Son of Sam

David Berkowitz, also known as the “Son of Sam” or the “.44 Calibre Killer” is one of the most infamous of all serial killers. His reign of terror held the entire city of New York in a state of panic during the first half of 1977.

Killing six people and wounding several others, Berkowitz concocted an incredible tale of demonic possession in order to fool the jury into finding him insane.

Part of this façade began before his arrest, during a period in which he wrote letters to the police and media, one of which was received by Jimmy Breslin of the New York Times.

However, In this case, I believe that he story should be told in full before concentrating on the communications sent to the media.

The case of David Berkowitz

Berkowitz, born 1st June 1953 was adopted by Nathan and Pearl Berkowitz after being given up by his birth mother. He was raised in the Bronx, New York in a typical middle class home, and was doted on by his adoptive parents, especially his adopted mother.

Despite the attention he received at home, Berkowitz always felt rejected and scorned because of his adoption, most of this anger was because he had been told that his birth mother had died during labour. His size and squat appearance also added to this sense of isolation, often making him the target of schoolyard taunts.

He was a poor student at school, with no particular flair for anything apart from baseball. During his school years he became to be known as a hyperactive child, and also as a bully.

It would seem that the intense guilt and anger caused by the belief that he had, in some way, caused his mother’s death was still plaguing him as a teenager.

Breaking point was to come soon after, with the death of his adoptive mother, Pearl, from breast cancer. Berkowitz now believed that there was some kind of plot against him, and that Pearl had been taken from him as an act of vengeance by an unknown power.

His schoolwork began to slip even further into the realms of failure, and his behaviour began to grow more erratic and unreasonable.

His adoptive father remarried just four years later, but Berkowitz could not accept this new arrangement. Nathan and his new wife moved to Florida, leaving behind a maladjusted teen in one of the world’s biggest cities, with thoughts of murder and vengeance.

Berkowitz enlisted with the army, but was discharged after three extremely unspectacular years. The only incident of note is that he had his first sexual experience with a prostitute, but caught venereal disease in the process.

After his discharge from the army, Berkowitz decided to look into his family background, and made the discovery that would eventually tip him over the edge. His birth mother was alive and well and living in the same city.

However, the happy reunion was never to materialise. The relationship between mother and child was awkward and stunted to say the least. Despite becoming fond of is newly discovered half-sister, the reunion had been just another rejection in the life of David Berkowitz.

His fantasies and delusions were about to take over.

His first release of rage came on Christmas Eve, 1975, when he took to the streets with a knife, plunging it into two young women. Both survived, but Berkowitz managed to make a getaway, and the reign of a serial killer was soon to begin.

Soon after the knife attacks, Berkowitz moved from his home in the Bronx to a shared house in Yonkers.

By now his mind was filled with rage and thoughts of revenge, and he spent his nights listening to the distant howling of dogs, turning them in his mind into orders to kill women.

The quiet couple with whom he shared the house, Jack and Nann Cassara, were also suspected by Berkowitz as being part of a deep, demonic conspiracy, with Berkowitz claiming to have firmly believed that Jack Cassara was Captain Jack Cosmo, who was commander in chief of the army of howling dogs.

After moving away from the Cassara’s home, Berkowitz lived alone in a flat on Pine Street. This did nothing to soothe the demons in his head, and in a cruel twist of fate, his neighbour, Sam Carr, also had an incessantly barking dog.

It was this dog that Berkowitz claimed had given him the orders to kill, and although he shot and killed the dog, he believed that it had been possessed by Satan himself.

This was the period in which Berkowitz became a serial killer.

Berkowitz’s Crime Spree:

•July 29, 1976 – Jody Valenti and Donna Lauria were shot as they sat talking in a parked car outside Donna’s apartment. Lauria died instantly from a gunshot wound to her neck. Valenti survived the attack.

•October 23, 1976 – Carl Denaro and Rosemary Keenan were shot while sitting in Denaro’s parked car. Both survived, but Carl was struck in the head by one of the bullets.

•November 26, 1976 – Donna DeMasi and 18-year-old Joanne Lomino were walking near Joanne’s home after a late movie. Berkowitz followed them briefly, then shot them. Donna survived without suffering permanent physical harm, but Joanne was paralyzed for life.

•January 30, 1977 – 26-year-old Christine Freund and her fiance John Diel were shot as they sat in a parked car. Christine died and John Diel survived the attack.

•March 8, 1977 – Virginia Voskerichian, a Barnard College honor student was shot and killed while walking home from class.

•April 17, 1977 – 18-year-old Valentina Suriani and her 20-year-old boyfriend Alexander Esau, were both shot twice. Both died as a result of gunshot wounds. Berkowitz left a letter at the scene, signed “Son of Sam.”

•June 26, 1977 – Judy Placido and Sal Lupu were shot while leaving a disco. Both survived although Judy was shot three times.

•July 31, 1977 – Bobby Violante and Stacy Moskowitz were shot in the car while parked at a lover’s lane. Stacy died from a gunshot wound to her head and Bobby lost vision in one eye and partial vision in the other eye.

The Moskowitz murder was to be Berkowitz’s last. He was arrested after receiving a parking ticket near to the latest murder site. Investigating police officers saw the infamous .44 calibre handgun left unhidden in the car and laid in wait for his return.

When he was arrested he immediately surrendered to police and identified himself as Sam. After being evaluated, it was determined that he could stand trial. He pleaded not guilty and received a 365-year sentence.

The letters:

Despite a number of taunting letters sent to police, the most interesting correspondence came in a letter sent to Jimmy Breslin, a daily columnist with the New York Times. The letter is fascinating as it hints at desperation to become known for his “work”, even going as far as to take on a boastful tone, and suggest possible nicknames for himself.

If ever there was an example of a serial killer wanting to be recognised for his work, this is it.