David Berkowitz Essay With Outline

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David Berkowitz was born on June 1st, 1953, in Brooklyn, New York, with the name Richard David Falco. Betty Broder and Joseph Kleinman were his real parents but Broder was actually married to Tony Falco. She also had a daughter with Falco. Soon, Falco abandoned Broder without divorcing her. Which is why she soon had an affair with Kleinman, who was also married. When Broder notified Kleinman that she was pregnant, he told her to get rid of the child. Instead, Broder filed Falco as the father of David. Sadly, Berkowitz was put up for adoption a few days later after birth and was adopted by Nathan and Pearl Berkowitz, a Jewish couple. They reversed his first and middle name. David had a somewhat troubled childhood. David Berkowitz was said to …show more content…

He had a desire to play baseball but instead became known as a bully in his neighborhood. He claimed that his neighbors dog was possessed by an ancient demon of some sort and that the dog would urge or command him to kill. David was very close to his mother as a kid but had a tense relationship with his father. David’s mother died of Breast Cancer in 1967. The absence of David’s mother made his relationship with his father tenser. David disliked the women that Nathan later married. In 1971, Berkowitz joined the U.S Army and was active until 1974. Although he joined the army, he avoided the Vietnam War and just served in the U.S and South Korea. Out of eagerness and curiosity, Berkowitz chose to relocate Betty Broder, his birth mother. When he found her he had found out about what happened at birth and how he was put up for adoption. They never spoke again. Before Berkowitz started to murder, he attacked two women on Christmas Eve in 1975 with a knife. One victim, Michelle Forman, was hospitalized due to her wounds. Berkowitz wasn’t charged. Not so long after the attack, he moved back to Yonkers. The summer of 1976 is when the shootings …show more content…

At the scene, a hand written threat letter addressed to the police force was found. (To be presented). This letter is what gave Berkowitz his second name, “Son of Sam”. A week later Jimmy Breslin, columnist of the New York Daily News, received a letter from Berkowitz. In the letter Berkowitz explained how he was a fan and then addressed the Captain of the police force and basically warned him to prepare for the anniversary of his first kill, July 29th. On July 30th, 1977, Berkowitz shot and killed Stacy Moskowitz and blinded Robert Violante. A witness saw Berkowitz before he killed the couple and called the police due to suspicion. Police at Yonkers realized that Berkowitz might’ve been “Son of Sam” after reading the letters. They investigated his car and found weapons. He was then captured. Berkowitz tried to use the excuse that it was all his neighbors dogs fault for why he was killing others. Berkowitz was sentenced to six life sentences, which is equal to 365 years. He then claimed that the Hall and Oats song, “Rich Girl”, influenced the murders. Today, Berkowitz, 62 years old, is still locked up in the Sullivan Correctional Facility in upstate Fallsburg, New

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