In 1997, David Berkowitz – the infamous serial killer dubbed The Son of Sam – agreed to be interviewed by the investigative journalist Maury Terry. At this point, Berkowitz had been incarcerated for over 20 years and converted to Christianity. He even gave himself a new name: “The Son of Hope”.

Although he never denied the fact that he killed innocent people and that he deserved his multiple life sentences, Berkowitz had always maintained one vital fact: He did not act alone. Not only that, the Son of Sam murders were not random acts of violence carried out by a lone nut: They were – as crazy as it sounds – ritual sacrifices carried out by a highly organized Satanic cult.

Maury Terry with David Berkowitz preparing for the 1997 interview.

At the time of this interview, Maury Terry had been investigating the Son of Sam case for over two decades. Ten years prior, he released The Ultimate Evil: An Investigation of America’s Most Dangerous Satanic Cult, a book that presented evidence that these killings were linked to a massive occult network.

In this interview, Terry was looking to confirm important facts he uncovered in his years of research. For instance, there was evidence that the 1977 killing of 20-year-old Stacy Moskowitz was mostly likely filmed by someone who was hiding in a van. If this was true, the entire “lone nut” theory would be disproved. Furthermore, it would signify that these murders were actually team efforts that even implicated the production of snuff material to be sold in underground circles.

When Terry asks about this mysterious van, Berkowitz answers:

– There was some filming going on. Somebody wanted to film it for somebody else, or, huh, whatever …

– Are you stating to me, then, that they made a snuff film, from that van, of the shooting of Stacy Moskowitz and Robert Violante?

– Maybe that’s what you can call it.

– Was this the cult group itself that was responsible for the Son of Sam murders? Or was there something else that went on?

– Uh, there was another group, a more elite group, hidden into it and woven into it, you know?

In his last answer, Berkowitz stated that the coven he belonged to (named The Children) was infiltrated by an “elite group” that pushed them further into the “dark side”. In his research, Terry believed that this “elite group” might have been The Process – a powerful satanic group that became extremely influential in the early 1970s before going underground.

Terry then asks Berkowitz:

– What other kinds of crimes did they commit?

– Well, heavy drug trafficking and, uh, other things involving children.

– Involving children? What do you mean? What kind of business were they in? You’re telling me the Process was producing child p*rnography? Is that what you’re saying? And providing children?

Berkowitz nodded. Right after, the producer stopped the interview.

This is where a thorough investigation of The Son of Sam case leads: To the rotten core of the occult elite which is obsessed with the worse abominations known to man.

Maury Terry holding his book.

In recent months, Terry’s work gained newfound attention with the Netflix series Sons of Sam: Descent into Darkness – a documentary series that heavily focuses on Maury Terry’s investigation. However, despite presenting the mountain of evidence accumulated by Terry throughout his life, the documentary ended up discrediting him, even using the words “delusional” and “two-fisted drunk” to describe him.

Reviews of the Netflix series in mainstream media even linked Terry’s investigation to modern “conspiracy theories”, strongly suggesting that one should not fall into this rabbit hole.

Why is Terry’s research currently receiving such poor treatment in mass media? Is it because the Son of Sam case provides a rare insight into the sick world of the occult elite, one that media has been hard at work concealing every since?

Here’s a look at this disturbing yet extremely revealing case.

Lone Nut?

David Berkowitz after his arrest.

Between July 1976 and July 1977, the city of New York was in a state of terror. Six people were shot to death and seven others were wounded by a serial killer who was dubbed The Son of Sam. The city’s state of panic was heightened by intense media coverage which published disturbing letters written by the killer himself. Other than taunting the police, some letters contained bizarre occult symbols.

One of the letters sent by The Son of Sam containing a magical sigil.

In August 1977, the NYPD proudly announced that The Son of Sam was caught. Officials revealed that the serial killer was David Berkowitz, a 25-years-old Jewish man who lived in Yonkers and who claimed that a demonic dog named Sam was ordering him to commit murders.

While the city of New York let go a collective sigh of relief after the arrest of Berkowitz, some observers quickly realized that lots of details were not adding up. A close analysis of eyewitness accounts did not match the whereabouts of Berkowitz in several crime scenes. Furthermore, Berkowitz looked nothing like several composite sketches released by the police.

Police sketches of the Son of Sam. Many of them closely resemble other members of his coven. In an interview, Berkowitz confirmed that the suspect on the top-right was actually a “high-level” woman who came from out of town to take part in the ritual killings.

There was also another vital element that was completely ignored by the police force: Nearly every clue relating to this case could only be understood with knowledge of occultism, witchcraft, and black magic.

Sons of the Occult Elite

Shortly after his incarceration, David Berkowitz began reaching out to various individuals through letters that provided relevant information relating to the case. According to Maury Terry, David Berkowitz wanted the Son of Sam case to be resolved and, more importantly, he wanted the truth to come out. However, he could not outright “rat out” cult members because that would put his family and his own life at risk.

In 1979, Berkowitz sent a letter to a California preacher that summed up his situation.

“I really don’t know how to begin this letter, but at one time I was a member of an occult group. Being sworn to secrecy or face death I cannot reveal the name of the group, nor do I wish to. This group contained a mixture of satanic practices which included the teachings of Aleister Crowley and Eliphaz Levi. It was (still is) totally blood-oriented and I am certain you know just what I mean. The Coven’s doctrines are a blend of ancient Druidism, the teachings of the Secret Order of the Golden Dawn, Black Magick and a host of other unlawful and obnoxious practices.

As I said, I have no interest in revealing the Coven, especially because I have almost met sudden death on several occasions (once by half an inch) and several others have already perished under mysterious circumstances. These people will stop at nothing, including murder. They have no fear of manmade laws or the Ten Commandments. (…)

I think it is imperative that I educate certain people—the people whose job it is to clean up after this coven. Of course I am talking about the authorities. Actually it is my duty as a citizen of this planet to do so. But it would be up to those concerned people to do their own investigating. Knowing the fearlessness and dedication this group possesses, I fear greatly for my family. (…)

To break away completely is impossible because of a Pact each new member signs in his own blood. Also, each new and carefully screened recruit supplies a picture or pictures of all his or her family members, plus their addresses. These items are used, if necessary, as tools for blackmail, coercion and eventually physical harm should one attempt to betray the group.”

The “group” Berkowitz belonged to was named The Children. They often met at night at Untermyer Park in Yonkers, New York to partake in black masses and ritual sacrifices.

Complete with sphinxes and Masonic twin pillars, Unteryer Park was built on occult principles and is filled with symbolism relating to elite secret societies. It certainly qualifies as a Sinister Site.

Untermyer Park was built by Samuel J. Untermyer, an extremely powerful figure in U.S. history who was deeply connected with the occult elite. According to Maury Terry, Untermyer was a member of the New York City temple of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, one of the most powerful occult secret societies of its day.

During the 1970s, Untermeyer Park was in an advanced state of neglect and became a meeting place for The Children who met in an abandoned building they called the “Devil’s Cave”.

Pictures of the “Devil’s cave” in Untermeyer Park where satanic rituals took place.

In a 1993 interview, Berkowitz described what happened in the Devil’s cave.

– We had a spot where there was like a circle with rocks. (…) You could actually feel, like, a force out there, a presence out there in the darkness. We began to hear more and more conversations about witchcraft, about black magic. We were really having little religious services almost. I did begin to witness some animal sacrifices.

We were at a park, I guess it was Untermeyer Park. We had this circle formed. And we said OK let’s start chanting now, let’s call the names of the demons. Let’s call Satan’s name, let’s call Lucifer, let’s bring him, let’s summon from the netherworld, from the air, and let’s ask him to annoint you, to knight you as one of his royal soldiers to do his bidding to do his will. There were definitely lots of arsons. These demons wanted fire.

– Was this Lucifer?

– Yes it was Lucifer. It was Molech, another god who wanted fire sacrifices.

One of the many dead dogs found around Untermeyer Park as a result of animal sacrifice.

In another interview, Berkowitz revealed the true meaning of the name Son of Sam:

“Sadly, the psychiatrists or the psychologist are so blind. You know, I tried to explain to them what was happening but they couldn’t grasp it – who Sam really was. I hate to talk about this because they have made a joke about this for so very long, you know the talking dog.

Basically, I had given them to whole thing in a nutshell and they never quite caught on that the highest ranking demon is Samhain. And these people who died were sadly … for him.”

In his book, Maury Terry explains what Black Masses usually entail:

“As mentioned, covens pay homage to Satan, just as traditional religions honor God. Accordingly, in defiance of the Catholic Church, the concept of the Black Mass evolved during the Middle Ages. In the Black Mass, satanic prayers were substituted for those contained in the Catholic service; the Lord’s Prayer was recited backwards; crosses were inverted; black vestments were worn; chalices and hosts stolen from churches were used in the rituals.

Elements such as feces, urine, vomit and animal blood were also employed. The host was sometimes smeared with feces or vomit, and urine was frequently poured into a chalice, and consumed. Animals, such as dogs and cats, were sacrificed to Satan and their blood drunk in fertility rites or for other purposes. Some covens, questing for the ultimate sacrifice, offered humans to the devil.”
– Maury Terry, The Ultimate Evil

One of the first letters sent by the Son of Sam alluding to ritual sacrifices.

The letter above, which was sent to a journalist during the Son of Sam killings, alluded to occult practices of The Children. First, “Hello from the gutters of N.Y.C” is a reference to Untermeyer Park which was built adjacent to the massive Old Croton Aqueduct system (which is also believed to have been the site of underground meetings). The letter also mentions “dog manure, vomit, stale wine, urine and blood”, all elements used in witchcraft.

While The Children began as a group of young people dabbling with drugs and occult practices, insiders (including Berkowitz himself) have indicated that it was infiltrated by a powerful group to carry out an infernal task.

Process Church and the Mansons

The cover of a Process Church newsletter. This issue included an interview with Jimmy Savile – the English TV host who was knighted by the Queen … and who turned out to be a psychopathic child abuser.

The Process Church was founded in England by two ex-members of the Church of Scientology. In 1967, Process opened an all-night coffee shop named “Satan’s Cavern” and attracted a number of celebrities active in the realms of music and cinema. Soon after, the cult gained a great deal of influence and opened several chapters in the United States and Canada.

While most research regarding the Son of Sam points directly to the Process Church as the source of the chaos, that specific group was merely a branch of a much wider network of the occult elite. For centuries, occult groups have popped up to then go underground. However, the main occult network has always remained active and undisturbed. Maury Terry explains how the Process Church is a part of a much wider network of secret societies:

“The Process and its secret offshoots didn’t have the Southern California or U.S. occult scene or philosophies to themselves. Master black magician Aleister Crowley, who died in 1947, had written of a unification of God and Satan. That precept, and other Crowleyisms, found their way into Process doctrine.

By sharing Crowley’s beliefs, the Process also blended those of the Order of the Golden Dawn. The Golden Dawn was an English occult society to which Crowley belonged in the late nineteenth century. The Golden Dawn believed in cabalistic magic and taught that the will could be trained to accomplish paranormal effects, including astral projection. The Golden Dawn also strongly believed in symbolism, teaching that certain symbols, or thoughts, had the same meaning for all human beings.

(…)

Later, during World War II, Crowley helped establish an OTO lodge in Pasadena, California, and OTO branches subsequently sprouted in a number of U.S. cities, including New York and Houston. In effect, a loose network was formed and already functioning via occult shops and bookstores, newsletters, ads in the underground press and other methods—including personal contacts—by the time the Process arrived in 1967.

In fact, many believe that the entire occult underground in America today can be traced back to the formation of that Crowley OTO operation in Pasadena. The Process, then, incorporated the ideas of a number of its ancestors and current occupants of the occult landscape, including the OTO. Accordingly, there was intermingling of philosophy, membership and networking among the groups. This arrangement makes labeling a difficult, restrictive measure. Charles Manson, for example, was exposed to the practices of a renegade OTO lodge in Southern California as well as having been influenced by the Process.
– Terry, Op. Cit.

The last paragraph mentions Charles Manson, the infamous serial killer with a cult following who conducted ritualistic murders in California. Maury Terry and other researchers believe that Manson’s cult (which was called The Family – a name similar to The Children) was under the influence of Process.

A member of the Manson Family does the one-eye sign while leaving court. Occult elite influence.

The woman pictured above is Susan Atkins. She was mostly known for killing actress Sharon Tate in a gruesome matter in 1969. Tate was eight and half months pregnant. She was the wife of Roman Polanski – the infamous director who released a year prior Rosemary’s Baby, a movie about an actress being impregnated by a coven of Satanists.

Susan Atkin’s court appearances were always bizarre, surreal events. However, one short clip has baffled observers for decades as it appears to be showing paranormal activity. In the following video, we see Charles Manson being questioned by journalists in an impromptu press conference. For a few seconds, Atkins appears to be “lipsynching” Manson’s answers in a bizarre, effortless manner as if she already knew what he was about to say.

There was no way for Atkins to know what Manson would say because he was answering questions on the fly. This is the kind of bizarre stuff that kept happening in this world of witches connected to the occult elite and, perhaps, MK-ULTRA-induced extrasensory perception.

In short, lots of bizarre events that terrified America could be linked to the same source. However, one can ask, what was the goal of it all? Why does the occult elite go through so much trouble to create fear, chaos, and death? The answer is … alchemical.

The Ultimate Goal

In his 1993 interview, Berkowitz briefly explained the reason behind the Son of Sam killings.

“At this time, we dedicated our lives to Satan’s service, to be his soldiers. And we had to create an atmosphere that would be conducive to his coming upon the world scene.

Our goal was to bring chaos to this city which, tragically, we did succeed in bringing the city of New York to its knees and so forth, which was part of the plan.”

In his book Secret Societies and Psychological Warfare, occult researcher Michael Hoffman explains how the Son of Sam killings were occult rituals that were amplified on a global scale using mass media:

“The Son of Sam murders were a brilliantly orchestrated ritual whose ceremonial aspects were as precise and detailed as the internal workings of a clock.

This theater of death began as a ritual for the cult-members themselves and ended as a giant magical ceremony for the processing of the entire nation, because in the worldwide broadcast of the Son of Sam murders was also broadcast the magical symbols of the “Wicker Man” and of Eliphas Levy. This is the alchemical psychodrama for the transformation of humanity. We are processed just by reading or watching “the news,” associating death and terror, power and potency, with an old demonic symbol by a 19th century adept of Black magic whose illustration of the hermaphroditic demon of the Knights Templars, Baphomet, is perhaps the most widely recognized occult symbol in modern history.

Readers of the New York Daily News learned to associate “The Wicked King of Wicker” with murder and terror. At the thought of King Wicker, millions felt fear. This fear was imprinted on their minds. This is the same control process hundreds of peasants were put through a thousand years ago while standing in front of a giant wicker effigy, inside of which was caged   doomed human sacrifice destined for burning.

The only difference is that the peasants knew that their leaders wanted them to fear an occult image. Modern people imbibe occult fear technology while imagining that there is no such thing. The imprint’s impact is doubled when veiled under such ignorance.

Those who think ritual has no power to significantly alter behavior have not studied Catholicism closely. One of the most influential liturgical rites in the history of Christendom was the Tridentine Latin mass. By requiring attendance at the Latin mass every Sunday, on pain of mortal sin, Rome converted almost the whole of Europe to Catholicism.

The occult cryptocracy has a much more refined inducement for attendance at their masonic ritual: spectacular optical. Few need to be induced to watch TV or read a sensational, mass market picture magazine or newspaper. In fact, we pay to do so. Of course, many serial murders are nothing more than the work of a single individual acting out a graphic horror movie he saw, or responding to powerful “psychotic” impulses for aggression and predation. But many other serial murders involve a cult protected by the U.S. government and the corporate media, with strong ties to the police.

These murders are actually intricately choreographed rituals; performed first on a very intimate and secret scale, among the initiates themselves in order to program them, then on a grand scale, amplified incalculably by the electronic media.

In the end what we have is a highly symbolic, ritual working broadcast to millions of people, a Satanic inversion; a Black mass, where the “pews” are filled by the entire nation and through which humanity is paganized, brutalized and debased in this, the “Nigredo” phase of the alchemical process.
– Michael Hoffman, Secret Societies and Psychological Warfare

In short, the Son of Sam killings were mega-rituals – human sacrifices that were meant to shock the world population and to imprint the collective mind with pure darkness. By traumatizing the population with mega-rituals while keeping it completely ignorant of the truth, the elite is slowly yet steadily creating the conditions necessary for a complete yet unopposed “Revelation of the Method”.

In Conclusion

This article barely scratches the surface of the Son of Sam case which is filled with astounding facts, synchronicities, and clear links to the occult elite. Throughout the years, David Berkowitz has revealed how the occult elite used death and murder to traumatize the world while timing these events with occult holidays to increase their magical potency.

Nowadays, the same exact kind of dark rituals are happening on a regular basis and this site has been hard at work explaining how some mysterious deaths conceal the fingerprints of the occult elite. These modern mega-rituals are much more sophisticated than the Son of Sam killings while also relying on the complete collaboration of mass media to push a specific narrative.

More than ever, mass media sells fear on a daily basis while combining it with subtle yet unmissable occult symbolism. The Vigilant Citizen is all about understanding this code, identifying it, and rejecting it before it alters one’s mind. By understanding the motivations behind the Son of Sam case, one can understand the dark motives behind some of the most mysterious and unexplained events in recent history.