David Berkowitz
David Berkowitz | |
---|---|
Second-degree murder (6 counts), attempted second-degree murder (7 counts) | |
Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 25 years |
Details | |
Victims | 6 killed, 11 wounded (including 2 stabbings in 1975) |
Span of crimes | July 29, 1976 – July 31, 1977 |
State(s) | New York |
Weapon | .44 Special caliber Bulldog revolver |
Date apprehended | August 10, 1977 |
Imprisoned at | Shawangunk Correctional Facility |
David Richard Berkowitz (born Richard David Falco, June 1, 1953), also known as the Son of Sam and the .44 Caliber Killer, is an American serial killer who pled guilty to eight shootings that began in New York City on July 29, 1976.[2] Berkowitz grew up in New York City and served in the United States Army. Using a .44 Special caliber Bulldog revolver, he killed six people and wounded seven others by July 1977, terrorizing New Yorkers. Berkowitz eluded the biggest police manhunt in the city's history while leaving letters that mocked the police and promised further crimes, which were highly publicized by the press.
Berkowitz was arrested on August 10, 1977, and subsequently indicted for eight shootings. He confessed to all of them, and initially claimed to have been obeying the orders of a demon manifested in the form of a black dog belonging to his neighbor, "Sam". After being found mentally competent to stand trial, he pled guilty to
Intense media coverage of the case lent a kind of celebrity status to Berkowitz, which many observers noted that he seemed to enjoy. The
Early life
David Berkowitz was born Richard David Falco on June 1, 1953, in Brooklyn, New York.[3]: 73 Within a few days of his birth, his biological mother, Elizabeth "Betty" Broder, gave the child away.[3]: 80 Broder had grown up as part of an impoverished family and was working as a waitress. In 1936, she had married Tony Falco, an Italian American.[3]: 76–9 After a marriage of less than four years, Falco left her for another woman.[3]: 76 Berkowitz's biological father, Joseph Kleinman, was a married businessman who, like Berkowitz's mother, was Jewish.[4][5]
The infant Richard was adopted by Pearl and Nathan Berkowitz of
Berkowitz's adoptive mother died of breast cancer when he was 14 years old,
Beginning of crimes (late 1975 to early 1977)
During the mid-1970s, Berkowitz began committing violent crimes. He bungled his first attempt at murder using a knife, then switched to a
Forman stabbing (December 1975)
Berkowitz claimed that when he was 22 years old he committed his first attack on Christmas Eve 1975, when he used a hunting knife to stab two women in
Lauria and Valenti shooting (July 1976)
The first shooting attributed to Berkowitz occurred in the
Valenti survived her injury and said that she did not recognize the killer. She described him as a white male in his thirties with a fair complexion, about 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m) tall and weighing about 200 lb (91 kg). His hair was short, dark, and curly in a "mod style".[37] This description was repeated by Lauria's father, who claimed to have seen a similar man sitting in a yellow compact car parked nearby. Neighbors gave corroborating reports to police that an unfamiliar yellow compact car had been cruising the area for hours before the shooting.[37] Years later, in 1993, an imprisoned Berkowitz admitted in an interview with journalist Maury Terry that he had shot Lauria and Valenti.
Denaro and Keenan shooting (October 1976)
On October 23, 1976, a similar shooting occurred in a secluded residential area of
Police determined that the bullets embedded in Keenan's car were .44 caliber, but they were so deformed that they thought it unlikely that they could ever be linked to a particular weapon.[42] Because Denaro had shoulder-length hair, police later speculated that the shooter had mistaken him for a woman.[43] Keenan's father was a 20-year veteran police detective of the New York City Police Department (NYPD), causing an intense investigation. As with the Lauria–Valenti shooting, however, there seemed not to be any tangible motive for the shooting; police made little progress with the case. Many details of the Denaro–Keenan shooting were very similar to the Lauria–Valenti case, but police did not initially associate them, partly because the shootings occurred in different boroughs and were being investigated by different police precincts.
DeMasi and Lomino shooting (November 1976)
High school students Donna DeMasi (16) and Joanne Lomino (18) walked home from a movie shortly after midnight on November 27, 1976.
In a high-pitched voice he said, "Can you tell me how to get...", but then quickly produced a
Freund and Diel shooting (January 1977)
At about 12:40 a.m. on January 30, 1977, secretary Christine Freund (26) and her fiancé, bartender John Diel (30), were sitting in Diel's car near the Forest Hills LIRR station in Queens, preparing to drive to a dance hall after having seen the movie Rocky.[47] Three gunshots penetrated the car. In a panic, Diel drove away for help. He sustained minor superficial injuries, but Freund was shot twice and died several hours later at the hospital. Neither victim had seen their attacker.
Police made the first public acknowledgment that the Freund–Diel shooting was similar to earlier incidents, and that the crimes might be connected.
Voskerichian shooting (March 8, 1977)
At about 7:30 p.m. on March 8, 1977, Columbia University student Virginia Voskerichian (20) was walking home from school when she was confronted by an armed man. She lived about a block from where Freund had been shot.[51] In a desperate move to defend herself, Voskerichian lifted her textbooks between herself and her killer, but the makeshift shield was penetrated. The bullet struck her head and ultimately killed her.[52]
Press and publicity (March 10, 1977)
In a March 10, 1977, press conference, NYPD officials and Mayor Abraham Beame declared that the same .44 Bulldog revolver had fired the shots that killed Lauria and Voskerichian.[53] Official documents were later brought to the public eye, revealing that while police strongly suspected that the same .44 Bulldog had been used in the shootings, the evidence was actually inconclusive.[53]
The crimes were discussed by the local media virtually every day. Circulation increased dramatically for the New York Post and the Daily News, tabloid newspapers with graphic crime reporting and commentary.[54] Foreign media featured many of the reports as well, including front page articles of newspapers such as the Vatican's L'Osservatore Romano, the Hebrew newspaper Maariv, and the Soviet Izvestia.[3]: 12
Crimes continue (April to July 1977)
Esau and Suriani shooting (April)
At about 3:00 a.m. on April 17, 1977, Alexander Esau (20), a tow truck operator, and Valentina Suriani (18), a
Crime-scene letters (May)
Son of Sam letter
Police discovered a handwritten letter near the bodies of Esau and Suriani, written mostly in block capitals with a few lower-case letters, and addressed to NYPD Captain Joseph Borrelli.[57] With this letter, Berkowitz identified himself as "Son of Sam" for the first time.[57] The press had previously dubbed the killer "the .44 Caliber Killer" because of his weapon of choice.[58] The letter was initially withheld from the public, but some of its contents were revealed to the press and the name "Son of Sam" quickly replaced the old name.[58]
The letter expressed the killer's determination to continue his work, and taunted police for their fruitless efforts to capture him.[59] In full, with misspellings intact, the letter read:
I am deeply hurt by your calling me a wemon [sic] 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[60][61]
At the time, police speculated that the letter-writer might be familiar with Scottish English. The phrase "me hoot it urts sonny boy" was taken as a Scottish-accented version of "my heart, it hurts, sonny boy". 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.[62]
The killer's unusual attitude towards the police and the media received widespread scrutiny. Psychologists observed that many
Letter to Jimmy Breslin
On May 30, 1977, Daily News columnist Jimmy Breslin received a handwritten letter from someone who claimed to be the .44 Caliber Killer. The letter was postmarked early that same day in Englewood, New Jersey. On the reverse of the envelope, neatly hand-printed in four precisely centered lines, were the words: Blood and Family – Darkness and Death – Absolute Depravity – .44. The letter inside 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 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[65]
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 considered an ominous threat: July 29 would be the anniversary of the Lauria-Valenti shooting.
The Daily News published the letter a week later (after agreeing with police to withhold portions of the text) and Breslin urged the killer to surrender. The dramatic article made that day's paper the highest-selling edition of the Daily News to date—more than 1.1 million copies were sold.[69] Police received thousands of tips based on references in the publicized portions of the letter, all of which proved useless.[66] As all of the shooting victims to date had long dark hair, thousands of women in New York City acquired short cuts or brightly colored dyes and beauty supply stores had trouble meeting the demand for wigs.[70]
Lupo and Placido shooting (June)
On June 26, 1977, Salvatore Lupo (20), a mechanic's helper, and Judy Placido (17), a recent high school graduate, had left the Elephas discotheque in Bayside, Queens, and were sitting in Lupo's parked car at about 3:00 a.m. when three gunshots blasted through the vehicle.[71][72][73] Lupo was wounded in the right forearm, while Placido was shot in the right temple, shoulder, and back of the neck; both victims survived their injuries.[74] Lupo told police that they had been discussing the Son of Sam case only moments before the shooting.[74][75] Neither Lupo nor Placido had seen their attacker, but two witnesses reported a tall, dark-haired man in a leisure suit fleeing from the area; one claimed to see him leave in a car and even supplied a partial license plate number.[74]
Moskowitz and Violante shooting (July)
With the first anniversary of the initial .44 caliber shootings approaching, police established a sizable dragnet that emphasized past hunting grounds in Queens and the Bronx. However, the next and final .44 shooting occurred in Brooklyn.[76]
Early on July 31, 1977, secretary Stacy Moskowitz and clothing salesman Robert Violante (both 20) were sitting in Violante's car, which was parked under a streetlight near a city park in
That night, Detective John Falotico was awakened at home and told to report to the 10th Homicide Division at the 60th Precinct station house in Coney Island. He was given two weeks to work on the Moskowitz and Violante case as a normal murder investigation—if it could not be solved in that timeframe, it was to be given to the Son of Sam task force.[79]
Suspicion and capture (August 1977)
Suspicion (August 9)
Local resident Cacilia Davis was walking her dog at the scene of the Moskowitz-Violante shooting when she saw patrol officer Michael Cataneo ticketing a car that was parked near a fire hydrant. Moments after the traffic police had left, a young man walked past her from the area of the car and seemed to study her with some interest. Davis felt concerned because he was holding some kind of "dark object" in his hand. She ran to her home only to hear shots fired behind her in the street. Davis remained silent about this experience for four days until she finally contacted police, who closely checked every car that had been ticketed in the area that night.[3]: 5–6 Berkowitz's yellow 1970 Ford Galaxie was among the cars that they investigated.[3]: 6
On August 9, 1977, NYPD detective James Justis telephoned the
Justis asked Yonkers police for some help tracking down Berkowitz. According to Mike Novotny, a Yonkers police sergeant, the department had their own suspicions about Berkowitz in connection with strange crimes in their jurisdiction which were referred to in one of the Son of Sam letters. Yonkers investigators even told Justis that Berkowitz might be the Son of Sam.[40][82]
Arrest (August 10)
The following day, on August 10, 1977, police investigated Berkowitz's car, which was parked outside his apartment building at 35 Pine Street, Yonkers. They saw a gun in the back seat, searched the car, and found a duffel bag filled with ammunition, maps of the crime scenes, and a threatening letter addressed to Inspector Timothy Dowd of the Son of Sam task force. Police decided to wait for Berkowitz to leave the apartment rather than risk a violent confrontation in the building's narrow hallway; they also waited to obtain a
A paper bag containing a .44 caliber Bulldog revolver of the type that was identified in
"Now that I've got you", Detective Falotico said to the suspect, "who have I got?"
"You know," the man said in what the detective remembered was a soft, almost sweet voice.
"No I don't. You tell me."
The man turned his head and said, "I'm Sam."
"You're Sam? Sam who?"
An alternate version claims that Berkowitz's first words were reported to be, "Well, you got me. How come it took you such a long time?"
Soon after Berkowitz's arrest, the address of the apartment building was changed from 35 Pine Street to 42 Pine Street in an attempt to end its notoriety. Berkowitz was briefly held in a Yonkers police station before being transported directly to the 60th Precinct in Coney Island, where the Son of Sam task force was located. At about 1:00 a.m., Mayor Beame arrived to see the suspect personally.[3]: 11–13 After a brief and wordless encounter, he announced to the media: "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."[89]
Confession (August 11)
Berkowitz was interrogated for about thirty minutes in the early morning of August 11, 1977. He quickly confessed to the shootings and expressed an interest in pleading guilty. The investigation was led by John Keenan, who took the confession.[90] During questioning, Berkowitz claimed that his neighbor's dog was one of the reasons that he killed, stating that the dog demanded the blood of pretty young girls. He said that the "Sam" mentioned in the first letter was his former neighbor Sam Carr, and that Harvey, Carr's black Labrador, was possessed by an ancient demon which issued irresistible commands that Berkowitz kill people.[29]
A few weeks after his capture, Berkowitz was permitted to communicate with the press. In a letter to the New York Post dated September 19, 1977, he alluded to his original story of demonic possession, but closed with a warning that has been interpreted by some investigators as an admission of criminal accomplices: "There are other Sons out there, God help the world."[91] At a press conference in February 1979, however, Berkowitz declared that his previous claims of demonic possession were a hoax.[92][93][94] Berkowitz later stated in a series of meetings with his special court-appointed psychiatrist David Abrahamsen that he had long contemplated murder to get revenge on a world that he felt had rejected and hurt him.[92]
Sentencing and prison
Sentencing
Three separate mental health examinations determined that Berkowitz was
On June 12, 1978, Berkowitz was sentenced to 25-years-to-
Detention
After his arrest, Berkowitz was initially confined to a
On the day after his sentencing, he was taken first to Sing Sing prison, then to the upstate Clinton Correctional Facility for psychiatric and physical examinations.[3]: 161 Two more months were spent at the Central New York Psychiatric Center in Marcy before his admission to Attica prison.[3]: 161 Berkowitz served about a decade in Attica until he was relocated (c. 1990) to Sullivan Correctional Facility in Fallsburg, where he remained for many years. Later, he was transferred to Shawangunk Correctional Facility in Ulster County. Berkowitz described his life in Attica Correctional Facility as a "nightmare".[8]
In 1979, there was an attempt on Berkowitz's life in which the left side of his neck was slashed from front to back, resulting in a wound that required more than fifty stitches to close. Berkowitz refused to identify his assailant, and he claimed only that he was grateful for the attack: It brought a sense of justice or, in Berkowitz's own words, "the punishment I deserve".[3]: 211–215
Evangelical faith
In 1987, Berkowitz became an
Soon after his imprisonment, Berkowitz invited Malachi Martin, an exorcist, to help him compose an autobiography, but the offer was not accepted.[102][103] During later years, Berkowitz developed his memoirs with assistance from fellow evangelicals. His statements were released as a 1998 interview video, Son of Hope,[6] with a more extensive work released in book form, entitled Son of Hope: The Prison Journals of David Berkowitz (2006).[104] Berkowitz does not receive any royalties or profit from any sales of his works. He has continued to write essays on faith and repentance for evangelical websites.
A website
Parole hearings
Berkowitz is entitled to a parole hearing every two years as mandated by state law, though he has consistently refused to ask for his release, sometimes skipping the hearings altogether.
At his 2016 hearing at Shawangunk, New York, Berkowitz stated that while parole was "unrealistic", he felt he had improved himself behind bars, adding: "I feel I am no risk, whatsoever."[106] His lawyer, Mark Heller, noted that prison staff considered Berkowitz to be a "model prisoner." Commissioners denied a parole.[106] His next parole hearing is scheduled for May 2024.[112]
Other activities
In 2002, during the
Satanic cult accomplice claims
In 1979, Berkowitz mailed a book about
After his admission to Sullivan prison, Berkowitz began to claim that he had joined a Satanic cult in the spring of 1975.[119] In 1993, he made these claims known when he announced to the press that he had killed only three of the Son of Sam victims: Lauria, Esau, and Suriani.[120] In his revised version of the events, Berkowitz said that other shooters were involved and that he fired the gun only in the first attack (Lauria and Valenti)[121] and the sixth (Esau and Suriani).[122] He said that he and several other cult members were involved in every incident by planning the events, providing early surveillance of the victims, and acting as lookouts and drivers at the crime scenes.[121] Berkowitz stated that he could not divulge the names of most of his accomplices without putting his family directly at risk.[40]
Among Berkowitz's alleged unnamed associates was a female cult member who he claims fired the gun at Denaro and Keenan; Berkowitz attributed their survival to the alleged accomplice's unfamiliarity with the powerful recoil of a .44 Bulldog.[46] He declared that "at least five" cult members were at the scene of the Freund–Diel shooting, but the actual shooter was a prominent cult associate who had been brought in from outside New York with an unspecified motive—a cult member whom he identified only by his nickname, "Manson II".[46] Another unnamed person was the gunman in the Moskowitz–Violante case, a male cult member who had arrived from North Dakota for the occasion, also without explanation.[123]
Berkowitz did name two of the cult members: John and Michael Carr. The two men were sons of the dog-owner Sam Carr, and they lived on nearby Warburton Avenue.[40][124] Both of these other "sons of Sam" were long dead: John Carr had been killed in a shooting judged a suicide in North Dakota during 1978,[46][3]: 217 and Michael Carr had been in a fatal car accident in 1979.[9][46] Berkowitz claimed that the perpetrator of the DeMasi–Lomino shooting was John, and he added that a Yonkers police officer, also a cult member, was involved in this crime.[46] He claimed that Michael fired the shots at Lupo and Placido.[125] Author Maurice Terry wrote that Michael was an active member of the Church of Scientology and noted that Berkowitz at the time of his arrest had been in possession of a list of telephone numbers, including the number for the Fort Harrison Hotel, the church's spiritual headquarters in Clearwater, Florida.[126] In a video interview posted in 2016, Berkowitz said he had been influenced by reading literature from the Process Church of the Final Judgment.[127]
Media re-examination
Journalist John Hockenberry asserted that, even apart from the Satanic cult claims, many officials doubted the single-shooter theory, writing:
- "What most don't know about the Son of Sam case is that from the beginning, not everyone bought the idea that Berkowitz acted alone."
John Santucci, the Queens district attorney at the time of the killings, and police investigator Mike Novotny both expressed their convictions that Berkowitz had accomplices. NYPD officer Richard Johnson, involved in the original investigation, opined that unresolved discrepancies in statements from witnesses and surviving victims indicate Berkowitz did not act alone:
- "Why are there three [suspect] cars, five different [suspect] descriptions, different heights, different shapes, different sizes of the perpetrator? Somebody else was there."[128]
Other contemporaries voiced their belief in the Satanic cult theory, including Donna Lauria's father.[120] Berkowitz survivor Carl Denaro stated his opinion that "more than one person was involved" but admitted he could not prove the cult theory.[40] His conclusion rests on his criticism of Berkowitz's statement to police as "totally false."[129]: 430
Diel's recollection is that he physically bumped into Berkowitz outside the Wine Gallery restaurant as he and Freund departed and walked to his car where the shooting occurred; Berkowitz, in contrast, told police that he passed within a few feet of Diel and Freund shortly before they entered the car. Diel contends he and Freund passed no one on their way to the car, and that the position of the car parked at the curb would have made it impossible for Berkowitz to have sneaked up on them in the few minutes between their encounter outside the restaurant and the shooting at the car; Diel thus reasons he was shot by someone other than Berkowitz.[129]: 429–430
Journalist Maury Terry published a series of investigative articles for
Skeptics
Berkowitz's later claims about having been in a Satanic cult were widely dismissed. Breslin rejected his story of Satanic cult accomplices, stating that "when they talked to David Berkowitz that night, he recalled everything step by step by step. The guy has 1,000 percent recall and that's it. He's the guy and there's nothing else to look at."
Legacy
Decades after his arrest, the name "Son of Sam" remains widely recognized as that of a notorious serial killer, with popular culture manifestations perpetuating this.[134] Berkowitz himself continues to express remorse on Christian websites[135] and on more mainstream news, including speaking out against gun violence and instead spreading the message to "take the glory out of guns".[136]
Neysa Moskowitz, who previously had not hidden her hatred of Berkowitz,[134] wrote him a letter shortly before her own death in 2006, forgiving him for killing her daughter, Stacy.[137] Moskowitz lost all her children at young ages (Jody, aged 9, in a possible suicide in 1968; Stacy; and Ricky, aged 37, in 1999 of scleroderma).[137] She had no survivors except, according to the New York Post, her daughter's murderer.[137]
Legal effects
After rampant speculation about publishers offering Berkowitz large sums of money for his story, the
In popular culture
Literature
Breslin, in collaboration with writer Dick Schaap, published a novelized account of the murders, .44 (1978), less than a year after Berkowitz's arrest.[140] The highly fictionalized plot recounts the exploits of a Berkowitz-based character dubbed "Bernard Rosenfeld." Outside of North America, the book was renamed Son of Sam.[141]
The 2016
TV and film
The Spike Lee drama Summer of Sam was released in 1999, with actor Michael Badalucco in the role of Berkowitz.[143] The film depicts the tensions that develop in a Bronx neighborhood during the shootings, and Berkowitz's part is largely symbolic. A minor character in the script, he functions "mostly as a berserk metaphor for Lee's view of the seventies as a period of amoral excess."[144] Berkowitz was reported to be disturbed by what he called exploitation of "the ugliness of the past" in Lee's film.[134]
Other movie portrayals of Berkowitz include
In the Seinfeld episode "The Diplomat's Club," Kramer uses the mailbag of David Berkowitz, owned by Newman, as collateral for a bet on airplane arrival times. In another Seinfeld episode, "The Frogger," Kramer proposes the name "Son of Dad" as a nickname for a serial killer called The Lopper, a reference to Berkowitz's nickname "Son of Sam." In the Seinfeld episode "The Junk Mail," Jerry's friend Frankie finds George in Jerry's van and says through the closed driver's side window, "Seinfeld's van!" George mistakes this for "Son of Sam!" and exclaims, "I knew it wasn't Berkowitz!" In the episode "The Engagement" Newman says, when the police arrive to arrest him, "What took you so long?", echoing Berkowitz.
In the Only Murders in the Building episode "The Tell", several characters play a card game created for the television show called "Son of Sam". This game is similar to the party game Mafia, where one player is assigned the role of a killer, in this case the Son of Sam, who eliminates other players over a series of rounds. Each round, the other players have the opportunity to try to guess who is the Son of Sam.[150]
Music
Son of Sam has been mistakenly associated with the contemporaneous song "Psycho Killer" (1977) by Talking Heads.[147] Likewise, Elliott Smith stated that his song "Son of Sam" is not literally about Berkowitz, a claim some have found hard to believe due to the song's lyrics.[151] Compositions more directly inspired by the events include:
- "The Dead Boys[147]
- "Son of Sam" by Chain Gang[152]
- "Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun" (1989) by the Beastie Boys[147]
See also
References
- ^ a b "David Berkowitz "Son of Sam"" (PDF). Department of Psychology, Radford University. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
- ^ "The Son of Sam: A Timeline of the Killings that Terrorized New York City". May 4, 2021.The Son of Sam: A Timeline of the Killings that Terrorized New York City|title=
- ^ ISBN 0-231-05760-1.
- ISBN 0-517-12017-8.
- ^ Nathan-Kazis, Josh (August 10, 2019). "Why Son of Sam Was Bad for the Jews in 1977". The Forward. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
...Betty Falco, née Broder, was Jewish, and that Berkowitz's birth father was not Tony Falco, but a Jewish guy named Joseph Kleinman.
- ^ a b Fishman, Steve (2006). "The Devil in David Berkowitz". New York. New York Media, LLC. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
- ^ "Crime File: David Berkowitz (Son of Sam)". Crime+Investigation. AETN. 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
- ^ a b "Encore Presentation: Interview With David Berkowitz". Larry King Weekend (Interview transcript). CNN. 2002. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
- ^ a b Sanders, John Vincent (August 2002). "I am the Son of Sam!". Fortean Times. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
- ^ Beccia, Carlyn (October 18, 2022). "Jeffrey Dahmer's Brain: Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer". Medium. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
- ^ Leyton.[page needed]
- ISBN 978-0976809302.
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- ^ "Son of Sam; The Killer Speaks". www.cbsnews.com. August 11, 2017.
- ISBN 978-1587652295.
- ^ "Daily News from New York City". Newspapers.com. August 14, 1977.
- ^ Buder, Leonard (August 12, 1977). "Berkowitz Is Described as 'Quiet' and as a 'Loner'". The New York Times.
- ^ Case File: David Berkowitz Archived January 18, 2000, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved June 17, 2009
- ^ ISBN 978-1501183805.
- ISBN 978-1429931038.
- ^ ISBN 978-1429931038.
- ^ Leyton, p. 217.
- ^ Klausner, p. 32; p. 42.
- ^ ISBN 978-1501183805.
- ^ a b Leyton, pp. 187ff.
- ISBN 978-1412988780.
- ^ ISBN 978-1621074663.
- ^ Leyton, p. 192.
- ^ a b c d Rossmo, pp. 164–166.
- ISBN 978-1402208294.
- ISBN 978-1501183805.
- ISBN 978-1402208294.
- ^ Klausner, pp. 17–18.
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Further reading
- Harmatz, Hugo (2005) Dear David: Letters to Inmate #78-A-1976, Son of Sam. Benra Publ. ISBN 0-9768093-0-3.
- David Berkowitz collection (not yet digitized): Letters received by Berkowitz while incarcerated in prison, written by various correspondents. Housed at Lloyd Sealy Library Special Collections, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York City.
External links
- Welcome to The People vs. David Berkowitz, repository of investigatory files and documents relating to the David Berkowitz case
- Arise and Shine, official website