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David Berkowitz

By: Dylan Tamajon

"Son of Sam"

  • Born on June 1, 1953
  • His nicknames are the "Son of Sam" and the .44 Calliber Killer.
  • His birth name was Richard David Falco and he was born to Betty and Tony Falco.
  • His parents were seperated before he was born when his father left for another woman.
  • His mother had an affair with a married real estate agent, Joseph Kleinman.
  • When his mother became pregnant, Kleinman threatened to abandon her if she kept the baby, so she put David up for adoption and listed Falco as the father.
  • Within a few days, David was adopted by Pearl and Nathan Berkowitz.

David's Early Life

Childhood

• He always had above average intelligence but he lost

interest in learning early and became intrigued with

petty larceny(theft of an item without a high value) and pyromania (an obsessive desire to set

fire to things.)

• His neighbors said he was difficult, spoiled and was

somewhat of a bully but was nice-looking.

• He was big for his age and he was violent

toward other students and missed 46 days of

kindergarten.

• His adoptive parents consulted at least one

psychotherapist due to his misconduct.

  • When David was younger he suffered multiple head injuries.
  • At the age of 7, he was hit by a car.
  • He also ran into a wall when he was 7, causing more damage to his head.
  • At the age of 8 he was hit in the head with a pipe and there was a 4 inch gash in his forehead. He aslo watched a girl die after being hit by a car at the age of 8.

Childhood continued

  • At 14, his adoptive mother died of breast cancer.

• He joined the army at 18 and later reconnected with his birth mother, who told him

about his illegitimate birth which disturbed him

especially because his real father was dead.

• Forensic anthropologist Elliot Leyton described David's

discovery of his adoption and illegitimate birth as the

"primary crisis" of his life as a revelation that he

shattered his sense of identity.

• Also, upon learning about his adoption he felt a lack of

belonging and a feeling of detachment from the world and others.

Murders

  • He murdered 6 people and left 7 wounded.

Murders

Donna Lauria

  • It was just after 1 a.m. on July 29, 1976.
  • Eighteen-year-old Donna Lauria was sitting in her friend Jody's two-door car outside Donna's home in the Bronx. The car windows were closed.
  • Donna's parents had passed by, after being out.
  • Donna and Jody had spent the night at a local disco.
  • This is when David Berkowitz appeared out of nowhere. Four gunshots were shot through the passenger window. Donna Lauria was killed, being his first victim.

Donna Lauria

Valentina Suriani and Alexander Esau

Valentina Suriani and Alexander Esau

  • Valentina was 18 and Alexander was 20.

• They were sitting in their car when

Valentina was struck in the head with

two bullets killing her instantly.

• The next two shots hit the top of

Alexander's head.

• He died two hours later

• The police found a note addressed to

Captain Joe Borelli.

• Eight officers handled the letter and

even when their fingerprints were

eliminated, it seems that David only

used the tip of his fingers so the

fingerprints were unable for matching.

Stacy Moskowitz

• Stacy and her boyfriend just saw a

movie and decided to take a stroll in

the park

• They noticed Berkowitz presence and they went back to the car but now he’s gone.

They sat and talked for awhile

when Berkowitz fired three shots

through the car window.

• Stacy collapsed in Robert’s arms. Robert was blinded by the

bullet

• Stacy died 38 hours later in the

Hospital and Robert was permanently blinded.

Catching Son of Sam

  • What got Berkowit's caught was his compulsion to harass his neighbors with anonymous notes.
  • One of whom claimed his dog had been shot with the same kind of gun used by the serial killer.
  • Another neighbor returned home to find a fire near his apartment, he alerted the police, who realized that this was a pattern in Berkowitz’s behavior.
  • They figured out his car make and license number, and began to look at him as a potential suspect in the case.

Catching Son of Sam

  • On August 10, 1977, police

investigated Berkowitz's car which

was parked on the street outside his

Pine Street apartment in Yonkers, NY.

  • Police were waiting for a warrant

to search his car.

  • The warrant wasn't there when

Berkowitz emerged from his

apartment.

  • Police surround Berkowitz as he

carries his .44 Caliber gun in a

brown paper bag.

  • Berkowitz reportedly said "Well,

you got me. How come it took you

such a long time?"

Conviction

• He was charged with murder in the second degree and

attempted murder in the second degree.

• He was sentenced to six life sentences on June 12, 1978

• He will serve a maximum term of 365 years.

• Berkowitz is now 69 years old.

Conviction

Why he did the Things he did

• Berkowitz claims that his neighbor's dog Harvey was

possessed by an ancient demon and it commanded him

to kill. Psychiatrists state that Berkowitz might suffer from

paranoid schizophrenia.

• It is evident that the separation of his parents, death of his father and adoption played huge roles in his murderous rampage. They attributed to why he went after couples and

young girls.

Sources

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/son-of-sam-arrested#:~:text=Berkowitz%20was%20given%20six%2025,he%20allegedly%20converted%20to%20Christianity.

https://time.com/3979004/son-of-sam-caught/

https://pix11.com/news/mother-of-son-of-sams-first-victim-donna-lauria-shares-anguish-on-40th-anniversary-of-murder/

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/son-sam-killer-murders-couple-bronx-1977-article-1.3065668

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/son-sam-victim-stacy-moskowitz-dies-article-1.3365692

Sources

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