Close to Home: The Son of Sam

If you or someone you know lived in New York City in the seventies, you or them can likely recall back to the summer of ‘76 when David Berkowitz's terror began.

Now I myself had not been living in NYC during that time, though my family had lived through this time. As someone who has much interest in true crime, it is interesting to hear them recall their memories.

My aunt, being in her twenties at the time, was terrified of going out especially after the announcement of his "pattern" being girls with long dark hair. Though soon after Berkowitz on July 31st, 1977 had killed a woman named Stacy Moskowitz (20) who was his only blonde victim, with her that night was Robert Violante (20) who survived but lost his left eye. The two were parked under a street light near a park in Bath Beach, Brooklyn. The couple were kissing when a man approached the passenger side of the vehicle and fired four rounds. Both victims were shot in the head and the shooter escaped to the park. A few weeks after this attack The Son of Sam was given a name, David Berkowitz. He was apprehended after the police stake out his apartment building for some amount of hours.

Now let's rewind back to Donna Lauria (18) and Jody Valenti (19), the first victims who were attacked in the Bronx on July 29th, 1976, after an evening at the disco the two women sit in Jody’s car talking. Donna goes to exit the car though a man quickly approaches. Donna is annoyed and starts to say something but the man pulls a pistol and fires. The bullet kills Donna instantly, Jody was shot in the thigh but survived. Berkowitz had admitted to perpetrating this attack later on, in years following Berkowitz speaks about a satanic cult who masterminded all this. He says he didn’t act alone, a question that many wonder if he truly wasn't alone in these attacks.

The attack on Carl Denaro (20) and Rosemary Keenan (18) occurred in Queens, New York on October 23rd, 1976. This is where the close to home part comes in. Carl and Rosemary were attacked near a park named Bowne Park. A park that I have come to know well as a girl growing up in Queens as well as someone who had lived in proximity to the spots Berkowitz attacked in Queens. The couple were sitting in Rosemary's car when the windows shattered, Carl had been wounded in the head while Rosemary only received superficial injuries. Carl Denaro in the present day has written a book that I saw him advertise on a local Facebook group I'm a member of as Carl and Rosemary resided in Flushing and Bayside respectively. In the book Carl retells that Rosemary speeded off, he directed her to the bar they were at earlier in the night instead of the local hospital. After the patrons of the bar saw the state he was in, they then took him to the hospital. Through all this, Carl had no idea he had been shot until a cop told him he was, while he laid in the hallway of the Flushing Hospital Emergency Room.

Moving onto November 27th, 1976 Donna DeMasi (16) and Joanne Lomino (18) sat in front of Joanne’s house in Floral Park, Queens talking after a night at the movies. As the two sat a man who looked to be in his early 20’s dressed in army fatigues walked up to them and proceeded to ask for directions. The man quickly pulls a gun and shoots both girls, Donna had been shot in the neck though her injuries were not serious. For Joanne, she had been shot in the back putting her into the hospital in serious condition, though she survived Joanne ultimately had been rendered paraplegic

We are now in a new year, the next attack occurs January 30th, 1977. Christine Freund (26) and her fiance John Deil (30), after seeing the movie Rocky. Christine and John sit in John’s car near the Forest Hills Long Island Rail Road station, getting ready to go drive to a dance club. Suddenly three gunshots enter the car and a panicked John drives off for help. John suffers minor injuries, though Christine got shot twice and died from her injuries hours later in the hospital. After this attack police for the first time publicly acknowledged that this case and the existing cases were connected in some way, police were looking for multiple suspects.

March 8th, 1977, Virginia Voskerichian (19) a Columbia University student was walking home from school. Virginia was confronted by an armed man and in an attempt to protect herself she lifted her school books in front of herself and her attacker. Though the bullet passed through the books and struck her in the head killing her. Virginia lived only about a block from where Christine Freund was shot.

News coverage of these attacks intensified, on March 10th, 1977 NYPD and the New York City Mayor at the time Abraham Beame held a press conference where it was stated that the same .44 Bulldog revolver was used to kill both Donna Lauria and Virginia Voskerichian. Though some time later this statement was strongly supported, the evidence was actually inconclusive. New coverage of the attacks became consistent, nearly every day. Some foreign media sources also covered the attacks as well.

The terror continued on April 17th, 1977 Alexander Esau (20) and Valentina Suriani (18) were sitting in Alexander’s brother's car on the Hutchinson River Parkway service road in the Bronx. The two were only a few blocks away from the site of the Lauria-Valenti attack, and only a block from Valentina’s home. Four shots were heard by a resident of a nearby building prompting them to call the police. Valentina who sat on the driver's side was shot once and Alexander twice, both died, Valentina had died at the scene while Alexander died hours later at the hospital and was unable to describe their attacker. Berkowitz admitted to perpetrating this killing during an interview with journalist Maury Terry.

At the scene of the Esau-Suriani attack, a letter was found and the letter was addressed to NYPD Captain Joseph Borrelli. This letter was written in mostly block capitals with few lower case letters, this letter is where the attacker coined the name The Son of Sam. The contents of the letter were mostly kept from the public except for a few pieces of information revealed to the press. The killer terrorizing the city from this point on became known as The Son of Sam, the letter itself taunted the police as well as the killer's determination to continue his work. On May 26th, 1977 a psychological profile was released due to the killer's unusual attitude towards police and media. The profile described him as neurotic, possibly suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, and belief that he is experiencing demonic possession.

The letters continue as Daily News Columnist Jimmy Breslin receives a letter on May 30th, 1977. This letter was written in a more professional manner than the letter addressed to police. The letter mentions the killer's first victim Donna Lauria, along with the killer stating that he is constantly reading Breslin’s columns. The mention of July 29th in the letter, which is the day of the first attack made police and media become even more aware as no one can imagine what this man can do next. Breslin urged the killer to surrender himself. To date all of the victims had long dark hair, thousands of women cut their hair short, dyed their hair brighter, and purchased wigs out of fear and hope that this will protect them.

The attack on Sal Lupo (20) and Judy Placido (17) that occurred on June 26th, 1977 near the Elephas Disco in Bayside, Queens is the closest to home for me. Sal and Judy were sitting in Sal’s car when three gunshots blasted through the window. Sal got wounded in the right arm and Judy was shot in the right temple, shoulder, and back of neck, both survived their injuries. Sal later told police that he and Judy were discussing the Son of Sam shootings only minutes before they were attacked. Both victims did not see their attacker but two witnesses describe a dark-haired man in a leisure suit fleeing the scene.

Though I have never known any of the victims and did not live through this in the seventies. As I said in the beginning, I had family live through these attacks, as well as my own thoughts thinking about the events years later in a new generation. Something that I noticed as somewhat of a consistency in the cases is that Berkowitz stalked and attacked in proximity to previous cases in the area. So my mind always wonders if back in the 70’s if he had walked my sidewalk or drove down my street, am I walking in his phantom footsteps years later? I have had coffee sitting on the side street of the defunct Elephas Disco, I pass the building often. I have hung out in the park where the Denaro-Keenan attack occurred. My aunt tells me of the blackout of 1977 and the fear she and the people around her had about an attack happening, though nothing ever occurred. Another story my aunt told me that she had met one of the surviving victims at the wake of a relative, she never told me who it was. Neighbors have recalled the terror to me in the past, and the relief that was felt when they apprehended David Berkowitz.

A parking ticket that local resident Cacilia Davis saw issued to Berkowitz’s car while walking her dog, brought Berkowitz to suspicion with the police after a search through tickets issued in the area at the time. Police’s suspicion heightened when they saw Berkowitz’s residence was in Yonkers and questioned his business of why this man who lived a good 40 miles away is down in Brooklyn in the early morning. Police contacted the Yonkers Police to get an interview with Berkowitz, the dispatcher who received the call was Wheat Carr daughter of Sam Carr who was a man who had ran into trouble with Berkowitz in the past. Yonkers Police held their own suspicions of Berkowitz and investigators believed he might be the Son of Sam. The letters that had been written, referenced to events that the Yonkers Police dealt with which furthered their suspicions.

On August 10th, 1977 police investigated Berkowitz’s car that was parked outside his apartment building. Police saw in the back seat a gun along with a bag of ammunition, maps of the crime scenes, and a threatening letter addressed to the inspector of the Omega Task Force. It was later discovered that Berkowitz intended to drive to a disco out in the Hamptons and attack, explaining the presence of the gun and significant amount of ammunition. Police waited for hours for Berkowitz to come to his car, while also waiting for a search warrant for the apartment. Berkowitz exited his apartment building at 10pm and entered his car, detectives approached the car and Detective John Falotico pointed his gun at Berkowitz while Detective Sgt. William Gardella had his gun pointed from the passenger side. With a big smile on his face Berkowitz say’s “Well you got me”, he proclaims himself the Son of Sam.

Once the search warrant for Berkowitz’s apartment was received, police found the apartment in disarray, satanic graffiti on the walls, as well as a steno notebook that was held by Berkowitz from 21 years of age. This book documents hundreds of arsons that he claimed to have caused all over New York City. Berkowitz confessed to his crimes within thirty minutes of interrogation and faced sentencing. He was given six life sentences, and is still alive today and proclaims himself to be born again doing the work of God. Though the lives taken will never get to see the people they would have become, and nothing can give that back.

"The people of the City of New York can rest easy because of the fact that the police have captured a man whom they believe to be the Son of Sam.” - Mayor Abraham Beame