Where Is the Son of Sam Now? Shawangunk, Parole Denials, and Conversion

David Berkowitz, the serial killer known as the Son of Sam, is now 72 years old and incarcerated at Shawangunk Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison in Ulster County, New York. He has been there for most of nearly five decades behind bars, has been denied parole twelve times since first becoming eligible in 2002, and in May 2026 skipped his thirteenth scheduled parole hearing altogether. He told the New York Post he is “already free” through his Christian faith and is “not seeking parole.”¹

The Crimes That Put Him There

Between July 1976 and July 1977, Berkowitz shot thirteen people across the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn, killing six and wounding seven. He used a .44-caliber Bulldog revolver and typically targeted young people sitting in parked cars.² The first killing was 18-year-old Donna Lauria, shot on July 29, 1976, outside her home on Buhre Avenue in the Bronx.³ The last was on July 31, 1977, in Bath Beach, Brooklyn, where he shot Stacy Moskowitz, 20, who died the next day, and Robert Violante, 20, who survived but lost roughly 90 percent of his sight.

During the spree, Berkowitz mailed taunting letters to New York newspapers signed “Son of Sam,” claiming a demon living inside a neighbor’s black Labrador had ordered him to kill. He later admitted the story was fabricated.⁴ Police arrested him outside his Yonkers apartment on August 10, 1977, after a parking ticket near the final crime scene led them to his car.⁵

His Sentence and Why He Can Even Seek Parole

Berkowitz pleaded guilty on May 8, 1978, to six counts of second-degree murder along with attempted murder charges. On June 12, 1978, three New York State Supreme Court justices sentenced him for the crimes committed in their respective boroughs. He received 25 years to life for each of the six murders, nine consecutive 25-year terms for attempted murder, six 15-year terms for assault, five 15-year terms for illegal gun possession, and a seven-year weapons sentence. On paper, the individual terms add up to 547 years.⁶

That number can be misleading. Justice William Kapelman clarified at sentencing that under New York law the consecutive sentences would be “merged” for parole purposes, making Berkowitz eligible after 25 years regardless of the stacked total. Justice Nicholas Tsoucalas said the intent was for him “to be incarcerated for the rest of his natural life,” and Justice Joseph R. Corso said he would have imposed the death penalty had it been available under New York law at the time.⁷ The merger is why Berkowitz has been facing a parole board every two years since 2002.

Twelve Parole Denials and a Skipped Hearing

Berkowitz has appeared before the New York parole board every two years since first becoming eligible and has been denied each time. The twelfth denial came after a hearing on May 14, 2024.⁸ Ahead of that appearance, he told the New York Post he was going primarily “to openly apologize for my past crimes and to express my remorse.”⁹

His thirteenth hearing was scheduled for May 2026, and he chose to skip it. “I opted not to attend. Right now, I have other things to do, which I feel are more meaningful,” he told the New York Post, adding that the “only place” he wanted to go “is to heaven to be with the Lord.”¹ That tracks with a letter he once sent to then-Governor George Pataki asking that he not be released.¹⁰

Life Inside Shawangunk

Berkowitz says he converted to evangelical Christianity in 1987, roughly a decade into his sentence, after a period in which he had contemplated suicide. He credits a fellow inmate named Rick with introducing him to the Bible in the prison yard. He now calls himself the “Son of Hope,” and other inmates reportedly call him “Brother Dave.”¹⁰¹¹

At Shawangunk he serves as an elder overseeing a prison congregation, conducts Bible studies for other inmates, and maintains an online ministry through a website run by evangelical supporters. He has said his aim is to warn young people away from destructive paths.¹⁰

What Victims and Investigators Say About the Conversion

Reactions to Berkowitz’s religious turn have been split. Minister Roxanne Tauriello, a regular visitor, has described him as “genuinely sorrowful” and said he is not putting on a “façade.” Retired NYPD Captain Joe Borrelli, who worked the original case, said he was not “sold on Berkowitz’s conversion,” adding, “It doesn’t make up for all those young women that he killed.”¹⁰

Survivors and victims’ families remain opposed to any release. Robert Violante, who was blinded in the final shooting, responded to Berkowitz’s recent claim about going to heaven by saying, “I sincerely doubt he is going to heaven. He is lucky he is not already in hell.”¹² Rose Lauria, mother of first victim Donna Lauria, has said of Berkowitz, “He will never be sane, because he was never sane from the beginning.”³

Why He’s Back in the News

Berkowitz’s case returned to wide attention in July 2025 with the Netflix release of Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes, a three-part docuseries directed by Joe Berlinger. The series is built around audio recordings reporter Jack Jones made of Berkowitz in 1980 at Attica Correctional Facility, combined with new interviews with detectives, journalists, and survivors.¹³

On the tapes, Berkowitz admits that his story about being commanded to kill by a demon inside his neighbor’s dog was a calculated lie meant to manipulate the media and sow confusion to help him avoid capture. Berlinger characterizes him as a “master manipulator of the media” driven by isolation and a desire for importance. The documentary also pushes back on long-standing accomplice and cult theories, with Berlinger noting that “nobody died after Berkowitz was put in prison” and that no forensic evidence ever pointed to another suspect.¹³

For now, Berkowitz remains in his cell at Shawangunk, writing, preaching to other inmates, and no longer asking the state of New York to let him out.

1
Yahoo News. Son of Sam Killer David Berkowitz Skips Parole Hearing
2
CBS News. Son of Sam Serial Killer David Berkowitz: Victims and Timeline
3
PIX11. Mother of Son of Sam’s First Victim Donna Lauria Shares Anguish on 40th Anniversary of Murder
4
Britannica. Why Is David Berkowitz Known as Son of Sam
5
Biography.com. Son of Sam Murder Case Timeline
6
New York Daily News. David Berkowitz Is Sentenced to 25 Years to Life in Prison for Son of Sam Killings
7
The New York Times. Berkowitz Given 25 Years to Life in Each of 6 Son of Sam Killings
8
CBS News. Son of Sam Denied Parole
9
NJ.com. Where Is David Berkowitz Now
10
People. Son of Sam David Berkowitz Prison Life Now
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CBN. Son of Sam Becomes Son of Hope
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New York Post. Son of Sam Killer David Berkowitz Predicts He’ll Go to Heaven
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Netflix Tudum. Conversations With a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes