Famous Serial Killers — David Berkowitz, Son Of Sam
n my novels, I write about serial killers. Sometimes I let real murderers inspire myself. I write about these killers here now. Today I introduce you to David Berkowitz, who called himself “Son of Sam.”
Way of life
David Berkowitz was adopted as a baby, and when he was 13 years old, his adoptive mother died. However, he had always had a problematic relationship with her.
So his long-cherished wish to find his biological mother became even stronger. Berkowitz was convinced that somewhere out there, a family was waiting to take him in.
But first, he graduated from high school and then joined the army to become a war hero in Vietnam. Berkowitz was convinced that he would return from the war as a celebrated personality and that everyone would respect him.
Instead, he had to serve in Korea and did not receive a single medal there. The only thing he brought home from there was a venereal disease he had gotten infected with from a prostitute.
This first sexual encounter with a woman was to remain his only one.
The next disappointment in the life of David Berkowitz followed soon after his return home. He finally managed to locate his biological mother and hoped to join the family.
At a meeting with his mother and half-sister, however, he had to realize that both were not interested in taking him into the family and maintaining close contact with him.
The disappointments he experienced over and over again and his need for recognition made Berkowitz a notorious arsonist before he later began killing. He was responsible for well over a thousand fires, albeit mostly small ones such as rubbish containers or empty buildings.
The fire excited him so sexually that he masturbated while watching the flames. He also got a kick out of watching the fire brigade move in and extinguish the fire.
The murders
Berkowitz shot six people between July 1976 and August 1977 in New York. He wounded seven more.
His victims were women and couples he shot in the street. Some couples sat in their cars during the attack for an intimate get-together, so they had no chance to see Berkowitz coming. The deeds were insidious and deceitful.
Berkowitz left a note at his first crime scene in which the words “Bang, bang! … I’ll get back to you” were written on it.
He committed all acts with a revolver of the mark .44 Bulldog Charter Arms. Thereupon the press first called him “.44 Caliber Killer”.
His first message was taken up eagerly by the press, and when Berkowitz noticed that he could attract attention in this way, he was enthusiastic.
In the future, he kept the public in suspense with confessional letters and the announcement of further murders. In his letters, he called himself “Son of Sam,” correcting the nickname the press had given him.
The whole of New York was in a state of great excitement, and Berkowitz enjoyed this celebrity status. Finally, he got the attention he had always been denied before.
He had not become a war hero, and his biological family had rejected him. But now nobody could ignore him anymore. Now he was the “Son of Samm” the whole country was talking about.
Arrest and conviction
On Berkowitz, there was a special commission called “Omega.” The investigators did everything possible to catch the “Son of Sam.” They hunted him with a massive police force but made little progress at first.
Finally, the police came to the aid of chance: Berkowitz made the mistake of parking his car too close to a hydrant before an attack and got a ticket for it. The victim he assaulted that evening survived his attack.
When she reported to the police a few days later, she stated that she had observed a policeman writing down a parked car immediately before the crime. When the policeman left, she noticed the attacker approaching her from the direction of that car.
The investigators then checked all the parking tickets issued in the area that evening, including the vehicle that matched the witness’s description.
When the owner of the vehicle was determined, Berkowitz was found. At first, however, he was not considered a suspect but a potential witness.
That changed, when the special commission Omega reported in the police station responsible for Berkowitz in Yonkers. Investigators asked colleagues from the police station to invite Berkowitz for questioning.
This came to Sergeant Mike Novotny’s ears. The name David Berkowitz in connection with the Son-Of-Sam murders, immediately sounded alarm bells.
Novotny’s department had been investigating Berkowitz for some time. He is said to have written threatening letters to neighbors and shot a dog.
Could it be that the alleged witness Berkowitz was the “Son Of Sam”?
Novotny and members of the Omega Special Commission decided not to wait for Berkowitz to come to them, but to visit him themselves.
They observed his house and waited until Berkowitz came out late in the evening and sat down in his car.
At that moment, the investigators came in. In his car, they found not only a rifle and a revolver of the brand Bulldog Charter Arms but also precise records that Berkowitz had made of his actions.
Berkowitz did not resist and confessed to being the “Son of Sam.”
In later interrogations, he also explained why he called himself like that. Allegedly a demon lived in his neighbor’s dog. The dog’s name was Sam, and the demon ordered Berkowitz to kill. That’s why he called himself “Son of Sam.”
The court sentenced him to life imprisonment, which he is still serving. Berkowitz revoked his original confession in 1990 that he was a single offender. Now he claims to have been a member of a satanic cult that committed the murders together.
Since 2002, Berkowitz has been allowed to apply for probation every two years, but he has not made use of it once to this day.
According to his statements, Berkowitz found his love for Jesus Christ in prison and was prepared to atone for his deeds. Since then, he has been working in prison as an assistant for disabled fellow inmates.
The Son-Of-Sam Laws
Berkowitz became a darling of the media after his arrest. Since he was very communicative and liked to talk to reporters, there was a lot of media hype about him.
The relatives of the victims were, of course, not very enthusiastic about this.
As a consequence of this media hype about a serial killer, which was new for the time, the so-called Son-Of-Sam laws were finally passed. These laws were intended to prevent criminals from benefiting financially from the media marketing of their actions.
The laws still exist today and have since been adopted by many other states in the USA.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Berkowitz
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