Amber Felton
December 13, 2012
ENGI1020-Robbins
In The Year 1977 Murder is the most vindictive crime society can commit, it happens everywhere and at least one murder takes place every day. In 1977 the estimated murders and no negligent manslaughter was 19,120. In general a case that involves a murder usually contains a motive, however the 1977 serial killings of ‘Son of Sam, the “Girl Scout Murder, and the ‘Hillside Strangler’ had no motive and no respect for human life that’s what makes the theme of the year for 1977 ‘thirst for blood.’ On the day of August 11, 1977 the people of New York City had one less concern as they went about their busy day. That morning the headline of The New York Times paper read “Suspect in ‘Son of Sam’ Murders Arrested in Yonkers; Police Say .44 caliber weapon is recovered.” The suspect is a man named David Berkowitz. He terrorized New York City for over a year, murdering six people and wounding seven others. The ‘Son of Sam’ crimes haunted New Yorkers in a big way not only because the crimes were random and the killer had no motive but mostly because he would leave messages through the letters he wrote. This letter was written to Captain Borrelli, It was left inside the car at the scene of the crime where the bodies of Valentina Surian and Alexander Esay were found. It read:
Dear Captain Joseph Borrelli, I am deeply hurt by your calling me a wemon hater. I am not. But I am a monster. I am the 'Son of Sam.' I am a little brat.When father Sam gets drunk he gets mean. He beats his family. Sometimes he ties me up to the back of the house. Other times he locks me in the garage. Sam loves to drink blood. 'Go out and kill,' commands father Sam. 'Behind our house some rest. Mostly young — raped and slaughtered — their blood drained — just bones now. Papa Sam keeps me locked in the attic too. I can't get out but I look out the attic window and watch the world go by. I feel like an outsider. I am on a different wavelength then everybody else — programmed too kill. However, to stop me you must kill me. Attention all police: Shoot me first — shoot to kill or else keep out of my way or you will die! Papa Sam is old now. He needs some blood to preserve his youth. He has had too many heart attacks. 'Ugh, me hoot, it hurts, sonny boy.' I miss my pretty princess most of all. She's resting in our ladies house. But I'll see her soon. I am the 'Monster' — 'Beelzebub' — the chubby behemouth. I love to hunt. Prowling the streets looking for fair game — tasty meat. The wemon of Queens are prettyist of all. It must be the water they drink. I live for the hunt — my life. Blood for papa. Mr. Borrelli, sir, I don't want to kill anymore. No sur, no more but I must, 'honour thy father.'I want to make love to the world. I love people. I don't belong on earth. Return me to yahoos. To the people of Queens, I love you. And I want to wish all of you a happy Easter. May God bless you in this life and in the next. (http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/berkowitz/letter_1.html)
This letter is what drew the media in and as a result ‘Son of Sam’ became known around the country. ‘Son of Sam’ became so famous that New York city law makers passed a bill stating that a criminal shall not be able to profit off their crimes through the commercial exploitation of their stories. (Section 632-a). According to the police when they seized David Berkowitz the man who they thought was ‘Son of Sam’ Mr. Berkowitz was advised of his rights by arresting officers and responded: "Well, you've got me." (11 Aug. 1977, The New York Times)
On the warm day of June 13, 1977 three girls were enjoying their first day of summer camp at Camp Scott in Locust Grove, OK. As the campfire faded away the girls headed off to their tent for a good night sleep. In the morning a counselor had awaken early to take a shower, she left the tent and walked down the trail to a horrific scene, there the three girls laid bludgeoned, strangled and murdered. The camp was closed and everyone was sent home. It was concluded that the girls were murdered in their tent then dragged 150 feet to an intersection of two trails were they were most likely to be found. The law enforcement of Oklahoma investigated the case and came up with a couple of suspects; one of the suspects was named Gene Leroy Hart. (Hart was a convicted rapist, murder, and burglar and had escaped jail twice, at the time of the murders he was a wanted man.) The search for the suspect was the largest manhunt in Oklahoma history. During the investigation ‘new’ evidence would appear, according to one article in the Tulsa Tribune, issued July 29, 1977, “Shoes Mystery appears at girl scout scene.” The article explained how a pair of tennis shoes maybe belonging to one of the murdered girl’s mysterisly appeared on the front steps of the building used as a command post for camp Scott. Finding the shoes could mean either the murder was coming back to the scene or someone was playing a prank. The article also talked about how someone has been seen outside in the woods three times during that week, they would send the search dog after them but the dog would lose the scent each time. (http://www.girlscoutmurders.com/SHOES.html)
During the search for the suspect Hart, The Tulsa Tribune reported on December 31, 1977 the manhunt was costing over 138,000 dollars. (http://www.girlscoutmurders.com/WORLD_TRIBUNE.html) Hart was eventually captured and went to trial; he was acquitted of all charges which caused a lot of people to question the evidence. Hart was sent to prison to finish out his previous conviction and within one week Hart died from a heart attack. The story of the Girl Scout murders still haunts Oklahoma to this day. A man named John Russell Penn is an ex con who made a movie called “Candles.” This movie is supposed to reveal the true killer.
Murders happen in California every day; however, the case of the ‘hillside strangler’ was different. What makes this case so disturbing isn't the motive of the murderers themselves, but the fact that two ordinary men who were cousins would become monsters by combining their hatred and disrespect of women. Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi's would lure women into the car, torture them and dump the bodies throughout the northern California area. Their reign of terror commenced in October 1977 and continued until February 1978, during which time 10 female victims ranging in age from 12 to 28 were raped and murdered by this diabolic duo. Most of the women were killed through being strangled and the killers would leave lacerations on the neck and wrist of their victims to send a message to law enforcement. Another troubling aspect of the Hillside Strangler case is that two individuals committed these crimes together, making it a rare case involving team killers. Also the fact that neither man found the other's deeds reprehensible enough to report or question is enough to make anyone wonder about the true nature of evil. Frontline did an interview with psychiatrists as they try to get “Inside the mind of a mass murderer—Kenneth Bianchi, the man who came to be known as the Hillside Strangler.” (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/programs/transcripts/206.html) During the interview the psychiatrist review the actual interviews they had with Kenneth Bianchi while he was awaiting trial for the murders. Most of the interviews were questioning if Kenneth Bianchi is insane or is he a cold‑blooded killer faking insanity. Even though murder happens every day these murders were sick, twisted and gave the media something to report about. These serial killers would send messages to law enforcement by writing a letter, leaving a shoe and marking their victims which made headlines everywhere, in return made them ‘famous,’ that’s why the theme of the year for 1977 is ‘thirst for blood.’ The ‘Son of Sam’ slayings, the mystery of the ‘Girl Scout Murders’ and the ‘Hillside Strangler’ haunted and still haunt the residents of New York, Oklahoma and California. The murders will always be remembered and will always be among some of the most famous serial killers in history.

Works Cited
Bardsley, Marilyn. “David Berkowitz: The Son of Sam.” Crime Library. n.d. TruTv.com 2012 <http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/berkowitz/biblio_7.html>.
Bardsley, Marilyn. “Buono and Bianchi, the Hillside Stranglers.” Crime Library. n.d. TruTv.com 2012 < http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/stranglers/17.html>
McFadden, Robert D. “Suspect in 'Son of Sam' Murders Arrested in Yonkers; Police Say .44 Caliber Weapon Is Recovered.” On This Day. 11 Aug. 1977. The New York Times on the web Learning Network. 2010 <http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0810.html>. “The Still Unsolved 1977 Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders” Girlscoutmurders.com. Web Weaver <Design. 2010 < http://www.girlscoutmurders.com/SHOES.html>. <http://www.girlscoutmurders.com/WORLD_TRIBUNE.html>.
United States. US Department of Justice, FBI. Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics. Estimated Crime in 1977. 29 March 2010 <http://www.ucrdatatool.gov/Search/Crime/State/RunCrimeStatebyState.cfm>
United States. New York.gov New Yorks “Son of Sam” Law. 2010 <http://www.ovs.ny.gov/FormsandPublications/AnnualReports/2012AnnualReport/TableOfContents/NewYorkSonofSamLaw.aspx>
Woodruff, Judy. Interview Transcription. “The Mind of a Murder, Part I.” n.d. PBS.org. 2012 <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/programs/transcripts/206.html>.