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'Son of Sam' killer writes of remorse, 30 years later

By Justin Rocket Silverman, amNewYork Staff Writer | jsilverman@am-ny.com

August 21, 2007

Thirty years ago, columnist Jimmy Breslin received a letter from a serial killer terrorizing the city: "Hello from the gutters of N.Y.C., which are filled with dog manure, vomit, stale wine, urine, and blood," the letter began.

Last week, amNewYork received a letter from the same sender, although the tone was markedly different: "I am deeply sorry for the pain and grief I have brought to many families through my criminal acts. I would give my own life if I could undo the tragic past."

Postmarked from the Sullivan Correctional Facility in Fallsburg, N.Y., where David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam, is serving six life sentences for killing six people and wounding seven others, the two-page letter is typewritten and signed with a pen.

In it, Berkowitz, who is prisoner No. 78A1976, declines a reporter's interview request because "I want to put the past behind me and move on with my life."

Instead, he refers people to his online journal on the spiritual Web site ariseandshine.org, where he writes about what he describes as his ever-deepening relationship with God.

In his letter to amNewYork, Berkowitz says he had been praying for the city of Newark, N.J., especially since the brutal schoolyard slaying of three young people on Aug. 4.

Can an admitted serial killer, one who terrorized New York City for more than a year, truly feel sorry for what he has done?

"Hardly," says Robert D. Keppel, a professor of criminal justice at the University of New Haven, who has studied serial killers for more than 30 years.

"The only remorse or regret a serial killer has is for being caught. They don't actually have the capability inside them to develop regret."

Denouncing violence is merely a ploy by Berkowitz, 54, to retain the public attention he so craves, Keppel says.

"Part of a killer's needs are satisfied just by reading about himself in the press," Keppel said. "It's not the same as being out there and killing, but in some form Berkowitz is being gratified by reliving that violence at a distance."

The Son of Sam concluded his letter with a criticism of the way America has become a place of crime and bloodshed.