Steve Fishman's "The Devil in David Berkowitz" | Audio and Video Interviews | Letters from Son of Sam
Beginning in 1979, just two years after his arrest, David Berkowitz began writing letters to psychiatrist Dr. David Abrahamsen, whom Berkowitz had chosen to be his biographer. In these letters, David is the Son of Sam—uncensored, proud, sadistic, and sometimes confused. Here is a selection of the correspondence between the two, courtesy of Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
Read the letters:
March 20, 1979
It was all a hoax, a silly hoax.
May 22, 1979
I was an accident, a mistake.
June 18, 1979
The last thing I wanted to do was preach the gospel."
July 2, 1979
"I felt justified."
August 13, 1979
"She was pretty, slender and dressed nicely."
May 29, 1980
"It’s like viewing the actions of a stranger.
June 20, 1980
"I had a deep, deep secret that I wanted to share with friends.
January 10, 1981
"A basically misanthropic philosophy."
January 10, 1981
"I circled the car at a distance, like an animal stalking its prey."
Undated
Sex, I believe, is the answer.
June 20, 2006
David Berkowitz's letters to Steve Fishman
I’ve been very exhausted of late.
I am merely a sinner.
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