Criminology - Son of Sam Part2

Episode Date: August 17, 2019

The .44-caliber killer, then later known as Son of Sam, David Berkowitz terrorized New York City in 1976 and 1977. He targeted individuals parked in cars on the street. The shootings appeared to police to be random which made it that much tougher for them to catch their target. He taunted the police with bizarre letters which fueled public panic even more as the press coverage heightened. Join Mike and Morf for part 2 of their discussion on one of the most infamous killers in NYC history. Once caught, Berkowitz captivated the public when his reasons for the killings were revealed. He is a killer who has been studied exhaustively over the past 40+ years and his case brought about some important changes in the law regarding those that kill. You can help support the show at patreon.com/criminology An Emash Digital production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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I'd like to welcome everyone to episode 74 of criminology. I'm Mike Ferguson. And this is Mike Morford. Mr. Morford, how are you today? I'm feeling better. I'm feeling refreshed. I'm excited to go further into the son of Sam case. How about you?

No, I am as well. I am as well. I think from that first episode, you really get a. sense of the fear that, you know, Son of Sam was putting into New York City. But we've got a lot more to tackle, right? In this case, it's a, it's a big case. There's a lot to cover. I mean, that's the reason why it takes three episodes. But I think all the details are fascinating. And I said it right up front. David Berkowitz is, is one of those guys that has always intrigued me. It's really for me around the why, the mental part of his makeup and what kind of led him down the

path to commit the murders that he did. So before we jump right into that, more if I do want to make an announcement, I have a new podcast. It's out right now. People can go subscribe. It's called the reviews are in. And essentially, it came about because of my, I guess, You'd have to call it for reading product reviews, movie reviews, restaurant reviews,

you name it. Anything that can be reviewed, I get sucked into a vortex of reading reviews because I think they're hilarious. So this whole podcast is based on trying to find the funniest reviews out there. So I hope people go check it out. Give it a listen, see what you think. Well, you've got one subscriber at least because I just subscribed. Hey, that's all you need, right? That's all it takes to start the ball rolling. Start to train down the track. Yeah, it's nice to talk about stuff outside of true crime because I think sometimes we all need a break from that.

Well, I think it's the other reason that I thought about this one, because the research for true crime, and you know this as well as anyone, it's rough, right? When you spend week after week, day after day researching some of the heinous crimes that we do, it takes a toll on you a little bit. And we all need a respite from that, you know, whether it's watching movies, watching a funny video, whatever it is.

We just, you know, kind of thought this would be something light, something funny. I always call it like a pallet cleanser. All right. Morph, let's give our Patreon shoutouts.

We had Sarah Jones, Shelly Fox, Samantha, Courtney Pedersen, and Clay Olson. So amazing support. We always rave about that. We appreciate all the support that we get from everyone on Patreon, on social media, word of mouth.

It's all amazing. Yeah, that support, as always, is amazing. And we appreciate it very much. And if you'd like to help support criminology through Patreon, you can do so by visiting patreon.com slash criminology. All right, man, we've got to jump right in. to part two of Son of Sam, we left off the last episode in May 1977 with the police struggling to bring down Son of Sam despite the fact that they had, you know, task forces and things like that.

We pick up this episode in early June of 1977 because that's when Daily News columnist Jimmy Breslin received a letter in the mail from Son of Sam. He then turned it over to Inspector Timothy Dowd, who was heading up one of the task forces and the letter read. Hello from the gutters of New York City, which are filled with dog manure, vomit, stale wine, urine, and blood. Hello from the sewers which swallow up these delicacies when they are washed away by the sweeper trucks. Hello from the cracks in the sidewalks of New York City. and from the ants that dwell in these cracks and on the dried blood of the dead that has settled into the cracks. J.B. I'm just dropping you a line to let you know that I appreciate your interest in those recent and horrendous 44 killings.

I also want to tell you that I read your column daily and I find it quite informative. Tell me, Jim, what will you have for July 29th? You can forget about me if you like because I don't care for. publicity. However, you must not forget Donna Lauria and you cannot let the people forget her either. She was a very sweet girl, but Sam's a thirsty lad and he won't let me stop killing until he gets his fill of blood. Mr. Breslin, sir, don't think that because you haven't heard from me for a while that I went to sleep. No, rather I am still here like a spirit roaming the night, thirsty, hungry, seldom stopping to rest, anxious to please Sam.

I love my work. Now the void has been filled. Perhaps we shall meet face to face someday, or perhaps I will be blown away by the cops with smoking 38s. Whatever, if I shall be fortunate enough to meet you, I will tell you all about Sam, if you like, and I will introduce you to him. His name is Sam the Terrible.

Not knowing what the future holds, I shall say farewell, and I will see you at the next job. Or should I say, you will see my handiwork at the next job? Remember, Miss Lauria, thank you. In their blood and from the gutter, Sam's Creation 44. Here are some names to help you along. Forward them to the inspector for use by NCIC. The Duke of Death.

The Wicked King Wicker. The 22 Disciples of Hell. John Wheaties, rapist and suffocator of young girls. P.S. J.B., please inform all the detectives working the case that I wish them the best of luck. Keep them digging, drive on, think positive, get off your butts, knock on coffins, etc. Upon my capture, I promised to buy all the guys working on the case a new pair of shoes, if I can get up the money. Signed, Son of Sam. Beneath the son of Sam's signature on the letter was a handwritten symbol.

It was an X-shaped mark with the biological signs for male and female. Above the X was a cross and the initial S. Police retrieved at least one fingerprint from the letter. Now, there are some interesting things in this letter. Possible clues, including the terms 22 disciples of hell and John Wheaties. And we're going to come back to those in our third part of our coverage on Son of Sam. So that was a mouthful, obviously, to read, but you got to talk about this letter, more if I mean, it is all over the place.

I mean, just the beginning, the way it starts out, as if it's coming from the point of view of, you know, the filth, the gutters, the cracks and the sidewalks of New York City. it's really just kind of, you know, ominous right from the beginning, talks about dog manure, stale wine, urine blood, stuff like that. Now, obviously, son of Sam was some type of fan of the writer Jimmy Breslin, must have followed him, chose specifically to write to him. And in the letter, he calls him Jim. You know, it's very familiar, I guess is the word that I would use, almost as if he was writing to a friend. But I think what really gets me is, you know, when he starts talking about Sam,

that he's anxious to please Sam, he talks about how much he loves his work. That is really, really scary because you get the sense, I think, from that, that he's viewing what he's doing, you know, shooting innocent people as a job. Day in, day out, this is what I do. Yeah, that writing is dark and twisted and very graphic and detailed, very strange. And I think people can go out and search for that letter online and just look at the writing. It's just very creepy overall. And it's very reminiscent of Zodiac.

And I don't know what it is about these killers that write to newspapers, but they all have this shocking script or introduction that that really grabs the attention of these newspaper people. And I think that's maybe why they write to them because they want to shock these people that have the power to put their message out there. So very, very interesting. No, I think you hit it on the head, right? It's not as though they're just writing a letter saying, hey, this is me, I did this. It's very theatrical, right? Think back to Zodiac. very over the top theatrical, whatever you want to call it. And I think the Son of Sam letter is the same way.

You know, it's meant to be shocking. It's meant to grab someone, which, I mean, let's face it, as a writer, if you're writing a book, that's what you're aiming to do, right? You're aiming to grab your reader and reel them in. I don't know how, but it's as if these killers have a knack for doing this kind of writing. And I think it's funny that one line in that letter said, I don't seek publicity yet. That's exactly what he was doing. But I'm writing the paper, knowing full well that this is going to be published at some point.

Exactly. At the end of the last episode, we talked about how police were pulling out all the stops to catch the Son of Sam, starting Operation Omega and so on. But as hard as they tried, they just couldn't stop him. and on June 27, 1977, son of Sam struck again. 17-year-old Judy Placido and 20-year-old Sal Lupo and two other male friends had driven from Judy's home to a disco located at Northern Boulevard and 211th Street in Queens. After several hours, Judy's two friends left,

but she stayed behind with Sale. At around 3 a.m., the two left the bar and walked to Sal's car, which was parked at 211th Street south of 45th Road. This was a pretty short walk, only about 500 feet away from the disco. Sales car was parked under a large oak tree and next to a white picket fence

alongside an A-frame house. The two sat in sales car chatting and smoking cigarettes. At 320 a.m., the piece of the early morning hours was shattered by gunshots. A gunman shot four bullets into the car. Judy suffered wounds to her right temple, right shoulder, and the back of her neck. Sal jumped out of the car and ran back to the disco to get help.

Judy staggered out of the car and walked to the corner of 45th Road where she collapsed in the middle of the street. Judy survived and was taken to the ICU at Flushing Hospital where she underwent surgery. Sal was treated in the same hospital for a wound to his right forearm. and he also survived. One witness who lived across the street from the shootings said she heard gunshots ring out around 3 a.m. Another witness told police he thought someone had set off fireworks in the neighborhood.

Something that he said happened, you know, every once in a while. The shooter did not leave a note behind, but police were confident that they knew who had shot at the couple. And ballistic tests would later prove it. At a news conference in the 109 precinct station house on Union Street in Flushing Queens, Inspector Dowd said, Our ballistics test showed that the bullets came from the same 44 caliber revolver that was used in the other shootings. Chief of Detective's John Keenan also said the police thought that the killer might have seen the couple at the disco

and overheard them planning to leave, and then he proceeded to follow them through the car. In a directive titled 44 caliber killer, police describe the killer as white, 20 to 35 years old, medium to tall and height of a medium build and with modern styled for the time dark hair. He had a pale complexion, was clean shaven, and had clear skin. This info was based on the cumulative descriptions of the shooter as given by witnesses at various son of Sam crime scenes. But some of the descriptions of the shooter varied wildly from one attack to the next. And that's something that we'll touch on later. Police assigned 10 more men to the special homicide task force. Patrol forces in the Bronx and Queens also increased, with more than 100 men patrolling the streets. So in these bros of New York City, growing numbers of detectives are

being tasked with identifying the son of Sam, and in the streets, uniform police officers were challenged to keep their eyes and ears open and to help keep citizens safe. To sum up their frustration, Police Commissioner Michael J. Codd was quoted as saying, this is worse than looking for a needle in a haystack. In that situation, at least you know where the haystack is. Here, we don't even know what the haystack looks like. In early July 1977, working on a phone tip, detectives looked into the possibility that the killer had taken his name from a lyric from Jimmy Hendricks's song Purple Hays. During the song, you can hear a faint incantation, which some people have claimed goes like this. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me.

Son of Sam. Son of Sam. Police acknowledged this could have been a coincidence and they really didn't feel as though it deserves special attention. So while the Jimmy Hendricks lead went nowhere, two $10,000 rewards were offered for the killer's arrest and conviction, one by the Daily News, and the other by television station WABC. Son of Sam wasn't the only enemy of New York City residents during the summer of 1977. A terrible and oppressive record-setting heat wave, which started on July 13th, tortured New York City residents. Over nine days in July, the act.

average high was 97.1, 13 degrees above average. This heat wave was made famous by New York's infamous blackout, which happened on the first day of the heat wave, and lasted two days leading to widespread looting and a spike in violent crime and robberies. The high temperature on the final day of this heat wave reached 104 degrees. Surprisingly, during this time when the Big Apple was most vulnerable, Son of Sam didn't strike. Detectives fought on through the heat, and continued to try everything they could to identify son of Sam. Detectives even tried tracking all 28,04 caliber charter arms bulldog revolvers manufactured since 1972.

Many of them had not been sold yet, but about 600 were reported stolen nationwide. Charter arms said the guns were mostly used by those in law enforcement, but were also useful as auxiliary weapons for hunters for their safety or for killing wounded prey. This info led some to suspect that Son of Sam may have been a cop. The ammo for that gun was not overly common. It also wasn't cheap, but attempts to track people that had bought 44 caliber ammo came up empty. Police were coming up with some pretty solid leads and persons of interest. One strong one came in through a phone tip.

The suspect lived in an apartment not far from where Christine Freund was killed. Police learned the suspect had a history of psychiatric care, had been a military police officer, and his height, weight, and approximate age matched the description of the killer. Detective's Gerald Shevlin and Frank Pergola interviewed the suspect. After arriving at his apartment, the suspect said, Look, I know why you're here. I bet my wife told you I'm the 44 killer. You see, we're getting a divorce.

The suspect said he was with a lady friend on June 26th. Before Shevlin and Progola left, they asked the suspect for one last favor. They instructed him to write the alphabet and the numbers 1 through 10 on a piece of police department stationary. He became so nervous, he forgot what letter came next and had to start again. Despite this, the detectives did not believe he was their man. later they rolled them out altogether. So my assumption, morph, is that would be pretty nerve-wracking. Even if you knew you didn't do it, you knew you weren't a 44-caliber killer,

if police are asking you to get a sample of your handwriting, I think that would be nerve-wracking for me. Just based on, you know, all the research that we've done where evidence leads one way or another and it's not always real. It's not always true. And it sounds like this guy may have been expecting them to come. So maybe she threatened him that she'd tell police that he was son of Sam or maybe she really thought that he may have been. But I wonder how common that was in the city at the time for people to just be giving out names just to try and catch the guy.

How many innocent people were fingered as being son of Sam? I think it was a time to not piss off your significant other. your wife, your girlfriend, because you know what, you tick me off, I'm going to turn you in as son of Sam. The detectives received another strong tip and they knocked on the door of another young man. And this guy admitted to committing petty crime, such as breaking windows and some other things. He was also evasive with certain questions, but he denied being the son of Sam. And the detectives didn't believe he was the killer either. after some digging, they realized that this was just another dead end.

In late July, the temperatures in the Big Apple finally dropped, and when they did, Son of Sam came out of hiding. In the suburbs of D.C., a woman fails to show up for work and is found brutally murdered. I wonder what's emergency. We just walked in the door, and there's blood in the foyer. For the next two decades, the case remained unsolved, until new technology allowed and Investigators to do what had once been impossible. A new series from ABC Audio in 2020.

Blood and Water. Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts. Just after 2.30 a.m. on July 31st, 20-year-old Stacey Moskowitz and her boyfriend, 20-year-old Robert Bobby Villalanti, were sitting in Bobby's Park car at a lover's lane under a street light in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bath Beach. They chose a quiet area to park, next to Bath Beach Park.

They sat quietly near a playground and a softball field. They had been gazing at a full moon over Gravesend Bay. The two were kissing and chatting in the car. Son of Sam was definitely not on their mind. After all, he had never struck in Brooklyn. A man walked out of the darkness, approached Bobby's car, and shot into the car striking both victims in the head. Several residents in the area heard the shots, and they took notice.

some called the police. When police got to the scene, they found Stacey barely clinging to life. And Bobby had severe damage around his eye. They were both rushed to the hospital. Stacey Moskowitz died at 5.22 p.m. from swelling of the brain. According to doctors, Stacey's heart had stopped at least a half a dozen times during the day before she finally died. Bobby's condition stabilized.

He told police about the men. man who had shot them, Bobby's doctor was quoted to saying, I don't know if he can identify him since we don't know if he'll be able to see. Robert's left eye was shattered and removed. And it could take three months to know how much sight his wounded right eye would regain. Eventually, Robert did regain partial vision in his right eye. But he was never able to give a description to police. He never really saw the shooter. In a news conference at the 109th precinct station house in Flushing, chief of detectives John Keenan said witnesses who had seen the shooting described the shooter as white, between 25 and 35 years of age, 5 foot 7 to 5 foot 10, with a stocky

build. The man wore blue denim pants with a gray long-sleeved shirt, sleeves shirt, sleeves rolled up, wore a denim jacket. Keenan went on to say the gunman was reported to have light disheveled hair, but he also suggested that this may have been a wig. The only thing that Bobby could add was that before the shooting, he and Stacey had walked through the park at about 2.20am before heading back to his car. Along the way, they saw a man who seemed to be watching them from the shadows. A crucial witness named Tommy Zano came forward in this latest shooting. He had been parked in his car in front of Bobby's car. He said that while he was parked, he was looking in his rearview mirror when he saw the shooting.

Zano worked with police on a new sketch of Son of Sam. And his description of Son of Sam was different than most. And it's very important. And we'll touch on that in part three of our Son of Sam coverage. But Zano wasn't the only important witness on the night of the Moskowitz violante shootings. A woman named Cecilia Davis was walking her dog, not far from where Stacey and Bobby were parked. She had seen a suspicious man multiple times in front of her apartment. The man stood out to her and she was frightened of him. Only a moment after seeing this man,

she heard gunshots. The information she had proved to be invaluable. When Cecilia Davis finally did go to police to report the suspicious man, she also told them that she had seen a traffic police officer giving a ticket to a car that was parked near a fire hydrant. She said that she saw the man who scared her pulling a ticket off the windshield of a car before getting into it and driving away. So police then checked every car that was ticketed that night in the area where Cecilia said she encountered this man and one name caught their attention, David Berkowitz. He was an immediate red flag to police.

Why was this guy from Yonkers in Brooklyn in the early morning hours during the shooting? This was something they knew they had to check into. On August 10, 1977, Brooklyn detectives headed to Berkowitz's Pine Street apartment and Yonkers to question him. As they got close to Berkowitz's apartment, they saw that just a street over was Wicker Street, which immediately got their attention since Son of Sam. had used the term King Wicker in a letter. They spotted his cream-colored Ford Galaxy,

parked out in front of his apartment building, the same car that he was driving the night he was ticketed. When the investigators peeked inside the car, they couldn't believe their eyes. They saw the butt of a machine gun sticking out of a bag. They entered the car since it was unlocked because they now had probable cause and found a letter written a Sam car in the glove box.

The handwriting on it looked unmistakably similar to Son of Sam's. Another letter in the car read in part, Because Craig is Craig, so must the streets be filled with crime, death, and huge drops of lead, poured down upon her head until she was dead. Yet the cats still come out at night to mate, and the sparrows still sing in the morning. The detectives decided to pull back and get back up. Which I really can't blame them for. Again, you read something like that and you think, what?

something's not right here. Whoever wrote this is going through something very strange. That's the only thing I can think of. Let's get some backup. Let's not take any chances. And that'd be an adrenaline rush for the police to go there and find something like that. I mean, even if this guy is not son of Sam, they know they're dealing with somebody who they should get back up for, and that's what they did.

No, I think that's a great point. I mean, I don't think 100% they knew it was Son of Sam, but no matter who it is that wrote that letter, it's an individual that you need to tread lightly with. You need to be careful around. By 10 p.m., policemen from Yonkers, Westchester County, and New York City surrounded the apartment building while they went to get search warrants. Before the search warrants were complete, Berkowitz exited his apartment, walked to his car and got in. Police converged on the car before Berkowitz could even start it.

One officer held his service revolver inches from Berkowitz's temple. David looked a bit surprised at first, but then he smirked and said, you got me. The officer asked him who he had and Berkowitz replied Sam. He was taken into custody without a shot being fired. A 44 caliber bulldog revolver sat on the seat beside him, covered in a paperback. Floyd Calder, the news of the arrest of suspect David Berkowitz. Jane, the man's name is David Berkowitz. He is an unmarried, 24-year-old postal worker. He's a veteran of Korean service with the United States Army.

When he was arrested late last night in his apartment in Yonkers, New York, he told the officers, okay, you've got me. David Berkowitz is expected to be booked, as Jane mentioned, in Brooklyn this morning, and formally accused of committing, one of six murders in the New York area in just the past year. Specifically, they expect him to be booked for the murder of 20-year-old Stacey Moskowitz on July the 31st. In the end, a parking ticket proved to be the undoing for Berkowitz.

Here's Robert Hager with more of the story. This is the man police believed to be the son of Sam, the 44 caliber killer, who has killed six and wounded seven in a string of attacks over the... last 13 months. He was arrested outside his apartment in Yonkers, New York, at 10.30 last night and brought to police headquarters about midnight. He is David Berkowitz, a 24-year-old postal worker who lived alone. He was smiling as he was brought in. Detectives displayed a 44-cali pistol found in Berkowitz's car. The police lab says its tests indicate this was the gun used in the most recent son of Sam Slay. A ballistics session is just a

and told us that the 44 caliber gun recovered tonight has been tested and the bullets matched the bullets recovered from Stacey Mosswoods. New York's Mayor Beam appeared after midnight. Wait! I'm very pleased to announce that the people of the city of New York can rest easy this morning

because of the fact that the police have captured a man whom they believe to be the son of Sam. It was Berkowitz's car that led police to him. It had been ticketed for being parked by a fire migrant on the night of the most recent murder, just a few blocks from the murder scene. Routinely following up the ticket, police found the car in Yonkers and noticed a 45 caliber machine gun inside and an envelope addressed in the killer's style of handwriting. He was apprehended. He was advised of his rights. He was under arrest. his rights, no, he was resigned to what appeared to be his fate.

Did he make any emissions? He made a statement along, well, you got me. Besides the 44 pistol and the 45 machine gun, police seized a lot of ammunition at Berkowitz's apartment, along with a folder of press clippings with a pawn written on the outside. The suspect doesn't bear much resemblance to any of the recent artist's conceptions used by police, but one sketch drawn over a year ago does bear some resentments to this Polaroid picture taken of the suspect on this night of his arrest. While residents of New York City cheered the arrest and they felt that they could breathe

a little easier, the work for police continued. They were focused on the Craig is Craig letter found in David's possession. They weren't sure who Craig was, but there was a strange connection. Craig Glassman was a Westchester County Deputy Sheriff and one of the 15 policemen from Yonkers, New York City, and Westchester who aided in David's arrest. As it turned out, he also lived in the same apartment complex as David Berkowitz. When authorities released the recent sketch of Son of Sam, Craig Glassman passed on David's name to the city police. He had been watching David Berkowitz for some time after Sam Carr, his neighbor, turned in a threatening letter that he suspected was written by David Berkowitz. And Craig Glassman himself had received multiple anonymous threatening letters.

When police entered David Berkowitz's apartment, it was a mess. Graffiti with satanic slogans covered the walls. They found poems that were satanic in nature. They also found a diary or journal of sorts that had over 1,400 arsons that David had committed and logged in the notebook. He had started the journal when he was 21 years old. It was later determined he could not have committed all the fires, but it was bizarre nonetheless. On August 11, 1977, detectives interrogated David for about a half hour in the early morning. He confessed right away and stated that he wanted to plead guilty to the crimes he committed.

During the interrogation, David claimed that his neighbor's dog, Harvey, was responsible for making him kill. Harvey, he said, demanded the blood of pretty girls. He also said that Harvey was possessed by a demon. So you and I cover a lot of cases. And it always gets to me, I guess for the lack of a better term, but I guess, for lack of a better term when somebody is finally caught and they start the interrogation. And in this case, it was a half hour. David Berkowitz said, yep, you got me. I want to plead guilty. I want

to admit to everything I've done. I always find that fascinating because to me, it's almost like, I don't want to say they're glad they got caught. You almost sense this kind of sort of relief. All right, it's over. You got me. I'm not going to put up a fight. I'm just going to tell you everything. And I think that's true. If you look at different cases like BTK, at some point they want to capitalize on the attention they've already gotten that they were already seeking, and they just lay out the cards on the table. And then you have other killers, like the alleged Golden State killer, Joseph DiAngelo, that never really sought publicity from newspapers. And he hasn't said, a word since being arrested. So it's interesting to see how some of these guys react once they are

in custody. Well, and to your point, I think you're right. It definitely seems to be the ones that have communicated with police. So let's go back to Zodiac. If Zodiac was caught, he would probably be the same way, don't you think? Yep, you got me. Here's everything that I did. Yeah, I don't think these guys want to get arrested, but now that they are, why not get the attention I've been seeking all along? Right. No, I think that's absolutely right. After his arrest, neighbors and coworkers started coming forward and described David as quiet and a loner. He kept himself and never went out with women. One of those co-workers came forward and spoke to the news about his interactions with David Berkowitz. We worked together for about two or three months and we sat and had coffee together

and he did a lot of, you know, talk mostly about, he liked to go fishing, and he did a lot of reading, like to read, I think mostly novels, you know. And the only thing he ever said about the son of Sam was that he advised one girl to put her hair up in a bun that she shouldn't wear long hair because that's what son of Sam was after, girls with long hair, you know, long brown hair.

And that's about it. He actually advised one of the girls he was working with that she should wear her hair up. Right. He told her to wear her up that Sam is going after girls with long hair, long brown hair. On August 13, 1977, David Berkowitz's adoptive father, Nathan Berkowitz, spoke at a news conference. He said, if what I read is true, I would like to say to all those families that have lost children and have had children injured, I deeply grieve for you with all my heart. If David did these things, I don't expect you to forgive him, as this would be too much to ask of you. All those people who have known David and me,

we too are victims of this tragedy. I will live with this heartache for the rest of my life. Asked what he thought when he first heard about the killings, Nathan replied, I thought it was a nut doing it. In early September 1977, David's father, Nathan, moved to become conservator of his son's property. According to papers filed in state Supreme Court in Brooklyn, Nathan Berkowitz said in a sworn affidavit that he had reached the unavoidable conclusion that my son is not capable of managing his income or assets and was not able to enter into or negotiate various contractual arrangements which have been and which upon information and belief will be offered to him. Sometime later, Nathan was granted conservatorship. And you have to examine this. David's father wanting to be his conservator because he believes, based on what David has done, there's going to be book deals.

There's going to be movie deals offered to David. I mean, today, Morph, you don't even think about that, right? it's it's unheard of but back then it was technically legal for a murderer to essentially profit from their crime and it would be this very case and the resulting son of Sam law that came out of it that would ultimately prevent murderers killers people like that from profiting off of the heinous acts they commit yeah because how horrible would it be for family members of murder victims to know that somehow these killers or the estates of these killers or families of these killers were making money off of their loved ones deaths. That's got to be

a horrible feeling for them. Well, it would be like a second punch to the gut. You've lost a loved one in a terrible way. And now they're going to make a movie, right? They're going to write a book. that's going to happen. But to find out that at least part of the proceeds, whatever part it is, is going to David Berkowitz or any killer, it would be stomach churning. I mean, you know, as a parent of a murdered child, that would be hard to live with. Following the arrest of David Berkowitz, Robert Villante's mother, Teresa Villanthi, Stacey Moskowitz's mother, Nasa Moskowitz, and Donna Loria's father, Michael Luria, had strong words for the man who was accused of killing

or trying to kill their children. After I saw what had happened to my boys left dying, I had wished that his eyes could be taken out of his head for Robert's sake. And I hope he lives a long time with this in his heart. And I hope he never has a minute's peace. Never. Never. Just once I want to get my hands around his throat. he took something from me.

So wouldn't you feel the same way? Around the middle of September 1977, families of the victims stood outside the Kings County psychiatric hospital where David was being held to see if he was mentally fit

to stand trial. The families called for revenge. They chanted, We want justice, and they carried signs that read the rope for Son of Sam. Kill Son of Sam, revenge now,

and the victim's families have paid enough. Now Son of Sam must pay his price. This hour-long demonstration was organized by Eva Maria Fron, the 20-year-old sister of Christine. Eva Maria and John Deal both asked the family and friends of those killed or wounded by Son of Sam to attend the demonstration. In total, there was about 35 demonstrators. Following his evaluation at the King's, County Psychiatric Hospital, David Berkowitz was found to have issues with paranoia,

but it was established that he knew right from wrong. David actually had three separate mental health assessments done, and all of them determined that he was competent to stand trial. So at this point, it was known. David Berkowitz would have to face a trial. Now that Son of Sam wasn't hospitalized and was instead in jail, the next step in the judicial process was figuring out where to try David Berkowitz. Defense attorneys argued that intense media coverage of the case had, quote, poisoned the entire New York City area and intensified the hostility against anyone accused of such atrocious crimes. David's lawyers took it a step further and said there should be no prosecution at all because he couldn't possibly get a fair trial

anywhere in the state of New York. The appellate division of the Supreme Court disagreed. It said, given the size of Kings County, around 2 million people, a fair trial was still possible. In early May 1978, David's attorneys, Ira Joltack, and Leon Stern, expected him to plead guilty by reason of insanity in Brooklyn to at least one of the murders, and possibly all six that were committed by the son of Sam. But David Berkowitz flat out refused. He was not going to plead guilty by reason of insanity. The case of the people against David R. Berkowitz went to trial on May 8, 1978. David pleaded guilty to all charges against the advice of his lawyers.

Three state Supreme Court justices presided, one from each borough where the crimes took place. They determined that David answered more than 150 questions clearly and generally, without hesitation, and was voluntarily pleading guilty. Additionally, David said he was, quote, an excellent shot and admitted to each murder. and all other crimes connected with the shootings. When he was finished, the three justices accepted his pleas. During the questioning, one justice asked David Berkowitz, did you intend to cause serious injury to them? Berkowitz said, oh, no, sir.

The justice asked, you didn't? David replied, no, sir, I wanted to kill them. Morph, I don't know how much more direct somebody can be, when standing in front of a judge or a panel of judges. I didn't want to hurt them. I wanted to kill them. He's not leaving any room for doubt. Yeah, he's definitely not dancing around the issue.

He's straight to the point. But I think the question that jumps out to me is why? Because I think you have a case to be made here, right, with David Berkowitz, that he's mentally is. And pleading guilty by reason of insanity would be a real defense, I think, for this guy. So the question is, why did he not want to do it? And I think there's a couple of thoughts. One maybe being that he didn't want people to view him as insane because he was seeking

the notoriety for his killings. He wanted to take credit. and he wanted to take credit as a sane person who knew what he was doing. I can't think of any other explanation. Or if maybe there is something else that's not jumping out at me, that's the one that comes to mind. I think you're on the money there, Mike. And in episode three of our son of Sam coverage, we'll explore another possibility of why David Berkowitz might have been so quick to take responsibility.

for all the crimes. David Berkowitz faced maximum concurrent sentences of 25 years to life for all six counts of murder. He also faced a maximum of 25 years in prison for the attempted murders of the seven wounded. He would be given credit for time already served in custody. But under New York state law at the time, his cumulative sentence could not exceed 30 years to life, which would make him eligible for parole at age 54. Life sentences back then were not administered consecutively. The rationale being that a defendant has only one life. And I think more if you hear the old joke is, you know, this person got four life sentences. When he dies and comes back to life, the person that he comes back to life as has to serve a life sentence. You know, there's comedians that have talked

about things like that. But in reality, I mean, I think thinking of it in 2019 terms, it's almost unbelievable to think that a person that killed six people, wounded seven others, and pretty much immediately took credit for his crimes could possibly get out after 30 years. You know, in today's environment, that's unimaginable. And I think the reason why they stack life sentences the way they do now, so many on top of each other is just to ensure that there's no possibility of parole that one way or another somebody will die in jail. Yeah, I mean, they don't want to take the chance on somebody like David Berkowitz getting out, right? I get that. Donna Loria's parents, Michael and Rose Luria, were present in court and wept as they heard David admit to gunning down

their daughter at close range. Michael Luria said during a court recess, Justice is not going to be done. He should go to the chair like he's supposed to. Also present were the parents of Stacey Moskowitz, Jerome and Nisa Moskowitz. Nisa Moskowitz remained expressionless behind dark glasses throughout the morning. But Jerome later put his head down on the bench in front of him and cried. Sentencing was scheduled to take place on May 22nd, 1978. On that day, David arrived at the courthouse around 10 a.m. and was taken to the seventh floor office of the chief court officer.

But all of a sudden, David rushed toward a large window as if he was going to jump through it. Court officers battled with him. One of them even suffered a torn leg muscle. Another was bitten on the arm. 90 minutes later, David was finally led into the crowded courtroom. When he walked in, he chanted, Stacey is a whore. Stacey's mother, Nasa Moskowitz, screamed at him, you're an animal. And then Berkowitz began loudly taunting.

That's right. That's right. Her. I'd kill her again. I'd kill them all again. So I think right off the bat, doing what David Berkowitz did, you're telling everyone, I have no remorse. He literally says it. I'd kill them all again.

And taunting the parents of, uh, of murder victims. It's heart-wrenching that Nasa Moskowitz, who lost her daughter, Stacy, has to sit in court and hear David Berkowitz taunt her about the way or the fact that he killed her daughter. I don't blame her. I would scream. I would probably be the guy that tried to jump over the railing. I'd be caught today.

I'd be caught on YouTube. I wouldn't be able to sit there and take it, Morp. I'm with you there because if I was in court and I was going through that, I don't know what I would do in that situation. But just to sit there and have this guy call your dead daughter a whore, I just can't even imagine what went through their minds. Robert Vialanti, who was recovering from being blinded and a son of Sam attack shouted, You should get killed, you creep. The courtroom erupted in complete chaos. And David was dragged out of court by half a dozen guards.

David's sentencing was postponed to June 12th, and the court scheduled a new psychiatric examination on his competency, the third ordered by a court. Sentencing finally took place on June 12, 1978. He appeared calm and subdued as he entered the courtroom, a far cry from his bizarre behavior on May 22nd. David Berkowitz was sentenced to the maximum prison term of 25 years to life for each of the six murders. Justice Nicholas Salkalis of Queens sentenced David to up to 25 years in prison for wounding Carl De Naro and Flushing Queens. He also sentenced David to a consecutive sentence of up to 25 years for the assault on Carl's companion, Rosemary Keenan, who escaped injury. For the attempted murder of Judy Placido and Sal Lupo in Bayside Queens, Justice Salcalis imposed two. 22-25-year terms plus 15 years for assault, all to run consecutively.

Justice William Capelman of the Bronx imposed sentences of 25 years to life for the murder of Valentina Suriani and Alexander Esau and for the murder of Donna Loria. For the attempted murder of Jodi Valenti, Donna's friend, he imposed a 25-year sentence. After sentencing, David was taken to the state correctional facility at Austin in New York on June 13, 1978. He arrived shortly after 6 a.m. and was photographed, fingerprinted, and given the official green uniform for state prisoners. A short while later, he was transported to Maxim Security Clinton Correctional Facility at Danamoire, New York for classification. He was under 24-hour-day observation. There, he would be given new medical, and psychiatric exams. If those exams showed a continuing need for psychiatric care,

a determination would be made to surrender him to the State Department of Mental Hygiene. Wow, Morph, Mental Hygiene, that's a term that you don't hear very often. I'm assuming they don't use that still today. It's not something that I've heard a lot. Yeah, that sounds like a throwback term there. A few weeks later in July, David Berkowitz was declared insane by a Clinton County surrogate in Plattsburgh, New York. He was transferred under heavy guard to the Central New York Psychiatric Center in Marcy, New York. David remained there for about four months. Then in November 1978, he was transferred to Attica Correctional Facility in Attica, New York, where he stayed for 10 years. He later described his time in Attica as, quote,

a nightmare. While at Attica Prison, on July 10, 1979, another inmate slashed David's neck with a razor blade as he was delivering hot water to inmates in protective custody at the prison's reception building. Unlike most inmates at Attica Prison, the 18 in this area were issued razor blades one at a time for shaving. The wound on his neck required 50 to 60 stitches, and he refused to name his attacker. Eventually, the name of his attacker was released years later in 2015. The attacker's name was William E. Hauser, who was a convicted killer. So I think everyone knows, more of right. Attica is no joke. David described it as a nightmare. People tried to kill him. I don't think anyone felt sorry for David Berkowitz. I can just imagine a family member reading this in the

newspaper probably standing up and cheering that someone tried to slash his neck. I mean, that's how hated this guy was, especially, you know, obviously by the family members of victims. They hated this guy so much that I'm sure they were glad to hear that his time in prison was no picnic. And you would think somebody infamous like the son of Sam would have a big target on his back in prison for other prisoners that were looking to get some notoriety? Well, sure. I mean, what better way to get some cred in prison than to kill the infamous David Berkowitz? A few months prior to his attack, David admitted at a press conference that the demonic possession involving Sam Carr's dog Harvey was all a hoax. He said he had made it

all up so that he could plead insanity. Which is strange. because he didn't do that anyway. Maybe he was thinking ahead and decided against it later. After his time at Attica, David Berkowitz was transferred to Sullivan Correctional Facility in Fallsburg, New York. And he stayed there for many years. Today, he's at maximum security, Shawangunk Correctional Facility located in Walkill, New York.

The one thing that jumps out of me more of about all of this, New York has some pretty famous prisons, if you think about it. Yeah, a lot of them you hear about in different movies and TV shows, so the name sort of sound familiar when you hear them. Yeah, Attica, Dan Amora, you know, I've never heard of this Shawangunk, but I've heard of Wallkill, New York, and I think that's, maybe that's why, just because the prison's there. 21 years after David was sentenced to prison, the movie Summer of Sam was released in July

1999. The movie received mixed reviews. The film was directed by Spike Lee and starred several known actors such as John Leguizamo, Marisarvino, and Adrian Brody. Jimmy Breslin starred as himself in the film. The movie was not well received by the victim's families. And even David Berkowitz reportedly wept in prison over it. And so far, it's been the only major movie made about the son of Sam case.

And that's really kind of surprising to me. You know, you and I talk a lot about the movie Zodiac. I think most people. it's kind of universally thought of as a very good movie. Then you have this son of Sam case, which is very fascinating in its own right. I've seen the movie. It's all right. You know, it's just, I guess it just comes down to, you know, the direction that they decide to take the movie in, the actors, the casting, all of that stuff.

Yeah, I'm right there with you. I thought the movie was okay. but it definitely wasn't a quote-unquote son-of-sam movie, which I think would make for an interesting movie if somebody did a film sort of in the vein of Zodiac the way David Fincher did that. If somebody did that with the Son of Sam case, that would be an interesting movie to watch.

I absolutely agree. In 2002, David had his first parole hearing, but he asked for the hearing to be canceled because, according to him, he deserved to be in prison for the rest of his life. Four years later in 2006, Nasa Moskowitz wrote David a letter in prison saying that she forgave him for killing her daughter, Stacey. And the timing of this letter, Morf, is so eerie because Nesa passed away later that year on

September 26, 2006. Nasa's story is a very sad way. not only did she lose her daughter, Stacy, to murder at the hands of David Berkowitz, she lost her husband Jerome and her other two children died before she did. That's tough. That's very tough. The old saying is a parent should never outlive their child. This woman suffered a great deal and it wasn't only at the hands of David Berkowitz. And I wonder if somehow she felt some lift of some kind of burden lifted off her chest before she passed away by forgiving David Berkowitz and telling him that she had forgiven him.

I imagine she did. You know, that's one of those questions that I struggle with. If for some reason something like this were to happen to me, I don't know if I could do it more. I don't know that I would have the, I don't know if you call it strength, the resolve, whatever it is, the compassion to forgive a person that murdered my loved one. I'm just not sure I could do it. I don't think I have it in me. At some point, David Berkowitz became a born-again Christian and wanted to be known as Son of Hope instead of Son of Sam. Today, he is at peace in prison and feels that the issues that caused him to commit such heinous acts in 1976 and 1977 or behind him.

Although he has had some health issues while in prison, including heart surgery in 2018, the son of Sam, were now known as the Son of Hope, remains alive and well, spending the rest of his life in prison. Today, he's 66 years old. David is resigned to the fact that he's going to die in prison. you would think that the son of Sam's story ends there, but according to some, it doesn't. Berkowitz has nothing to, the only thing that's going to make him talk is a guilty conscience. And I guess by finding God, he's kind of circumvented that whole guilt thing because, you know, according to him, God has forgiven him. He didn't shoot me, so I can't forgive him for shooting me.

Some people believe that David Berkowitz did not act alone. They believe that he either had help or that some of the shootings were carried out by someone else. And as you just heard, Carl De Naro is among those people. And we'll dive into that part of the story in our third installment of our son of Sam coverage. Thanks goes out to Debbie Buck at True Crime Diva.com and Kate Morris for writing and research assistance in this episode. As always, if you haven't done so, take a minute, go out, give us a five-star rate, if you love the show. That goes a long way towards helping other people find the podcast.

And keep telling your friends, word of mouth is amazing. If you want to find us on social media, we're on Twitter with the handle at Criminology Pod. You can also find us by searching for us on Facebook. Just search for Criminology Podcast. And if you'd like to join our Facebook discussion group, we're approaching 5,000 members. That's called Criminology Podcast Discussion and Fans. All right, Morf. So that is it for part two of Son of Sam.

But we'll be back next Saturday night with the finale, part three. So until then, this is Mike Ferguson. And more. And we'll talk to you next week. Take care, everyone.