Absolute Evil: Got shot, survived, and unraveled a diabolical criminal scheme
Serial killer David Berkowitz has been terrorizing New Yorkers for a year. He shot six people to death and wounded seven others. For his capture in 1977, the largest-scale prosecution in the history of the city was organized. In the end, the killer was arrested. The shooter used a revolver, and at the crime scene left strange notes with the text: "Son of Sam"("Son of Sam"). Learn the details of one of the most high-profile American crime stories from our material.
23-year-old David Berkowitz led the police by the nose, until one attentive witness noticed a parking ticket on a suspicious car near the last crime scene. The cops found a shotgun in the back seat of the car, and during a detailed search, they also found a 44-caliber revolver.
Carl Denaro was lucky to survive the shooting of one of the most violent serial killers in the United States. However, 45 years later, it turned out that the NYPD was wrong and did not identify all the members of the criminal group.
The serial killer first said that he shot people on the orders of a demonic dog named Sam, who belonged to his neighbor. The criminal claimed that the devilish creature demanded the blood of beautiful girls. He later recanted his testimony. At a press conference in 1979, it was suggested that Berkowitz was a member of a Satanist sect called "22 Disciples of hell" ("22 Disciples of Hell").
Carl Denaro, now 64, was the killer's second victim. The man managed to survive after being shot in the head, which shattered the bones of the skull. This happened on October 23, 1976. Carl, 20, was sitting with a friend, 18-year-old Rosemary Keenan, in her car when four bullets hit the car. Rosemary was not hit by the killer, but one of the bullets hit Carl's head. The guy in shock did not even realize that he was seriously injured. In search of shelter, the lovers ran into a bar nearby, and only there Karl felt pain.
It took a long time for the truth to surface. The investigation, which for many years was independently conducted by Karl and the writer Maury Terry (Maury Terry), led them to the conclusion that David Berkowitz was not the only killer in this diabolical web. The authors revealed the history of their search for the truth in the book "The Ultimate Evil".
Karl says that the NYPD did not check for involvement in the murders of other members of the cult of "22 disciples of hell". The police did not pay attention to one of the main accomplices, nicknamed "buxom Wendy". The report, which for some reason was lost, suggested that the victims were shot by a woman. Many years later, Berkowitz said that on the night Karl was shot, he was at the scene of the crime. He claimed that the shot was made by a woman, but refused to give her name.
As time went on, Karl's assumptions became more and more convincing. My gut told me that the culprit wasn't acting alone. However, the court found only Berkowitz guilty of all six murders and handed him a life sentence for each individual case in June 1978. In 1993, the convict changed his testimony and said in an interview that he had killed only three victims.
David Berkowitz said that he joined the Satanist sect "22 disciples of hell" in the spring of 1975. The organization was suspected of criminal activity and pedophilia. Its participants considered themselves witches and wizards, sacrificed animals. Members of the cult also planned to perform human sacrifices.
Karl and the writer Maury teamed up to bring the entire criminal gang to light together. They were piecing together evidence to prove that Berkowitz wasn't acting alone.
The victims, who were lucky enough to survive, described the criminals to the police. And they didn't look like an arrested hitman. Some witnesses said they were attacked by a tall, thin man with long hair. In addition, a yellow car was seen at the crime scene more than once, which could not be found. In addition, not all of the notes were written by Berkowitz.
Some members of the cult died under mysterious circumstances after the arrest of a serial killer. It is said that the brothers John and Michael Carr, who brought Berkowitz to the sect, were the owners of the "demon dog". In 1978, six months after the killer went to jail, the body of John Carr was found in the apartment of his girlfriend. There was a gun nearby, which he allegedly used to shoot himself. However, his girlfriend claimed that he was murdered. A year later, Michael Carr was killed in a car accident, and his death is also considered a fake.
Karl claims that the people who participated in the shootings are still at large. They are unlikely to be arrested and put in jail, but the man is not going to stop the investigation and the search for new evidence.
David Berkowitz, 67, continues to serve his sentence in a maximum security prison in Shawangunk, New York. He repented and became a devout Christian. The killer refuses the possibility of a pardon and declares that he wants to suffer the punishment he deserves, spending the rest of his life in prison.
Meanwhile, in the United States, a maniac and his victim met at an execution 35 years later. The girl was the only one who knew the criminal by sight, and it was her testimony that led him to the couch for lethal injections.
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