In the span of a little over a year, from 1976 to 1977, a wave of fear swept through New York City, induced by the horrific Son of Sam slayings committed by the then-mystery serial killer, David Berkowitz. The murders, tallying up to six, scattered across three out of five districts of the city in what appeared as a series of indiscriminate attacks, sparked one of the largest manhunts New York City had ever experienced.
Now, the crime anthology series probes the Son of Sam case with fresh eyes. This series explores the most notorious and chilling crimes of modern times, dissecting the chain of events leading up to the apprehension of David Berkowitz, eventually unveiled as the Son of Sam serial murderer.
The initial shootings pinned to the murderer, later christened the Son of Sam, occurred in the Pelham Bay vicinity of the Bronx. Two women leisurely sat in their vehicle, their night thrown into chaos when an unknown man advanced towards them and unleashed three bullets. One woman met her untimely demise on the spot while the second suffered a gunshot to the thigh before the man briskly retreated. The assailant was reported as a white man in his early thirties with a short, curly, dark mane, standing 5-foot-8, and weighing in at around 200 pounds.
In Flushing, Queens, the gunman wounded two more victims who, fortunately, survived the encounter. From the authorities’ standpoint, one of the victims, a man sporting shoulder-length hair might have been mistaken for a woman by the assailant.
On one occasion, two teenagers, fresh out of a film show, were confronted by a man clad in military-style attire who drew out a revolver, shooting each female once. One of the adolescents was injured in the neck but managed to recover without enduring lasting harm. Tragically, her companion was shot in the back resulting in paralysis.
Following these incidents, the fatal strikes continued. A man and woman, engaged to be married, fell prey to the attacker’s bullets while inside their vehicle. The woman suffered two gunshot wounds leading to her eventual demise at the hospital. Detectives began noticing patterns linking these disturbing episodes; the use of .44 caliber bullets and a preference for young females bearing long, dark locks were notable similarities.
Another woman, an academic on her way back from college, was struck by a bullet in her head leading to her instantaneous death. The location where she was ambushed happened to be the same place where a previous victim had been attacked.
The murderer marked his carnage by leaving behind a note at the scene of a double homicide in the Bronx, adopting the moniker ‘Son of Sam’ for the first time in his own handwriting.
As the string of assaults forged ahead, authorities finally apprehended Berkowitz just outside his domicile. They discovered a .44 caliber handgun, matching the bullets retrieved from crime scenes, beside him at the time of the arrest.
Berkowitz, in the immediate aftermath of his arrest, conceded to perpetrating the shootings. He presented an unexpected twist to the tale, claiming ‘Sam’ was a demonic entity who relayed instructions to him via his ex-neighbour’s dog. Moreover, he admitted to instigating approximately 1,500 fire incidents across the city.
Berkowitz promptly dismissed the consideration of an insanity plea subsequent to his confession, and instead accepted culpability for six murders. He received a judicial punishment of six life sentences with a minimum term of 25 years for each.
In a startling revelation post his arrest, Berkowitz alleged his affiliation with a violent cult that purportedly aided his deadly campaign. This raised doubts amongst the public and many continue to question whether Berkowitz acted solely or had support.
Notably, a retired detective from the New York Police Department who had probed into suspicions of a satanic cult being involved in numerous violent incidents in the 1970s added fuel to these doubts. He firmly stated that Berkowitz ‘didn’t do all the killings,’ further sparking skepticism about the claims of him acting as a lone wolf.
The post New Insight Into the Infamous Son of Sam Slayings appeared first on Real News Now.
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