Berkowitz, David
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Wikipedia-Article "David Berkowitz"
David Falco Berkowitz (born June 1, 1953) in Brooklyn, New York, better known by his nickname The Son of Sam, is an infamous serial killer who killed six people and wounded several others in the late 1970s. His given name was David Falco— Berkowitz was the name of his adoptive parents. His birth parents were Betty Broder, who grew up into a poor Jewish family, and Tony Falco, an Italian-American Catholic.
Throughout childhood and early adulthood, Berkowitz struggled with being adopted, believing that his mother did not want him. His murders began after a three-year enlistment in the U.S. Army. The first occurred on July 29, 1976, when he fired into a car where two girls sat, wounding Jody Valentini and killing Donna Lauria.
The "Son of Sam" nickname came from neighbor Sam Carr. According to Berkowitz, Sam Carr was a "high demon" who sent his "evil" Labrador Retriever to command Berkowitz to kill. He would later shoot the dog following one of his murders; the dog survived and Berkowitz now asserts that he made the story up.
After his fourth attack in January 1977, authorities realized that he targeted teen girls with long, dark hair and young couples. Berkowitz began writing letters to the media and was arrested on August 10, 1977. He had been issued a parking ticket near the scene of his final crime, and police investigation led them to him. Berkowitz, who immediately confessed, was arrested outside his Yonkers apartment on August 10, 1977. He was sentenced on June 12, 1978, to 365 years in prison for the killings.
He now claims to have been a Satanist at the time of the killings. He invited the former priest and exorcist Malachi Martin to visit him to discuss his past occult involvement. He survived at least one attempt on his life in prison, but his behavior in prison early in his sentence earned him the nickname of "David Berserkowitz." Berkowitz became a born-again Christian in 1987 and now works as a chaplain. In March 2002, Berkowitz wrote 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 2004, he was denied his second parole, even after he stated that he did not want one. The board saw that Berkowitz has a good record in the prison programs, but the viciousness of his criminal acts call for him to stay imprisoned.
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, quickly 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.
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, features in a number of scenes (including a darkly comical one where Berkowitz hallucinates that his neighbor's black Labrador walks into his apartment and maniacally demands he go out and kill someone), the film is primarily concerned with the oppressive effects of the atmosphere of fear and paranoia on a group of young friends in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx, not far from the Soundview neighborhood in which Berkowitz was raised.
As of 2005, Berkowitz is said to have been writing his memoirs, which he plans to publish despite outrage from the family members of his victims and victims' rights advocates.
In popular culture
- "Son of Sam" is also the name of a track from Elliott Smith's 2000 album Figure 8.
- "Son of Sam" is also a track on the Dead Boys album We Have Come For Your Children.
- "Son of Sam" is also a song by the New Zealand band Hello Sailor.
- "Son of Sam" is also a song by the UK originating, but US based band Meat Beat Manifesto.
- "Son of Sam" is also the name of a horror punk band featuring members of AFI (Davey Havok), Tiger Army (Nick 13) and several members of Samhain (London May, Todd Youth, and Steve Zing)
- "Son of Sam" is also the name of a song by US metal band Macabre.
- Shock rocker Marilyn Manson made a cover of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man", titled "Son of Man", containing lyrical references to the Son of Sam.
The Spike Lee movie "Summer of Sam" is based on the fear and suspicion created by his killings.