Word: sam
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...then that twisted side of the mild-mannered killer's mentality exposed itself. Why, why had he murdered? "It was a command," he said in a soft, nonaggressive voice. "I had a sign and I followed it. Sam told me what to do and I did it." Again: "Sam told me to do it. Sam sent me on an assignment. I had to do what I had to do. I had my orders. Sam sent me." Who is Sam? Berkowitz said Sam is at the moment a neighbor of his named Sam Carr, but "really...
From a letter sent to Columnist Breslin: "I am a spirit roaming the night. Thirsty, hungry, seldom stopping to rest, anxious to please Sam. I love my work...
...torments within Berkowitz, a man who sometimes greeted people in his apartment building with a friendly, smile and even gave a newspaper delivery boy a $30 tip one Christmas, also surfaced in anonymous crank letters to neighbors -notes that helped lead to his capture. Two were to Sam Carr, the fatherly figure Berkowitz was to fancy as a source of the commands to kill. Carr, 64, a frail, grizzled man who operates a telephone answering service from his home and maintains an astonishing arsenal of guns (he said he has a .22 automatic, .32 revolver, .38 revolver, .30-06 rifle...
...other recipient of hate mail was Craig Glassman, 29, a male nurse and part-time corporal in the Westchester County sheriffs emergency force. He lived directly under Berkowitz's apartment and got four letters. They accused Glassman of being a "demon" and a "wicked person," who (like "Sam") was forcing the writer to kill. Said one letter: "My master Craig, You will be punished. Craig, how dare you force me into the night to do your bidding. I promise you, Craig, the world shall spit on you and your mother ... Sure, I am the killer, but Craig, the killings...
...those letters to the similar ones Carr had reported receiving-and they informed Glassman that Berkowitz was the probable letter writer. At that time Yonkers police knew what type of car Berkowitz was driving and its license number, and they began to suspect that Berkowitz might be Son of Sam. It was three days later that the New York police task force hunting the killer learned Yonkers authorities were pursuing Berkowitz as a potentially dangerous neighborhood crank...