Son of Sam: Everything to know about this murderous cult and Sam himself

TW: mentions of violence, murder

You're always afraid of going out into the street and ending up as the victim of a crazed gunman. Well, that's exactly what happened in New York in the 1970s. On numerous occasions, David Berkowitz would go out into the streets of the Big Apple and kill people at random. But the strangest thing of all is that David Berkowitz confessed to acting under orders from the devil.

David Berkowitz, son of Sam

On 1 June 1953, Richard David Falco, better known as David Berkowitz, was born in Brooklyn. His parents, Betty Broder and Tony Falco, abandoned the child before he was taken in by the Berkowitz family: Pearl and Nathan, who lived in the Bronx.

Unfortunately, David's adoptive mother died young. Four years after her death, David joined the army. It wouldn't last forever, however, as in 1974 he returned to the city. He didn't really have a profession or a favourite field, so he did a succession of odd jobs.

However, although everything seemed to be going well in David Berkowitz's life at the time, it was actually quite different. It was later discovered that he was behind 1,500 fires set in New York. These events preceded his very first crime, when he stabbed a 15-year-old girl called Michelle Foreman on the street. On 29 July 1976, he shot and killed two women, Jody Valenti and Donna Lauria, followed by 20-year-old Carl Denaro, 16-year-old Donna DeMasi, 18-year-old Joanne Lomina, Christineu Freund and John Diel on 30 January 1977.

Not all the people targeted died from their wounds: however, David Berkowitz succeeded in killing six people.

The fact is that these crimes were totally random. Anyone could be the target of this mad killer, no one was safe. The result was, of course, a panic among New Yorkers, who were now afraid to go out into the street.

Like many other murderers, such as Dennis Rader or the Zodiac killer, David Berkowitz began writing letters to the police. Letters that he eventually signed as the 'Son of Sam'.

Despite everything, the police's efforts to find the murderer paid off: they eventually identified the murder weapon and his car. In August 1977, David Berkowitz was arrested. At the time, everyone was a little surprised, especially as he was described as a cheerful and discreet man.

But the revelations he was about to make surprised, fascinated and, above all, frightened the whole world. The killer will reveal that he acted on orders from his neighbour, who is none other than the incarnation of the devil.

The case was closely followed by New Yorkers and Americans in general. Almost a year after his arrest, David Berkowiz was sentenced to six life terms in prison in Attica. However, as mentioned above, his trial was very well attended, which enabled him to make a lot of money. It was thanks to this case that 'Sam's Law' was passed, prohibiting criminals from receiving any money whatsoever.

Today, David Berkowitz is still in prison and is a member of the evangelical Christian church called 'Born Again'.

Read more:The Night Stalker: Here is what happened to Richard Ramirez's wife, Doreen Lioy

Who is Sam?

As you already know, David Berkowitz confessed when he was captured that he had allegedly been prompted to act by his neighbour, an incarnation of the devil. This neighbour ordered David to murder innocent people by sending him his black dog. But the strangest thing is that the murderer's neighbour is actually called Sam. Sam Carr. However, there is very little, if any, information on the 'Son of Sam' case.

According to journalist John Hockenberry, the story fits in perfectly with a satanic cult, and many other people could have been involved. Moreover, David Berkowitz himself had suggested that there are other cases of this kind, and that they stem directly from cults.

In popular culture, this story has fascinated many people. Numerous books, films and reports have been published on the subject, such as Netflix's Son of Sam documentary and the Son of Sam film starring Adrien Brody.

So cult or murderous madness?

Read more:Charles Manson: Everything you should know about his 'family members' who killed for him

This article has been translated from Gentside FR.