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David Berkowitz. The Son of Sam. A serial killer is…. Someone who directly or, like Manson, orders the the killings. They kill at least three people There is a pattern among the killings which is distinctive to that killer. Berkowitz’s childhood. He suffered from a troubled childhood
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David Berkowitz The Son of Sam
A serial killer is… • Someone who directly or, like Manson, orders the the killings. • They kill at least three people • There is a pattern among the killings which is distinctive to that killer.
Berkowitz’s childhood • He suffered from a troubled childhood • He was adopted by Nathan and Pearl Berkowitz before he was even a week old • He was very intelligent but he instead started committing petty crimes.
Childhood continued • His adopted mom died when he was a teenager • His relationship with his dad began to struggle • His stepsister introduced him into witchcraft
A little later in life… • He found his biological mother • She told him about his illegitimate birth and this troubled him deeply
His first killing • His first victim was a girl named Donna Lauria • About 1:10 in the morning she was walking her dog with a friend • Berkowitz approached them quickly • He then fired three shots. One hit Donna and killed her instantly, the second only injured her friend and the third one missed.
First killing • The police had a rough sketch of Berkowitz but nothing positive • They did determine that the gun was a .44 caliber Charter Arms Bulldog
Other shootings • There were several other shootings throughout the boroughs of New York City • They all followed a similar pattern • All were late a night on young females or young couples
Other shootings • The shooter approached quickly and left quickly • The same .44 caliber handgun was used in all the shootings
The Son of Sam • The police then received a letter from the “Son of Sam” • The letter had many spelling errors and it said that he would attack again • From the letter the police maid a psychological profile of Berkowitz
How he was caught • Berkowitz was seen by a woman removing a parking ticket from his car • She became worried and called police • Because he was close to the murder scene the police thought he could be a witness and set up an interview
Determining the murderer • A NYPD detective realized that Berkowitz could be the killer based off the profile the police made • They then determined that Berkowitz was the killer and he later confessed to the murders
overview • Berkowtiz was sentanced to 365 years in prison based on his confession