Pettibon Junction
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NY NY - DAVID BERKOWITZ "Son of Sam"
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Sherlock74
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Berkowitz
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JohnnyChicago
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"I believe that David Berkowitz did not act alone, and in fact it has crossed my mind that this .44-caliber pistol that was the weapon used in the shootings that we witness was passed around to a number of people," Queens District Attorney John Santucci said on TV at the time.
Berkowitz pleaded guilty and was eventually sentenced to six consecutive life terms of 25 years to life.
Several years later, on two different occasions, investigative reporter Maury Terry interviewed David Berkowitz in prison for a documentary series. In these rarely seen meetings, Berkowitz tells Terry that he was not the only shooter.
Terry: "Now, there were a series of eight attacks, known as the 'Son of Sam' killings."
Berkowitz: "Yeah."
Terry: "Did you do all of them?"
Berkowitz: "I was at all of them. I was at more or less at all of them, scouting the areas and reporting back on likely targets and things. And I did not pull the trigger at every single one of them, and I believe the police do know that."
Berkowitz claimed his accomplices were fellow members of the 22 Disciples of Hell Satanic cult, a group he joined when he was 22, and the killings were sacrifices to their Satanic gods.
Berkowitz agreed to go through each shooting, saying which ones he did and which ones he didn't -- including Carl Denaro's.
Terry: "Carl Denaro and Rosemary Keenan in Queens?"
Berkowitz: "No."
Terry: "That wasn't you?"
Berkowitz: "No."
Terry: "Were any of the .44 shootings done by females?"
Berkowitz: "Uh, yes."
Terry: "Would that have been one shooting or two?"
Berkowitz: "One I know of, possibly two. Well, I know that Carl's was definitely a woman."
Berkowitz refused to name any living co-conspirators for fear of reprisals against his family. But Denaro may have an idea of who she is.
"All indications point to a female who was in the cult," said Carl Denaro. "We can actually place her within two blocks of the shooting, and she is still alive. She would be 71 years old now."
Who does Denaro think shot him?
"I'd rather not say," said Denaro.
Denaro hopes one day there will be enough evidence to have the case re-opened. Until then, he counts his blessings he's alive, that he survived when tragically so many didn't.
"I always consider myself very lucky, extremely lucky," said Carl Denaro.
Even though David Berkowitz says he didn't shoot Carl Denaro, he says he deserves to be where he is, in prison. In fact he's refused parole for the last 15 years. His next parole hearing is scheduled for May 2018.
Berkowitz pleaded guilty and was eventually sentenced to six consecutive life terms of 25 years to life.
Several years later, on two different occasions, investigative reporter Maury Terry interviewed David Berkowitz in prison for a documentary series. In these rarely seen meetings, Berkowitz tells Terry that he was not the only shooter.
Terry: "Now, there were a series of eight attacks, known as the 'Son of Sam' killings."
Berkowitz: "Yeah."
Terry: "Did you do all of them?"
Berkowitz: "I was at all of them. I was at more or less at all of them, scouting the areas and reporting back on likely targets and things. And I did not pull the trigger at every single one of them, and I believe the police do know that."
Berkowitz claimed his accomplices were fellow members of the 22 Disciples of Hell Satanic cult, a group he joined when he was 22, and the killings were sacrifices to their Satanic gods.
Berkowitz agreed to go through each shooting, saying which ones he did and which ones he didn't -- including Carl Denaro's.
Terry: "Carl Denaro and Rosemary Keenan in Queens?"
Berkowitz: "No."
Terry: "That wasn't you?"
Berkowitz: "No."
Terry: "Were any of the .44 shootings done by females?"
Berkowitz: "Uh, yes."
Terry: "Would that have been one shooting or two?"
Berkowitz: "One I know of, possibly two. Well, I know that Carl's was definitely a woman."
Berkowitz refused to name any living co-conspirators for fear of reprisals against his family. But Denaro may have an idea of who she is.
"All indications point to a female who was in the cult," said Carl Denaro. "We can actually place her within two blocks of the shooting, and she is still alive. She would be 71 years old now."
Who does Denaro think shot him?
"I'd rather not say," said Denaro.
Denaro hopes one day there will be enough evidence to have the case re-opened. Until then, he counts his blessings he's alive, that he survived when tragically so many didn't.
"I always consider myself very lucky, extremely lucky," said Carl Denaro.
Even though David Berkowitz says he didn't shoot Carl Denaro, he says he deserves to be where he is, in prison. In fact he's refused parole for the last 15 years. His next parole hearing is scheduled for May 2018.
JohnnyChicago
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Son of Sam
"it's alleged that the cult was active and recruiting new members as late as ten years after his arrest. Maury believes that this cult sent the letter to Jimmy Breslin. In the letter a "King Wicker" is mentioned; interestingly, Berkowitz lived in an apartment next to Wicker Street. A man named John Carr lived close to Berkowitz; Maury learned that his nickname was "John Wheaties" which was also mentioned in the Breslin letter. John Carr happened to be the son of Sam Carr; Sam's dog is the one that Berkowitz claimed had told him to commit the killings. Maury believe that John resembles two of the composites of the killer. Maury tracked John Carr to Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota. Maury learned that while John worked in North Dakota, he frequently traveled to New York around the time of the murders. Authorities confirmed that John was a close friend and confidant of Berkowitz.
Composites of Son of Sam (above) and John Carr (below)
On February 17, 1978, six months after Berkowitz's arrest, John Carr was found dead in his girlfriend's apartment in Minot, North Dakota. It was believed, at first, that John had sat at the edge of his bed and shot himself with a gun that was found next to him; his girlfriend believed this. The next day, however, she changed her story and said that she believed that he had been murdered. She said that he was wanted for the Son of Sam murders in New York and that he was afraid for his life. One of the North Dakota investigators is convinced that John Carr was murdered; however, the death was remains a mystery.
Maury believes that John Carr had satanic cult ties to both New York and North Dakota"
"it's alleged that the cult was active and recruiting new members as late as ten years after his arrest. Maury believes that this cult sent the letter to Jimmy Breslin. In the letter a "King Wicker" is mentioned; interestingly, Berkowitz lived in an apartment next to Wicker Street. A man named John Carr lived close to Berkowitz; Maury learned that his nickname was "John Wheaties" which was also mentioned in the Breslin letter. John Carr happened to be the son of Sam Carr; Sam's dog is the one that Berkowitz claimed had told him to commit the killings. Maury believe that John resembles two of the composites of the killer. Maury tracked John Carr to Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota. Maury learned that while John worked in North Dakota, he frequently traveled to New York around the time of the murders. Authorities confirmed that John was a close friend and confidant of Berkowitz.
Composites of Son of Sam (above) and John Carr (below)
On February 17, 1978, six months after Berkowitz's arrest, John Carr was found dead in his girlfriend's apartment in Minot, North Dakota. It was believed, at first, that John had sat at the edge of his bed and shot himself with a gun that was found next to him; his girlfriend believed this. The next day, however, she changed her story and said that she believed that he had been murdered. She said that he was wanted for the Son of Sam murders in New York and that he was afraid for his life. One of the North Dakota investigators is convinced that John Carr was murdered; however, the death was remains a mystery.
Maury believes that John Carr had satanic cult ties to both New York and North Dakota"
elmomom
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Is anyone watching the Netflix documentary based on Maury Terry’s theories? I won’t be able to watch for a couple of weeks, but I can’t wait. In two weeks I am actually going up to visit my parents and taking them to Untermeyer park in Yonkers. It’s been restored back to beautiful gardens now. Back in 78-79 I went there a couple of times at night, snuck through a broken fence with my friends and ogled all the satanic graffiti. We scared ourselves silly, and we didn’t even know about the link to Berkowitz.
So weird, I planned the trip to Untermeyer and an old friend from the Bronx pointed out the Netflix show, so it is all coming full circle for a walk down memory lane, into how I first became interested in true crime. I was 16 in 1977 and I lived in the Bronx. It was a wild time.
So weird, I planned the trip to Untermeyer and an old friend from the Bronx pointed out the Netflix show, so it is all coming full circle for a walk down memory lane, into how I first became interested in true crime. I was 16 in 1977 and I lived in the Bronx. It was a wild time.
Sonny Crockett
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Recently finished watching The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness Netflix 4-part documentary. Very well-done, thoroughly researched, and extremely gripping/compelling/intriguing. Also liked the Season of the Witch (Donovan, 1966) "theme" song for the series - very appropriate. I still think DB almost certainly acted alone re: the SOS killings. But, this does present an "alternate take" on this, even though I don't believe that it happened this way.
Some thoughts:
-This panic about cults, etc. that came up in the '70's/'80's was ridiculous & IMHO had little to no veracity. Specifically, the idea that the roleplaying game "Dungeons & Dragons" and the innocent cartoon "The Smurfs" were sinister/malevolent & had hidden meanings, etc. is patently ludicrous.
-I can see how MT could have made the connections between DB & the alleged "cult" due to the close proximity of DB's apartment to the house of the Carr brother (JC & MC), Untermeyer park, etc.
-Yes, there may have been some kind of "cults" that existed in this area where DB lived that "sacrificed" animals, etc. But, I don't necessarily think that DB knew these people and/or associated with them. And, I don't think that they had anything to do with the SOS killings; though they may have been involved in other killings.
-I have concerns about the veracity of what DB is telling MT during the two interviews we saw portions of in the doc. (1993 & 1997). It seems to me that MT is "feeding" DB info. & DB is telling him what he wants to hear. I.e., instead of MT asking DB exactly what happened (which is what he should have done), I see DB picking up on what MT is asking/telling & then forming the narrative around this info.
-I definitely do not believe DB when he says he didn't do all/most of the killings.
-I don't see the "eyewitness accounts" as describing someone who didn't look like DB as being too much of an issue. These types of accounts are notoriously unreliable; most of these happened at night/early evening when it was either dark or getting dark and it would have been hard to make out facial/body details, etc.; and, they all happened relatively quickly.
-The final SOS murder was the killing of SM & the blinding of her bf, RV. This is the one that the doc. claims couldn't have been done by DB because he got a parking ticket a distance away. But, he still could have walked several blocks, done the killings, and then walked back to his car.
-The death of AP (the college student from ND who moved to CA, and was found in a church) was grotesque & horrific. At the end of the doc., it was shown that the perp. had been a local security guard - who the authorities proved was involved back in 2018, and who died before he could be captured. However, despite the doc. implying that this death had something to do with a "cult", I believe the security guard acted alone.
-I agree that MT unfortunately became obsessed with proving that DB didn't act alone. And, apparently trying to prove this took over his life & ruined his health. Sad.
Some thoughts:
-This panic about cults, etc. that came up in the '70's/'80's was ridiculous & IMHO had little to no veracity. Specifically, the idea that the roleplaying game "Dungeons & Dragons" and the innocent cartoon "The Smurfs" were sinister/malevolent & had hidden meanings, etc. is patently ludicrous.
-I can see how MT could have made the connections between DB & the alleged "cult" due to the close proximity of DB's apartment to the house of the Carr brother (JC & MC), Untermeyer park, etc.
-Yes, there may have been some kind of "cults" that existed in this area where DB lived that "sacrificed" animals, etc. But, I don't necessarily think that DB knew these people and/or associated with them. And, I don't think that they had anything to do with the SOS killings; though they may have been involved in other killings.
-I have concerns about the veracity of what DB is telling MT during the two interviews we saw portions of in the doc. (1993 & 1997). It seems to me that MT is "feeding" DB info. & DB is telling him what he wants to hear. I.e., instead of MT asking DB exactly what happened (which is what he should have done), I see DB picking up on what MT is asking/telling & then forming the narrative around this info.
-I definitely do not believe DB when he says he didn't do all/most of the killings.
-I don't see the "eyewitness accounts" as describing someone who didn't look like DB as being too much of an issue. These types of accounts are notoriously unreliable; most of these happened at night/early evening when it was either dark or getting dark and it would have been hard to make out facial/body details, etc.; and, they all happened relatively quickly.
-The final SOS murder was the killing of SM & the blinding of her bf, RV. This is the one that the doc. claims couldn't have been done by DB because he got a parking ticket a distance away. But, he still could have walked several blocks, done the killings, and then walked back to his car.
-The death of AP (the college student from ND who moved to CA, and was found in a church) was grotesque & horrific. At the end of the doc., it was shown that the perp. had been a local security guard - who the authorities proved was involved back in 2018, and who died before he could be captured. However, despite the doc. implying that this death had something to do with a "cult", I believe the security guard acted alone.
-I agree that MT unfortunately became obsessed with proving that DB didn't act alone. And, apparently trying to prove this took over his life & ruined his health. Sad.
Sonny Crockett
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To add to my last post:
After DB was arrested, the killings stopped - which strongly indicated that he was the sole SOS killer. Yes, I know those that believe a cult existed will argue that the Carr Bros. were also SOS killers & the reason the killings stopped (after DB's arrest) was because they both died under 'mysterious' circumstances. However, if this truly was a "cult" that was doing the killings, an organization like this (with multiple people) would have had others that should have continued these. Also, John Carr died six months after DB's arrest, and Michael Carr died two years after the arrest. Why weren't there any more killings after the arrest & before they passed?! Again, this strongly points to DB acting alone.
After DB was arrested, the killings stopped - which strongly indicated that he was the sole SOS killer. Yes, I know those that believe a cult existed will argue that the Carr Bros. were also SOS killers & the reason the killings stopped (after DB's arrest) was because they both died under 'mysterious' circumstances. However, if this truly was a "cult" that was doing the killings, an organization like this (with multiple people) would have had others that should have continued these. Also, John Carr died six months after DB's arrest, and Michael Carr died two years after the arrest. Why weren't there any more killings after the arrest & before they passed?! Again, this strongly points to DB acting alone.
elmomom
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It has been many, many years since I read Maury Terry’s book. I remember being absolutely engrossed.. but in the years since I have settled on a “one of the Carr brothers may have been involved but no major conspiracy involved” belief. Since the SoS was so much a part of my teen years, watching the documentary and re-visiting the area is such a surreal experience.
SugarQueen
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Ive been back to Untermeyer Park a few times since the restoration began. It’s changed so much from the SOS years. It was my happy place for several years in my teens.
As for the “cult” that hung out there, well, I never really thought of them as a cult. Just a group of people with beliefs that weren’t mainstream.
As for the “cult” that hung out there, well, I never really thought of them as a cult. Just a group of people with beliefs that weren’t mainstream.
SugarQueen
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I agree.
imstilla.grandma
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- David Berkowitz murdered six people and wounded seven others with a .44 revolver five decades ago in NYC.
- He ignited a public panic of epic proportions during the so-called Summer of Sam in 1977.
- By 1975, isolation, fantasies, and delusions progressed to the point that Berkowitz lost touch with reality.
- Berkowitz is a visionary-style serial killer because he murdered for Satan.
1977 NYPD Mugshot: David Berkowitz
David Berkowitz murdered six people and wounded seven others with a powerful .44 Bulldog revolver during his reign of terror five decades ago in New York City. He ignited a public panic of epic proportions during the so-called Summer of Sam in 1977. In an earlier article here, I presented a summary of my personal correspondence with Berkowitz and my insights into his current thinking. What I did not previously provide, however, is a detailed description of the events that led up to the murderous rampage of Berkowitz. Responding to a number of requests, the following explains the rise of the Son of Sam at link:
The Rise of the Son of Sam
A glimpse inside the evolution of a serial killer.