Since 1976, Wendy Savino has been telling anyone who will listen that she miraculously survived being shot by “Son of Sam” murderer David Berkowitz.
But Bronx homicide detectives finally came clean this week, filing a bombshell report alleging that Berkowitz was the gunman in the shooting that changed her life on April 9, 1976. Law enforcement sources told The Washington Post that this makes the 87-year-old Savino officially the serial killer’s first victim.
“I’m just so happy that he’s being mentioned as my attacker,” Savino said. “For years, when people asked me what happened, I’d say, ‘Son of Sam shot me,’ and they’d say, ‘Oh, I see, that’s what happened.’ So I’m just so happy that he’s being mentioned as one of his survivors.”
Investigators believe that before beginning his horrific killing spree with his beloved .44-caliber revolver in July 1976, a smiling Berkowitz, armed with a .32-caliber gun, approached Savino’s car, which was parked behind Nina’s restaurant on Boston Road in the Bronx.
He began laughing as he fired five shots into the car. Ms. Sabino, 40, the wife of a Bronx Republican representative, was shot in the face, back, arm, chest and right eye but survived. She lost an eye in one eye.
At the time, The Post reported that Savino “was shot and critically wounded as he was getting into his car in a Bronx restaurant parking lot. A man matching the description of Savino’s shooter was “found murdered near his home, less than two miles from the scene of the earlier shooting.”
Without the keen-eyed Berkowitz attached to him, history would not have been rewritten. A YouTuber named Manny Grossmanrequested all of the NYPD’s files on the “Son of Sam” investigation and discovered the original incident report on Savino’s shooting.
Grossman, 51, reported the possible connection to Berkowitz to the NYPD on May 18.
He reached out to Bronx homicide detective Rob Klein via LinkedIn but didn’t expect a response. “He got back to me, I gave him a brief summary of my situation, and within 15 minutes I got a response back. He took my story very seriously, asked me lots of questions, and immediately took on the case,” Grossman said.
Grossman met with detectives on May 20 and presented evidence.
- The composite sketch that Savino created in collaboration with police perfectly captured Berkowitz’s likeness.
- The modus operandi of the victims in the Savino shooting and Son of Sam shooting was the same – most of them women, shot at random in parked cars.
- The Savino shooting happened less than a mile from where Berkowitz once lived on Collini Avenue in New Rochelle.
- Berkowitz suddenly moved out the day before Savino was shot. The former homeowner told detectives that Berkowitz had been behaving irrationally for several days and had complained about a barking dog. Berkowitz’s nickname, “Son of Sam,” came from his neighbor Sam Carr’s black Labrador retriever, which he believed to be possessed by the Devil.
Police went to Rockland County on Monday to speak to Savino at his home. Police visited the Shawnegunk Correctional Facility in northern Ulster County on Wednesday. Berkowitz, 70, is serving a sentence of 25 years to life for six murder counts, sources said.
Berkowitz continued to deny shooting Savino in interviews, but sources said detectives “were able to frame him on one aspect of Savino’s behavior.” [the shooting]Because when I talked to him about this case he said, “No, I didn’t do that case because I’ve only ever used a .44 Bulldog.”
The officer responded, “But Dave, I never said what caliber she was shot with, so how do you know she wasn’t shot with a .44 caliber?”
Berkowitz said he simply assumed she had not been shot with a .44-caliber Bulldog because that model of gun is rare.
Although the suspect denies the charges, authorities believe they have sufficient evidence to directly link Berkowitz to the shooting of Savino and have sought to formally close the case.
Police cannot charge Berkowitz with Savino’s attempted murder because the statute of limitations has expired.
Police long believed that Berkowitz’s first attack was on the morning of July 29, 1976, when he shot 18-year-old Donna Lauria and her friend, 19-year-old Jody Valenti, at close range with a .44-caliber revolver as they sat in Valenti’s parked Oldsmobile in the Bronx.
Lauria was killed, but Valenti survived, as did Savino.
What’s horrifying is that police now believe that because Savino survived the .32-caliber shooting, Berkowitz purchased a more powerful .44-caliber gun.
“He shot the woman five times, but she survived,” a police source said. “So he bought a .44-caliber gun in June and shot Lauria and Valenti in July.”
Berkowitz continued his reign of terror for the next nine months, leaving six people dead, seven injured and a city paralyzed with fear, but he has remained in prison since his arrest on August 10, 1977.
Berkowitz, who frequently sent chilling, boastful letters to police officers and journalists, signed as “Son of Sam,” was finally arrested after police found a parking ticket on his car parked near the scene of his final murder in Brooklyn.
As NYPD Detective John Falotico handcuffed Berkowitz, the curly-haired man jokingly said, “Well, I got you. What took you so long?”
Berkowitz became eligible for parole in 2002. Since his incarceration he has become a Christian and dedicated his life to mentoring new inmates, but last month he was denied parole for the 12th time.
Savino spoke to NYPD detectives in 1976 after he was released from the hospital a month after the shooting, but detectives were never able to establish a connection to Son of Sam.
Savino claims that Bronx prosecutors never thoroughly investigated the case because her late husband, a Republican leader in the Bronx, was one of the Democratic district attorney’s political opponents.
Fearing for her safety, she emigrated to England and lived under an assumed name.
“NYPD detectives are committed to thoroughly and diligently investigating this case, and detectives will continue to review the case if there are outstanding questions or new evidence emerges,” the department said in a statement.
Robert Violante, a “Son of Sam” survivor who lost his sight on July 31, 1977, said he understands the pain Savino endured over the years.
“It’s horrifying that this happened,” said Violante, 66, a retired postal worker who lives in Bay Ridge. “I’m a victim myself, so I have to feel sorry for that man.”
