David Berkowitz, more well known as the Son of Sam or the .44 Caliber Killer, held New York hostage to his murderous rampage for over a year while evading detection from the NYPD. He was one of the most notorious killers of the time, and was widely publicized, not only in the New York area, but internationally. What we will explore and attempt to answer is the question of why did he do what he did? Specifically from the psychological standpoint, and using psychological theory. David Berkowitz: An Overview David Berkowitz was born on June, 1st, 1953 under the name Richard David Falco but was put up for adoption almost immediately as his parents didn’t have the means to care for him at the time. He was adopted just a few days later by an older couple by the names of Nathan and Pearl Berkowitz, who renamed the boy to David Richard Berkowitz. Nathan and Pearl were hardware store owners of modest means and followed Jewish religion with Berkowitz being their first and only child. Berkowitz had many issues as he grew up although he appeared to be a nice, …show more content…
He performed to expectations at the beginning of his education and even had a solid IQ of 118 but as time went, his grades slipped and he passed high school by the skin of his teeth as he lost attachment to school. A substantial contributing factor to his poor performance in school was the fact that he missed a tremendous amount of school as he manipulated Pearl in to letting him stay home because of illness. His constant illnesses weren’t actually illnesses at all as he would just warm up his head against the radiator. Berkowitz also had a distaste for authority, especially at school, so he would vandalize the school and perform arson as a way to get his anger out. Berkowitz was also picked on because of his following of Jewish religion and his looks, but he also bullied other children, coming off as aggressive and
This essay will attempt to provide the information that was used to profile his case. David Richard was originally born as Richard David Falco to a businessman by the name Joseph Kleinman and a waitress by the name of Betty Broder. However, David did not get the chance to grow up in the presence of his biological parents as he was given up for adoption shortly after birth. He was adopted by Nathan and Pearl Berkowitz, and that was the moment that he was renamed to David Richard Berkowitz. According to his father, David is a Caucasian male who was well groomed, muscular and who stood 5’8’’
Dr. Daniel Hale Williams Dr. Daniel Hale Williams was the first African American to perform the first successful open heart surgery. Williams accomplished many things over the course of his life and always tried to help other African Americans. He wanted to help others whether it was through surgery or just being involved in a Civil Rights activist league.
From 1976 to 1977, the streets of New York City were engulfed in fear that was a result of a single serial killer attacking random, innocent victims. David Berkowitz, commonly known as ‘The Son Of Sam’ was responsible for the deaths of 6 people and leaving several other injured as a result of his ruthless attacks. David catapulted New York City into a panic when he began targeting college students and couples at random using his infamous .44 caliber handgun. He had made claims that his neighbor had been telling him to kill and that he received these messages through his neighbor Sam Carr’s dog. He had believed that he was merely a messenger, and that it was his job to carry out the killings as he was instructed to do by Carr’s dog.
A horrible tragedy of three ruined lives, a brutally murdered 14 year old, and life imprisonments of two teenage killers (Linder, 1). Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, two extremely intelligent young men with a crazed affection for each other, shocked many people by the gruesomeness and the nature of the murder of Bobby Franks. In Chicago, 1924, the radio was just making an entrance into social life, cultural norms were changing as the economy boomed, and traditional views on life began to change to be more contemporary (History.com Staff). Leopold and Loeb were fearless, living the fast life of robbing and conning, when they decided to commit the perfect, unsolvable, murder. They had no want or even reason to kill, but to experience the thrill of adrenaline flow through them (Linder, 2).
On January 29, 1991, a vile crime occurred in the Heikkila home in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. Twenty-year-old Matthew Heikkila, the adopted son of Richard and Dawn Heikkila loaded up a “sawed-off 20-gauge shotgun” (Sullivan). He labeled shotgun shells “Mom” and “Dad”, and shot his parents both in the head. Matthew plotted the murder to get the chance to steal his parent’s credit cards, and treat his girlfriend to a birthday dinner. Matthew then left his parent’s dead bodies on the floor of his home and he and his girlfriend enjoyed a night in NYC.
AON Wilbur Wright Notes DOB: April 16, 1867 POB: Millville, Indiana. DOD: May 30, 1912 ROD: Typhoid Wilbur Wright did not finish high school or graduate from college. The Wright Brothers succeeded where inventors with thousands of dollars had failed.
Holocaust signifies“sacrifice by fire”. The Germans thought that they were “superior” to all other races. They claimed that they had encountered a “final solution” to the “problem” of racial disparity. Germans targeted other groups because of their perceived "racial inferiority". They targeted Gypsies, disabled, Poles and Russians.
Ted Bundy is a notorious serial killer who targeted a number of young attractive women. Bundy like many other serial killers had a type. He preferred his victims to be women with small builds and long brown middle parted hair. Why long brown middle parted hair and a petite frame? Bundy fell madly in love with a woman named Stephanie Brooks.
Richard "Iceman" Kuklinski was viewed as a normal man by society for much of his adult life. This man was far from normal. Kuklinski was a psychopath and a sociopath who was driven to kill by his troubled childhood and his lifestyle as a paid hit man. This paper will focus on the criminological theory of why Kuklinkski committed these murders. Richard Leonard Kuklinski was born in 1935 to Stanley and Anna Kuklinski ("Meet Notorious Contract Killer Richard Kuklinski").
Branch Davidian Children Most of us are aware that things that happen in early childhood may impact us throughout our lives. Some individuals seem not so affected by them, while others have a hard time recovering from the events. This is especially true when it comes to living in abusive situations. In abusive situations, everyone is impacted, but children are more prone to negatives experiences.
Ever hear of infamous contract killer Richard Kuklinski? Or otherwise known as the Iceman. Richard Kuklinski was a family man – he had three children and a wife, it was a happy family that everyone on the block knew. Yet there was a secret that he kept from his family and many others. Richard Kuklinski was a cold hearted killer with no remorse – to him it was second nature and to others it was a shock.
Introduction I. Look around this school and think about exactly how many students are here daily. How would you feel if I told you that one out of every twenty five people are sociopaths(Pratt 2006).The fact of the matter is that not everyone who is a sociopath is a serial killer but oddly enough it has been proven that all serial killers are sociopaths. II. I have chosen serial killers that I found intriguing and that I thought not many people would know a lot about.
The criminal case I have selected for this assignment is on Justin Morton; who at the age of fourteen years old Morton was the first youth convicted of first-degree murder section 231 CC. Although, The report show that the young man was raised in a healthy and supportive home with his mother and father. In spite of this, Justin expresses to his psychiatrist his impulse and desire for inflicting pain on others; he claims to have no remorse for the murder of Eric Levrack. Not to mention, He also voiced to former classmates that "Eric was annoying, always invading his space. "As a matter of fact, after the killing on April 1, 2003, Morton had turned himself in, he described the event as an open game of trust just before he strangled Eric with a belt.
Robert Andrew Berdella also known as Bob was an american citizens of kansas city, missouri who happened to be a serial killer, who killed, raped, and tortured at least 6 young men between the time span of 1984 and 1987. Berdella’s early life, robert was apart of the kansas city art institute from the year 1967 to 1969. He had become convicted during this time but he had received a suspended sentence for selling amphetamines then, later arrested for the illegal possession of marijuana and LSD but charges were dropped because they didn't have a lot of evidence. Berdella owned a novelty shop on the westport flea market, he worked as a chef for work then later eventually opened a restaurant called Bob’s Bazaar Bizarre and catered to occult type tastes. He bought a house in 1969 on 4315 Charlotte which later will be where all of the crimes took place.
It is suggested that because of these feelings, it was easier for him to turn to murder and evil thoughts. Jeffery Dahmer’s thoughts of dread and doom are strong indications of