David Berkowitz
The Son of Sam or The .44-Caliber Killer
About David Berkowitz
- Born as Richard David Falco on June 1, 1953 in New York City
- Was adopted a few days after birth by Nathan and Pearl Berkowitz
- Male, joined the U.S. Army at the age of 18, left in the year of 1974 and got a job at the post office
- Intelligent but troubled child growing up, he was very close to his mother who passed away when he was a teenager
- Neighbors and co-workers said he was a quiet loner
- Active in Killings from 1976-1977
- July 1976, January 1977, March 1977, July 1977
- Killed 6 people and severely injured more
- Targeted couples and single women
- He always used a .44-caliber gun to kill his victims and towards his later shootings he left notes for the police captain taunting him and calling himself the Son of Sam
- He says his motive was from his neighbor, Sam, who sent messages through his dog and sent them to David ordering him to kill these people
- That is where he got the name the Son of Sam
David Berkowitz
Wanted Picture of Son of Sam before catching Berkowitz
Most Recent Mug Shot of Berkowitz as of 2003
The Chase
Caught and Trial
- On July 31, 1977, the day of Berkowitz's last shooting, a witness saw a man getting away with a parking ticket on the car. The police checked and there were only a couple people who had received parking tickets that day and Berkowitz was one of them. Berkowitz was caught on August 10, 1977. New York Times said that when he was caught his first words were "Well, you've got me"
- During trial Berkowitz explained that his reason for killing all of these people was because his neighbor was sending messages through his dog telling Berkowitz to kill them, he says "He told me to kill. Sam is the devil"
- Because of what he said they had to spend months trying to decide if Berkowitz was capable to withstand trial by doing many psychological evaluations
- August 1978, Berkowitz pled guilty to the six killings and later received 25 years to life for each murder
- Berkowitz is currently serving a life sentence at Sullivan Correctional Facility in Fallsburg, New York and is 62 years old