 | |
| David Berkowitz | |
| Aliases: | Son of Sam .44 Caliber Killer Richard David Falco |
| Continuity: | Real world |
| Type: | Serial killer |
| Gender: | Male |
| Race: | Human |
| Location: | New York City, New York |
| Associations: | United States Army |
| Relatives: | Betty Broder Joseph Kleinman Tony Falco |
| Status: | Alive |
| Born: | June 1st, 1953 |
| First: | .44 (1978) |
| Actor: | Michael Badalucco |
David Berkowitz is an American serial killer often referred to as the "Son of Sam" and the ".44 Caliber Killer". He was born David Richard Berkowitz in Brooklyn, New York City, New York on June 1st, 1953. He is known for murdering six people in the New York area between July, 1976 and July, 1977. [1] He was arrested on August 10th, 1977. Berkowitz famously confessed to his crimes, but also claimed that he was given instruction by Harvey - a black Labrador dog owned by his neighbor Sam Carr. This gave rise to his media nickname the Son of Sam. Despite this, and other actions, he was found competent to stand trial. On June 12th, 1978, David Berkowitz was sentenced to 25-years-to-life in prison.
Equipment[]
- .44 Special Bulldog revolver
Known Victims[]
New York City, New York:
- December 24, 1975: Co-Op City, The Bronx: (injured both with a knife)
- Michelle Forman
- An unnamed Hispanic woman (allegedly)
- 1976:
- July 29: Pelham Bay, the Bronx:
- Donna Lauria, 18 (fatally shot in the neck, arm, and chest)
- Jody Valenti, 19 (shot in the thigh; survived)
- October 23: Flushing, Queens: (both survived):
- Carl Denaro, 25 (shot in the head)
- Rosemary Keenan, 38 (slightly injured by flying glass)
- November 26: Bellerose, Queens: (both survived):
- Donna DeMasi, 16 (shot in the neck)
- Joanne Lomino, 18 (was rendered a paraplegic from her gunshot wounds)
- July 29: Pelham Bay, the Bronx:
- 1977:
- January 30: Forest Hill, Queens:
- Christine Freund, 26 (fatally shot twice in the head)
- John Diel, 30 (survived)
- March 8: Exeter Street, Queens: Virginia Voskerichian, 19 (fatally shot in the head)
- April 17: Hutchinson River Parkway, the Bronx:
- Alexander Esau, 20 (died several hours later in the hospital)
- Valentina Suriani, 18
- June 26: Bayside, Queens: (both survived with slight injuries; struck by three bullets):
- Sal Lupo, 20
- Judy Placido, 17
- July 31: Bath Beach, Brooklyn: (both shot in the head):
- Stacy Robin Moskowitz, 20 (killed)
- Robert Violante, 20 (survived)
- January 30: Forest Hill, Queens:
Notes & Trivia[]
- After rampant speculation about publishers offering Berkowitz large sums of money for his story, the New York State Legislature swiftly passed a new law that prevented convicted criminals (and their relatives) from making any financial profit from books, movies, or other enterprises related to the stories of their crimes.
- Son of Sam has been mistakenly associated with the contemporaneous song "Psycho Killer" (1977) by Talking Heads.[148] 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.
- Stock footage of David Berkowitz is featured in the beginning of the 2023 mockumentary film Late Night With the Devil.
See also[]
External Links[]
- David Berkowitz at Wikipedia
- David Berkowitz at the Military Wiki
- David Berkowitz at the Serial Killers Wiki
- David Berkowitz at the Serial Killers Database
References[]
- ↑ "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.