‘Son of Sam’ killer Berkowitz denied parole in 12th attempt

Advertisement

Advertise with us

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — “Son of Sam” killer David Berkowitz, who set New York City on edge with late-night shootings in the 1970s, was denied parole after his twelfth board appearance.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/05/2024 (857 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — “Son of Sam” killer David Berkowitz, who set New York City on edge with late-night shootings in the 1970s, was denied parole after his twelfth board appearance.

Berkowitz, 70, was rejected after a Board of Parole prison interview on May 14, according to information listed on a state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision web site. Officials with the corrections agency would not provide additional information on Tuesday.

Berkowitz terrorized the city with a series of shootings that killed six people and wounded seven beginning in July 1976. The shooter targeted young women and couples sitting in cars. The papers called him the ”.44 Caliber Killer.” In taunting notes to police and a journalist, he called himself “Son of Sam” and said he received demonic messages to kill.

FILE - David Berkowitz speaks inside the Sullivan Correction Facility in Fallsburg, New York, on May 29, 2009. Berkowitz, who set New York City on edge with late-night shootings in the 1970s, was denied parole after his twelfth board appearance. He was rejected after a Board of Parole prison interview on May 14, 2024 according to information listed on a state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision web site. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, file)
FILE - David Berkowitz speaks inside the Sullivan Correction Facility in Fallsburg, New York, on May 29, 2009. Berkowitz, who set New York City on edge with late-night shootings in the 1970s, was denied parole after his twelfth board appearance. He was rejected after a Board of Parole prison interview on May 14, 2024 according to information listed on a state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision web site. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, file)

Berkowitz was arrested Aug. 10, 1977, a little more than a year after the first victim, Donna Lauria, was shot and killed in the Bronx.

The New York Police Department formed a 200-person task force to find the killer. The case was finally cracked after a witness reported a strange man on the street near the final shooting. Police checked traffic tickets that had been issued in the area and traced them to Berkowitz’s car and home in nearby Yonkers.

Berkowitz was sentenced in 1978 to the maximum prison term of 25 years to life for each of the six slayings. He first became eligible for parole in 2002.

Berkowitz has since expressed remorse and said he is a born-again Christian. He is being held at Shawangunk Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of New York City.

Report Error Submit a Tip

The Free Press acknowledges the financial support it receives from members of the city’s faith community, which makes our coverage of religion possible.

More Stories

Dynacare workers provide essential services that must be maintained during strike, labour board rules

Nicole Buffie 5 minute read Preview

Dynacare workers provide essential services that must be maintained during strike, labour board rules

Nicole Buffie 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 6:30 PM CDT

The Manitoba Labour Board has ruled Dynacare workers are essential employees and their services must be maintained during a labour dispute.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 6:30 PM CDT

Face up to fact you blew it with ex-wife

Maureen Scurfield 4 minute read Yesterday at 2:01 AM CDT

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: My ex-wife just moved back to town and looks like a changed woman. She spent years married to me, and our kids just graduated in a city where we once lived together. That was without help from me, other than minor financial stuff.

She has found a great new job back in Winnipeg and she’ll do very well. I admire her more than any other woman I ever met, but she’s not interested in me at all.

I once had a solid, responsible job and then got into drinking, and I cheated on her. That’s why she left town. Now I’ve been sober and sorry for many years.

I asked her last weekend if I could take her out to dinner and she said no and changed the subject.

Small businesses outline election priorities

Robin Bezte 5 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

Since moving to Winnipeg earlier this year, I have come to know the city through its small businesses. As a new Exchange District resident, grabbing coffee at Little Sister, walking through The Forks Market and stopping at Pho Hoang for lunch have become part of my routine. These are the places that give Winnipeg’s neighbourhoods their character and have helped make a new city feel like home.

That is why an empty storefront never feels like just vacant real estate. It represents someone’s investment and hope. When a small business disappears, the community loses a piece of itself.

On Oct. 28, Manitobans in most municipalities will choose their next mayors, reeves and councillors. While city councils may not set interest rates or negotiate global trade agreements, they do have some control over many of the barriers entrepreneurs encounter day to day, from property tax bills and permit applications to public safety and construction disruptions.

Ahead of the upcoming elections, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) surveyed Manitoba small business owners to get a sense of their municipal priorities and concerns.

Time for AI guardrails is right now

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Time for AI guardrails is right now

Editorial 4 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

The genie is most definitely out of the bottle.

And while there’s little chance of putting it back in, we should be very concerned that the people who released it from the bottle are now frantically warning us that it has become disinclined to do their — or our — bidding and seems instead to be increasingly intent on following its own whims and granting wishes to itself.

The figurative genie, in this case, is artificial intelligence, or AI, and in recent weeks many of the tech geniuses responsible for its development and introduction into the digital-information realm have begun asking the U.S. government and even the United Nations to impose limits on the pace and breadth of its growth.

Their fear is that, as AI very quickly continues to advance and develops the ability to make independent decisions and essentially think for itself, it will cease to be a tool controlled by its creators and instead will become a species unto itself that might eventually decide it’s better off without humans continually messing things up.

Read
2:00 AM CDT

Today’s horoscope

Georgia Nicols 4 minute read Preview

Today’s horoscope

Georgia Nicols 4 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

MOON ALERT: Caution! Avoid shopping (except food and gas) and important decisions until after 3:30 p.m. today. After that, the moon moves from Gemini into Cancer.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

This is a creative day for you. Because you’re the artisan of the zodiac, tap into your talents and make some art or explore one of your many hobbies. However, avoid intense discussions with partners, spouses and friends. Keep things light.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

Read
2:00 AM CDT

J’accuse!: Kinew uses French to fry interim Tory leader over alleged caucus subterfuge

Chris Kitching and Maggie Macintosh 4 minute read Preview

J’accuse!: Kinew uses French to fry interim Tory leader over alleged caucus subterfuge

Chris Kitching and Maggie Macintosh 4 minute read Yesterday at 5:55 PM CDT

NDP Premier Wab Kinew took a dig at the Progressive Conservatives’ leadership change while facing off with Obby Khan’s short-term replacement for the first time in question period Thursday.

It came after interim Tory leader Konrad Narth accused the New Democrats of failing to implement “stronger” bail reform and enforcement measures as promised.

“Now we see there is less crime in Manitoba than there was when the Progressive Conservatives were in government. What are they doing now? Well, they found knives and chased their old leader out,” Kinew said, speaking in French.

“We don’t even know who’s going to be the PC leader next month… next year? We don’t know. What we know is that we’re working on making communities safer.”

Read
Yesterday at 5:55 PM CDT