The infamous 'Son of Sam' serial killer goes before the parole board for the 5th time, meanwhile one of his alleged victims is calling on police to reopen the investigation.

On Tuesday, May 4th, 56 year old David Berkowitz was denied parole for the 5th time. For the past 33 years, the ‘Son of Sam’ serial killer has been in prison and is currently housed at the Sullivan Correctional Facility in Fallsburg, New York.

Berkowitz has been denied parole each time in the past because of the brutal nature of his crimes. In 1976 he admitted to using a .44 caliber gun to kill 6 people and wound 7 others. When arrested, Berkowitz plead guilty and was sentenced to 6 consecutive life terms but after serving only 25 years state law allows him a chance for parole every 2 years.

On February 24th, 2010 Berkowitz told me exclusively he had already decided what he would do during his May parole hearing. Two months before sending a letter to his Parole Officer he mailed a copy to me. It states, “Please be advised that I am not seeking parole consideration at this time.” signed David Berkowitz.

In March I located one of the ‘Son of Sam’ survivors. For the first time in 15 years Carl Denaro spoke about the time he was shot in the head back in 1976. Denaro recalls, ”I thought the car exploded.” Instead, a shooter had just emptied five .44 caliber rounds into the car, hitting Denaro in the back of the head. He was rushed to a hospital and surgery saved his life.
Police eventually determined that David Berkowitz was the one who shot him but now Denaro has serious doubts. He has done some of his own investigating in the years since he was shot and now he’s calling on police to re-open the Berkowitz case and prove it was all a conspiracy.

At the time police didn’t know who David Berkowitz was. Then a year later though, the infamous ‘Son of Sam’ serial killer was arrested and Berkowitz plead guilty to the killings and attempted murders which included Carl Denaro. Today, however, Denaro states, “I’d like to know who shot me”. When asked if he truly beleives Berkowitz didn't pull the trigger Denaro replied, “I’m 99.9% sure it wasn’t him.”

Denaro says he has good reason to believe Berkowitz was not acting alone. He states, “I’ve run into up to 30 detectives that 'off record' will tell me they know other people were involved”. Denaro also remembers how detectives confiscated the Volkswagen he was shot in so they could conduct forensic testing. He says when police returned the car a couple of weeks later the car’s owner was cleaning it out and found a .44 caliber bullet that police somehow overlooked. That bullet was then turned over to the police department’s ballistics experts. Denaro cites this as a clear case of shoddy police work and he also believes officials rushed to close the investigation for political reasons. After Berkowitz's arrest police officers and city officials were promoted and the press glorified them as the heroes who caught New York’s most infamous serial killer.

Denaro believes Satanic cult members were also part of the 'Son of Sam' killings. Berkowitz himself contends his murderous rage was fueled by his involvement with a cult, “I really thought I was some kind of soldier in a Satanic army and we had determined to bring NYC to its knees.”

In the mid ’90’s Berkowitz admitted there were indeed others who also committed the murders. During an on-camera interview he claimed, “I did not pull the trigger at every single one of them.” Since then he has once again changed his story.

Denaro says this should convince police to revisit the investigation, ”I believe they should reopen the case because I think there are people who were involved who are still out there.”

Officials at the New York City Police Department say the case is closed and there is no reason to open it back up. However, the Berkowitz case was reportedly reopened in 1996 after the Yonkers Police Department received some credible ‘new leads’. Since then there have been no reports as to exactly what those leads were or the result of the investigation. On February 26th, 2010 I asked the Yonkers P.D. to provide me with the case file so I could review the information. Now, more than two months later, officials claim they still have been unable to locate that file in their archives. Yesterday Detective Sergeant Patrick McCormack with the Yonkers Police Commissioners Office told me he, “just spoke with the Captain of the Intelligence Unit, they are still searching for any files associated with that investigation.”

Watch Mike Mason's Investigative Television Reports which aired on WPIX-TV in March:

Son of Sam Part One: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNPKnRiq-BE&feature=related

Son of Sam Part Two: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFn3zCCPK14&feature=related