Son of Sam serial killer David Berkowitz, who terrorized NYC, arrested 48 years ago
'Caught!' blared the front page of the New York Post on Aug. 11, 1977, announcing the end of the reign of terror of the cold-blooded killer known as 'Son of Sam.'
3 David Berkowitz, the serial killer known as 'Son of Sam,' was arrested at his Yonkers home 48 years ago.
New York Post
Berkowitz was found guilty of eight shootings in June 1978 and slapped with six consecutive life sentences. Since he first became eligible for parole in 2002, Berkowitz has vied to be released every two years like clockwork.
Last May, he was denied for the 12th time at the maximum-security Shawangunk Correctional Facility in Wallkill, where he's been incarcerated since age 24.
3 He had a penchant for leaving notes at the scenes of his crimes and writing gloating messages to police and journalists.
New York Post
Over a 13-month period, starting in April 1976, Brooklyn-born Berkowitz, a postal employee and former US Army soldier, terrorized the Big Apple — particularly young women and couples — armed with a .44-caliber Bulldog revolver, shooting many of his victims through car windows.
Following his crimes, Berkowitz would frequently leave notes at the scene, or boast about what he did in letters to police or journalists. He earned his nickname from one of the mussives, an apparent reference to his neighbor's dog, Sam.
'I am a monster. I am the Son of Sam,' bragged Berkowitz in a note left near the bodies of victims Alexander Esau, 20, and Valentina Suriani, 18, on April 17, 1977.
The NYPD formed a 200-person task force to crack the case, with many undercover officers working in the streets overnight on the hopes of catching the shooter in the act.
3 David Berkowitz killed six people and injured seven more during his 13-month killing spree in New York City.
New York Post
The shootings spanned Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens, 'Sam' claiming his last victim, Stacy Moskowitz, 20, on July 31, 1977 — less than two weeks before cops busted Berkowitz at his Yonkers home.
Authorities had traced the killer by linking traffic tickets issued in the area of the final killing to his car.
'I am Sam. David Berkowitz,' he told cops swarming his building on Aug. 10, 1977.
'What took you so long?' he asked chillingly.
Now 72, Berkowitz claims to have found God behind bars.
In an exclusive interview with The Post last year, Berkowitz said 'Jesus has allowed me to survive and thrive,' and said he sees himself as a 'father figure' to his fellow inmates.
The convicted murderer also likened himself and his ability to 'change lives' with his writing to that of Anne Frank, the Jewish teen author whose diaries chronicling her life hiding from Nazis with her family were published around the globe following her death during the Holocaust.
'She impacted the lives of millions,' Berkowitz said. 'Little Anne changed the world with a pen. So I ask myself, what can I do with my trusty typewriter? Maybe I can change lives, too, with my message of hope in God?' he said.
Even 48 years later, the 'Son of Sam' case continues to draw interest. Berkowitz's infamous crimes are now the subject of a Netflix docuseries, 'Conversations With a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes.'
The series includes conversations with victims' surviving family members, as well as newly unearthed recordings of a 1980 jailhouse interview with former Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reporter Jack Jones.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Jumpy NYC crook steals car, but returns it when he finds 9-year-old inside: sources
A crook with a snake tattoo on his neck showed his sentimental side when he stole a minivan in Harlem — then returned it when he found a terrified 9-year-old girl in the back seat, cops and sources said. A 56-year-old man had just unloaded his younger daughter, 7, from his gray Honda Odyssey at East 107th Street and Third Avenue in East Harlem around 2:30 a.m. Sunday when the creep hopped behind the wheel and drove off, according to authorities and police sources. The frantic dad flagged down NYPD cops on the street, who launched their search for the thief, police said. But while cops were canvassing the area, the suspect – apparently realizing the older girl was still in the car – whipped back around the block and returned the minivan to the same location, cops and sources said. The tattooed thief allegedly stole a minivan with a 9-year-old girl still inside at at East 107th Street and Third Avenue early Sunday, cops and sources said. Google Maps He parked the car and ran off on foot, the sources said. The girl was unharmed, police said. But the perpetrator – described as a man in his 40s with a snake tattoo on his neck, last seen wearing a white T-shirt and tan pants – had not yet been caught Monday, the sources said. In a similar case back in May, a stranger drove off in an SUV with a 2-year-old boy inside in Brownsville, Brooklyn, cops said. The boy's 32-year-old mom stepped into a deli on Sutter Avenue near Van Sinderen Avenue when 34-year-old Maurice Stephens got behind the wheel and drove off with the toddler, police said. The tot was saved within 10 minutes when cops pulled over the joyrider about a mile away, authorities said. Last Thanksgiving, Mohamed Sakho, 22, allegedly swiped a car with a 7-year-old boy inside in the Country Club section of the Bronx, cops said. The boy was recovered safely and Sakho was arrested for the crime a day later when cops picked him up for an unrelated robbery, authorities said.
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
Founder of Rolex luxury watch empire may have been a Nazi spy: report
Secret British intelligence files have revealed that MI5 once suspected the German-born founder of the iconic Rolex luxury watch empire of holding strong Nazi sympathies and possibly acting as a spy during the Second World War. The declassified records, held at the National Archives, describe Hans Wilsdorf as 'most objectionable' and allege he may have used his position to spread propaganda for Adolf Hitler's regime, according to The Telegraph. The documents, written between 1941 and 1943 and many stamped with 'Box 500' — a wartime nickname for MI5's headquarters — outline fears among British authorities that Wilsdorf posed a security risk despite being a naturalized British citizen. Advertisement 5 An undated portrait of Hans Wilsdorf, the German-born founder of Rolex, who British intelligence described in wartime documents as 'well known' for his Nazi sympathies. Born in Bavaria in 1881, Wilsdorf moved to London in 1903, where he began making watches in Hatton Garden and later founded Rolex. He married a British woman, Florence Crotty, before relocating the company's headquarters to Geneva in 1919. By the early 1940s, British officials had become increasingly wary of Wilsdorf's loyalties, the Telegraph reported. Advertisement A 1941 report from the British consul in Geneva said he was 'well known for his strong Nazi sympathies,' pointing to claims that his brother, Karl, was working in Joseph Goebbels's propaganda ministry. According to the file, Swiss federal police were already monitoring Wilsdorf over concerns he might be involved in spreading Nazi messaging worldwide. An MI5 report from 1943 stated that the agency had been keeping tabs on Rolex's British operations in Bexleyheath and suspected Wilsdorf of 'espionage on behalf of the enemy.' 5 Hans Wilsdorf in his office at Rolex, whom wartime British officials suspected of espionage on behalf of Nazi Germany. Advertisement The papers repeatedly described him as 'well known' for his political leanings toward the Nazi regime. Tom Bolt, a horology specialist who owns a Rolex once sent to a POW in Stalag Luft III, said the newly uncovered documents 'show the level of concern within the British authorities about the company's founder' and that blacklisting him would have been 'severely damaging for Rolex.' Rolex has acknowledged knowing about the archive file and says it is taking the allegations seriously. A company spokesperson told The Telegraph that an independent review is underway, led by Swiss historian Dr. Marc Perrenoud, who specializes in Switzerland's role during the Second World War. Advertisement Perrenoud has assembled a committee of historians from multiple countries to assist with the research. 5 Rolex watches on display in London, as the company investigates archival claims that its founder may have had ties to Nazi sympathizers. Getty Images 'In the interest of transparency, we will publish Dr. Perrenoud's findings once he has completed his work,' the spokesperson said. The Post has sought comment from Rolex. The MI5's World War II era report also questioned the true motive behind one of Wilsdorf's most celebrated wartime gestures: sending free Rolex watches to British prisoners of war. In 1940, after German officers confiscated timepieces from captured servicemen, Corporal Clive Nutting — held at the infamous Stalag Luft III camp in Poland — wrote to Wilsdorf asking for replacements. Wilsdorf agreed, telling Nutting he should 'not even think' about paying until after the war. He also sent food parcels and tobacco to some prisoners. 5 A golden Rolex once owned by former German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer is displayed in Geneva. AP Advertisement While the gesture boosted Rolex's public image, British officials at the time speculated whether it was genuine generosity or part of a calculated effort to win favor. Jose Pereztroika, a historian of watchmaking who discovered the MI5 file and alerted The Telegraph, believes the evidence supports the view that Wilsdorf sympathized with the Nazis. While the company's gifts to Allied prisoners could be seen as a sign of solidarity, Pereztroika argued it might also have been 'a stunt to gain favor with the British government' at a time when Swiss watch imports to the UK were largely banned. He suggested the move allowed Rolex to cultivate goodwill while positioning itself for postwar business, even if payment for the watches was deferred. Advertisement A 1941 letter from the Ministry of Economic Warfare's Blacklist Section recommended reviewing whether Wilsdorf should be placed on a trade blacklist, a move that could have crippled Rolex's overseas sales. 5 The 1908 registration of the Rolex name, decades before its founder came under suspicion by MI5 during the Second World War. However, the ministry concluded that blacklisting him 'may not be entirely in our interests' because much of the company's trade was with countries in the British Empire. Officials also noted they had not found direct evidence of harmful activity by the Swiss company. Even so, they flagged that Wilsdorf's financial ties to German bankers could allow enemy interests to influence both the Swiss and British arms of Rolex. Advertisement By 1943, MI5 decided against blacklisting Wilsdorf, despite maintaining he was 'most objectionable.' The British consul at the time said there was 'no doubt whatever' about his political views and voiced skepticism about his aid to prisoners of war, noting that if earlier intelligence was correct, his motives 'hardly seem likely' to have been purely charitable. Experts say the suspicions may also have been fuelled by Rolex's role in supplying dive watches to the Italian navy's frogmen, an elite unit aligned with the Axis powers.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Survivors of the "Son of Sam" serial killer in their own words
This story was originally posted on Aug. 10, 2017. It was updated on Aug. 2, 2025. On July 31, 1977, Robert Violante and Stacy Moskowitz were on their first date sitting in his parked car in a Brooklyn "lovers lane" when they were suddenly shot in their heads by the "Son of Sam" serial killer who terrorized New Yorkers for more than a year before his arrest on Aug. 10, 1977. "The doctors said I was not going to make it, and that Stacy would," Violante told CBS News in 2017. A .44 caliber slug destroyed Violante's left eye and damaged his right eye as it tore across his skull. But it was Moskowitz, a 19-year-old college student, who succumbed to her wounds, and it was Violante, 20, who faced a life forever shattered by a maniac's bullets. Incredibly, just four days earlier, Violante landed a modeling job at the Wilhelmina Modeling Agency after taking an hour subway into "the city" — Manhattan. Once the agents saw the 6-feet-1 Violante, with his John Travolta looks, they immediately signed him up starting the following Monday. In many ways, he was a real-life Tony Manero, the character Travolta played in that year's iconic movie "Saturday Night Fever." The next night, he met Moskowitz while out celebrating his good fortune at a "Gong Show" event at a popular "Beefsteak Charlies." The eatery was "wall to wall people," he recalled, and in the crush Violante found himself face-to-face with Stacy. "She was a beautiful, beautiful girl," Violante said. "And what a pleasant, pleasant girl. A very bubbly, full of life young lady." They hit it off, talked for hours, and agreed to see each other that Saturday night, July 31, even though they, like all New Yorkers, were worried about the "Son of Sam." The serial killer had killed five and wounded six others, but he had never struck in Brooklyn. His female victims had shoulder-length dark hair. "Stacy's a blonde," Violante reassured his mother as he headed out on their maiden date. They went to the movie, "New York, New York," and then drove to Shore Parkway stopping near the water, where they strolled and played on a set of swings. "We were like two little kids," Violante recalled. A figure lurking in the shadow, however, with his arms crossed, spooked Moskowitz. She asked to leave, and they got into Violante's car, but he said, "Let's stay five minutes." He would forever wish he immediately drove away. Within two minutes, the car glass suddenly exploded. Everything went dark, and he thought he was dead. "I was shot in the head, totally blind and full of blood," Violante recalled. "Oh, my God! Oh, my God! He killed us." Then he heard Moskowitz moaning and realized he was alive. Although gravely wounded and unable to see, Violante managed to open the car door, and wrap his hand around a nearby light pole. Screaming, "We've been shot, we've been shot," he pressed his other hand on the car horn, honking it until the battery died, and he collapsed in the street. Days later, his father — "my best pal" —broke the news Violante had lost his sight. Weeks later, he told Violante that Moskowitz had died 18 hours after the shooting. "I cried like a baby," Violante recalled. Violante never asked "why me, because that would mean why not someone else." He became a portrait in courage, summoning an inner strength he never knew he had, and seemingly willing his damaged eye to improve enough to avoid the need of a Seeing Eye dog. "I swore I would never have one," he said. Ultimately, after long stretches of rehabilitation, he obtained a rigorous mailer's position with the U.S. Postal Service, for which David Berkowitz, the "Son of Sam," ironically also worked. Violante handled mail for 35 years until his retirement. He never married, and always wondered what might have evolved with Moskowitz had their young relationship been given time to blossom. Nearly a year earlier and a borough away, Carl Denaro, then a 20-year-old who had just enlisted in the Air Force, had his life shattered by another .44 caliber slug in Flushing, Queens. Denaro, who was more hippie than Tony Manero, met Rosemary Keenan, 18, at a local bar on Oct. 23, 1976. They took a short drive to a nearby park, where gunfire suddenly shattered the windows of his Volkswagen Beetle. The bullets missed Keenan, and Denaro "yelled at her to start the car, (and) let's get out of here," he told CBS News. They returned to the bar, where Denaro said, "I don't feel too good." He rested his head on a table, and a large pool of blood spilled out from beneath his shoulder-length hair and shirt. At the time, no one had heard of the "Son of Sam" because he had yet to leave a note for police to figure out there was a pattern to the madness. In fact, police initially were suspicious of Denaro, and it took months before the NYPD realized they had a serial killer on the loose and Denaro was one of his victims. Doctors told Denaro that he was lucky. They put a plate in his head and he eventually returned to playing softball with friends. His military career derailed, and he went on to work for Merrill Lynch and in telecommunications financing before retiring. He recalled, however, that he lived for years with gawkers pointing out he was shot by the "Son of Sam." Both Denaro and Violante rejoiced when David Berkowitz, a postal worker from Yonkers, was charged as the "Son and Sam" on Aug. 10, 1977. Neither is certain Berkowitz acted alone. And Violante admits he wanted Berkowitz to receive the death penalty. But they both are thrilled he is off the streets forever. "Thank God," Violante recalled shouting when he heard the news decades ago in his hospital room. "At least now he won't be able to harm anyone else." Black swimmers teach others amid history of aquatic segregation Not exactly wasting away in this Margaritaville AARP and the business of an aging audience
