An obsession with the devil, horror movies, and the occult motivated David Berkowitz to go on a random killing spree in 1977 that terrified New York City.
Then, while in prison, the man once known as the “Son of Sam” became a born-again Christian. He’s since spent hours sharing his story with well-known pastor and behavioral scientist Michael Caparrelli. CHECK OUT our interview with Caparrelli ABOVE.
It all started 44 years ago. That’s when fear gripped the Big Apple as a mass murderer gunned down six people and wounded seven others.
Describing himself as a “monster,” David Berkowitz left a note at a crime scene, taunting police to stop him. He signed it, “Son of Sam.”
After a massive manhunt, police finally arrested Berkowitz based on an unpaid parking ticket.
Berkowitz pleaded guilty to the murders and received 360 years in prison with no chance of parole.
In the mid-1990s Berkowitz professed to becoming a born-again Christian.
He reflected on his spiritual transformation during a 1998 prison interview with CBN’s Scott Ross.
“The scars of the past are always going to remain and haunt me,” Berkowitz explained. “But I’ve given my life to Jesus Christ, and he has let me know in his word that he’s forgiven me completely.”
Berkowitz explained he’d joined a Satanist cult before his murder spree and heard demonic voices directing him to kill people.
Fast-forward to 2022 when pastor Michael Caparrelli, a Ph.D. in advanced studies in human behavior, begins a case study on David Berkowitz.
He conducts 34 prison interview sessions, a total of 100 hours with the man once known as the Son of Sam.
“Even as a child, I was fascinated with the occultic things, with the darkness,” Berkowitz told Caparrelli. “And it was affecting me. Now, I look back and see, of course, it was all deception and it captured my mind. But I regret that so much, everything that happened. But at that time, I was under that spell, I was under that power of evil and I was going down a path of self-destruction.”
Caparrelli’s experience and friendship with David Berkowitz are detailed in the new book, Monster Mirror.
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