The Son of Sam
Known as the ‘Son of Sam’ and the ‘44 Caliber Killer’ David Berkowitz terrified New Yorkers during the summers of 1976 and 1977, committing six murders and wounding nine others.
Born Richard David Falco on June 1, 1953 in Brooklyn, New York, Berkowitz was adopted by Jewish-American hardware store owners Nathan and Pearl Berkowitz. Described as a smart child, Berkowitz became uninterested in schooling and instead turned his attention to petty larceny and arson.
Berkowitz was especially close to his mother, Pearl. She died when he was 14 and his father quickly remarried. Tensions between Berkowitz and his father grew due to his dislike of his stepmother. Nathan Berkowitz and his wife became exhausted with David’s emotional state and moved to Florida.
Depressed, Berkowitz joined the army at 18 and served in South Korea where he reportedly was an excellent marksman. After receiving an honorable discharge in 1974, Berkowitz moved to Yonkers, New York. Still dealing with the emotions from his mother’s death, he became lonely and despondent.
In 1975, Berkowitz met his biological mother, Betty, who he was told had died in childbirth. Upon meeting her, she seemed “distant and disinterested” in having a relationship with Berkowitz. He now felt not only dejected by his own biological mother, but unwanted by all women.
On Christmas Eve 1975, Berkowitz followed two girls walking on the street. One of the victims was a Hispanic woman who was never identified. The second was 15-year-old Michelle Forman. Forman was stabbed six times on bridge near Dreiser Loop and would spend a week in the hospital. Both women survived this attack and could not identify their attacker.
Berkowitz soon moved into a two-family home in Yonkers. His next-door-neighbor, Sam Carr, owned a dog named Harvey who would reportedly howl and bark at all times. He believed the dog drove him to madness and pleaded him to kill. Believing Carr was a demon, he later referred to himself as the ‘Son of Sam.’
On July 29, 1976, Berkowitz approached a parked car in a Bronx neighborhood and shot Jody Valenti and Donna Lauria with a .44 caliber gun. Lauria died from her injuries and Valenti was injured. He fled the scene without looking into the car.
On October 23, 1976, Berkowitz found Carl Denaro and Rosemary Keenan sitting together in Kennan’s parked car in a secluded area of Flushing. They were talking until the windows shattered, and they quickly sped off. Both survived the shooting, but Denaro was shot in the head and needed a metal plate to replace a portion of his skull.
A little more than a month later, Berkowitz shot and seriously wounded 16-year-old Donna DeMasi and 18-year-old Joanne Lomino as they walked home from a movie.
On January 30, 1977, Berkowitz fatally shot Christine Freund as she sat in a car with her fiancé in Queens. It was here when police began to believe these shootings were connected. The .44 caliber bullets police found only furthered their suspicions.
In March 1977, 19-year-old college student Virginia Voskerichian was fatally shot in Manhattan while she was walking home. The bullet was found in tact and matched a bullet at the scene of Berkowitz’s first murder.
On April 17, 1977, 18-year-old Valentina Suriani and 20-year-old Alexander Esau were shot and killed as they were in their car by the Hutchinson River Parkway. Berkowitz left a note referring to himself as the Son of Sam. On April 29, Berkowitz shot Carr’s dog after sending him anonymous letters. He then set more anonymous letters to neighbors and former landlords. Some began suspecting he was the Son of Sam and called the police.
On July 26, Berkowitz wounded Judy Placido and Sal Lupo as they sat in their car in Queens after leaving a disco. On July 31, he killed 20-year-old Stacy Moskowitz and blinding her boyfriend Bobby Violante.
A few days later, a witness came forward to police that she had seen a man with what looked like a gun in Brooklyn. This would lead to the first sketch of Berkowitz. The witness mentioned officers writing parking tickets on her car that night. A search of tickets led them to Berkowitz’s car. Yonkers police were also investigating his harassment of his neighbors and landlords.
Believing he was the Son of Sam, police officers told members of the Omega Task Force (the force created to specifically track Berkowitz down) of their findings. On August 10, 1977, Berkowitz was arrested while leaving his home. He gleefully admitted to being the Son of Sam and explained he was on his way to commit another.
On May 8, 1978, Berkowitz plead guilty to six murders. The press surrounding the case pleased Berkowitz, who would eventually sell his exclusive story rights to a publishing house.
Berkowitz was given six 25-to life sentences for the crime, the maximum penalty allowed at the time. He has been denied parole multiple times. He is currently held at the Shawangunk Correctional Facility in upstate New York. He has reportedly become an evangelical Christian and has written multiple books.
