Netflix has made true crime documentaries their speciality of late, and The Sons of Sam is no exception – but viewers still have plenty of questions after binging the series.
Netflix’s American Murder: The Family Next Door, Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story and Don’t [Bleep] With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer are all unmissable documentary series focusing on heinous crimes.
The Sons of Sam is the streaming channel’s latest offering.
Here we look at what the documentary fails to answer.
Read more: The Sons Of Sam reviews – critics praise serial killer documentary series on Netflix
The Sons of Sam on Netflix – questions we still have after watching
The clue is in the name.
Everyone knows the sinister legacy of the “son of Sam” – one of America’s most notorious serial murderers in the 1970s.
The arrest and conviction of David Berkowitz seemed to bring the nightmare to an end for many New Yorkers – except journalist and Ultimate Evil author Maury Terry.
He believed David – initially known as the 44-calibre killer – had not acted alone, hence the plural of “sons” in the title.
In fact, he spent decades attempting to prove that the web of darkness behind the murders went deeper than anyone imagined.
Was Maury chasing ghosts? Or are the true Sons of Sam still out there…
Honestly, we don’t know.
The documentary doesn’t tell us.
Did David Berkowitz act alone?
David Berkowitz killed eight people in New York during one year of mayhem – between 1976 and 1977.
His modus operandi was shooting people as they sat in their cars.
Although a jury found him guilty and consequently put him away for eight life sentences, speculation remains that he did not act alone.
Maury Terry, now dead, remained convinced that David Berkowitz acted as part of a devil worshipping Satanic cult.
However, his theories remain unproven.
Skeptics include former FBI profiler, John Douglas, who spent hours interviewing David Berkowitz.
He was convinced David acted alone.
David was an “introverted loner and not capable of being involved in group activity”, says John.
Meanwhile, NYPD psychologist Dr Harvey Schlossberg insisted that the Satanic cult claims were nothing but a fantasy.
David Berkowitz concocted the claims himself to absolve himself of the crimes, says Dr Harvey.
The Sons of Sam: The questions are endless
Grace Henry in the Radio Times admits that the story is “just as much Maury Terry’s story” than David Berkowitz’s.
She says: “The Sons of Sam leaves you questioning everything: Who is right – Terry or the police?
“Did Berkowitz really act alone or is Terry right and are the other Sons of Sam out there?
“And why won’t the police believe Terry?
“The questions are endless.”
Why didn’t the police believe Maury Terry?
Was Maury simply a delusional fanatic who distrusted the police and their findings?
Or were the police happy they had found their man despite Maury’s evidence to the contrary?
Maury believed the Son of Sam case was criminally sidelined.
He was convinced that convicted serial killer David Berkowitz was part of “a highly motivated and well-organised cult group”.
However, nobody else was charged with any crimes related to the shootings.
The arrest and conviction of David Berkowitz made people believe they were safe to go back out on the streets.
In 1981, David himself wrote: “I am guilty of these crimes, but I didn’t do it all.”
Was Maury Terry working with David Berkowitz?
Despite what seemed like strong evidence, the police never believed Maury.
They believed he was a crank who was being orchestrated by David Berkowitz from jail.
Had David put the idea in Maury’s head all along?
Why weren’t the Carr sons charged?
David’s neighbour Sam Carr had two sons, John and Michael, who died in separate incidents within two years of David Berkowitz’s arrest.
David claimed the Carr brothers were cult members who had taken part in the killings.
But they were never charged.
Was Maury right or wrong?
Den of Geek accused Maury Terry of “lumping too much satanic activity together”.
They add: “He sees satanic symbols everywhere. He sees codes in everything.”
The journalist even tried to link the murders to those of Charles Manson.
However, that doesn’t mean he’s not right…
Viewers know that Maury’s investigation was well-researched and investigated.
The evidence strongly suggests David Berkowitz did not act alone.
But perhaps we’ll never know the truth.
Police officers refused to take Maury seriously, no matter how much evidence he compiled.
Frankly, despite being an enjoyable documentary looking into the ‘rabbit hole’ of one man’s investigation, it’s inconclusive.
Maury Terry passed away at age 69 from heart failure in 2015.
Both in real life and in the documentary, Maury did not solve his own mystery.
Are there other Sons of Sam out there?
If Maury Terry was correct, there could still be other Sons of Sam out there.
Could they be committing crimes right now while David languishes in jail?
The truth is out there!
The Sons of Sam streams on Netflix from Wednesday May 05 2021.
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