Songbird Salutes the 70's -- Son of Sam
One of the scariest times of the 70's...
From July 1976 through August 1977, he terrorized the City and its suburbs. He was preying on girls with long, dark hair, mostly in lover's lanes. He was known as the .44 caliber killer for the type of gun he used to shoot and kill his victims. Later, in letters left at the various crime scenes and sent to Daily News columnist Jimmy Breslin, he referred to himself as "the Son of Sam." His ramblings were psychotic, but his aim was deadly. He killed six and wounded many others, all on the orders of the voices in his head, which he attributed to his neighbor Sam's black Labrador. He was caught because of something so simple as a parking ticket, which put him and his car in the vicinity of the last shooting. Ultimately he pled guilty and was sentenced to six life sentences...
I was 17 in the summer of 1977, going out with boys who actually had cars and were able to drive on our dates. Although all the shootings had been within the five boroughs, our parents were terrified that the shooter would make his way to Long Island, and cautioned us against "parking". Of course we "parked" anyhow, but the idea of the shooter out there lent an element of excitement to our encounters.
We never expected to become victims of the Son of Sam, but we scared each other with stories, with urban legends. Even after his capture, we told tales about how his next target was supposed to be in our Long Island neighborhood...
It kept us scared, at least until September, when we became distracted by another horror -- a book called The Amityville Horror ... but that's a tale for another day ...
From July 1976 through August 1977, he terrorized the City and its suburbs. He was preying on girls with long, dark hair, mostly in lover's lanes. He was known as the .44 caliber killer for the type of gun he used to shoot and kill his victims. Later, in letters left at the various crime scenes and sent to Daily News columnist Jimmy Breslin, he referred to himself as "the Son of Sam." His ramblings were psychotic, but his aim was deadly. He killed six and wounded many others, all on the orders of the voices in his head, which he attributed to his neighbor Sam's black Labrador. He was caught because of something so simple as a parking ticket, which put him and his car in the vicinity of the last shooting. Ultimately he pled guilty and was sentenced to six life sentences...
I was 17 in the summer of 1977, going out with boys who actually had cars and were able to drive on our dates. Although all the shootings had been within the five boroughs, our parents were terrified that the shooter would make his way to Long Island, and cautioned us against "parking". Of course we "parked" anyhow, but the idea of the shooter out there lent an element of excitement to our encounters.
We never expected to become victims of the Son of Sam, but we scared each other with stories, with urban legends. Even after his capture, we told tales about how his next target was supposed to be in our Long Island neighborhood...
It kept us scared, at least until September, when we became distracted by another horror -- a book called The Amityville Horror ... but that's a tale for another day ...
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