Son of Sam / "He Should Be Hung Upside-Down From a Tree and Destroyed"

by Richard S. Ehrlich

BROOKLYN, New York -- "He should be hung upside-down from a tree and destroyed!"

The father of slain Christina Freund is shouting in front of King's County Hospital where David R. Berkowitz -- the man who claims to be the Son of Sam killer -- is being held.

"Innocent animals are put to sleep," says Nador Freund, surveying the 35 pickets milling on Winthrop Street in front of the hospital's G Building, where Berkowitz undergoes psychiatric examination.

Christina, 26, was shot to death last January while sitting in a car in Queens with John Diel, her boyfriend.

The sign-carrying crowd -- family members of the Freund and Moscowitz victims, along with neighbors and friends -- oppose giving Berkowitz psychiatric tests.

Anton Arnold, who is Christina's uncle, points to the hospital, which is now guarded by police and resembles a brick fortress.

"The quicker they destroy him, the better," Arnold insists.

"The longer they keep him, the more it costs taxpayers' money."

Arnold's voice is then drowned out by the crowd's chants: "Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!"

David Berkowitz has not yet been killed because, according to Arnold, "the doctors, lawyers and politicians want to keep him alive to make money. But he's faking it."

The difficult question in the bizarre Son of Sam case now revolves around Berkowitz's ability to stand trial, and the distinction between medical and legal insanity.

But the bereaved families gathering at King's County Hospital have already judged the accused man's mental capacities.

As Eva Maria Freund, Christina's 19-year-old sister puts it: "They have to give him tests, I'll agree. But they shouldn't find him insane and let him out five or 10 years later.

"He's living here, he had a job, he can function among other people. He's not crazy if he can do all of those things."

Dressed in a red plaid shirt and jeans, she gestures to the sign-holders -- "REVENGE NOW, KILL SON OF SAM," "LET THE PUNISHMENT FIT THE CRIME," "DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY WITH MURDER" -- and says the picket turned out well.

She's glad to see the media.

"They're very important to us," she says, listening to the TV cameras whir.

Copyright by Richard S. Ehrlich

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Richard S. Ehrlich's Asia news, non-fiction book titled, "Hello My Big Big Honey!" plus hundreds of photographs are available at his website http://www.oocities.org/asia_correspondent