NYC ‘Son of Sam’ David Berkowitz arrested 45 years ago
'Son of Sam' killer David Berkowitz remains behind bars 45 years after NYC arrest
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}David Berkowitz, the New York serial killer infamously nicknamed "Son of Sam," was arrested 45 years ago on Wednesday.
Six people died and seven were wounded, some horribly, as Berkowitz stalked the city, targeting young women and couples sitting in cars. He was arrested on Aug. 10, 1977, and now remains behind bars.
"I remember the courtroom was packed to the rafters. And it was almost like the air was taken out of the room when he walked in," said Richard A. Brown, who was the judge who presided over Berkowitz’s first court appearance, told the Associated Press in 2017.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fanned by news reports, and Berkowitz’s own loquacious letters sent to newspaper columnist Jimmy Breslin, the "Son of Sam" saga whipped up fear. Young people turned down dates or parties to stay home. Since the killer appeared to favor women with long, dark hair, women cut or dyed their hair.
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Police escort handcuffed Son of Sam suspect David Berkowitz into Police headquarters in lower Manhattan in this undated photo. (Photo By: Alan Aaronson/NY Daily News via Getty Images)
Brown, who lived in Queens, said his own two daughters were scared to leave the house.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The city was just gripped with fear. Stores were closed early, there was no one on the street, it was like nothing anyone had seen," he said.
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In this May 29, 2009 photo, David Berkowitz responds during an interview at Sullivan Correction Facility in Fallsburg, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)
Donna Lauria was the first victim, shot and killed July 29, 1976, in the Bronx. But it wasn’t until after the fifth attack, on March 8, 1977, that police put the pattern together; ballistics tests confirmed that one gunman was responsible for all five shootings. By then, three young people were dead and four others had been wounded.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I am a monster," the killer had written. "I am the ‘Son of Sam.’"
Police officers escort American accused (and ultimately convicted) serial killer David Berkowitz (left), known as the Son of Sam, into the 84th precinct station, New York, New York, August 10, 1977. (Photo by Robert R. McElroy/Getty Images)
The New York Police Department formed a 200-person task force to solve the crime. Many undercover officers worked all night on the streets, hoping to catch the shooter in the act.
But it was routine police work that cracked the case.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}UNITED STATES - AUGUST 11: David Berkowitz, "Son of Sam" self-portrait from a coin-operated photo booth during his stint in the Army. (Photo by NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)
When a witness reported a strange man on the street near the final shooting, police checked traffic tickets that had been issued in the area and traced them to Berkowitz’s car and Yonkers home. He was arrested Aug. 10, 1977.
"You, sir, are David Berkowitz?" Brown asked, according to a transcript of the hearing.
An exhibit of art works related to the 'Son of Sam' on the sidewalk of West Broadway in SoHo, New York, New York, November 14, 1978. (Photo by Allan Tannenbaum/Getty Images)
"Yes, sir," Berkowitz replied, the only time he spoke. He wasn’t required to enter a plea and was sent to Kings County Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.
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Berkowitz later pleaded guilty to the crimes and was sentenced to life in prison.
David Berkowitz, 24, (c) sits in police car on August 11, 1977 after his arrest late on August 10, 1977, by detective edward Zigo (r) in connection with the .44-caliber killings. (Getty Images)
Victim Carl Denaro, who was 20 when he was struck in the head Oct. 23, 1976, by a .44-caliber bullet while sitting in a Volkswagen, said he heard about the arrest on the news.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Denaro needed a steel plate in his head and was hospitalized for weeks. He had to forgo a post in the U.S. Air Force. Still, Denaro, now 61, told the AP in 2017 that he didn’t feel embittered and he’s had a good life, a successful career and a lovely daughter, now 24.
This note was found by police in the 1970 Ford Galaxy owned by David Berkowitz when they arrested him, late August 10th,1977, as he sat in the car in front of his Yonkers, New York home. (Getty Images)
"I’m the luckiest man alive, I really am," he said. "And while I live with this, I don’t think I let it define me. I’ve had a great life."
According to news reports from the early 1980s, a lawyer for two of the victims said Berkowitz admitted he was part of a murderous cult. A prosecutor reopened the case after Berkowitz reportedly said more than one person was involved in the killings, but the investigation never gained steam.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}This note was found by police in the 1970 Ford Galaxy owned by David Berkowitz when they arrested him, late August 10th,1977, as he sat in the car in front of his Yonkers, New York home. (Getty Images)
The police department believes Berkowitz acted alone. He told police the "Sam" from his "Son of Sam" nickname was a neighbor who had a dog through which Berkowitz claimed he got the demonic orders to kill.
Berkowitz, now 69, remains in an upstate New York prison, a born-again Christian, and has a website called "Son of Hope."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I see that people will never understand where I come from, no matter how much I try to explain it," he told CBS News in an interview from prison airing Friday. "They wouldn’t understand what it was like to walk in darkness."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.