Berkowitz was born out of wedlock in Brooklyn on June 1, 1953. His mother gave the young David up for adoption soon after. Although he did not start his life under the most favorable circumstances, he was fortunate enough to be adopted by Nat and Pearl Berkowitz, a childless couple who devoted everything to their new son. He had a normal childhood in the Bronx, growing up with no clear warning signs of what was yet to come. However, loneliness seemed to have been a significant factor in his life, and he

suffered from very low self-esteem. His parents were not particularly socially oriented and neither was David. Berkowitz was always insecure about his large size as a teen, feeling different and less attractive than his peers. Throughout his youth, he was uncomfortable with others and himself. Some childhood activities that perhaps could have hinted towards a violent future included a hobby of arson (Berkowitz 1).

The letter mentioned that Sam was “still hungry and would strike again”. On June 26, 1977, the Son of Sam did in fact strike again. He attacked Judy Placido and Sal Lupo, who managed escaped with their lives. As July 29, the anniversary of the first “Son of Sam” murder, came and went, police were beginning to feel relieved that the anniversary had come and left without another occurrence. However, two days later, Sam took his last victims, Stacy Moskowitz and Bobby Violante. The police responded immediately to the scene to find nothing but the last two victims of the Son of Sam (Final Victims 3.)

In 1979 interview with FBI veteran Robert Ressler, the truth was finally revealed. The demon dog story was a cover up to protect him when and if he was caught so he could convince the authorities that he was insane. Berkowitz later admitted that the real reason for shooting women was out of resentment toward his own mother, and because of his inability to establish good relationship with women. He also admitted to becoming sexually aroused in the stalking and shooting of women and would later masturbate after it was over. He revealed that if he could not find a victim, he would often return to previous scenes of his earlier murders and attempt to relive them. He also confessed to wanted to attend the funerals of his victims, and would sometimes hang around diners near police stations in the hopes of overhearing policemen talk about his crimes (Capture 3.)

Of the three total assaults, all of which occurring in either the Bronx or Queens, the police were only able to recover one bullet intact, and were unable to link a suspect to these violent assaults. Things remained quiet for nearly two months as the city sat in fear of the serial killer’s next attack. Berkowitz’s reign of terror was not ever, and on January 30,1977, Christine Freund and her finance John Diel were sitting in his car when two gun shots shattered the front windshield. Christine grabbed her head, realizing that both shots had struck her. John ran to find help, while Berkowitz escaped unseen. Christine later died in the hospital (Panic 2).

Some topics in this essay:
David Berkowitz, Co-Op City, Robert Ressler, Roslyn David, Joanne Lomino, Labrador Harvey, Captain Borrelli, Son Sam, Michelle Forman, Rosemary Keenan, david berkowitz, son sam, berkowitz 2, berkowitz 1, berkowitz 1 david, capture 3, “son sam”, 1 david, pearl’s death, fantasy world, carr received,