Berkowitz messed up his first murder attempt when he tried to stab two women on Christmas Eve, 1975. After his initial failure, Berkowitz went on a shooting rampage throughout New York. Berkowitz killed seven...
David Berkowitz was born in Brooklyn on June 1, 1953, to a divorced woman, Betty Broder Falco, and the married man she was having an affair with, Joseph Klineman. Falco gave up her son a few days after his birth. He was then adopted by a Bronx couple, Nathan and Pearl Berkowitz.
Berkowitz was a troubled child who developed his violent tendencies after his adopted mother died in 1967. In addition, his father’s move to Florida with his stepmother leaving him behind, which affected him emotionally. When he joined the army in 1971, he became an excellent marksman, before leaving the service in 1974.
According to his diary entries, he carried out over a thousand arson attacks in New York City during the mid-1960s, before moving on to violent crimes.
Berkowitz messed up his first murder attempt when he tried to stab two women on Christmas Eve, 1975. After his initial failure, Berkowitz went on a shooting rampage throughout New York. Berkowitz killed seven individuals and wounded 14 others during his rampage in December 1975. He typically targeted pairs of people sitting together, usually in parked cars. The shooter killed seven people in total, leaving others with serious gunshot wounds. He shot them with a. 44 caliber bulldog gun at point-blank range. His female victims were brunettes with long hair. – and many women changed their looks to avoid being targeted.
Berkowitz became known as the Son of Sam after leaving a note at one of his crime scenes in the Bronx in 1977, referring to himself as ‘Son of Sam.’ The letter addressed to the captain in charge of New York’s hottest manhunt, the note contained a chilling message.
I am deeply hurt by your caling me a weman-hater [sic]. I am not. But I am a moster. I am the Son of Sam…. I love to hunt. Prawling the streets looking for fair game – tasty meat. The weman [sic] of Queens are the prettyest [sic] of all……
BERKOWITZ, David Richard
After his last murder, Berkowitz was arrested on August 10, 1977. His car was found to have a parking ticket near one of the shooting sites. Berkowitz admitted to committing a crime after his car was discovered with guns and maps linking him to the crimes. After he confessed to the crimes, he was sentenced to spend a year in prison in June 1978.
In 1987, Berkowitz became an evangelical Christian while in prison. He referred to himself as the Son of Hope through his website.
Crime Timeline:
July 29, 1976: Donna Lauria and Jody Valenti were passing the time in conversation in the parked car on Bahre Avenue in Queens when they were shot five rounds from the pistol.
October 23, 1976: Carl Denaro and Rosemary Keenan parked outside a bar in Flushing, Queens, were shot through the car’s rear window. Carl Denaro survived the attack. A .44-caliber bullet was found on the vehicle’s floor, which matched with slugs from the Lauria murder.
November 26, 1976: Donna DeMasi and Joanne Lomino were sitting together on the stoop of a house in the Floral Park section of Queens when a man pretending to ask for directions approached them from the sidewalk and blasted bullets wounding both of them. Joanne was paralyzed forever with a bullet in her spine.
January 30, 1977: John Diel and Christine Freund were parked and necking in the Ridgewood section of New York when bullets hammered out their windshield. Freund was killed on the spot, while her date was physically unscathed.
March 8, 1977: An Armenian exchange student, Virginia Voskerichian, was on her way back home in Forst Hills when a man approached and shot her in the face, killing her instantly.
April 17, 1977: Alexander Esau and Valentina Suriani were parked in the Bronx when killed by bullets fired from point-blank range.
June 26, 1977: Salvatore Lupo and girlfriend Judy Placido were parked in Bayside, Queens, when four shots pierced the windshield of their car; fortunately, wounded, both survived.
July 31, 1977: Robert Violante and Stacy Moskowitz were parked near the Brooklyn shore when four shots were fired, striking their head. Stacy died instantly, and wounded Violente was left blind for life. This was his last attack before getting arrested.
Forensic Analyst by Profession. With Simplyforensic.com striving to provide a one-stop-all-in-one platform with accessible, reliable, and media-rich content related to forensic science. Education background in B.Sc.Biotechnology and Master of Science in forensic science.
