SON OF SAM (Klausner)

More than 300 New York police officers joined an increasingly hysterical search for the killer. Many of the cops were as solid as any you see in a television drama. Some were not. There was the promise of glory, promotion, and money for the policeman who broke the case. The intra-force rivalries became ferocious; that is not something the glorifying television shows display.

Two New York tabloids, the morning Daily News and the afternoon New York Post, were struggling for circulation among those people who did not choose to read The New York Times. The News had been losing readers for a decade. The Post was under the new stewardship of the Australian press adventurer Rupert Murdoch.

Berkowitz sold newspapers. On the day of his capture, the Daily News sold 2.2 million copies, 350,000 more than usual. The Post, which headlined the word Captured in red ink, saw its circulation jump from 609,000 to one million.

Our touchstones are violence and ineptitude, greed and ambition and David Berkowitz’s erupting psychosis. The consequences do not advertise the glories of American society.

A fire of fright was burning: they fanned it.

The public responded by buying newspapers and yielding to panic. According to police calculations, your chance of becoming a homicide victim in New York on any given night was about 600,000 to 1. Your chances of being murdered by a stranger was about 2 million to 1. Your chances of being done in by any given killer, however maniacal, are so small as to be incalculable. But as the terror peaked in New York City, nearly 5000 people a day made frenzied telephone calls to their local precincts. The wall between civilization and anarchy is neither so high nor so sturdy as we comfortably assume.

David Berkowitz, born Richard Falco, became “The .44-Caliber Killer” on the front page of the News and the Post (and later of The New York Times). That is, to be sure, as much a label as a name, but it is a catchy label. In a bizarre way, it speaks of Madison Avenue. How do we package the product? We need a label.

Berkowitz possessed a doggerel skill at wordplay. During his thirteen months of murder he coined such phrases for himself as “The Wicked King Wicker,” “The Chubby Monster,” and “The Duke of Death.” David Berkowitz’s most famous name was created after his sixth attack, which took place on the northbound service road of the Hutchinson River Parkway in the Bronx. On that night, April 17, 1977, he killed both Valentina Suriani and Alexander Esau. He wrote a letter, on dime-store stationery, which he left in the street about ten feet from the victim’s car. “I am deeply hurt your are calling me a wemon (sic) hater,” Berkowitz’s note to Captain Borelli began. “I am not. I am a monster.” Then Berkowitz composed the single sentence that would make him the centerpiece of thousands of headlines. “I am the Son of Sam.”

The buildup had begun for two things: first, the publishing of the killer’s letter and second, in a tortured twist of journalism, Breslin’s reply. Reporter Donald Singleton had worked for two days on preparing a teaser. The article opened with a piece of the original letter:

“Don’t think because you haven’t heard from (me) for a while that I went to sleep. No, rather, I am still here. Like a spirit roaming the night. Thirsty, hungry, seldom stopping to rest; anxious to please Sam. I love my work. Now the void has been filled.”

Singleton wrote that the police had confirmed that both the Breslin letter and the note left at the April 17 killings were the work of the same individual. Taking great care to continue the buildup of the coming Breslin reply, Singleton dropped this tidbit: The killer looks forward to meeting Breslin “face to face someday of perhaps I will be blown away by cops with smoking .38’s.” The article ended with the statement that Breslin planned to answer the Son of Same in the next day’s edition.

On Saturday June 4th the entire first printing was sold out within an hour of hitting the streets and, by the end of the day, more papers had sold than ever before.

“Hello from the gutters of NYC, which is filled with dog manure, vomit, stale wine, urine and blood, Hello from the sewers of NYC which swallow up these delicacies when they are washed away by the sweeper trucks. Hello from the cracks in the sidewalks of NYC and from the ants that dwell in these cracks and feed in the dried blood of the dead that has settled in the cracks.” This was the extent of the letter published that day but more was sure to come. They intended to milk the letter for as long as possible.

Hello from the cracks in the sidewalks of New York City and from the ants that dwell in these cracks and feed on the dried blood of the dead that has settled into these cracks. Hello from the gutters of New York City, which are filled with dog manure, vomit, stale wine, urine and blood. Don’t think that because you haven’t heard from me for a while that I went to sleep. No, rather, I am still here, like a spirit roaming the night. Thirsty, hungry, seldom stopping to rest; anxious to please Sam.

Sam’s a thirsty lad. He won’t let me stop killing until he gets his fill of blood. Tell me, Jim, what will you have for July 29? You can forget about me if you like because I don’t care for publicity. However, you must not forget Donna Lauria and you cannot let the people forget her either. She was a very sweet girl. Not knowing what the future holds, I shall say farewell and I will see you at the next job? Or should I say you will see my handiwork at the next job? Remember Ms. Lauria. Thank you.

Here are some names to help you along. Forward them to the Inspector (Dowd) for use by the NCIC Center. They have everything on computer, everything. They just might turn up, from some other crimes. Maybe they could make associations.

Duke of Death.
Wicked King Wicker.
The twenty-two Disciples of Hell.
And lastly, John Wheaties, rapist and suffocator of young girls.
PS, drive on, think positive, get off your butts, knock on coffins, etc.

Broken Flower Page 118 -

It was warm outside, but David was not responding to reality. Before leaving he zipped on a heavy new ski jacket and pulled a brown knit stocking cap toward his ears. In ten-degree temperature he had dressed lightly when he hunted and found Christine Freund. Now, in pleasant weather, preparing to hunt once more, Berkowitz dressed as if he were setting forth across the tundra.

He would drive to Queens again, to Forest Hills. “I picked Queens because there are a lot of pretty women there. It seemed to me that Forest Hills was where the prettiest ones were.”

He parked the Galaxie on Tennis Place, a narrow winding street just to the west of the tennis club. Familiar ground. Stepping from the car, he considered where he was. The West Side Tennis Club and the Forest Hills Tennis Stadium lay to his right. Chris Evert, a pretty girl, had won the US Women’s Open there that preceding fall.

For an hour he roamed a small expensive community called Forest Hills Garden. Looking into the houses, David thought they were privileged and secure. Then he saw a slight, attractive young woman walking toward him. She had a rather long face framed by dark-brown wavy hair. She wore a tan maxicoat and dark boots, so he could not see her legs. Although the came from behind her, David saw that she was carrying notebooks and what he took to be school texts.

The young woman’s name was Virginia Voskerichian. She was indeed a student, as Berkowitz surmised.

Berkowitz thought the young woman approaching was “really beautiful.” When they were a step apart, David pulled the .44 out of his pocket. Virginia Voskerichian stopped and made a soft cry of terror. She raised her schoolbooks in front of her face as if to protect herself.

David fired once and hit Virginia “somewhere in the face.” He was becoming more professional – which is to say more deadly – with his gun. “I only fired once, because once was all I needed.”

Virginia tumbled into the bushes that bordered the sidewalk. She died instantly.

David began to run back to his Galaxie. He saw a man in dark clothing – a fifty-nine year old civil engineer who was the first witness to see David leaving the scene of a murder.

“Hi Mister,” David said. The startled man did not respond.

Three plainclothesmen were riding in a tan Plymouth on 69th Avenue, which intersects Dartmouth Street three blocks from where Virginia Voskerichian lay. According to one of them, they noticed a young man running, then slackening his pace when they came into view. They thought he was trying to look inconspicuous, which made him an immediate target of their interest. But they were assigned to street anticrime, not to Borelli’s task force, which meant that they were not on the lookout for anyone who might be linked to a series of killings. Besides, the killer did his violence after midnight and it was only 7:32. If such a man would prowl that evening, it would be closer to midnight. The plainclothesmen weren’t attuned to the possibility that this figure and the murderer might be one and the same. They were on the lookout for purse-snatchers, muggers, car thieves.

The Plymouth edged toward the curb and stopped. “Might as well check him,” said a plainclothesman, indicating David Berkowitz. Coincidence – the kind that is hard to believe when we encounter it in nineteenth-century novels – now worked in behalf of David.

The officer seated in the rear swung open the door of the Plymouth. He was about to step out to question Berkowitz. The policeman and the killer were within ten feet of one another. Suddenly the plainclothesman froze. A call was coming in over the police radio: “Report woman shot on Dartmouth, near 71st.

David was so close that he could hear the voice of the woman dispatcher.

The plainclothesman scrambled back into the car. A siren sounded. The tan Plymouth accelerated away.

The plainclothesmen had not associated the man in the ski jacket on this mild March might with a woman who had been shot three blocks away.

David does not remember feeling fright. Rather, he says, “Satan was creating illusions.” The police sensed something when they stopped the car, he says, but failed to react because they must have decided what they saw – himself – “was an illusion.”

By the time Berkowitz reached his Galaxie he felt secure. Tomorrow he would go back to work at the Post Office in the Bronx and no one would suspect what he had done.

Excerpt from Son of Sam LAWRENCE D. KLAUSNER McGraw-Hill 1981

Berkowitz Outbursts Disrupt Court; Sentencing Put Off, Tests Ordered

David R. Berkowitz, who was scheduled to be sentenced yesterday for the six “Son of Sam” murders, battled officers before entering the courtroom, then walked in chanting, “Stacy was a whore.”

The courtroom erupted in turmoil and, only minutes later, he was dragged out by half a dozen officers.

Neya M. heard him chanting and cried out, “You’re an animal!” and ran out of the courtroom. “That’s right. That’s right,” Berk shouted after her. “I’d kill her again. I’d kill them all again!”

Robert Violante jumped up shouting, “You should get killed, you creep!” (His vision is limited to four feet in the one eye that has vision). He collapsed in his seat sobbing.

Those who had observed the .44-caliber killer during earlier court appearances were shocked. He had always seemed pleasant, polite, even slightly repentant, they said. But when he was dragged into the courtroom yesterday, his face was flushed, his eyes distended wildly and his forehead smeared with dirt. His light blue suit – the same one he had worn in other court appearances – was rumpled and soiled.

Later a young friend of the M. family, Daniel Carrique shouted out, “That’s no justice! What about the families? How much do you think they can take?”

Carrique was led from the courtroom by guards. Judge Joseph Corso was visibly angered. “I trust I am presiding in an American court to dispense justice. I will not be influenced by any public clamor.”

Excerpt from June 23, 1978 New York Times

Berkowitz’s Judge Chided On Interview

Justice John Starkey of State Supreme Court in Brooklyn came under sharp criticism in legal circles yesterday for speaking freely to a newspaper reporter about the forthcoming trial of D. Berkowitz and there were indications that he might be replaced as the trial judge.

The judge, obviously upset by the furor over an article in yesterday’s Post, said:
“I’m beginning to think of taking off. My wife is very much annoyed. She shuns publicity. And when the story broke over the last week she had to cancel her beauty parlor appointment.”

He is quoted as saying he would not accept a plea of guilty if young Mr. Berkowitz continues to say that his crimes had been committed at the instigation of demons.

Justice Starkey called the newspaper article “accurate but distorted.” He denied one statement attributed to him saying the defendant was virtually certain to spend most, if not all, of his life in a maximum-security mental institution.

Excerpt from Max Seigel Oct 29, 1977 New York Times

Berkowitz Is Ruled Fit for Trial; Declares He’ll Have ‘a Lot to Say.’

The defendant, who had consistently declared his readiness to stand trial despite his lawyers’ efforts to have him declared mentally incompetent, smile broadly when the judge, John Starkey, announced his ruling.

“Your honor, remember what I said,” he called out in the makeshift courtroom, “Lock the door and throw away the key. I mean it.”

The question is: can he perceive, recall, relate? Yes. Does he have rudimentary understanding of the trial process? Yes. Can he establish a working relationship with his attorney? Yes. Is he sufficiently intelligent to listen and evaluate? Yes. Is he able to stand trial? Yes.

Excerpt from Max Seigel Oct 22, 1977 New York Times

Families of ‘Son of Sam’ Victims Stage Demonstration at Hospital

Thirty-five friends and members of the families of two of the victims of the .44-caliber killer stood outside Kings County Hospital and called for revenge. They chanted “We want justice,” and carried signs that read “The rope for Son of Sam,” “Kill Son of Sam,” etc. The hour long demonstration was organized by Eva-Maria Freund, the 20-year old sister of Christine, who was shot to death in January in Queens as she sat in a car with her boyfriend John Diel. Letters were sent to the families of five other murder victims and the seven young people who were wounded but only the mother of Stacy Moskowitz showed up. “It’s an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” said Neysa M, “for those who go around killing for the fun of it.” “I hear voices also and everyone of these people hear voices. My daughter’s voice says ‘I want revenge.’ Would you like to match voice for voice?”

Excerpt from Marcia Chambers Sept 22, 1977 New York Times

Notoriety Haunts Real-Life “Sam”

The most recent and frightening communication was a Sept. 13 letter from Mr. Berkowitz. Arriving in an envelope bearing the name D. Berkowitz and the address of the headquarters of NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation in the upper left-hand corner.

“I screamed at first,” said Wheat Carr (25). “I was angry that he was sitting up there in a prison ward at taxpayers’ expense and still harassing us. Something has to be done.”

The letter, which has been turned over to police, referred to Mr. Carr as “Sam, my Lord,” and “Papa God,” and railed against the family’s Labrador Retriever, Harvey, named by Mr. B as the messenger who told him to kill.

“A lot of people seem to think we were connected with the killings, I mean really connected. People don’t seem to know that for months before he was arrested he had harassed us with letter and anonymous phone calls and we believe he was the one who threw a Molotov cocktail at our house last Oct. 4th. We had been nervous and frightened for months before and in the aftermath were still on edge and emotionally upset.” (Wheat)

The son Michael said people in a bar he frequents couldn’t resist introducing him as the real Son of Sam. It was a bad joke.

The Carrs are also sensitive about suggestions that they are trying to capitalize on their involvement in the case. Miss Carr said that the family was not seeking to “make money off other people’s tragedy and anguish.”

“We think we are entitled to some of the reward money. “

Excerpt from Ronald Smoothers Sept 21, 1977 New York Times

One of Three Lawyers Withdraws in Berkowitz Case

Mark Heller withdrew from the case following a confrontation between Mr. Berkowitz and his family. The family was opposed to Mr. Heller working on the criminal case.

The feud between Mr. Heller and the other lawyers, Leon Stern and Ira Juitak, erupted yesterday after weeks of behind-the-scenes hostilities.

By all accounts, Mr. Berkowitz as sad to see Mr. Heller go because they had spent more than 50 hours together and the two men had become friends.

The stakes are high for the lawyers. Neither Mr. Berkowitz nor his family are well-to-do. Rather, it is the possible sale of the literary and movie rights in the Son of Sam case that could lead to ample resources for Mr. B to finance his defense.

Excerpt from M. Chambers Sept 16, 1977 New York Times

Father of Berkowitz Seeking Role As Conservator of Son’s Property

The father of David R. Berkowitz, the man accused of being the Son of Sam killer, has moved to become conservator of is son’s property.

If Mr. B is appointed conservator by the court, he would control all income, assets and investments derived from literary and film contracts based on the life of the 24-year-old Yonkers mail clerk.

In his affidavit, Mr. B mentioned attempts by Philip Peltz, a former lawyer for his son, and other unidentified people who “entered into contracts with David purportedly for the purpose of representation and the making of tape recordings, which are ultimately intended to be sold through various literary agents.”

Excerpt from Marcia Chambers Sept 9, 1977 New York Times

.44 Caliber Suspect Refuses to Acknowledge Name

David R Berkowitz, who is accused of being the .44-caliber killer, refused to admit to his name at his arraignment yesterday on three murder charges in the Bronx.

The 24-year-old mail clerk, wearing blue pajamas, a blue bathrobe and slippers, was brought into a makeshift courtroom on the sixth floor of Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn and led to a table draped with a white sheet at which Justice Alexander Chananau of State Supreme Court was seated.

The court clerk began with the question: “You are David Berkowitz?”

“No, your honor, I’m not.” Mr. Berkowitz replied. In two previous arraignments he responded to his name.

As he spoke in a soft voice, Mr. Berkowitz’s eyes did not meet the judge’s but seemed to shift beyond him, to the barred and mesh windows.

Before another question could be asked Mark Heller, one of Mr. Berkowitz’s attorneys moved in front of Leon Stern, another attorney and said: “At this time, I request that the defendant stand mute. Mr. Stern and his associate Mr. Jultak looked stunned.

For the first time, Mr. Berkowitz, who has undergone psychological, medical and brain tests since his arrival at the hospital two weeks ago appeared rigid. His blue eyes were intense and glassy, and he squinted. Other sources said yesterday that he had been medicated.

Excerpt from Marcia Chambers Aug 25, 1977 New York Times

Son of Sam Case Poses Thorny Issues for Press

Among the issues were:

The degree to which constitutional guarantees of press freedom imply unstated responsibilities.
The difference between reporting and exploiting the news.
The propriety of reporters’ becoming part of the story they are covering.
The conflict between the public’s right to a fair trial.
The question of reporters’ violating the law to obtain information.
The ethics of news organizations’ paying for information, letters, diaries or interviews.

Like the case itself, which resulted in the largest manhunt in the city’s history, the story built slowly.

It began July 29, 1976, when 18-year-old Donna Lauria was shot and killed as she sat in an automobile double-parked in front of her Bronx home. A girlfriend was wounded in the attack.

Over the next eight months, the gunman struck four times, killing two and wounding three others. When the police announced – following the shooting of Virginia Voskerichian in Queens last March – that the crimes were the work of an individual, press attention and public interest rose sharply.

Another note, sent to Jimmy Breslin, a columnist for The Daily News, stimulated attention and interest beyond what anything that had proceeded it when it was published in his column on June 5th. According to Mr. Breslin, the column was written after consultation with the police, who thought it might encourage the killer to write again and leave a clearer set of fingerprints.

On June 26, he struck again. Wounding a young man and a young woman. Two weeks later, Mayor Beame stepped in front of television cameras to say that, in light of the approaching anniversary of Ms. Lauria’s death, he was adding detectives to the “Son of Sam” case.

The Mayor’s statement tended to reinforce the growing – but highly speculative – perception that the killer would strike again on the anniversary.

On July 28, Breslin’s column header: “To the .44 Caliber Killer On His 1st Deathday,” “Is tomorrow so significant to him that he must go out and find a victim?”

On July 29th, the anniversary, The Post ran the headline: “GUNMAN SPARKS SON OF SAM CHASE” over a story detailing a police pursuit of a man with a gun walking long the Cross Bronx Expressway. At the bottom of the story readers were informed that: police say the mystery gunman was definitely not Son of Sam. “NO ONE IS SAFE FROM SON OF SAM!” Post headline the day after the Moscowitz shooting. MOBSTERS JOIN THE HUNT three days later.

While many aspects of the story warranted front-page attention by any standards of news judgment, the two city tabloids – and Rupert Murdoch’s Post in particular – were widely criticized for sensationalizing the story to boost circulation.

Even before the capture of David Berkowitz, The New Yorker said that “just about everything done by the press here – especially by the Post and the News – has made a bad situation worse for the residents of New York. By transforming a killer into a celebrity, the press has not merely encourage but perhaps driven him to strike again – any may have stirred others brooding madly over their grievances to act.”

Post response: “If it offends the delicate sensibilities of the Algonquin crowd, so be it.”

Another matter touched upon by The New Yorker article concerned the various appeals made by Pete Hamil and Mr. Breslin, Daily News columnists and Steve Dunleavy of The Post for the killer to turn himself into them or their newspaper.
(Section that follows lifted by Klausner in his book).

Perhaps the most egregious journalistic liberty was taken by The Post on August 15, when, under a black headling “HOW I BECAME A MASS KILLER” – it carried, in bold letters, the byline: “By David Berkowitz.” The “story” was in fact a series of letters the suspect had written some years before. (Letter bought from the ex-girlfriend for a few hundred bucks). $500 Post and only $200 News.

Excerpt from Carey Winfrey Aug 22, 1977 New York Times

Berkowitz Pleads Not Guilty in Brooklyn Murder

David R Berkowitz, accused of being the Son of Sam slayer, yesterday retained a new lawyer, plead not guilty to murdering a young woman in Brooklyn last month and informed the court that if he ever went to trial his defense would be insanity.

Mr. Berkowitz, the chunky, blue-eyed mail clerk, wore the same blue and white striped short-sleeve shirt and blue jeans he was wearing when arrested one week ago.

The introduction of yet another lawyer into the Berkowitz case surprised many of the 150 spectators in the courtroom, including, from his expression, the judge.

Victim’s Parents Tell Yonkers They Will Sue

The parents of Stacy Moskowitz, the last victim of the Son of Sam killer, plans to sue the city of Yonkers for $10 million, charging that its Police Department failed to follow up complaints against David R Berkowitz, accused of being the killer.

Excerpt from Marcia Chambers Aug 17, 1977 New York Times

Berkowitz Lawyer Seeking to Pull Out of Case After Reported Attempt to Sell Tapes of His Client

A Brooklyn lawyer who is said to have tried to sell the taped memoirs of David Berkowitz, the accused .44-caliber killer to two newspapers asked a Criminal Court judge yesterday to relieve him as Mr. B’s attorney.

“If I am guilty of anything,” Mr. Peltz said, “it is my failure to foresee that anyone who became involved with this case would be the subject of media notoriety.”

(Meaning that he overreached and realized that he was now in big trouble. Better to fly under the radar.)

Mr. Peltz, who obtained a document signed by Mr. B giving him power of attorney and full title to literary and media memoir rights, said he “unequivocally and unconditionally relinquished all fees, earnings or agent commissions which have accrued or may inure from this case.”

“I want no part of it,” he said, “for to do otherwise would contribute to what I think is an unwarranted view of the profession and myself.”

Peltz said that the 6 hours of tapes had been turned over to a “respected” lawyer who he would not name.

Mr. Peltz, who is facing disbarment proceedings in Brooklyn arising from his conviction and prison sentence seven years ago in a Federal securities case, appeared to be making a conciliatory gesture to the bar.

The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District said yesterday that Mr. P’s felony conviction was referred to the Bar Association of New York in 1972, but authorities of the bar association said yesterday that a preliminary record check disclosed no receipt of the case. Disbarment in New York State is automatic if a defendant’s Federal felony conviction is also a felony under state law. (Mr. P’s conspiracy felony is a misdemeanor under state law so his disbarment in discretionary.)

Mr. Peltz has given a number of explanations as to how he came into the Son of Sam case: an unidentified person telephoned him, a member of the family hired him, a message was left on his answering machine, and, finally, that after meeting Mr. B for the first time last Thursday, he was retained by the defendant himself.


Excerpt from Marcia Chambers Aug 16, 1977 New York Times

Phone Call to Yonkers Police Had Pivotal Role in Arrest of Berkowitz

During the first week in August, days after the death of Stacy Moscowitz, Mrs. Nann Cassara said she tried to call Yonkers police to tell them she believed David Berkowitz could be the Son of Sam. “With a man that crazy, you just can’t tell,” she said about her suspicions. She said that a detective she described as “rude” rebuffed her and she dropped the matter.

On August 5, the Yonkers patrolmen Intervalllo and Chamberlain gave their information to New York Detective Richard Salverson. This appears to be the first time that the name David Berkowitz was brought to the attention of NY police.

On August 9th Detective James Justus from Brooklyn called the Yonkers police to ask them to contact David Berkowitz who had received a parking summons in the area of the Moscowitz killing. The call was answered by Miss Wheat Carr who reportedly made some comments about her suspicions concerning Mr. Berkowitz and put the detective in touch with the patrolmen. The patrolmen related a series of circumstances that linked Mr. B to the .44-caliber killings. “The detective was so stunned he dropped the phone. The next day they picked up Berkowitz.”

Mr. Carr and his daughter said through their lawyer that they would not consent to an interview on the specifics of their involvement for less than $15,000.

Excerpt from Ronald Smoothers Aug 16, 1977 New York Times

136 Policemen Will Be Rehired to Aid Hunt for .44-Caliber Killer

With 300 New York City police officers assigned to the hunt for the .44-caliber killer, and 75 more on an expanded search for terrorist bombers, Commissioner Codd said yesterday that 136 laid-off police officers would be rehired today, and more later this month.
The New York Post published a report yesterday that Carmine Galante, as a mafia chief of organized crime, had called for “5000 soldiers” to find the killer ostensibly to stop murders of young girls like his daughters. The Post also attributed the command to a loss of business for mob-controlled entertainments because young people were staying home more, out of fear.

Excerpt from Peter Kihss Aug 5, 1977 New York Times

Grand Jury in Brooklyn Due To Act Today – Dispute Over Which Lawyer Represents Berkowitz Continues

In recent days, the controversy over Mr. B’s lawyers had developed into a major legal battle that remained unresolved over the weekend as arrangements were being made for the suspect’s expected arraignment in State Supreme Court.

Meanwhile police continued to investigate a report that Mr. B and a unidentified young man had visited a Westchester kennel last Wednesday, hours before his arrest.

Mr. Berkowitz, according to the Daily News, wrote about the use of drugs, such as LSD and morphine, and his refusal to carry a gun in Korea, in letters to Iris Gerhardt, a high school friend.

The paper, back then, was printed in black and white, but the language was more colorful.

Excerpt from Marcia Chambers Aug 15, 1977 New York Times

What Now for the Grieving Families of “Son of Sam’s’ Victims?

“If there were a scale of onerousness,” said Dr. Edwin Scheidman UCLA, “after suicide, homicide would be the worst.”

“Stigma is a very big problem in homicide,” Mrs. Clelia Goodyear said. “Often the families will move from their communities after the murder because they can’t face their neighbors. They feel ashamed – it’s dirty linen – not like a child dying of cancer. And the death almost always causes a major disruption in the family.”

“The unconscious meaning of the Son of Sam deaths was punishment for people who were young, attractive, sensual, romantic,” said Dr. Peretz. (Punishment for Disco) For some of the families involved there is the stigma of a child being shot in lovers’ lane.

“This is the best city in the world,” said Johnny Diel, the fiancé of Christine Freund, one of the five young women murdered by the Son of Sam. “Because of the tremendous community support in these highly publicized cases,” said Dr. Bruce Danto, “the families may pull together faster. You can’t indict cancer and send it to prison – you just feel helpless, but when someone captures your killer, you can feel justice and vindication.”

“I want him to be tortured and his eyes gouged out,” said Neysa Moscowitz.

“The press has been wonderful,” said Jerome Moscowitz, father of Stacy. “The come in and do their work and then they stay for hours and talk. Geraldo Rivera kissed my daughter Ricki goodbye.”

Excerpt from Joan Kron Aug 15, 1977 New York Times

Berkowitz Purchased Semiautomatic Rifle In Brooklyn in 1976

David Berkowitz bought a .45 caliber semiautomatic rifle (Commando Mark III) that the police say he planned to use in an attack on a Long Island discotheque and a final suicide shootout in an apparently legal purchase from a small gun shop in Brooklyn on Jan. 26, 1976.

The weapon was taken from his car the night he was arrested. Berkowitz told police he was planning to strike against a disco in the Hamptons that evening and would then shoot it out with pursuing officers. “I wanted to get killed. But I wanted to take some cops with me.”

In purchasing the weapon, she said, Mr. Berkowitz had filled out city and federal forms testifying that “he was not a junkie, not a nut, a mental case and that he had not been dishonorably discharged.”

Mrs. Rutuelo said she had been told that a Commando stolen from her shop had been used in the robbery of a bank and a subway token booth. “I try to avoid a sale if I think they’re a ding-a-ling.”


Excerpt from Joseph Treaster Aug 14, 1977 New York Times

Court Inquiry Is Set On Bid To Sell Tapes

The Appellate Division of State Supreme Court in Brooklyn plans to investigate the conduct of two lawyers who offered to sell taped memoirs they had obtained from David Berkowitz to at least two newspapers.

The court is also expected to inquire how the lawyers, Phillip Peltz and Ira Leifel managed to come into the state’s case against Mr. Berkowitz, the 24 year old mail clerk accused of being the slayer called “Son of Sam.”

Mr. Peltz is currently facing possible disbarment proceedings before the same court as a result of a 1969 Manhattan Federal conspiracy conviction that only recently came to the attention of the Brooklyn authorities. (The family hired Leon Stern – a store front lawyer from Mineola - as David’s lawyer.) Mr. Peltz said that David Berkowitz had retained him.

The controversy over just which lawyer represents Mr. B. flared up in public yesterday when Mr. B’s father confronted Peltz in the King’s County Hospital lobby and ordered him off the case. Mr. Peltz has a prior criminal conviction for securities violations.

Another issue yet to be resolved is the security of the 6 hours (?) of tapes.

On Thursday morning Mr. Peltz served notice of appearance in Criminal Court that he was representing Mr. B. and told Judge Brown that a member of the family had hired him – a claim the father said in a letter was untrue. Following the arraignment Mr. Peltz went to the hospital, interviewed Mr. B. and obtained a document signed by the suspect giving him power of attorney and full title to literary and press memoir rights. During the course of the evening Mr. Peltz appeared on a television new show saying the “precious rights” of Mr. B to a fair trial had to be preserved. Shortly before midnight, according to Peter Michelmore, an associate editor at The Post, Mr. Peltz and Mr. Leitel appeared in the newspaper’s city room. The lawyers offered to sell the newspaper serialization and book rights to a 30-minute taped interview and subsequent taped interviews for $100,000.

Under the terms of the agreement, Michelmore said he was told, Mr. B. would get two-thirds of the net proceeds and Mr. Peltz would get one-third. “I rejected the offer. I was quite startled. It seemed the whole thing was so absurd and distasteful.” Two hours later the tapes were offered to The Daily News for $50,000.



Excerpt from Marcia Chambers Aug 14, 1977 New York Times

Suspected .44 Killer’s Father Term Himself a Victim, Too

“I will live with this heartache for the rest of my life.” Speaking at an outdoor news conference in a light rain, Nathan Berkowitz, a 68 year old gray haired former Bronx hardware store owner, said in a voice choked with emotion:

“If what I read is true, I would like to say to all those families that have lost children, and have had children injured, I deeply grieve for you with all my heart. If David did these things, I don’t expect you to forgive him, as this would be too much to ask. All of those people who have known David and me – we, too, are victims of this tragedy.”

Nate wore tinted glasses, an orange jacket and a yellow golf hat which he subsequently removed. He sat at a table that was placed outside the new State Supreme Court Building with tears streaming down his face.

Sobbing uncontrollably, he lowered his head and put a hand to his face. The entire statement took 3 minutes and 15 seconds for him to read. One observer said it seemed like hours.

Excerpt from Leonard Buder Aug 14, 1977 New York Times

Another Shooting is Laid to Suspect in “Sam” Case

Following the shootings, Mr. Berkowitz says he drove for two hours through Brooklyn before he parked at Sunset Park, two miles from the scene of the crime. He sat on a bench reading the Sunday newspapers until 8 am. Then he crossed the Williamsburg Bridge into Manhattan and arrived in Yonkers at 10:30am (??).

His escape by car across the city was accomplished despite the “Code 44” alert the police used to supposedly block all exit routes from Brooklyn.

Berkowitz said he bought the .44-caliber Charter Arms Bulldog revolver in Houston with 100 rounds of ammunition (for $130) for the purpose of returning to New York to commit murders. “I had to get the gun… for my job.” He explained that his job was “killing people.”

On the night of the Moscowitz and Violante shootings, Mr. B sat on a bench in the Bay Shore Park watching Miss M and Mr. V on the swings. He then watched the couple return to their car and waited 10 minutes before he approached and fired four shots. Mr. B said he “sprayed” the vehicle with gunfire.

“I wanted her more than anything.” Meaning that she was the murder target.

Mr. B said that he had visited the park where the young couple was shot prior to the actual attack. On each of these scouting missions he was armed. “I always take that out at night.”

Excerpt from H. Blum Aug 14, 1977 New York Times