While Berkowitz’s rampage terrified the Big Apple and riveted the country, his notoriety has fallen off the radar in recent years. So if you need a refresher, keep reading to find out what happened to this one-of-a-kind criminal.
Who is David Berkowitz?
Berkowitz’s bizarre life began with an unfortunate turn from the very start. He was born in Brooklyn in 1953 to a divorced woman, Betty Broder Falco, and the married man she was having an affair with, Joseph Klineman. Falco gave up her son a few days after his birth, presumably because Klineman told her to. He was then adopted by a Bronx couple, Nathan and Pearl Berkowitz. Things didn’t get much better from there, as Berkowitz weathered a troubled and difficult childhood before his adoptive mother died of breast cancer when he was 14. He joined the U.S. Army at 17 and served for about three years before being honorably discharged. Soon after, he tracked down his birth mother and learned about the drama surrounding his birth and why she gave him up for adoption. Biographers have noted that Berkowitz seemingly suffered a massive identity crisis after learning about his history, which may have laid the psychological groundwork for his crimes. He would go on to hold a string of low-level jobs before landing work with the U.S. Post Office, where he was employed at the time he was finally apprehended for his crimes in 1977.
Why is David Berkowitz called Son of Sam?
“Son of Sam” is a nickname Berkowitz gave himself amid his murderous crime spree. After killing two of his victims in the Bronx in 1977, he’d left a handwritten note at the scene that read in part, “I am a monster. I am the ‘Son of Sam.’ I am a little ‘brat.’ When father Sam gets drunk he gets mean. He beats his family. Sometimes he ties me up to the back of the house. Other times he locks me in the garage. Sam loves to drink blood. ‘Go out and kill’ commands father Sam.”
How was David Berkowitz caught?
In August 1977, a woman named Cacilia Davis saw a car being ticketed by a cop in her neighborhood; moments later, a suspicious-looking man with some kind of object in his hand appeared near the car and seemed to stare at her. She ran home as shots rang out behind her. After she reported the incident to the authorities, they tracked down all the cars that had been ticketed in the area on the night in question and ultimately located what they believed to be the “Son of Sam” killer’s car, which had guns and ammunition inside. Police waited for Berkowitz to leave his nearby apartment and apprehended him at his vehicle. He reportedly told his arresting officers, “Well, you got me… I’m Sam.”
Is David Berkowitz still alive?
Not only is he still alive, but he claims he’s born again! In 1987, he became an evangelical Christian while in prison after a fellow inmate gave him a Bible. He has since stated through his website that he now refers to himself as the “Son of Hope.”
Where is David Berkowitz now?
After pleading guilty to all charges against him, Berkowitz tried to jump out a seventh-story window at his sentencing in 1978. (Throughout his legal proceedings, he underwent numerous psychiatric exams, but was always found competent to stand trial.) He was sentenced to 25 years-to-life for each of his killings. He’s served time in various New York State correctional facilities; he’s currently detained at the Shawangunk Correctional Facility in the tiny upstate town of Wallkill. Next, find out who Richard Ramirez, the Night Stalker, was married to.
