How Did David Berkowitz Start Before A Killer

Xavier Diaz

Professor Noblett

Criminology 1

6 September 2016

Before a Killer Serial killers aren’t born to kill. They were once pure and innocent just like everyone else, it’s the childhood aspect that can mold someone into a normal person or killer. David Berkowitz (also known as “Son of Sam” and “The .44 Caliber killer”) is no exception, having a poor childhood that could have had an impact in turning him into a serial killer. David Berkowitz’s mother Betty Broder was abandoned by her husband Tony Falco, but never got a legal divorce. Eventually Broder got with a man named Joseph Kleinman who was married as well and would be the birth father of Berkowitz. When Berkowitz was born, Kleinman forced Broder to get rid of the baby, so Broder

Although of above-average intelligence, he lost interest in learning at an early age and began an infatuation with petty larceny and pyromania.” So along with being a troublemaker, Berkowitz also committed minor crimes at a young age. To make matters worse, his adoptive mother to whom he had a close relationship with, died while he was at the young age of fourteen. He grew to dislike his adoptive father, mostly due to his dislike for his father’s new wife. In 1941 at the age of eighteen Berkowitz joined the US army, where he served until 1941 when he got an honorable discharge. Shortly after returning from the army, he located his birth mother and with only a few visits, he learn of his illegitimate birth, which did not settle right with Berkowitz. He stop communicating with his birth mother after that. He had many different low tier jobs until he was arrested as a letter sorter for the US postal

The couple were in a car at the time of the shooting. When Berkowitz shot Denaro shattering the car window, Keenan panicked, quickly starting the car and speeding off. It is believed that since Denaro had shoulder length hair, he was mistaken for a girl by Berkowitz. Since Keenan’s father was a 20 year police Veteran, an intense investigation was erupted, but hit a dead-end when they couldn’t find a motive, however they were able to determine that the gun was a .44 Caliber Revolver, they just couldn’t trace it to a specific gun due to how shattered the bullets were. Considering that the two crimes were investigated by two different teams, the crimes were not yet linked to one another. Berkowitz’s next shooting took place on November 27, 1976 where he shot, but didn’t kill Donna DeMasi at the age of 16 and Joanne Lomino at the age of 18. They girls just got back from a movie and were hanging out on Lomino’s porch. In order to get near the girls, he pretended he was seeking directions. All three shootings are still yet to be connected by the