began on July 29, 1976, with the shooting of two teenage women outside a Bronx apartment building. At the time of the attack, Donna Lauria and Jody Valenti were sitting in Valenti's car in front of Lauria's home. Berkowitz shot the two women, killing Lauria and injuring Valenti. Three months later, Berkowitz struck again. He shot at a couple sitting in a parked car, severely damaging the man's skull. That November, Berkowitz attacked two teenage girls walking home. He shot both of the girls, leaving one of them a paraplegic. At the time, the police did not think these shootings were related. In January 1977, Berkowitz again targeted a couple sitting together in a car at night. He walked up to Christine Freund and her fiancé and fired twice, striking Freund in the head. She later died of her injuries.

For all of his shootings, Berkowitz used a .44 caliber gun. Before long, the police would create a special task force to hunt down the .44-caliber killer. That March, Berkowitz claimed another victim, Virginia Voskerichian, a college student. He killed her as she returned home from classes. The next month Berkowitz killed a couple, Valentina Suriani and Alexander Esau, in their parked car. This ruthless killer began taunting the police, leaving a letter for a police captain near the scene. In his note, Berkowitz called himself the Son of Sam. Berkowitz's final attack occurred in the early hours of July 31, 1977. He shot another couple, Stacy Moskowitz and Bobby Violante, in Brooklyn. Moskowitz later died, and Violante was blinded in one eye and lost most of the vision in the other from his injuries. Fortunately for the police, a witness noticed something at the scene that helped in cracking the case. Arrest and Imprisonment At the scene of the Moskowitz-Violante shootings, a witness saw a man getting away in a car that had a parking ticket on it.

Only a handful of tickets were given out that day, and one of them was for Berkowitz. The police arrested him on August 10, 1977. According to The New York Times, Berkowitz said, "Well, you've got me" when they took him into custody. During questioning, Berkowitz explained that he had been commanded to kill by his neighbor Sam Carr, who sent messages to him through Carr's dog. "He told me to kill. Sam is the devil," Berkowitz said. Many months were spent on determining whether Berkowitz was fit to stand trial. He underwent numerous psychological evaluations. In August 1978, Berkowitz pled guilty to the six killings. He later received 25 years to life for each murder. Berkowitz is currently serving a life sentence at Sullivan Correctional Facility in Fallsburg, New York. Since entering prison, he has become a member of the Jews for Jesus religious group. Berkowitz has refused to attend any of his parole hearings since he became eligible for possible release in 2002. He was rejected for parole in 2014. His case will be reviewed again in 2016.

In a New York Post report, Berkowitz's lawyer, Mark J. Heller revealed the infamous killer isn't interested in parole because he believes that "Jesus has forgiven him and set him free." Berkowitz's crimes have become the subject of numerous books and documentaries, including 2001's Summer of Terror: The Real Son of Sam Story. Spike Lee also explored the effect Berkowitz's reign of terror had on a New York neighborhood in the drama Summer of Sam (1999). Fact Check We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us ! Citation Information David Berkowitz - Home David Berkowitz Works Cited The Beginnings of a Serial Killer David Berkowitz was born the son Betty Broder while she was having an affair with Jason Klienman (while married to Anthony Falco). At less than a week old he was placed for adoption and adopted by Nathan and Pearl Berkowitz and given the name David Richard Berkowitz. His childhood is recorded as having been somewhat troubled. It's noted he had an infatuation with larceny and pyromania. Neighbors of the Berkowitz family observed him as spoiled and difficult.

His adoptive mother, Pearl Berkowitz died, and he did not care for his new mother. In 1971, age 18, Berkowitz joined the army and served until 1974 when he was honorably discharged. Upon being discharged he sought out his birth mother, Betty Broder. When he found his mother, she shared the truth of his birth, and once hearing this Berkowitz became greatly disturbed and lost his sense of identity. Berkowitz claims his first attacks began on Christmas Eve of 1975 when he stabbed two young women with a hunting knife. Create a free website David Berkowitz - IMDb IMDb View rank on IMDbPro » David Berkowitz Born David Falco to Betty Broder. His mother had him out of wedlock when she had an affair with a married real-estate agent named Joseph Kleinman. She named him Falco after her married name - her husband Tony Falco had left her and her daughter Roslyn a few years before that. His mother gave him up for adoption to Nathan and Pearl Berkowitz who ...

See full bio » Born: 'Son of Sam' Killer: Give Victims Book Money | Fox News 'Son of Sam' Killer: Give Victims Book Money Published May 22, 2006 Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Email Print NEW YORK – Son of Sam serial killer David Berkowitz says the proceeds from his former attorney's book about him should be given to his victims and family members of those he shot during a 1970s killing spree. Berkowitz sued Hugo Harmatz in 2005, arguing the attorney's earnings from "Dear David" violate the spirit of New York's Son of Sam law, which bars criminals from profiting from their crimes by selling their stories to publishers. A court hearing to set a trial date was scheduled for Monday in Manhattan. Berkowitz, who killed six people and wounded seven in 1976-77, sued Harmatz in June 2005 to get back letters, court documents, family photos and other items he says he gave to the lawyer for safekeeping. He said he sued after learning the lawyer planned to use the items for his book. Berkowitz's current lawyer, Michael D.

Heller, said his client would not withdraw the suit unless Harmatz agreed to return Berkowitz's possessions and turn over any money he makes from "exploiting" them to Berkowitz's surviving victims and the families of the ones he killed. "He has turned his life around and is very much concerned about the well-being of his victims," Heller said. Messages left for Harmatz were not immediately returned Sunday. He has said that when he first contacted Berkowitz he was clear about his intentions. His book includes letters written by a variety of people to Berkowitz, transcripts from the killer's parole hearings and crime scene photos. A picture of Berkowitz with his arm around the shoulder of a smiling Harmatz is on the book's cover. Berkowitz got his nickname from a note left at a crime scene that read: "I am a monster. I am the Son of Sam." He shot his victims, usually while they sat in cars, and was arrested in 1977. He is serving six sentences of 25 years to life at the Sullivan Correctional Facility in Fallsburg, N.Y. The Son of Sam law was passed in 1977 after reports that Berkowitz was poised to earn a windfall for his story.

Advertisement USATODAY.com - 'Son of Sam' serial killer denied parole 07/09/2002 - Updated 09:44 PM ET 'Son of Sam' serial killer denied parole AP file Serial killer David Berkowitz terrorized New York City in 1977, the year he's shown in this photo. ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)  David Berkowitz, the "Son of Sam" serial killer whose shooting spree terrorized New York City in 1977, was denied parole Tuesday in his first opportunity for release. The two-member parole board said Berkowitz showed "limited understanding of the motivation and insight" into his crimes. Though acknowledging that his behavior had improved, the board called his crimes "atrocious." It also noted that Berkowitz recently wrote a letter to Gov. George Pataki expressing remorse for his crimes and no desire for freedom.

In the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, Berkowitz said, "In all honesty I believe that I deserve to be in prison for the rest of my life." "I have, with God's help, long ago come to terms with my situation and I have accepted my punishment," Berkowitz wrote. Parole Commissioners Patricia Tappan and Irene Platt interviewed Berkowitz for about 40 minutes Tuesday morning at the Sullivan Correction Facility, about 80 miles northwest of New York City. They handed down a decision a few hours later. A transcript of the hearing will not be released for several days. Berkowitz will next be eligible for a parole hearing in June 2004. Berkowitz, 49, is serving six consecutive 25 years-to-life prison terms at the maximum-security facility in Fallsburg. The decision was no surprise. Only 3% of parole-eligible inmates convicted of murder or attempted murder were released last year, said Thomas Grant, a spokesman for the state Parole Board. In his letter to Pataki dated March 25, Berkowitz said he had "disgraced myself for the rest of my life" by his crimes.

Berkowitz promised the governor he would do nothing to promote his case for parole and would only participate in a hearing "to show respect to the parole board" and to apologize publicly for his crimes. The letter seemed to have been prompted by Pataki's public comments in February, when newspaper stories appeared about Berkowitz's upcoming parole hearing, that Berkowitz should never be granted parole. "The idea that David Berkowitz was even eligible for parole is exactly why the governor sought to end parole for all violent felons," Pataki spokesman Michael McKeon said Tuesday. "He should stay where he is for the rest of his life." Berkowitz murdered six people and wounded seven others in a spasm of violence that began July 29, 1976. But it wasn't until the fourth attack in January 1977 that police noticed a pattern and dubbed Berkowitz the ".44-caliber killer." He targeted young couples parked in cars in lovers' lanes and teen-age girls with long, dark hair. His nickname came from a note he left at the sixth of eight shooting scenes, which read, "I am a monster. I am the Son of Sam." Police arrested Berkowitz on Aug.

10, 1977, after tracking down a parking ticket he received at the last murder scene. He confessed to the murders the next year, claiming he followed the orders of a demon  a 6,000-year-old man, personified by his neighbor Sam Carr  through Carr's dog. Nancy Ruhe-Munch, executive director of Cincinnati-based Parents of Murdered Children, said Tuesday's decision is good, yet sad, news for the families of Berkowitz's victims. Donna Lauria, the daughter of group member Michael Lauria, was Berkowitz's first victim. Lauria protested the release of Spike Lee's 1999 film Summer of Sam about New York City in the summer 1977. "That poor father has went through hell," Ruhe-Munch said. The mother of Berkowitz's last victim, Stacey Moskowitz, said she believes he does not deserve any chance at freedom. "He's nothing but a maniac," Neysa Moskowitz told the Daily News in Tuesday's edition.

"He's not fit to breathe the air." Berkowitz told the parole board Tuesday that hallucinogenic drugs and participation in a satanic cult led him to commit the crimes. Berkowitz made two videos about becoming a born-again Christian in 1987, after reading a Bible given him by a fellow inmate. The evangelical videos  Son of Sam/Son of Hope and The Choice is Yours with David Berkowitz  were rented, sold or donated to prison chaplains and youth counselors around the country. Berkowitz did not make money from the tapes. The state's "Son of Sam" law bars criminals from profiting from their crimes. It was initially approved in 1977, after reports that publishers were offering Berkowitz huge sums of money for the rights to his story. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the original in 1991 on free speech grounds, but legislators quickly enacted a revised version. Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

List of Serial Killer Nicknames List of Serial Killer Nicknames Serial Killers & Their Widely Used Nicknames Albert DeSalvo - The Boston Strangler Albert Fish - The Brooklyn Vampire Andrei Chikatilo - Citizen X Bianchi & Buono - The Hillside Stranglers Carlton Gary - The Stocking Strangler Charles H. Schmid - The Pied Piper of Tucson Cleo Green - The Red Demon Coral Eugene Watts - The Sunday Morning Slasher Danny Rolling - The Gainesville Slasher David Berkowitz - Son of Sam David Carpenter - The Trailside Killer Dean Corll - The Candyman Donald Harvey - The Angel of Death Ed Gein - The Butcher of Plainfield Edmund Kemper - The Coed Killer Edward H. Rulloff - The Educated Murderer Gerard John Schaefer - The Killer Cop Glen Rojers - The Cross-Country Killer Harvey Louis Carigna - The Want Ad Killer H.H. Holmes - The Torture Doctor Ian Brady & Myra Hindley - The Moors Murderers Ivan Milat - The Backpacker Murderer Jake Bird - The Takoma Axe Killer Jeffrey Dahmer - The Milwaukee Cannibal John George Haigh - The Acid Bath Murderer John N.

Collins - The Coed Murderer John Wayne Gacy - The Killer Klown Keith Jesperson - The Happy Face Killer Lucian Staniak - The Red Spider Melvin David Rees - The Sex Beast Michael Lupo - The Wolf Moses Sithole - The ABC Murderer Norman Simons - The Station Strangler Pedro Lopez - The Monster of the Andes Peter Kurten - The Monster of Dusseldorf Peter Sutcliffe - The Yorkshire Ripper Posteal Laskey - The Cincinnati Strangler Randall Woodfield - The I-5 Killer Richard Cottingham - The Ripper Richard F. Biegenwald - The Thrill Killer Richard Macek - The Mad Biter Richard Ramirez - The Night Stalker Richard Trenton Chase - The Dracula Killer Stephen Lee Richards - The Nebraska Fiend Vaughn Greenwood - The Skid Row Slasher Vernon Butts - The Freeway Killer Wayne Williams - The Atlanta Child Murderer The Unpublishables: The 9 Greatest Serial Killer Nicknames Like bird shit hitting a windshield, so are the Unpublishables. Sunday, August 22, 2010 The 9 Greatest Serial Killer Nicknames The world has seen a hell of a lot of serial killers.

With most comes an appropriate nickname, usually coined by the media, but sometimes used by the killer himself (or herself). A lot of these nicknames are boring. Every stupid nurse who murders a bunch of his or her patients is labeled The Angel of Death. There are plenty of those. It must be hard to stare at their blank faces and not snuff 'em. Still, how about a new nickname for one of these ghouls, like the Convalescent Killer or the Pillow Talk Slayer? Then there's the simple practice of taking the area the murderer focused on and adding "killer" to it, such as "The Green River Killer" or "The Baton Rouge Serial Killer." Well, in that case, you'd best be hoping a second killer doesn't one day pop up in those places, because he'll be nothing but a sequel: The Green River Killer II. Electric Boogaloo. Then there's the plain silly. William Heirens was labeled "The Lipstick Killer" because he wrote a message in lipstick at one of the crime scenes. Boy, I'll bet he regretted that once he heard what people were calling him.

I'll bet he was made fun of back at the serial killer headquarters - "Hey, it's the Mascara Murderer!" "Watch out! Here comes the Rouge Ripper!" What about Colin Ireland, the Gay Slayer? His name came from his choosing homosexuals as his victims, but it sure sounds a lot like he's the gay one. You also had Gerard John Schaefer, who snatched up the nickname "Florida Sex Beast" before Ted Bundy even had a chance. And Jerry Brudos, who had the awful, creepy nickname, "The Shoe-Fetish Slayer." There was also Altemio Sanchez, "The Bike Path Rapist." Well, I don't care if the word rapist" follows it, "Bike Path" makes you sound like a nine-year-old. You were just skipping along, killing people while on your paper route. There are also the many beasts, monsters, and vampires. But these are the nine greatest nicknames enjoyed by the world's serial killers. 9. Nannie Doss - The Giggling Granny/The Jolly Black Widow You would think that Nannie Doss was a completely likeable woman.

What's not to like about a grandmother who's always laughing and baking apple pies with five tablespoons of rat poison baked in? Doss may have been a bit of a piker in only murdering family, including four husbands, her two children, her mother, two sisters, a grandson and a nephew. This puts her only a little above Andrea Yates, for Pete's sake. Anyone can kill family. Most of us think about it all the time. But she did have not one, but two great nicknames, and I don't mean the Fran Drescheresque name "Nannie." Between her "Giggling Granny" moniker and "The Jolly Black Widow," why has there never been a movie made about this silly woman? She was also given the name "Arsenic Annie, which would make one hell of a musical. Doss died in prison from leukemia in 1965. Wasn't so funny then, was it, Nannie? 8.

The Zodiac Killer Oh, sure, you might think of astrology as incredibly silly, what with the horoscopes, or horrible scopes, always appearing right below the latest Cathy cartoon, but was there ever as cool a thing as the puzzles the Zodiac left for police in San Francisco in the late 1960s? You might not think much of the zodiac. I mean, it does seem just a step above being The New York Times Crossword Killer or The Dear Abby Slayer, but this guy made it work. And the fact that he was never captured only adds to the mystique. If the San Francisco media had just called him "The Murdering Ass with All the Stupid Symbols," he wouldn't be nearly as romanticized as he is today. 7. Dennis Rader - BTK He of the very chantable, pro wrestling-type nickname. Just don't call him "the Bind, Torture and Kill Killer." This makes him the serial killer equivalent of ATM Machine and PIN Number. Like Mr. Zodiac, BTK evaded police from his very first murder in 1974 all the way until 2005. He was also known for writing letters to police and the media.

Had the Kansas man not written again in 2004, he might still be at large. But how cool is it to be a serial killer with a nickname consisting only of letters, especially when those letters stand for what they stand for? No wonder he wrote again after all those years and was arrested months later. 6. David Berkowitz - the Son of Sam He's been glorified in song and film. They even named a serial killer law after him. He was one of the lucky murderers who nicknamed himself and had the name stick. Berkowitz murdered at least six people in New York City in the mid-70s, leaving behind letters that referred to himself as "The Son of Sam," Sam being his neighbor Sam Carr, whose Labrador retriever Harvey, Berkowitz claimed, was possessed by a demon and had commanded that Berkowitz kill. This lead to many questions at the time, such as how this made him Sam Carr's son, and why did they never question this evil dog? I mean he was at least as culpable as Manson was in the Tate-LaBianca murders. Didn't anyone ever think that this Sam guy named the dog Harvey after the six-foot white rabbit who commanded Elwood P.

Dowd to kill? Dowd never bought Harvey's story, but Berkowitz was just too gullible. The weird thing was that the two actual sons of Sam Carr were each dead by 1980, one from an apparent suicide, the other in a car accident. Berkowitz is still in prison, where he has found Jesus, God bless him. 5. Peter Stumpp - Werewolf of Bedburg You may never have heard of Stumpp, who supposedly committed his crimes in Germany circa the 1580s. Apparently he was a wealthy farmer with a couple of children, and he may have had an incestuous relationship or two somewhere along the way, with both a distant relative and his own daughter. But that last part is easily forgivable since Stumpp was a practitioner of black magic. He even had a magic belt given to him by Satan himself, that, when worn, turned him into a mighty, vicious wolf, Hence his name, "the Werewolf of Bedburg." From there the legend gets a little crazy. Stumpp was an insatiable bloodsucker of everything from humans to goats and sheep.

He confessed (albeit under threat of torture) to killing and devouring 14 children, one being his own son, plus two pregnant women and their fetuses. Oh, and he had sex with a succubus, the lucky bastard. For his crimes Stumpp was brutally executed. All of this may seem a bit harsh, but what else was there to do in Germany in 1580? Centuries later there was Albert Fish, the Werewolf of Wysteria, but that just sounds like he was a character on Desperate Housewives, killing people is a very silly fashion. 4. Nikolai Dzhumagaliev - Metal Fang Okay, so you have a Russian serial killer. Already pretty cool, right? But this one has white metal false teeth. It's already the stuff of graphic novels! But wait, theres more! He's a cannibal, see, and he murders women with an axe, then serves them as dinner to all of his friends! And his name? Metal Fang!

It was Kazakhstan in the early 1980s, and Dzhumagaliev was having a great ole time with all the hacking and cannibalizing until his snitchy, buttinsky friends found a human head and some intestines in his refrigerator and ratted him out to the cops. Like many slashers, the grand total of kills for ole Nikolai ranges from the confirmed seven to perhaps as many as 100. Needless to say, Dzhumagaliev was found to be completely insane and was placed in a psychiatric hospital. He escaped in 1989 and eluded capture until 1991. Then they released him in 1994! To this day he's a free man and living in Eastern Europe with relatives who check their fridge and freezer regularly. 3. The Cleveland Torso Murderer This is a tricky one because it sounds like he traveled to various circuses killing men billed as "The Human Torso," like Prince Randian on the cult film Freaks. Also known as "The Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run," the CTM was also never caught. In fact, most of his victims were Jane and John Does.

The official body count is 12, all during the mid 1930s, which includes the lead detective in the case. But he could have murdered as many as 40 during a 30-year span, for all anybody truly knows. Per the nickname, most of the victims were beheaded, and their torsos were often cut in half. The inability of famous detective Eliot Ness to capture CTM cut Ness's career short. 2. Sergei Ryakhovsky - The Hippopotamus The Russian-born Ryakhovsky murdered at least 19 people between 1988 and 1993, but did the press give him the nickname "the Moscow Butcher?" Nope. "The Monster of Moscow?" Don't be silly. Due to his thick neck and pasty skin, and just his overall despicable bulk, he became "The Hippopotamus." There were some who called him "The Balashikha Ripper," but once the hippo moniker started going around, this commie might as well have been trying the eat marbles with his mouth controlled by little children.

King Hippo, who was also a necrophiliac, was supposed to face a firing squad in 1995, but apparently he was too easy a target. He's still serving life in a maximum-security prison. 1. Cayetano Santos Godino - The Big Eared Midget If U.S. cities were more like Buenos Aires and Moscow and gave serial killers awful names, rather than cool ones, we might just see less and less of them. This little fella was born in 1896 in the capital city of Argentina. At just 16 years of age he began setting buildings on fire and murdering children. Did the people of the city start calling him "The Buenos Aires Killer?" Heck, no. Due to his small stature and large ears, he was called "petiso ore judo," or "big eared midget." He died in prison in 1944. But don't cry for him. He's number one on this silly list.

Posted by Son of Sam arrested - Aug 10, 1977 - HISTORY.com Son of Sam arrested Publisher A+E Networks On August 10, 1977, 24-year-old postal employee David Berkowitz is arrested and charged with being the “Son of Sam,” the serial killer who terrorized New York City for more than a year, killing six young people and wounding seven others with a .44-caliber revolver. Because Berkowitz generally targeted attractive young women with long brown hair, hundreds of young women had their hair cut short and dyed blond during the time he terrorized the city. Thousands more simply stayed home at night. After his arrest, Berkowitz claimed that demons and a black Labrador retriever owned by a neighbor named Sam had ordered him to commit the killings. David Berkowitz was brought up by adoptive parents in the Bronx. He was traumatized by the death of his adoptive mother from cancer in 1967 and thereafter became more and more of a loner. In 1971, he joined the army and served for three years, where he distinguished himself as a talented marksman.

In 1974, he returned to New York and worked as a security guard. His mental condition began to severely deteriorate in 1975 (he would later be diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic). Feeling isolated from the world around him, he became an arsonist and set hundreds of fires in New York City without being arrested. He began to hear voices of “demons” that tormented him and told him to commit murder. On Christmas Eve, 1975, he gave into these internal voices and severely wounded 15-year-old Michelle Forman with a hunting knife. In January 1976, he moved into a two-family home in Yonkers, a suburb of New York. Berkowitz became convinced that the German shepherd that lived in the house and other neighborhood dogs were possessed by demons who ordered him to murder attractive young women. One of the neighborhood dogs was shot during this time, probably by Berkowitz. He also began to see his neighbors as demons. In April, Berkowitz moved to an apartment house in Yonkers, but his new home also had dogs.

His neighbor, retiree Sam Carr, had a black Labrador retriever named Harvey, who Berkowitz believed pleaded with him to kill. He also saw Sam Carr as a powerful demon and was referring to him when he later called himself Son of Sam. On July 28, 1976, Berkowitz quit his job as a security guard. Early the next morning, he walked up to a parked car in the Bronx where two young women were talking and fired five bullets from his.44 revolver into the vehicle. Eighteen-year-old brunette Donna Lauria was killed instantly, and her friend Jody Valenti was wounded. Police could find no motives or leads in the shooting. In the early morning of October 24, Berkowitz struck again, critically wounding 20-year-old Carl Denaro as he sat in a car and talked with a female friend in Queens. A little more than a month later, on November 26, 16-year-old Donna DeMasi and 18-year-old Joanne Lomino were shot and seriously wounded in the street on their way home from a movie.

On January 30, 1977, Berkowitz fatally shot Christine Freund as she sat in a car in Queens with her fiancee. Police began to suspect that these crimes were perpetrated by a single killer, but few bullets were found intact to confirm the assumption. On March 8, 19-year-old college student Virginia Voskerichian was shot to death as she walked home in Manhattan. A bullet was found intact, and it matched a bullet found at the scene of Berkowitz’s first murder. The New York police announced that a serial killer was on the loose, known to be a white male in his 20s, with black hair and of average height and build. A large group of detectives was organized–the “Omega” task force–to track the killer down. On April 17, 18-year-old Valentina Suriani and 20-year-old Alexander Esau were shot and killed by the same gun as they kissed in their parked car near the Hutchinson River Parkway. This time, the .44-caliber killer left a note in which he referred to himself as the Son of Sam. On April 29, Berkowitz shot Sam Carr’s Labrador retriever.

He had previously sent an anonymous, threatening letter to Mr. Carr concerning the animal. The dog recovered, and the Yonkers police began an investigation. Meanwhile, Berkowitz began sending bizarre letters to other neighbors and his former landlords. These individuals began to suspect Berkowitz to be the Son of Sam and reported their suspicions to local police. The Omega task force was subsequently notified, but the detectives had received thousands of reports of Son of Sam “suspects” and were having a difficult time sifting through all the dead-end leads. On June 26, the Son of Sam struck again, wounding Judy Placido and Sal Lupo as they sat in their car after leaving a Queens disco. Public concern over the rampaging serial killer grew to panic proportions, and New York nightclubs and restaurants saw a dramatic drop in business. A blistering heat wave and a 25-hour blackout in mid-July only increased the tension. On July 31, just two days after the anniversary of his first killing, Berkowitz shot a young couple kissing in a parked car in Brooklyn. Twenty-year-old Stacy Moskowitz was fatally wounded, and her boyfriend, Bobby Violante, lost his left eye and nearly all the vision in his right eye.

A few days later, a major break in the case came when an eyewitness came forward to report that she had seen a man with what looked like a gun minutes before the shots were fired in Brooklyn. Her information led to the first police sketch of Berkowitz. More important, she reminded investigators that two police officers had been writing parking tickets on her street that night. A search of tickets issued eventually turned up Berkowitz’s car. At the same time, Yonkers police investigated Berkowitz after he escalated a harassment campaign against one of his neighbors. Convinced he was the Son of Sam, they informed the Omega task force of their findings. The Omega detectives finally put two and two together, and on August 10 David Berkowitz was arrested while leaving his Yonkers home. He gleefully admitted to being the Son of Sam. On his person was a semiautomatic rifle, and he explained he was on his way to commit another murder. The .44-caliber revolver was also recovered. There was some question about whether Berkowitz was mentally fit to stand trial, but on May 8, 1978, he withdrew an insanity defense and pleaded guilty to the six .44-caliber murders.

He was given six 25-years-to-life sentences for the crime, the maximum penalty allowed at the time. He has since been denied parole. Since 1987, he has been held at the Sullivan Correctional Facility in upstate New York, where he allegedly converted to Christianity. Related Videos

Question: The serial killer David Berkowitz was given what nickname?
Answer: SON of SAM