David Berkowitz

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David Berkowitz
David Berkowitz in 2003
Born	June 1, 1953 Brooklyn, New York, USA
Charge(s)	murder
Penalty	twenty-five years to life in prison
Status	in prison, parole currently denied
Occupation	formerly employed in U.S. Postal Service
Spouse	Single

David Richard Berkowitz (Born:June 1, 1953), better known by his nickname Son of Sam, is an American serial killer who confessed to killing six people and wounding several others in New York City in the late 1970s.

Though Berkowitz remains the only person charged or convicted in relation to the case, some law enforcement authorities suspect that there are unresolved questions about the crimes, and that others might have been involved: according to John Hockenberry of MSNBC the "Son of Sam" case was reopened in 1996, and as of 2004 was officially considered open.^[1]

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 First attacks 1.3 Shootings 1.4 The "Son of Sam" letter 1.5 Composite sketches 1.6 The Breslin letter 1.7 Suspicion and capture 1.8 Questioning and sentencing 1.9 Speculation after the arrest 1.10 Aftermath 2 References in popular culture 2.1 Film 2.2 Literature 2.3 Music 2.4 Television 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Berkowitz was born Richard David Falco in Brooklyn, New York, to Betty Broder and Joseph Kleinman. Broder was married to Tony Falco and had a daughter with him. Although Falco abandoned her, they never divorced. She later had an affair with the married Kleinman.^[2] When Broder told Kleinman that she was pregnant, he told her to have an abortion. However, Broder had the baby and listed Falco as the father.

A few days after his birth, the baby was adopted by Nathan and Pearl Berkowitz, a Jewish couple who reversed the order of the baby's first and middle names.

David Abrahamsen writes that "David'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."^[3] He was an avid baseball player, and earned a reputation as something of a bully in his neighborhood. Berkowitz's tense relationship with his father became even more strained, and he disliked the woman Nathan later married. Berkowitz joined the U.S. Army in 1971, and was active until 1974 (he managed to avoid service in the Vietnam War, instead serving in both the U.S. and South Korea.) Afterwards, he toyed with Christianity^[4], briefly and enthusiastically describing himself as born again. He located his birth mother, but after a few visits, Berkowitz learned the details of his conception and birth, and they fell out of contact with one another.

Berkowitz worked at several jobs, and was employed by the U.S. Postal Service at the time of his arrest.

[edit] First attacks

Berkowitz claimed that his first attacks on women occurred in late 1975, when he said he attacked two women with a knife on Christmas Eve. One alleged victim was never identified, but Charles Montaldo writes that the other victim, Michelle Forman, was hospitalized due to her wounds.^[5] Berkowitz was never charged with committing either crime.

Not long afterwards, Berkowitz moved to a home in Yonkers.

[edit] Shootings

In the summer of 1976, a series of shootings began that would terrify New York and gain international press coverage. The perpetrator was dubbed "The .44 Caliber Killer" after his weapon of choice.

In the evening of July 29, 1976, Donna Lauria, 18, and Jody Valenti, 19, were both shot as they sat inside a car parked on the street outside Lauria's apartment in the Bronx. Lauria was killed, but Valenti survived. As the two young women had been victims of an apparently random crime, the shooting earned little attention.

On October 23, 1976, there was another shooting, this time in Queens. Again, the victims were in a parked car. Carl Denaro, 19, was shot in the head and survived. His companion, Rosemary Keenan, was not injured.

A month later (November 26, 1976) Donna DeMasi, 16, and Joanne Lomino, 18, were walking home from a movie when both were shot in Queens. Both recovered; however, Joanne would remain paralyzed from the waist down.

The new year brought more shootings. On January 30, 1977, an engaged couple, Christine Freund, 26, and John Diel were shot where they sat together in a parked car. Diel survived, but Freund died of her injuries. Police determined the shooter had used an uncommon .44 caliber Charter Arms Bulldog revolver in this shooting. The earlier victims had been struck with large-caliber bullets as well, and police now suspected the shootings were all connected. Authorities also noted that the shootings targeted young women with long, brown hair and/or young couples parked in cars.

On March 8, 1977, college student Virginia Voskerichian, 19, was shot by a passerby as she walked in Queens, dying instantly. The .44 caliber bullet from this shooting matched one from the July 29, 1976 shooting.

At a press conference on March 10, 1977, police announced that the same .44 caliber pistol had been used in several of the shootings. The Operation Omega task force, eventually comprising some 300 police officers, was charged with investigating the crimes under the direction of Deputy Inspector Timothy J. Dowd. Police speculated that the killer had a vendetta against women, perhaps due to chronic rejection.

The mass media had a field day with the shootings, publishing every detail and speculation of the case. Australian publisher Rupert Murdoch had recently purchased the fledgling New York Post, and the paper offered perhaps the most sensational coverage of the crimes.

[edit] The "Son of Sam" letter

Police made extensive efforts, including tracking down many yellow Volkswagen cars (eyewitnesses had reported such a car at one of the shootings), and trying to locate the owners of many .44 Bulldog revolvers. Thousands of people were interviewed.

The killer struck again; Alexander Esau (20) and Valentina Suriani (18) were both killed in the Bronx, only a few blocks from the scene of the Lauria/Valenti shooting. On April 17, 1977, in the street near the victims, a hand-written letter was found by a police officer. It was addressed to the Captain Joseph Borrelli.^[6]

Riddled with spelling errors, the letter gave the shooter a new name: the Son of Sam.

In full, 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 wavelength 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. "Ugh, me hoot, it hurts, 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 prettyist of all. It must be the water they drink. I live for the hunt -- my life. Blood for papa. Mr. Borrelli, sir, I don't want to kill anymore. No sur, 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 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 interpreted as - bang bang bang, bank, bang - ugh!! Yours in murder, Mr. Monster[7]

”

Based on analysis of the letter, psychiatrists thought the shooter might have suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.

[edit] Composite sketches

On June 26, 1977, there was another shooting. Sal Lupo and Judy Placido (17) had left the Elephas discotheque in the Bayside section of Queens. According to Chris Summers of the BBC, the young couple were sitting in their car when Placido said, "This Son of Sam is really scary - the way that guy comes out of nowhere. You never know where he'll hit next."^[8] Moments later, three gunshots blasted through the car. Both were struck, but neither was injured seriously. The shooter fled, and Lupo ran to the Elephas for help.

Police offered composite sketches of suspects in the shootings, based in part on the testimony of people who had witnessed or survived the shootings. One sketch and description roughly matched Berkowitz: medium height, slightly pudgy, with hair that was short, dark and curly. But another suspect was reported to be quite different: a taller and slimmer man, a "hippie" sort, with jaw-length hair that had either light brown or dark blonde hair. Although the composites differed, police publicly insisted that only a single suspect was being sought; they speculated that the killer was using a wig.

[edit] The 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. A week later, after consulting with police and agreeing to withhold portions of the letter, the Daily News published the letter. Reportedly, over 1.1 million copies of that day's paper was sold.^[9] The letter read in part:

“

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...

”

The writer said he was a fan of Breslin, noting, "J.B., I also want to tell you that I read your column daily and find it quite informative."^[10] Ominously, the writer added, "What will you have for July 29?" July 29 would be the anniversary of the first .44 Caliber shooting.

Breslin urged the killer to turn himself in. In 2004, John Hockenberry quoted Breslin, who said he admired the writer's prose: "He had that cadence. I remember when I read it, I said, this guy could take my place with a column. He had that big city beat to his writing. It was sensational.”

On July 31, 1977, the shooter killed again. It was near the one-year anniversary of the first .44 caliber shootings, and police set up a sizable dragnet focusing on the shooter's hunting grounds of Queens and The Bronx. However, the shooter struck in Brooklyn: Stacy Moskowitz and Robert Violante were both shot in the head as they sat in a parked car. Moskowitz died, and Violante was blinded.

[edit] Suspicion and capture

The evening of the Moskowitz and Violante shooting, Cecilia Davis, who lived near the crime scene, saw a man remove a parking ticket from his yellow Ford Galaxie which had been parked too close to a fire hydrant. Davis saw this man only a few minutes before the shooting, and two days later, though fearing vengeance by 'Sam' she contacted police. Authorities determined that Berkowitz had been issued the parking ticket.

As Hockenberry writes, "Thinking Berkowitz was now an important witness, an NYPD detective from Yonkers, a city 12 miles north of Manhattan, called and asked the police for some help tracking him 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."^[1]

When they investigated his car parked on the street outside his apartment, police found a rifle in the backseat. They searched the vehicle and found a .44 caliber Bulldog pistol, along with maps of the crime scenes and a letter to Sgt. Dowd of the Omega task force. When he emerged from the building hours later, Berkowitz was arrested outside his apartment on Pine Street in Yonkers, New York on August 10, 1977. His first words upon arrest were reported to be, "What took you so long?"

Police searched his apartment, and found it in disarray, with graffiti on the walls. They also found a diary wherein Berkowitz took credit for dozens of arsons throughout the New York area.

[edit] Questioning and sentencing

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 might seem flimsy - they'd searched initially based on the hunting rifle visible in the back seat, though possession of such a rifle was legal in New York City, and required no special permit.

To the relief of police, however, Berkowitz quickly confessed to the shootings, 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, and confessed to the "Son of Sam" killings.

During questioning, Berkowitz told a tale that seemed to demand an insanity defense: the "Sam" mentioned in the first letter was one Sam Carr, a former neighbor of Berkowitz. Berkowitz claimed that Carr's dog, Harvey, was possessed by an ancient demon, and that it issued commands to Berkowitz to kill. Berkowitz said he once tried to kill the dog, only to see his aim spoiled due to supernatural interference.

During his sentencing, Berkowitz repeatedly chanted "Stacy was a whore" at a quiet yet audible volume.^[11] 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. He was sentenced on June 12, 1978 to six life sentences in prison for the killings, making his maximum term 365 years to be served in Attica Correctional Facility.

[edit] Speculation after the arrest

Berkowitz claimed that the Hall & Oates song "Rich Girl" motivated the murders.^[12] But the song was not released until February of 1977, after the first four shootings had already taken place.

Berkowitz also claimed to have been a Satanist at the time of the murders, and suggested that he did not act alone in the killings: he was part of an occult group that sacrificed animals to Satan and ran a child pornography racket. Though he claimed to be innocent of murder, Berkowitz said his involvement in other crimes should see him imprisoned for the rest of his life. He said that he was not the "Son Of Sam" shooter, but merely one of the many look-out men. He named John "Wheaties" Carr as one of the shooters, as well as Carr's brother, Michael, whom he claimed to be the shooter in the Queens disco shooting, Sam being the name of their father. John Carr lived in a house behind that of Berkowitz, and owned the labrador retriever that Berkowitz had claimed to be a "high demon". John Carr was killed in February of 1978 in a shooting in North Dakota (ruled a suicide), and Michael Carr was killed in a traffic accident in October 1979 in Manhattan's West Side Highway. Although Berkowitz did mention other names of alleged cult members in some interviews, he said he could not reveal any more details because it would endanger his family.

Journalist Maury Terry argued in favor of the cult theory, placing the blame on a violent offshoot of the Process Church.^[11] Queens' district attorney John Santucci, who thought the case against Berkowitz was lacking, was so impressed with Terry's research that, as Chris Summers of the BBC writes, "he agreed to reopen the Son of Sam case ... But to date no-one else has ever been charged in connection with the crimes."

In perhaps his first suggestion that the "Son of Sam" shootings were connected to other crimes, in October of 1978 Berkowitz mailed a book about witchcraft and other occult subjects to police in North Dakota. He had underlined several passages, offering some marginal notes, including the phrase: "Arliss [sic] Perry, Hunted, Stalked and Slain. Followed to Calif. Stanford University." Arlis Perry, a newlywed 19-year-old North Dakota native, had been killed in a chapel on the grounds of Stanford University on October 12, 1974. Her murder remains unsolved. Berkowitz also mentioned the Perry murder in a few letters, suggesting that he had heard details of the crime from the culprit. In the San Jose Mercury News, Jessie Seyfer noted that "local investigators interviewed him in prison and now believe he has nothing of value to offer" regarding the Perry case.^[13]

In 1979, there was an attack on Berkowitz's life. He refused to identify the person(s) who had cut his throat, but suggested that the act was directed by the cult he once belonged to.

Berkowitz reportedly invited the former priest and exorcist Malachi Martin to visit him to discuss his past occult involvement.^[14]

Even without endorsing the cult theory, Hockenberry writes that "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. On the list of skeptics, police who worked the case, even the prosecutor from Queens, where five of the shootings took place."^[1]

[edit] Aftermath

One major side effect of his murder spree were the "Son of Sam laws." The first of these laws was enacted in the state of New York after rampant speculation about publishers offering Berkowitz large sums of money for his story. The new law, named for Berkowitz, authorized the state to seize all money earned from such a deal from a criminal for five years, with intentions to use the seized money to compensate victims. The Supreme Court declared such laws unconstitutional in 1991, in the case Simon & Schuster v. Crime Victims Board.

As of 2005, Berkowitz is writing memoirs, which he plans to publish through Morning Star Communications despite outrage from the family members of his victims and victims' rights advocates. Berkowitz himself receives no money from publication and a portion of the proceeds goes to the NY state crime victims board for distribution to the victims of his crimes. Berkowitz has an "official" website^[15] maintained by a church group as he is not allowed access to a computer.

While in jail Berkowitz became a born again Christian and said that his obsession with the occult and pornography played a major role in these murders. He sent a letter to New York governor George Pataki asking that his parole hearing be canceled, stating, "I can give you no good reason why I should even be considered." In June of 2004, he was denied in his second parole hearing after he stated that he did not want one. The 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 of 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 2006, Berkowitz sued his former attorney Mark Heller. The attorney took possession of letters and other personal belongings from Berkowitz 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 his attorney settled out of court.

[edit] References in popular culture

[edit] Film

• A 1985 TV movie, Out of the Darkness, depicted the hunt for Berkowitz, with Martin Sheen as detective Ed Zigo. The real-life Zigo, who appeared in the film as a negotiator, was on location during filming as a technical advisor. [1]
• In the film My Cousin Vinny, Joe Pesci's character falsely states that he represented the "first guy they arrested" in the Son of Sam case.
• Berkowitz was one of the serial killers whose murders were recreated by the killer in the movie Copycat (1995).
• The 1999 movie Summer of Sam, directed by Spike Lee, is set against the backdrop of Berkowitz's killing spree. Although Berkowitz (played by Michael Badalucco) is featured in a number of scenes, he is not the main focus of the film. Rather the film primarily addresses the oppressive effects of the atmosphere of fear and paranoia on a group of young friends as a result of the Son of Sam killings. The film features a scene in which the characters Richie (Adrien Brody) and Ruby (Jennifer Esposito), performing at CBGB with their punk band, perform a song with lyrics quoting David Berkowitz's letter to Jimmy Breslin. Unlike Berkowitz's previous depictions on film, Summer of Sam shows him in an almost blackly comic light, he was apparently shown the film and said afterwards that he thought it was hysterical.
• In September 2006 a trailer for Chain Gang's mythical "Mondo Manhattan" film project surfaced on YouTube. It's alleged to be "the backstory on the cult that was behind the Son of Sam murders."

[edit] Literature

• Berkowitz is mentioned as one of the disembodied brains in the book Krokodil Tears (1990) by Jack Yeovil as part of the Dark Future series
• Paranoia about the Son of Sam killings is a background element in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer novel Blackout (2006) by Keith R.A. DeCandido, which takes place in New York City in July 1977.

[edit] Music

• The New York native rapper, Necro, in 2003 released the almbum titled "Brutality, Pt. 1". The album contained the song "Frank Zito", featuring his childhood Brooklyn buddy, Ill Bill. The two reference Berkowitz with the line, "I smile for the cameras like Berkowitz."
• The Lyrics "I'm a brat, i'm the Son Of Sam, I walk the night, shoot me on site" are featured In the song "Lights on Distant Shores" By Electro/Indie group Eliza In Paintings
• On the song "Position of Power" from his album The Massacre, 50 Cent refers to himself as "the biggest crook from New York since Son of Sam."
• Green Jelly, a parody metal band includes the lyrics "Toucan, Son of Sam" in their song "Cerial Killer" on the album "Cerial Killer Soundtrack" and at one stage had a member named Toucan Son of Sam.
• The aggressive hardcore punk band, .44 Caliber Killers is named after what the media dubbed Berkowitz before he was the known shooter in the killings.
• In 1977 New York City punk/noise/art rock band Chain Gang released a single for their song "Son of Sam".
• David Byrne, lead singer of Talking Heads, said the song "Psycho Killer" (from the album Talking Heads:77 (1977)) is about the Son of Sam.
• Punk rock band The Dead Boys wrote and recorded a song about Berkowitz called "Son of Sam" for their second album We Have Come for Your Children (1978)
• In the Billy Joel song "Close to the Borderline" (from the album Glass Houses (1980)) Son of Sam is referenced with the following lyrics: "Blackout, Heatwave, .44 Caliber homicide"
• Macabre wrote a song about Berkowitz, titled "Son of Sam", featured on the album Grim Reality (1987).
• The Belgian hardcore/death metal band Bloodshot had released in 2002 the album "A pestilence called Humanity", completely referred to David Berkowitz, mentioning in the song "Son of Sam" part of the letter that Berkowitz really wrote.
• Elliott Smith referenced the murders on his album Figure 8 in its opening song entitled "Son of Sam"
• The Long Island hip-hop crew JVC Force reference Berkowitz in their track "Strong Island" (from the album Doin' Damage (1988)), which contains the lyrics: "B-Luv, I'm a top biller, part-time iller, permanent chiller, Son Of Sam killer".
• The Beastie Boys song "Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun" (from the album Paul's Boutique (1989)) includes a reference to Berkowitz with the lyrics: "Predetermined destiny is who I am/They got your finger on the trigger like the Son of Sam."
• In the early/mid 90's original guitarist and co-founder of Marilyn Manson, Scott Putesky, used the pseudonym Daisy Berkowitz, a portmanteau of Daisy Duke and Berkowitz.
• Benediction recorded a song about Berkowitz, named "Jumping at Shadows" on the album The Grand Leveller (1991).
• In the EPMD song "Can't Hear Nothing But The Music" (from the album Business Never Personal (1992)), Parrish Smith referred to Berkowitz with the lyric: "a serial rap killer like Dave Berkowitz".
• The Cypress Hill song "Insane In The Brain" (from the album Black Sunday (1993), includes the lyrics: "I feel like the Son of Sam"
• The lyrics to industrial metal band Electric Hellfire Club's song "Mr .44" (from the album Burn Baby Burn (1994)) paraphrase from Berkowitz's letters to the press.
• On the Queensbridge emcee Nas song "Represent" (from the album Illmatic (1994)), Berkowitz is referenced with the lyrics : "Could use a gun son but fuck being a wanted man/But if I hit rock bottom then I'ma be the Son Of Sam"
• 311 references the Son of Sam in their 1995 song "Jackolantern's Weather," from their self-titled album: "I'll be your boogie man rather that Son-of-Sam, cause what I am is what I am"
• Tori Amos references Son of Sam in her song "Way Down" off her third album Boys for Pele (1996).
• Berkowitz also was referenced in the hip hop group Deltron 3030's song "Upgrade (A Brymar College Course) (from the album Deltron 3030 (2000)).
• Berkowitz's "Son of Sam" nickname and links with arson crimes were referenced in The Offspring's song "Original Prankster" (from the album Conspiracy Of One) with the lyrics: "Son of Sam, Fire Always makes it better".
• The Linkin Park song "X-Ecutioner Style" (from the album Reanimation (2002)) mentions Berkowitz, but incorrectly; the line goes "45-caliber killer".
• MF Grimm's song "Voices Pt. 0" contains the lyrics: "I hear voices from a dog like Son of Sam". (From the album "The Downfall of Ibliys: A Ghetto Opera" (2002), the album also contains Pt. 1 of the song by MF DOOM which was originally recorded on his 1999 album "Operation: Doomsday".
• The underground rapper Immortal Technique references Son of Sam in his song "Leavin' The Past" (from the album Revolutionary, Vol. 2 (2003)) with the lyrics: "verbally murderous like David Berkowitz when I'm gunnin'"
• Todd Youth started a band called "Son of Sam"
• The drum and bass track .44 Calibre Killer by Raiden refers to the Son of Sam murders with its title and the sample "The 20th century is known as the age of mass murder because killers appeared every five years, but in the 70s they began appearing every five weeks"
• The Techno-industrial band Meat Beat Manifesto album Satyricon (1992) has a track called "Son of Sam"
• The German Power Electronics band Genocide Organ made a song called "DogDay", which uses some lines from the "Son of Sam"-letter, e.g. "I am the Son of Sam, I love to hunt"
• Cleveland band Stubtoe guitarist, Thomas Klinko (music) and James Kunselman (lyrics) write a track in 1977 entitled "Son of Sam" shortly after the capture of Berkowitz. The song was copyrighted (1978) by Kunselman and performed by Stubtoe around the Cleveland area and on WCSB radio station, but never released as a recording. Contains the lyric: "Ooooh, the lady is dead just like the doggie said"
• Wyclef Jean mentions the Son of Sam in The Streets Are Like A Jungle "Son, do you know who I am?! I'm no man, but one man

who? The son of Sam!" and Low Income "It's such a shame what happened last week/Man they found her under the sheets with a letter from the Son of Sam/It said to tell New York I ain't sleepin/You want to be clubbin then you better pack your heat in" .

• Swedish punkband Bullhead has a song called Summer of Sam which depicts the possessed dog and year. The lyrics state "what kind of a sick man is that to be free?".

• Song by Jeffrey Dean Foster, called "The Summer of the Son of Sam"

• Song by Immortal Technique, called "Leaving The Past" features the lyrics : "urbanly murderous like David Berkowitz when I'm gunnin'"

[edit] Television

• In the Seinfeld episode "The Masseuse (Seinfeld episode)" (1993), Kramer mentions that most serial killers are adopted, including Son of Sam (while talking about Elaine's boyfriend, who is coincidentally named Joel Rifkin).
• In the Seinfeld episode "The Diplomat's Club" (1995), Newman claims to have worked with Berkowitz and to have inherited his mailbag and route following his arrest. He calls Berkowitz, "The worst mass murderer the post office ever produced." Commenting on the route he says "let me tell you, there were a lot of dogs on that route!", and when asked if any of them said anything to him, he replies, "Only to lay off the snacks!"
• In the Seinfeld episode, "The Engagement" (1995), after Newman, Kramer, and Elaine all conspire to dognap a barking dog that keeps Elaine up; they are discovered for their crimes. When the police arrive at Newman's apartment (Newman was a Postal Employee) Newman states to the hoard of police "What took you so long" the same line Berkowitz alledgedly told the police when he was arrested (Berkowitz was also a postal employee)
• In the Seinfeld episode, "The Junk Mail" (1997), George (while sitting in Jerry's van) is confronted by a friend of Jerry's yelling "Is this Seinfeld's van? Seinfeld's van? Seinfeld's van?!" George misinterprets "Seinfeld's van" for "Son of Sam" and says "I think he's saying 'Son of Sam'! Oh, my God! I knew it wasn't Berkowitz!"
• In the Seinfeld episode, "The Frogger" (1998), Kramer offers a list of other names considered for NYC's newest serial killer: "Headso, The Denogginizer, Son of dad." "Son of Dad" was actually Kramer's suggestion: it's sort of a catchall.
• In the Boston Legal episode "Tortured Souls" (2005) Catherine Piper uses Berkowitz's adoption into a Jewish family as an excuse for the argument that there's never been a Jewish serial killer.
• In the season two episode of the Adult Swim cartoon The Venture Bros., titled Viva Los Muertos (2006), the parodies of Shaggy and Scooby (of Scooby Doo fame), named Sonny and Groovy, were based off of David Berkowitz and Harvey, the infamous dog from the Son of Sam case.
• An Episode of MADtv featured a skit titled "Davy and the Son Of Goliath" which the figures were made of clay (which also poked fun of the Christian Children's TV Davy and Goliath) where Goliath, Davy's dog was telling Davy to kill people. At the end of the episode, Goliath says to Davy "Davy, Don't you know that God spelled backwards is Dog".
• In The Class, Kat Warbler's birthday is adjacent to that of Son of Sam.

[edit] See also

• Sons of Sam Horn (est 1998), a popular online message board devoted to the Boston Red Sox, gets its name from a combined reference to the Berkowitz case and former Sox player Sam Horn.
• 1977 in United States history

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Did 'Son of Sam' really act alone?. John Hockenberry. Retrieved on May 17, 2006.
2. ^ Son of Sam, David Berkowitz, famous serial killer - The Crime library. Marilyn Bardsley. Retrieved on September 27, 2006.
3. ^ Son of Sam Revisited. John Vincent Sanders. Retrieved on September 27, 2006.
4. ^ Terry, Maury (1987). The Ultimate Evil: An Investigation into America's Most Dangerous Satanic Cult. Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-23452-X.
5. ^ David Berkowitz - The Son of Sam. Charles Montaldo. Retrieved on September 27, 2006.
6. ^ Marilyn Bardsley. Son of Sam, David Berkowitz, famous serial killer: The Letter. The Crime Library. Retrieved on March 18, 2007.
7. ^ Son of Sam, David Berkowitz, famous serial killer - The Crime Library. Marilyn Bardsley. Retrieved on March 21, 2007.
8. ^ Crime Case Closed - David Berkowitz. Chris Summers. Retrieved on September 27, 2006.
9. ^ Son of Sam - David Berkowitz. Altered Dimensions. Retrieved on September 27, 2006.
10. ^ The Killer Was a Reader. Jimmy Breslin. Retrieved on September 27, 2006.
11. ^ ^{a b} Terry, Maury (1987). The Ultimate Evil: An Investigation into America's Most Dangerous Satanic Cult. Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-23452-X. 
12. ^ Fred Bronson (1988). "Rich Girl". The Billboard Book of Number One Hits, archived on Super Seventies RockSite. Billboard. Retrieved on January 20, 2007.
13. ^ Jessie Seyfer. Detective searches for 1974 Stanford church killer. Retrieved on January 20, 2007.
14. ^ Malachi Martin. An Article on Exorcism. Retrieved on January 20, 2007.
15. ^ Official website.

[edit] Further reading

• Rowlett, Curt (2006). Labyrinth13: True Tales of the Occult, Crime & Conspiracy, Chapter 10, Charles Manson, Son of Sam and the Process Church of the Final Judgment: Exploring the Alleged Connections. Lulu Press. ISBN 1-4116-6083-8.

[edit] External links

• Crime Library
• David Berkowitz section of CharlieManson.com
• Forgiven for Life The Official Home Page of David Berkowitz
• Arise and Shine Journals and other information about David Berkowitz

Persondata
NAME	Berkowitz, David Richard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Son of Sam (nickname); The .44 Caliber Killer (nickname); Falco, Richard David (birth name)
SHORT DESCRIPTION	serial killer
DATE OF BIRTH	June 1, 1953
PLACE OF BIRTH	Brooklyn, New York, United States
DATE OF DEATH	living
PLACE OF DEATH