In the mid-1970s New York City was plunged into terror: innocent young couples were being slayed on the streets. The killer called himself the Son of Sam. But what made him murder? Born to Kill s3e6: The Son of Sam, 2011
The most notorious killer in New York’s history. ibid.
Was it the discovery of his adoption? Was it his unstable and isolated life? Or was the Son of Sam simply born to kill? ibid.
In the late 1970s a cold-blooded killer stalked the streets of New York City. He preyed on the young and vulnerable. It wasn’t good detective work that led to the killer – it was a parking ticket. Deranged Killers s1e1: Son of Sam, Discovery 2015
Some people question whether the convicted killer acted alone. ibid.
The day after the killing of Virginia Voskerichian, the police announced the creation of a dedicated task-force known as Operation Omega. It would eventually grow to three hundred detectives. ibid.
The murders were linked to a Satanic cult? Berkowitz said that he joined the cult in this abandoned building at a park in the Yonkers district of New York. ibid.
The hot blistering summer of 1977. Summer of Sam 1999 starring John Leguizamo & Adrien Brody & Mira Sorvino & Jennifer Esposito & Anthony LaPaglia & Michael Rispoli & Saverio Guerra & Bebe Neuwirth & Patti LuPone & Mike Starr & Roger Guenveur Smith & Ben Gazzara et al, director Spike Lee, opening commentary
‘To stop me you must kill me. I am the monster. Beelzebub.’ ibid. Son of Sam’s letter
‘.44 calibre. The Son of Sam.’ ibid.
‘I am here on Earth to create havoc and terror.’ Son of Sam: The Hunt for a Killer I, Discovery 2020
New York 1977: a gunman is targeting young couples. The NYPD believe a serial killer is on the loose but they have no leads … The attacks have a lot in common, including the appearance of the victims. ibid.
Police now have an unprecedented lead – communication directly from the killer. ibid.
The summer of 1977 and New York is gripped by terror: a serial killer calling himself the Son of Sam is stalking young couples. And his threatening notes to the police and the press make it clear he is calling the shots. Son of Sam: The Hunt for a Killer II
‘Well, you got me. What took you so long?’ ibid. Son of Sam to rozzers on arrest
As they sat talking outside Donna’s apartment, a man approached and fired five times into their car. Donna died instantly and Jodie was seriously wounded. The gunman was 23-year-old David Berkowitz, a delusional loner who christened himself the Son of Sam … a serial killer who had an obsession with the occult, he murdered and maimed 13 young people in just over a year. World’s Most Evil Killers: David Berkowitz, Sky Crime 2020
Berkowitz was disappointed that his first killing didn’t make headlines in the press. ibid.
A pattern was emerging of a killer who had a hatred for women. ibid.
A wave of hysteria that New York had never seen. ibid.
In the summer of 1976 the Son of Sam was hunting couples on the streets of New York. But according to the latest Netflix docu-series The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness, David Berkowitz wasn’t hunting alone. True Crime Recaps: Arlis Perry’s Murder Connected to the Sons of Sam? Youtube 20.48, 2021
The surprising connection between that violent rampage that took the lives of six people and left seven wounded in New York and a brutal slaying in California that went unsolved for 44 years. ibid.
BERNARD, BRANDON et al: True Crime Recaps 2021 -
Brandon Bernard: At age 40 Brandon was the youngest prisoner to be executed by the federal government in almost 70 years. Despite multiple attempts to stop it, Brandon died by lethal injection on December 10th. True Crime Recaps: Bernard Brandon, Youtube 8.33, 2021
Brandon drenched the car in lighter fluid and lit it on fire as Todd and Stacie sang hymns and prayed for Jesus to take care of them. ibid.
Christopher [Lewis] opened the trunk and shot Todd and Stacie in the head. ibid.
BERNARDO, PAUL & KARLA HOMOLKA: Born to Kill: The Serial-Killing Couple TV - Toronto Sun online - True Crime Recaps 2021 -
On 29th June 1991 a discovery at Lake Gibson in Ontario would horrify the nation ... The disappearance of a fourteen-year-old schoolgirl. Born to Kill: The Serial-Killing Couple, Sky 2013
A fatal attraction ... A deadly combination ... The year they met the city would be rocked by an unprecedented series of violent rapes ... The Scarborough Rapist. ibid.
He began to humiliate and beat girlfriends. And engage in sadistic sex. ibid.
Husband and wife would go hunting together. ibid.
Homolka did talk ... but claimed she’d been a battered wife. ibid.
So even if Bernardo and Homolka had never met, might each of them have been destined to become murderers? ibid.
She would serve just twelve years. ibid.
Toronto – As his sex-killer son settles into his new prison cell thanks to the pending closing of his old home, Paul Bernardo’s father says in his opinion Karla Homolka should still be locked up behind bars, too.
In an exclusive interview with the Toronto Sun on the eve of Kingston Penitentiary shutting its doors after 179 years, Ken Bernardo said it’s not easy as a parent of such a notorious killer and understands ‘it’s worse’ for the families of those he was convicted of murdering.
‘It’s harder on them and it’s terrible,’ he said from his Scarborough home. ‘They have to live with it every day.’
Ken Bernardo, who said his son receives daily threats on his life, says ‘naturally’ he feels the pain of the suffering the families of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy go through.
It’s a constant source of ‘distress’, he said. Toronto Sun article 26th September 2013 ‘Paul Bernardo dad says Karla Homolka got away with it’
The true story of killer couple Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka … driving around searching for their next victim … Kristen French … For the next three days Paul and Karla raped and tortured her, videotaping every second of the attack. True Crime Recaps: Paul Bernardo & Karla Homolka, Youtube 30.03, 2021
Kristen was the couple’s third and last known murder but it would be almost another year before police caught up to Paul and Karla. ibid.
All those assaults seemed to be pointing to one man … the Scarborough Rapist … Paul Bernardo. ibid.
They [rozzers] didn’t get around to testing Paul’s [DNA] for years. ibid.
BERNSTEIN, IRA & KELLY GRIBELUK: Murder for Hire TV -
Ira & Susan Bernstein: They appeared to be a couple very much in love but there was trouble in paradise. Murder for Hire s1e2: The Other Woman, woman, CI 2019
2016: The Ramapo police department was notified that there was a woman who was trying to hire somebody to kill another woman. ibid. rozzer Dennis Procter
I knew it was Kelly Gribeluk … who was Bernstein’s girlfriend: she’s actually thinking about killing his wife. ibid. rozzer Peter Louzan
What you guys were planning is a terrible thing. ibid. rozzer to Ira in station
I’m done. I can’t practise ever again. I’m finished. ibid. Ira in rozzer’s station