This week we are going to talk about a bit more well known case from 1976 in New York City: the crimes committed by serial killer David Berkowitz, also known as the Son of Sam.  His motivations and reason behind his murders will definitely shock you!

In June of 1953, Richard David Falco was born in New York to a less than ideal home situation, so he was promptly put up for adoption.  Luckily for the poor baby, Falco was soon adopted by the Berkowitz family. After a slight name change, they dubbed their new son David Berkowitz .  David was described as intelligent (as he did very well in school) but soon ran into problems when his adoptive mother passed away when he was 14.  His adoptive father remarried, leaving David extremely unhappy. After serving in the army for 3 years from ages 18-21, David tried to reconnect with his birth mother.  This relationship failed, leading Berkowitz into a very dark time.  All David’s unhappiness and rage at the world came to a head in mid 1976.

On July 29th, 1976, Jody Valenti and Donna Lauria were sitting and laughing in their car late at night,  Just as Donna went to leave, a man approached the car.  Without a word, David Berkowitz shot twice: the first instantly killing Donna Lauria, the second bullet landing in Jody Valenti’s thigh.  Jody luckily survived, but David was not done yet.  Just 3 months later, David struck again.  He shot at a couple in a car –– injuring the man, but the pair luckily escaped him.  Next, two women were attacked on their front porch: both survived, but not uninjured, as one woman was left paralyzed.

Unfortunately, Berkowitz continued his attacks over the next year: by the time of his arrest in July of 1977, he had shot and killed 6 people, while seriously injuring 7 others, earning him the name “Son of Sam” from the press.  David Berkowitz was caught after being tracked down via a parking ticket he received at one of the crime scenes.  Police searched his car, finding the .44 caliber revolver.  Finally, the Son of Sam had been apprehended!  Here is the real kicker though: do you wanna know why David claimed he killed all those people?  Because his neighbor’s dog told him to do it.  Yep, you read that right.  Apparently, David’s neighbor’s dog was “possessed”, and had verbally told Berkowitz to commit murder.  Despite Berkowitz’s dog “delusion” (likely something he entirely made up), he was deemed sane and stood for a normal trial.  He accepted the guilty plea and was sentenced to 25 years for each murder.

David Berkowitz is still alive today and serving out his sentence.  Apparently he has “found god,” so I guess the demon dog has left him alone for now.