"Son of Sam" Serial Killer Speaks

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Son of Sam" Serial Killer Speaks

Podcast Information:

• Title: 48 Hours
• Host/Author: CBS News
• Episode: "Son of Sam" Serial Killer Speaks
• Release Date: August 5, 2025

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Introduction to the Son of Sam Case

The episode opens by immersing listeners into the heightened fear that gripped New York City during the late 1970s. The city was tormented by a serial killer who identified himself as the "Son of Sam," leaving the populace in a state of constant anxiety and fear.

Notable Quote:

Reporter [01:14]: "Are we ready for another blackout? Or a bus hijacking? Or a bombing for another murder by the .44 caliber killer?"

---

David Berkowitz's Early Life

David Berkowitz, later known as the Son of Sam, provides a personal glimpse into his troubled upbringing. Adopted at a young age, Berkowitz reveals the emotional turmoil he experienced, including depression and an obsession with death, which he believes contributed to his later actions.

Notable Quotes:

David Berkowitz [08:26]: "I struggled with a lot of depression as a child and obsessions with death because I thought I deserved to die."

David Berkowitz [08:50]: "I was angry at God... I found it very difficult."

---

The Crime Spree: Victims and Modus Operandi

Between mid-1977 and early 1978, Berkowitz embarked on a killing spree, targeting young couples in parked cars across Brooklyn and Queens. Armed with a .44 caliber revolver, his method was swift and brutal, leaving six victims dead and seven others injured.

Notable Quotes:

Reporter [07:02]: "A young couple was shot and wounded while sitting in a park car. Most of the victims have been young women with shoulder-length dark brown hair."

Detective [07:50]: "He terrified the city. I mean, I've never seen people like that."

---

Police Investigation and Manhunt

The New York Police Department (NYPD) faced immense challenges in apprehending Berkowitz. The lack of a clear motive or pattern beyond the weapon used made the case particularly difficult. The investigation intensified as Berkowitz's actions continued unabated.

Notable Quotes:

Police Officer [17:03]: "We're thinking we got a tough case here."

Detective [18:42]: "Again, we were having, you know, at that time, probably, I don't know, 1500 homicides a year."

---

Interaction with the Media: Letters to Jimmy Breslin

Berkowitz reached out to the media, specifically columnist Jimmy Breslin of the New York Daily News. These letters provided crucial insights into the killer's psyche and offered a rare glimpse into his motivations, though Berkowitz later distanced himself from these communications.

Notable Quotes:

Reporter [21:32]: "Jimmy was engaging in this written dialogue with the killer for...more clues as to his identity."

Historian [21:33]: "It was no accident that the Son of Sam killer started writing to him."

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Capturing David Berkowitz

The breakthrough came when a police officer noticed a ticket issued to Berkowitz near one of the crime scenes. Coupled with witness testimonies about Berkowitz's past actions, this led to his identification and eventual capture.

Notable Quotes:

Reporter [31:14]: "He shot a young couple... It was their first date."

Police Officer [32:43]: "They caught him. They caught him. They caught the piece of garbage."

---

Courtroom Proceedings and Reactions

Berkowitz's courtroom appearances were marked by tension and anger from the victims’ families. His demeanor during the proceedings was unsettling, showing a lack of remorse that further infuriated those affected by his crimes.

Notable Quotes:

Robert Violante [38:07]: "You have to forgive him. You don't."

David Berkowitz [38:15]: "I've apologized many times... I wish I could go back and change things."

---

Berkowitz's Reflections and Current Status

In later interviews, Berkowitz discusses his transformation while incarcerated. He identifies as a born-again Christian and expresses remorse for his actions, although his sincerity remains questionable to some listeners. Berkowitz engages in ministry within the prison, aiming to prevent others from following a similar dark path.

Notable Quotes:

David Berkowitz [41:17]: "I hope these people are getting along in life as best as possible."

David Berkowitz [44:21]: "I've been locked up since the time of my arrest. Just under 40 years."

---

Victims' Families' Perspectives

The families of Berkowitz's victims share their enduring pain and anger. Robert Violante, whose friend Stacey Moskowitz was killed, expresses relentless resentment towards Berkowitz, highlighting the lasting trauma inflicted by the murders.

Notable Quotes:

Robert Violante [29:10]: "I think it was my dad that told me about Stacy."

Robert Violante [40:24]: "He ruins not just my life, 12 other lives, plus the families. So how do you forgive something like that?"

---

Conclusion and Reflections

The episode concludes by reflecting on the profound impact of Berkowitz's crimes on New York City and the broader societal implications of media involvement in criminal cases. It underscores the lingering fear and the complex emotions of forgiveness and justice experienced by the victims' families.

Notable Quotes:

Detective [43:00]: "I'll never forgive him because he snuffed out six people's lives... for people that didn't do anything to him."

David Berkowitz [43:31]: "I see the one man that was tormented by demons. And I see the man that has the peace of God radiating from him."

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Key Takeaways

• Psychological Profile: Berkowitz's troubled childhood and subsequent emotional struggles played a significant role in his descent into criminality.

• Impact of Media: The interaction between Berkowitz and the media, particularly through his letters to Jimmy Breslin, had profound effects on the investigation and public perception.

• Law Enforcement Challenges: The case highlighted the difficulties law enforcement faces when dealing with a serial killer lacking clear motives or patterns, emphasizing the importance of community vigilance and comprehensive investigative techniques.

• Victims' Aftermath: The enduring pain and quest for justice experienced by the victims' families underline the long-term societal consequences of such crimes.

• Redemption and Remorse: Berkowitz's later-life reflections and expressed remorse present a complex narrative of accountability and the possibility of personal transformation, albeit met with skepticism by those directly affected.

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This detailed summary encapsulates the key points, discussions, insights, and conclusions from the "48 Hours" episode titled "Son of Sam" Serial Killer Speaks, providing a comprehensive overview for those who have not listened to the podcast.

Transcript

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[Robert Violante]

We ready?

[Reporter]

That's a question New Yorkers have been asking themselves a lot lately. Are we ready for another blackout? Or a bus hijacking? Or a bombing for another murder by the.44 caliber killer? I know that I'm not usually known.

[Detective]

For any public exhibitions of temper, but I want you to know I'm damned angry.

[Reporter]

The city is preoccupied with the killer who in one note signed himself the Son of Sam. He is compelled to kill. I think people are really shook up. People wouldn't come out at night. They're really scared.

[Survivor]

The whole city was kind of like in lockdown. No one stayed out past 10 o'. Clock.

[Historian]

People were terrified and the girl was covered with blood.

[Robert Violante]

Oh my God. Oh my God. We've been shot. We've been shot. I should have been dead.

[Survivor]

I guess on one hand I was happy to be alive. A lot of people died from the same gun.

[Reporter]

He struck again over the weekend, shooting a young couple in a Brooklyn lover's lane. And today the girl died. The killer's sixth victim. He's wounded seven others.

[Advertiser]

It's just scary.

[Police Officer]

It's frightening.

[Advertiser]

When you're walking, people just look over their shoulder.

[Detective]

That's all they do is talk about.

[Reporter]

The killer walks up to strangers, usually couples in parked cars, and shoots them with a large bore revolver. Police say they are nowhere near solving the case. If you're asking whether we have any.

[Police Officer]

Indication of who he is or where.

[Reporter]

He might be, the answer is no.

[Advertiser]

To do this to a young girl and a young boy. He's not human.

[Historian]

He was writing about a dog that talked to him, gave him orders to kill.

[Reporter]

I mean, he just was going out 30 nights a month looking for someone to kill.

[Police Officer]

He terrified the city. I mean, I've never seen people like that.

[David Berkowitz]

Yeah, I see that. People will never understand where I came from, no matter how much I. I try to explain it. They wouldn't understand what. What it. What it. It was to. To walk.

[Interviewer]

I remember we were an hour away from the city, and everybody was afraid after all that, to find out that this was a sort of a. You know what people describe him as? This chubby, shy, lonely guy who had the whole city buckling at its knees.

[Robert Violante]

Afraid.

[Interviewer]

It's a strange sensation. Serial killer's about to walk in here and talk with us, I think. There he goes, right there. That look like him, right?

[David Berkowitz]

Hello. Hey.

[Interviewer]

God bless you, Maurice Dubois.

[David Berkowitz]

It's an honor to meet you, sir.

[Police Officer]

God meet you.

[Interviewer]

Thank you for talking with us.

[Police Officer]

Sure.

[David Berkowitz]

Okay. It's a. It's a big step, you know, I have my. Yeah. Misgivings and nervousness and all those things, but.

[Reporter]

Understood.

[Interviewer]

Is this a special place for you?

[David Berkowitz]

Yeah, it is. Yeah. It's a place of refuge, you know, Refuge from the storms of life. And, you know, if you know anything about prison, there's a lot of storms, you know, it's not exactly a happy place. In prison, men are walking around carrying a lot of pain. I know I have a lot of pain inside me over, you know, things that happened. And this is a place where you could come and pour your heart out to God. My name is David Berkowitz, and I've been locked up since the time of my arrest. Just under 40 years.

[Interviewer]

You just turned 64?

[David Berkowitz]

Yeah, I just turned 64, yeah.

[Interviewer]

How do the guys look at you? How do they see you? How do they perceive you?

[David Berkowitz]

Some guys really, again, because of the passing of time. They're not even familiar with the case or anything. They may have heard about it, but it doesn't. Just another face in the crowd. No special attention. No special anything. That's the way I want it to be.

[Historian]

In the summer of 1977, New York lost its mind. Well, this was a city that looked like Berlin after the war. It was devastated. There were abandoned buildings. There were waves of arson in which people were afraid to go to bed at night. We had a blackout in which 3,000 people were arrested.

[David Berkowitz]

It makes you really want to throw.

[Advertiser]

Up when you look at what's happened.

[David Berkowitz]

And we got to live here. There's no place for us to go.

[Historian]

We had the faln The Puerto Rican terrorist group planting bombs in department stores. We had a record Heat Wave. George Willig, a mountain climber from Queens, climbing up the outside of the World Trade Center. You know, it was a very, very different time and people were afraid to walk around. You know, 1977, among other things, was the year that Studio 54 opened. It was a time of sexual liberation, perhaps the last gasps of the anything goes sexual revolution.

[Advertiser]

I like to disco as a single woman. I feel safe here.

[Historian]

This was the era of Saturday Night Fever and it was that throbbing music that became the backdrop for all the wacky behavior that was going on in the city at the time, including a murder spree by a serial killer.

[Reporter]

In New York. Early this morning, a mystery deepened and a manhunt intensified. A young couple was shot and wounded while sitting in a park car. Most of the victims have been young women with shoulder length dark brown hair who were gunned down as they sat in parked cars or walked the sidewalks of the Bronx and Queens.

[Detective]

And you know, you're dealing with a crazy guy, you know, you go up to two innocent girls sitting in a car and shoot them, or a guy and a girl in a car and you shoot them for no reason. I wanted to know why he did what he did. That's the one thing about all of these girls in these cases and guys, they did nothing to contribute to their own demise. They were sitting, talking to each other and this guy killed him.

[David Berkowitz]

I mean I, I grew up in the Bronx. I had good, good day good times and bad times. I had some struggles over certain issues that happened and. But I also had times of adventure when I ran, played ball with my friends. Really was in many ways a normal childhood. But that also wrestled with self destructive behavior.

[Interviewer]

Why?

[David Berkowitz]

Well, when I was about 4 or 5, I, I learned that I was adopted. And when I asked about who my parents were at birth, you know, my dad and mom, you know, well, meaning told me that my mother died while giving birth to me. Later on I found out that of course she was alive and well. We had a wonderful reunion.

[Interviewer]

It wasn't even true what they told you.

[David Berkowitz]

Yeah, they meant well because they were told by the experts. That's what you tell an adopted child when they naturally ask questions. Looking in retrospect, that characterized much of my life. I struggled with a lot of depression as a child and obsessions with death because I thought I deserved to die.

[Interviewer]

So take me to when you're 14, your mom dies.

[David Berkowitz]

Yeah, that was a difficult time. Yeah, yeah. Well, just when you lose someone that you love is a sense of mourning. I try to put it out of my mind. I was carrying around a lot of guilt. I was carrying around a lot of shame that I deserve to be punished. I can't explain those things.

[Interviewer]

For your mom's death?

[David Berkowitz]

Yeah, maybe I was angry at God. And then, well, my birth mother and then of course my adoptive mother too. I found it very difficult.

[Robert Violante]

The victim that's selected usually satisfies something.

[Detective]

On a fantasy level. A punishing mother could be a wife.

[Reporter]

And so every time he commits the.

[David Berkowitz]

Crime against a person that has this.

[Detective]

Thing, he's satisfying his basic need of.

[David Berkowitz]

Getting back at the original individual that.

[Detective]

He had difficulty with.

[David Berkowitz]

You know, it was just a challenge. It was a challenge, but I mean, I ended up doing okay. It was. My dad really kept on me to finish school. I graduated from Christopher Columbus high school in 1971 and I joined the army.

[Robert Violante]

He went into the service and a.

[David Berkowitz]

Drastic change took place. And a different man came out that went in.

[Advertiser]

What do you mean a different man went out?

[David Berkowitz]

How did he change? I went to Korea and I'll never forget that. You know, you see the advertisements on TV of the guys jumping out of planes and all these exciting things and you know, and you find out army life is kind of mundane and routine. Just turned 18. I'm trying to find my way in life. I wanted to see the world. A man that went in relatively mellow.

[Robert Violante]

Relatively peaceful, turned around and became a man that was more interested in the fantasy in the world than the reality.

[David Berkowitz]

After I got out of the surface, I went to look up a lot of old friends, guys I used to hang out with and things, and found everybody pretty much moved on in the three years of my absence. So I came back, find out I was on my own kind of, you know, and wanted to eventually get my own apartment, you know, wanted to find a girl, maybe get married and raise a family. And I had all kinds of normal, perfectly normal hopes and dreams.

[Interviewer]

What would you tell 23 year old David Berkowitz today?

[David Berkowitz]

Turn around before it's too late. Because destruction is coming, you know.

[Reporter]

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[Reporter]

Berkowitz lived in Yonkers, north of New York. Police described him as a loner. His neighbors discussed their impressions with CBS News correspondent Bill McLaughlin. He seems strange to you?

[David Berkowitz]

Not strange. When he came in, you know, he.

[Robert Violante]

Spoke what's happening and everything, but he was friendly then.

[David Berkowitz]

Yeah, he didn't seem strange.

[Robert Violante]

I never suspect him in this build.

[Police Officer]

Out of every building.

[David Berkowitz]

Yonkers, he's in 35 Pine Street.

[Robert Violante]

You know, that shocks me.

[Interviewer]

So you're living in Yonkers, you move up to Yonkers?

[Detective]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

You have an apartment up on the seventh floor?

[David Berkowitz]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

7E. It's a nice spot. You're looking out over the Hudson River.

[David Berkowitz]

Yeah. The building was not any way peaceful.

[Police Officer]

Not that way.

[Interviewer]

What was it like?

[David Berkowitz]

It was just chaotic. It was just a strange place. There was a strange spirit there.

[Interviewer]

Live right here in this building. 2, 3, 4. Used to be number 35. Changed the number in hopes of maybe made people feel a little better.

[Reporter]

If they don't recognize where the buildings.

[Interviewer]

Then I say, do you remember Son of Sam?

[Advertiser]

Oh, I know where the building is.

[Interviewer]

Really? So they know people are familiar with it.

[David Berkowitz]

Yeah, a lot of people know what happened.

[Interviewer]

It's still hard to believe that even something like that exists in this world. I mean, who goes around killing people? I don't know anybody like that.

[Reporter]

You try not to think of things like that.

[Interviewer]

There's people in the neighborhood that knew.

[Robert Violante]

Him say, you know, he was very.

[Reporter]

You know, cool with the kids, used.

[Robert Violante]

To give him ice cream, things like that.

[Interviewer]

And like he was a functional man, just another guy.

[David Berkowitz]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

What about the idea that he shot Sam Carr's dog right behind here?

[Detective]

This dog, his master is a 6,000-year-old. Being talking to him through this dog and he's bang for blood.

[Interviewer]

The dog got on Berkowitz's nerves. Apparently the dog barked too much. Berkowitz could hear him from his window. He tried to kill the Dog. The dog didn't die. And then he said in his own twisted way that the dog told him to kill. So Berkowitz lived on the top floor. He had a clear view right into the backyard here where the dog lived. Owned by a guy named Sam Carr, hence the name Son of Sam.

[David Berkowitz]

I felt very isolated. I didn't really have much of a social life. I started to get into a lot of satanic stuff. So I really was opening myself up to some very dark forces.

[Detective]

It's not like he had a friend or anything. There was nobody. He had a hole in the wall in his apartment. It said that misses Something or other and her kids live in the wall. You know, he's certifiably nuts.

[David Berkowitz]

Well, there was just a battle going on inside me. In your head, you know, Just a battle going on. Yeah, right.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, I guess. Here's the thing. Here's a Christian man, man who knows right from wrong, who's had loving parents, right. Who's very thoughtful. Yet at some point there, you kill two people to start this whole thing.

[Reporter]

She was 18 year old Donna Lauria, who was sitting in a parked car with a friend late at night when her parents heard the shots.

[Robert Violante]

I ran down.

[Historian]

By the time I got down, she was dead in the street.

[Reporter]

My daughter was 18 years old. And that's what he took out of my heart.

[David Berkowitz]

18 years. It was a very troubled time. Yeah, right.

[Interviewer]

But then he did it again.

[Survivor]

It started out as a typical Friday night. Drove to 159th street and 32nd Avenue. Basically we started making out. And like two minutes later, yeah, it was shot in the back of the head, but you know, on the top, the windows just shattered. So I had pieces of glass all over my arms. I didn't know I was shot, but I knew something terrible had happened. The skull was blown away. The only thing protecting my brain from the outside world was a flap of skin.

[David Berkowitz]

Well, things happen. Yeah, but that's, that's. That's it, you know?

[Interviewer]

And then again, then we get to November. We have Demassi and Mamino. They're shot.

[Police Officer]

They're standing on the stoop and he walks up and he fires at them.

[Interviewer]

So at this point, you have nothing. What are you thinking?

[Police Officer]

We're thinking we got a tough case here.

[Reporter]

Police have been engaged in intensive hunt for a man known as the.44 caliber killer. There's widespread apprehension that his crime spree is not open.

[Interviewer]

I mean, it just kept going for more than a year.

[Police Officer]

The hardest cases in the world for homicide detectives are Strangers, stranger on stranger. You have very little to go with because you don't have a motive. You may not have any witnesses. Right. So you're at a dead standstill.

[Interviewer]

Was there any common thread with all of these families, victims of Son of Sam?

[Detective]

Well, the common thread was these were their, you know, 20 year olds. They're young, you know, their children.

[Interviewer]

We've got Christine front again, this shooting.

[Police Officer]

Right.

[Interviewer]

Is there any suspicion?

[Historian]

Yes, at least two.

[Reporter]

Witnesses say the gunman walked up to the car, crouched, then fired four shots.

[Police Officer]

One of the detectives come over to me and he says, you know, that's a big bullet. He says, and we had a shooting in the 105 with a big bullet. And then they also had one in Queens. So that stirred me up a little bit.

[Reporter]

The.44 bullet is big, nearly twice as big as the conventional.38 caliber police handgun ammunition.

[Robert Violante]

The.44 is designed, they say, to kill.

[Interviewer]

Then we get to March, Virginia, the.

[Police Officer]

Student shoots her right in the face. Starts to get a little curious now, because that shooting is only a block away from where Christine Forn was murdered. We don't really get into the serial.

[Interviewer]

Killer until the incident in the Bronx, April 17, 1977.

[Police Officer]

That will go down in infamy.

[Interviewer]

Until then, you just had a series of shootings without any.

[Detective]

Again, we were having, you know, at that time, probably, I don't know, 1500 homicides a year. The big thing about this one was the.44 caliber bullets.

[Interviewer]

Now, it's not just a bullet.

[Police Officer]

He left a letter to me.

[Reporter]

Tonight's 48 Hours will continue.

[Advertiser]

I can only describe it as evil.

[Reporter]

Follow and listen to Train to Kill, the Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard on the Free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Police Officer]

I was home in bed and I got a call. Looks like a boy. Why? Big bullet, big bullet. So now I got dressed and I went to the Bronx.

[Interviewer]

You get to the scene, you get this letter. You read the letter. What do you think?

[Police Officer]

To me, it looked like some kind of a psychopath wrote this letter. Mr. Borelli, sir, I don't want to kill anymore. No, sir, no more. But I must honor thy father. I am deeply hurt by your calling me a woman hater. I am not. But I am a monster. I am the Son of Sam.

[David Berkowitz]

As far as I'm concerned, that was not me. That was not me. Even that name. I hate that name. I despise that name. That.

[Interviewer]

Which name?

[David Berkowitz]

That moniker, Son of Sam. That's. That. That. That was not. That was a demon. That. That was that was the. A demonic entity that I was serving in my ignorance, my shame.

[Police Officer]

This is no longer a city case. This is now going to get nationwide attention.

[Reporter]

No one in the city of 8 million knows who is next. In New York early this morning, the.44 caliber killer tried to kill again.

[David Berkowitz]

That was just a break from reality. Thought I was doing something to appease the devil. I'm sorry for it, but I really don't want to talk about it anymore.

[Interviewer]

He's the devil.

[David Berkowitz]

No, I was. At this time, I was serving him. You know, I was serving him. I feel that you're taking over my mind and body. And I just surrendered to those very dark forces. I regret that with all my heart. But, you know, that was like 40 years ago.

[Detective]

Effectively, it was him winning over us each time. He got away with it.

[Reporter]

The only substantial clues so far have been two letters, including one mailed to the New York Daily News. The killer chose Jimmy Breslin as his conduit to a larger public.

[Historian]

Jimmy Breslin was a great columnist for the New York Daily News. He was sort of the voice of the people, related to people on a very visceral level. And it was no accident that the Son of Sam killer started writing to him. Hello from the gutters of nyc, which are 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. Jb, I'm just dropping you a line to let you know that I appreciate your interest in those recent and horrendous.44.

[Interviewer]

Caliber killings in 77 is when the newspapers, you know, started to cover this.44 caliber killer. Whatever, Son of Sam, you would see this stuff. It was on the newspaper, on the tv, on the radio. It was everywhere.

[David Berkowitz]

I don't want to discuss that. You know. Yeah.

[Historian]

Well, when we realized that this was. This was an authentic letter that he had sent to the Daily News, on one level, we were thrilled because it gave us access to the killer.

[Reporter]

What I thought was one of the most disgusting episodes I've seen in journalism.

[David Berkowitz]

Were you suggesting that murder isn't a big story?

[Reporter]

I think murder, as the story became in the papers, it was blown ludicrously out of proportion and with very unhealthy social results.

[Police Officer]

Jimmy Resin wrote one to him, figuring that would trigger Berkowitz to respond again. And I didn't mind that because I said, the more he responds, the more the opportunity for us to solve the case.

[Historian]

Jimmy was engaging in this Written dialogue with the killer for any number of reasons. One, because there might be more clues as to his identity. And two, because it was an ongoing tabloid story that obviously would sell newspapers.

[Reporter]

I mean, he just was going out 30 nights a month looking for someone to kill. Did you ever have a moment saying, geez, did I cause this? Did this column trigger this nut?

[David Berkowitz]

No. Yeah.

[Detective]

I mean, there's no question that the police department was put under a lot of pressure by the press.

[Survivor]

A slow Son of Sam news day would be seven or eight pages.

[Police Officer]

Detectives would walk out and they'd have a TV crew follow them.

[Reporter]

The New York mafia is trying to track the killer down.

[Survivor]

The press stole berkowitz. Verroso incited 20 million.

[David Berkowitz]

We used to stay in front of my house and barking, you know, and kiss goodnight, but we can't do that no more.

[Reporter]

An element of fear pervades neighborhoods which have not known fear before. People wouldn't come out at night. They're really scared.

[David Berkowitz]

And I mean, when they're scared, that's all they do is talk about the killer.

[Reporter]

Civilian patrolling has been stepped up in the neighborhood. Some women in the area are terrified, particularly ones with shoulder length dark brown hair.

[Advertiser]

People going out, cutting their hair and dyeing it.

[Police Officer]

They were bleaching their hair, becoming blondes, literally at night.

[Detective]

Sometimes a thousand, two thousand guys who were just out there patrolling looking for this guy.

[Police Officer]

Those phones rang 24 hours, but you guys were everywhere.

[Interviewer]

You shut down Lovers lanes.

[Police Officer]

I think all the motel owners in the city loved us. We forced everything indoors.

[Robert Violante]

I'm leaving my house and I'm walking down steps, and my mom turns to me and she says, robert, be careful. And I turned around and the next thing I said was, I'll never forget this, ma, don't worry. I'm going out with a blonde tonight.

[Reporter]

Tonight's 48 Hours will continue.

[Interviewer]

I can only describe it as evil, something horrible.

[Reporter]

From 48 hours. This is Train to Kill, the Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard. He couldn't control his obsession. Who was the hunter and who was the hunted? Follow and listen on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts now Streaming. Hi again, TV's quirkiest crime solver.

[Advertiser]

I'm Elspeth Tasiomi. I work with the police.

[Reporter]

It's on the case.

[Advertiser]

I like my outlandish theories with a heavy dose of evidence and ready to.

[Reporter]

Go toe to toe with a cavalcade of guest stars.

[David Berkowitz]

Are you saying that this is now a murder investigation?

[Advertiser]

It's starting to look that way.

[Reporter]

Don't miss a moment of the critically acclaimed hit Elsbeth. All episodes now streaming on Paramount and return CBS fall.

[Advertiser]

That sounds like fun.

[Interviewer]

Obviously, murder's not fun.

[Advertiser]

Hello, it's Lena Dunham. I host a podcast called the C Word with my dearest friend and historian of bad behavior, Alyssa Bennett. What is up? It's a chat show about women whose society is called Crazy. We're going to be rediscovering the stories of women's society dismissed by calling them mad, sad, or just plain bad. Listen to and follow the C Word with Lena Dunham and Alyssa Bennett. Available now wherever you get your podcasts.

[Reporter]

Good evening. In New York, early this morning, the.44 caliber killer tried to kill Robert Violante. 20 years old. Stacey Moskowitz, also age 20, blonde, both shot twice in the head as they sat in their car near the ocean in the Brooklyn section of New York. It was their first date.

[Robert Violante]

She was just a very bubbly, alive, full of life, young lady.

[Interviewer]

Now, It's Saturday night, the 31st of July, 1977.

[Robert Violante]

Correct. And we went to see the very popular movie back then, New York, New York, with Liza Minnelli. And it was a great movie, and it was just a great night.

[Interviewer]

Well, what happens after the movies?

[Robert Violante]

So now we decide to drive to one of the, as they call it, Lovers Lane. Now, we're sitting there a couple of minutes, and we're just talking, you know, kissing a little bit and talking. And Stacy turns to me and says, robert, you know what? I'm getting a little nervous. She said, robert, let's go. And I said, five more minutes. And in that five minutes is when we got shot. I'm screaming now, blowing the horn, help us. Help us. We've been shot. We've been shot. The horn died.

[Interviewer]

What do you remember from the shooting itself?

[Robert Violante]

The bullet totally destroyed the left eye and most of my right eye and, you know, full of blood. I couldn't see anything. I couldn't see Stacy sitting right next to me. I heard some moaning coming from Stacy.

[Reporter]

This evening, hospital officials said Ms. Moskowitz remains in critical condition. After eight hours of surgery, she is given a 5050 chance of living. Violante's condition is guarded. He has lost the use of his left eye and probably will retain only 10% of the vision in his right eye. What can you tell me about your son? We brought him up the right way. Good boy. Never any trouble, never involved in any.

[Police Officer]

Dope, never involved in any arrests.

[Reporter]

What can I say? You told him to stay out of Queens. I told him to stay out of Queens. He said, dad, I'm gonna stay out of Queens. Cause he used to go to Queens. He said, I'll do it for you and Mom. I'll hang around in Brooklyn. And that's where he found.

[Detective]

Violante. I remember his father was just distraught, totally distraught, because he had seen the results of what had happened to his son.

[Robert Violante]

He was my best friend in the world. He was there for me every minute of the day when I was in the hospital. I think it was my dad that told me about Stacy.

[Reporter]

At 5:22pm Monday, Stacy Moskowitz stopped living. The doctors said they had not turned off the life support. It was just that the horrible damage done by a.44 caliber bullet in the brain was too much. She wasn't worried, you know, because she.

[Robert Violante]

Says, you know, I got blonde hair.

[Reporter]

And, you know, I told I don't know how many times.

[Robert Violante]

To be careful.

[Advertiser]

My daughter is dead. But I would die right here and now. To see this man punished, to do this to a young girl and a young boy. If I lost a child. That woman has a son that's blind to do this to young people. He can't be normal. He's not normal.

[Robert Violante]

That's the saddest part that I never got to really know Stacy.

[Interviewer]

You still think about it to this day.

[Robert Violante]

Yeah, that was really, really the sad part.

[Interviewer]

But when Stacey Moskowitz was killed, Berkowitz got a ticket for parking his car.

[Reporter]

In front of a fire hydrant.

[Detective]

Yeah, there was a woman there who said, you know, I did see somebody get a summons on a fire hydrant in front of my house.

[Police Officer]

We immediately started looking at the summonses. All right, they run the plate, and the plate number comes back to David Berkowitz's address in Yonkers.

[Detective]

Comes out to David Berkowitz, 35 Pine Street. They now decide again, thinking it's a witness, to call him. So they call the Yonkers Police Department. The girl on the switchboard, she says, who to? David Berkowitz, 35 pints. She says, that guy is crazy. He shot my father's dog. I know that guy. What's your father's name? Sam Carr.

[Police Officer]

We Carr, who's Sam Carr's daughter, lives next door to David Berkowitz, owns the dog that Berkowitz shot.

[Detective]

So, you know, that was like, you know, all of these things fell in. In one phone call.

[Police Officer]

Everybody's antenna goes up when they get up there.

[Detective]

They swing by his house and they see his car. They look in the car and they see a letter to the Suffolk Police Department. And they see a duffel bag that had a gun in a big rifle. And here comes Berkowitz with a little brown paper bag with his.44 gun in it. Goes to the car, they jump him.

[Police Officer]

And he says, you got me. He said, I'm the Son of Sam.

[Reporter]

At about 1 this morning, 24 year old David Berkowitz, who detectives believe is the Son of Sam, was brought to police headquarters in Manhattan. He was wearing frayed jeans and an open sports shirt and he was smiling. Likely.

[Robert Violante]

They caught him. They caught him. They caught the piece of garbage. I'll never forget that. My friend.

[Interviewer]

Nikki, what'd you say?

[Robert Violante]

I was so elated, so happy. I said, thank God he's off the streets. He's not gonna ever be able to hurt anybody else again.

[Survivor]

I really can't describe how I felt. It was, I guess, a little bit of everything. A little bit of excitement, a little bit of relief, a little bit of closure. When I saw the front page, I was like, wow. I didn't expect them to look like that.

[Reporter]

Police ran ballistics tests this morning on the.44 caliber gun they say Berkowitz bought from someone else who got it in Texas.

[Police Officer]

It's an infamous gun. I could picture the damage that this thing did, you know, when you're looking at the scene of the crime.

[Reporter]

The ballistics section has just called and told us that the.44 caliber gun we.

[Interviewer]

Covered tonight has been tested and the bullets match the bullets recovered from Stacy Moskowitz. What does this mean? It means we have the gun to kill Stacey Muskwood. I mean, these were beautiful young people.

[David Berkowitz]

Yeah, I understand that. But again, there's, there's no, you know, it's just the way things turned out. It's regrettable, but that's it, you know.

[Interviewer]

Did you do all these crimes alone?

[David Berkowitz]

Well.

[Advertiser]

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[Interviewer]

Now, years later, he tells everyone that he was part of a cult and he was merely one of the Shooters.

[Detective]

You know, he's wacky, you know, I mean, he's. So for him to say that he's part of a cult, you know, it was just something he came up with, like everything else, you know.

[David Berkowitz]

Well, I felt that there were demons with me, but that was. I'll have to save that for another time.

[Interviewer]

But you're the sole person who pulled the trigger, correct?

[David Berkowitz]

Well, a lot of things wouldn't happen in that, in that case. But I take responsibility, you know. And that's it? Yeah.

[Interviewer]

You take responsibility for all the Sonic murders. There was nobody else involved.

[David Berkowitz]

Let's put it this way, they were demons and that was it.

[Interviewer]

You leave the door open or is that.

[David Berkowitz]

Well, one day maybe I have a chance to share more. But that's, that's. We'll leave that at that, you know.

[Police Officer]

We shot all that down, you know, And I think I told you the biggest claim to fame was when they used to say that the cult. I said, did we have an incident after we locked up Berkowitz?

[Interviewer]

The killing stopped.

[Police Officer]

Did the killing stop?

[David Berkowitz]

Yeah.

[Detective]

For him to say years later that he was part of a cult, you know, it was just more attention. That's all it's about with him.

[Interviewer]

But there are people who believe it.

[Detective]

I'm just telling you, the people that say they believe in it never interviewed David Berkmans. They never sat the way I did in this room, in this room, in this corner.

[Interviewer]

Just step back for a second. You walk in, I walk in, you lay eyes on him.

[Reporter]

What are you thinking?

[Interviewer]

What do you see? What does he look like?

[Detective]

Well, first I'm looking at him to see what he looks like. I said, so what happened here? You know, how did this start? 30 minutes. He goes from beginning to end, tells me the whole story. He was relaxed.

[Interviewer]

What kind of demeanor saying this?

[Detective]

Oh, he was talking about it the way you were talking about making a pastrami sandwich. To just talk about it like that was scary. I. I thought he absolutely felt he was certifiably wacky. And I thought they would just put him in an institution.

[Reporter]

The accused killer is now undergoing a court ordered psychological examination at the Kings County Medical center in Brooklyn, where he will be held in maximum security for up to 30 days.

[David Berkowitz]

It will engage in a normal psychiatric examination.

[Police Officer]

Dr. Schwartz, he was a court appointed psychiatrist to analyze him to see if he was fit to stand trial. And he determined he was fit for trial. So this insane business that goes out the window.

[Reporter]

There was no outward sign of motion, no expressed remorse. Today as David Berkowitz pleaded guilty in a Brooklyn, New York court to six random Son of Sam murders, slayings which terrorized New York for more than a year.

[Interviewer]

So you show up in court when Berkowitz was going to be sentenced for the first time.

[Robert Violante]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

He said some foul things about Stacy.

[Robert Violante]

Oh, yeah.

[Reporter]

To a weird nursery rhyme like tune, Berkowitz, who had never known Stacey Moskowitz, sang Stacey was a whore. Mrs. Moskowitz bolted out of her seat and screamed back, you animal. And then Robert Violante, Stacy's date the night she died, rose and shouted, you creep.

[Robert Violante]

I reacted, Go yourself, you piece of. You should die. You should rot in hell. I was, oh, I just went off on him.

[Reporter]

Robert Violanti explained his courtroom outburst. Total anger. Total anger.

[Interviewer]

That's it.

[Reporter]

Just total outrage.

[Robert Violante]

And I really couldn't control myself.

[Reporter]

Three weeks after his wild courtroom outburst, which led to a delay for further psychiatric evaluation, David Berkowitz, again judge competent to face sentencing, arrived to learn his fate. Berkowitz, who just turned 25, was given a total of six sentences for murder of 25 years to life.

[Interviewer]

What do you say to the victims families, to the victims who are still living today?

[David Berkowitz]

Well, I've apologized many times, and I just always let them know that I'm very sorry for what happened, that I wish I could go back and change things, and that I hope these people are getting along in life as best as possible. I never forget, you know, where I came from and what my situation was like some four decades ago. People that were hurt, people that are still in pain, suffering, loss because of my criminal actions. And I never forget that. That sometimes weighs very heavy on me. Yeah, yeah.

[Survivor]

It kind of took over my personality. And wherever I went, everything would just stop. And everyone you just hear whispering, that's the guy that was shot by Son of Sam. And it got to the point where it was. It became disturbing for me, and I really felt like I was losing my identity.

[Robert Violante]

Didn't have any children. They never got married, never had children. Unfortunately, he ruins not just my life, 12 other lives, plus the families. So how do you forgive something like that, somebody like that? You don't.

[Interviewer]

When you think about the irony, I mean, here's a kid who lost his mom at 14, and you think about the depth of the pain that you felt, and then years later, because of you.

[David Berkowitz]

Yeah, sure, right.

[Interviewer]

Six people have that same kind of pain. Seven others injured for life. How's that strike you?

[David Berkowitz]

It's very painful. It's very painful. I carry around a pain too. Not the same kind, but one that I'm aware of what happened, you know. Yeah, I draw comfort, if you could call it that, from reading about in the scriptures about some of the well known Bible characters that did very bad things and how God forgave them. And God was able to use them in very special ways, very unique ways, and they became what we call champions of the faith. The Lord did a lot of work in my life, you know, that's why I try so hard in my messages to give a cautionary tale to young people about not getting involved in Satanism or the occult or, you know, those kind of things, because I feel that they too could maybe take a bad path.

[Interviewer]

Does it give you satisfaction to reach young people?

[David Berkowitz]

Yeah, sure. I get letters all the time. I have a calling to just write, to encourage people from all walks of life. It's something I do on my own in my spare time and I get a lot of satisfaction from it. But most of all, I believe that that's what God has called me to do.

[Interviewer]

Berkowitz is a born again Christian. He's a minister in prison. He takes a lot of pride in helping people. That's his thing. What do you think of that?

[Detective]

I think that's a lot better road to go down than serial killer.

[Survivor]

You're in jail. What else you got to look forward to? You might as well say, yeah, I found God. Why not? But I really think he did, you know, that doesn't mean he's exonerated.

[Robert Violante]

If he's trying to do better with other prisoners, so be it. That's God's way of probably making him understand how wrong and bad of a person he was. And now God's giving him a second chance to do right by other people. But it still doesn't change the fact of how I feel.

[Detective]

I'll never forgive him.

[Interviewer]

Why not? Why not?

[Detective]

Because he snuffed out six people's lives, ruined another six, seven, plus all the families involved. For people that didn't do anything to him, you know, didn't bump into him, didn't say nothing to him. So I. I just can't forget.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, but when you look at the front picture right there, those are two U's, right? Two pictures of you.

[David Berkowitz]

That's right.

[Interviewer]

Well, what do you see?

[David Berkowitz]

I see. I see the old man and I see the new man in Christ. Yeah. I see the one man that was tormented by demons. And I see the man that has the peace of God radiating from him. That's where I'm at now. That's the way I was always supposed to be. A man of hope. Yeah.

[Survivor]

What is a life worth? I don't know. Mr. And Mrs. Laurier might feel totally different. You know, they lost their daughter 40 years ago.

[Interviewer]

Does parole is that attractive to you.

[David Berkowitz]

At this point, as a realistic hope? I don't see. I don't see any hope for the world. No.

[Police Officer]

Personally, I feel there has to be justice for the death of those people. And that's the justice. Life in prison.

[Interviewer]

I can only describe it as evil.

[Reporter]

Something horrible from 48 hours. This is trained to kill the dog trainer, the heiress, and the bodyguard. He couldn't control his obsession. Who was the hunter and who was the hunted? Follow and listen on the Free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Justice has a new daddy.

[Interviewer]

Says you served 20 years for man's laughter. You mean manslaughter? Must have been quite the joke.

[Reporter]

Liam Neeson.

[Interviewer]

Surprised to see me? Me too.

[Reporter]

The Naked Gun now playing. Rated PG 13.

[David Berkowitz]

Stop.

[Interviewer]

Do you know how fast you were going? I'm gonna have to write you a ticket to my new movie.

[Police Officer]

The Naked Gun.

[Reporter]

Liam Neeson, buy your tickets now and.

[Interviewer]

Get a free chili dog. Chili dog not included.

[Reporter]

The Naked Gun now playing. Rate of DG13.