Naman Shrestha
Netflix’s ‘Conversations With a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes’ delves deep into the horrific and brutal killings committed by David Berkowitz, who referred to himself as the Son of Sam. In the 1970s, the streets of New York were terrorized when he claimed multiple victims and left several others wounded in the wake of his shootings, which he usually carried out using his .44 caliber handgun. One of the victims whose tragic demise proved to be pivotal in the investigation was 26-year-old Christine Freund. The three-part documentary series explores her killing and how it led the police to the serial killer.
Christine Freund’s Night Out With Her Boyfriend Turned Deadly
On May 8, 1950, in Salzburg, Austria, Christine Freund was born to Nandor Freund, who considered her the apple of her eye. At some point, Christine moved to the US with her family and eventually settled in New York City, New York. Later in life, the Ridgewood resident, who worked as the Ridgewood Securities secretary, started dating a bartender and knitting mill executive named John Diel around 1970. As time passed by, their relationship grew stronger. The couple saw a future together and reportedly planned to get engaged on Valentine’s Day in 1977. Unfortunately, their dreams of marriage were shattered on the fateful night of January 30, 1977.
26-year-old Christina Freund and 30-year-old John Diel went to the Continental Theater to catch the evening screening of ‘Rocky.’ After the film, they went to the Wine Gallery on Austin Street for dinner. In the early hours of January 30, 1977, the couple walked to John’s car parked in front of 1 Station Square, opposite the Forest Hills Inn at the Long Island Rail Road station. While the two were discussing their plans for the rest of their night and about to go to Ridgewood Hall to dance, an armed man approached their car and fired multiple rounds of a .44 caliber revolver through the closed passenger-side window.
As a result, Christina was shot in the head and on her right shoulder, while John only suffered minor superficial injuries. After the assailant fled the scene, panic-stricken John drove his car with his critically wounded girlfriend to a nearby Intersection at 71st Avenue and Burns Street, where he received help from a couple who assisted them and called the authorities. As the police arrived, Christine was rushed to St. John’s Hospital in Elmhurst, where she succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead about four hours later.
John Diel Was Heavily Traumatized by the Shooting Incident
In the following months, the investigators tried their best to get to the bottom of the mysterious shooting and catch the perpetrator responsible. It turned out that Christine Freund was reportedly the second victim of a serial killer named David Berkowitz, also known as the Son of Sam and .44 Caliber killer. Berkowitz was responsible for the murder of at least five other people across New York. On August 10, 1977, the killer was finally arrested and charged with multiple homicides, putting an end to the havoc he had wreaked over the previous year or so.
David Berkowitz eventually pleaded guilty to all the charges against him and was sentenced to six life terms for his crimes. Although John Diel managed to come out of the incident physically unharmed, he was reportedly affected emotionally and mentally for several years to come. The long-term boyfriend of Christine continued to lead his life in fear, as he admittedly felt scared to sit in the car with a woman with long hair, even numerous years after the shooting.
Read More: Sal Lupo: What Happened to the Son of Sam Survivor?
