Not only did they cut majorly from what the original was, but when they were doing the composite comparisons to John Carr, one of the composits used was the wrong one.

I know those specific episodes like the back of my hand. Somebody really messed up.

Read the book Ultimate Evil by investigative reporter Maury Terry. He shows that David Berkowitz was actually part of a Satanic cult and was doing snuff films of the people he killed and that NYPD covered this up. Interesting reading.

Not only did they cut majorly from what the original was, but when they were doing the composite comparisons to John Carr, one of the composits used was the wrong one.

I know those specific episodes like the back of my hand. Somebody really messed up.

what a shocker!

Not only did they cut majorly from what the original was, but when they were doing the composite comparisons to John Carr, one of the composits used was the wrong one.

I know those specific episodes like the back of my hand. Somebody really messed up.

Appears to be a recurring problem. I noticed something similar with the "Debby" segment---the composite they showed on the Spike version was not the correct one; where they got it, I have absolutely no idea.

Read the book Ultimate Evil by investigative reporter Maury Terry... Interesting reading.

Agreed ... I first saw the UM segment on Son of Sam when it first aired (I was 13) and was freaked out, read the book some 13 years later and freaked out more. Maury's work is exhaustive and detailed. When Lifetime reaired the segment today I immediately thought of the first victim profiled in the book and how Maury says its possible her killer was among those who came to mourn her. When I first read that line all those years ago, I was instantly hooked and found time to finish the book in record time -- at least for me.

Read the book Ultimate Evil by investigative reporter Maury Terry. He shows that David Berkowitz was actually part of a Satanic cult and was doing snuff films of the people he killed and that NYPD covered this up. Interesting reading.

I didn't know there was a book.....Borders is closed in my town now. When this story first aired I was at least 10 or 11. Even then I knew from the segment the composite sketches all looked like different people. I'll look for the book somewhere. Thanks for the info.

The Son of Sam segment done on the original UM was a masterpiece, I haven't seen the Spike version but no doubt another debotchery was created.

The Son of Sam segment done on the original UM was a masterpiece, I haven't seen the Spike version but no doubt another debotchery was created.

They botch just about every segment. They cut interviews out completely, edit the time, AND get the composite sketches wrong (at least comapred to the original broadcast). The only reason I watch the new ones is to see if older cases have any sort of updates.

I read that book and it's absolutely terrifying.

I read that book and it's absolutely terrifying.

Gripping but totally sensationalistic. Like all the stuff about Roy Radin, when years later it emerged he died from the company he was mixing with & was related to the Cotton Club Movie.

Son of Sam

I believe he was part of a conspiracy and favor the old school version in its entirety.

Joe Coffey who was running the unit that arrested Berkowitz said the guy didn't blink and barely moved his arms. He likened him to a zucchini in terms of intelligence.

I believe others were involved.

Ultimate Evil is one of my favorite TC books of all time although nothing ever came of it. to me the most chilling parts were the seemingly targeted killings, especially the girl walking home from the subway in daylight near the tennis place in Queens who was apparently killed to make the previous murder which was nearby look random and the mysterious deaths of the Carr brothers after Berkowitz was in jail. Interestingly enough the character called Manson II in the book was later (only a few years ago) considered a Zodiac suspect but the DNA did not match.

I don't usually go for complicated conspiracies (they are against human nature as someone always talks) but in the son of sam case some of the facts of the crimes don't match the official version. some o the composites were clearly not of the unique looking Berkowitz, he was seen at several crime scenes at a distance and several witnesses seem to have felt they were followed and targeted when the crimes were supposed to be random.

BTW ultimately there was no evidence of a snuff film at the last murder scene (the one next to the playground in Brooklyn where Berkowitz got his ticket).

did they cut out the parts demanding an immediate investigation since there was never any real investigation and nowadays that part would seem kind of silly?

a few years back a co-worker went to Stanford for a computer class and when she came back she gave everyone a different post card. The one I got was of the chapel where Arliss Perry was murdered! She didn't know of the murder nor my interest in it. I gave her a copy of Terry's book to read.

Gripping but totally sensationalistic. Like all the stuff about Roy Radin, when years later it emerged he died from the company he was mixing with & was related to the Cotton Club Movie.


Radin was the guy who supposedly commissioned the snuff film and was murdered by the guy Terry called Manson II, William Mentzer, who is still in prison for the crime. In 2003 an SF newspaper declared him (Mentzer) the Zodiac but the DNA did not match.

Radin was the guy who supposedly commissioned the snuff film and was murdered by the guy Terry called Manson II, William Mentzer, who is still in prison for the crime. In 2003 an SF newspaper declared him (Mentzer) the Zodiac but the DNA did not match.

Yeah so much for that theory-there is zero evidence that commercial snuff films have ever existed. Radin was murdered as a result of getting mixed up with a drug queen who ordered his murder when she thought she was getting cut out of the Cotton Club movie & Radin foolishly got into her vehicle.

I thought Ron Sisman commissioned the snuff film. He was murdered by Jesse Turner (ordered by Robert Maplethorpe). I believe this came from the A&E Investigative Reports episode.