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A new Netflix docuseries, “The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness” takes a look at the famed serial killer from Westchester and the reporter, Maury Terry, whose obsession with Berkowitz led him to believe that the man did not act alone.
According to the new series, Terry, a former IBM employee turned author, believed that Berkowitz did not act alone during his infamous reign of terror in the 1970s, and instead may have been a part of a larger network of killers.
Berkowitz famously killed six people and shot seven others during the infamous summer of 1976 and was arrested in front of his Yonkers apartment in 1977.
In the new Netflix show, filmmaker Josh Zeman takes a deep dive into Berkowitz and Terry, who was ultimately vilified by the NYPD and labeled as a conspiracy theorist, despite him providing proof of his hypothesis.
Terry gained notoriety for his 1988 book “The Ultimate Evil,” which outlined his theories about how neighbors may have been involved in Berkowitz’s reign of terror, alleging that police investigators ultimately failed to fully look into the case, pinning the entire murder spree on Berkowitz.
Zeman told the New York Post that he suspected neighbors John and Michael Carr, who were the sons of Sam Carr, the owner of the dog Berkowitz claimed instructed him to kill, were also a part of the plot.
Terry, who became obsessed with the famed killer, believed that the Carr brothers and Berkowitz belonged to “The Children,” a satanic cult based in Yonkers thought to be affiliated with the Process Church of the Final Judgement, which allegedly had ties to former Scientologists and serial killer Charles Manson.
“I believe the Carr brothers were involved, and there were a bunch of crazy kids and people who used the devil as a brilliant excuse to engage in bad behavior,” Zeman stated. “When we start talking about networks, that’s when I become far more skeptical.
“A bunch of journalists and NYPD sat me down and said, ‘Let me tell you a story. There is some truth to this, and there are quite a few NYPD detectives who will tell you off the record they believe Berkowitz did not act alone.”
Terry died in December 2015, while Berkowitz, who is now 67 years old, was denied parole in 2016 and 2018. His last hearing was scheduled for May 2020, but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He remains incarcerated at the Shawangunk Correctional Facility in Ulster County.
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