Kriti Mehrotra
Netflix’s ‘Conversations With a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes’ is an intense docuseries that revisits the tale of the man who reigned terror across New York for two years (1976-1977). It gives us an inside look into not only all the horrific crimes committed by serial killer David Berkowitz but also his troubled early years, reported eerie motives, as well as strange claims over the years. His first official victim as the “.44 Caliber Killer” or “Son of Sam” was actually Donna Ann Lauria, but it was initially her ex-boyfriend Vinny Minutolo who was considered a suspect.
Donna Lauria Was Killed Outside Her Home
Born on October 25, 1957, in Brooklyn, New York, as the middle child and only girl to Rose Lauria and Michael “Mike” Lauria, Donna Ann Lauria was the apple of her family’s eyes. She was caring, kind, respectful, and unwaveringly compassionate about others, which is just part of why she wanted to serve in the medical industry and was training to be an emergency medic after graduation. At the age of 18 in 1976, she was basically living her best possible life thanks to the support of her loving family, close friends, as well as her community in Pelham Bay, the Bronx.
Therefore, of course, no one could have ever imagined that everything would turn upside down for Donna in the early hours of July 29, 1976, just after she had arrived home from a night out. The 18-year-old aspiring medic was driven home by her friend, 19-year-old nurse Jody Valenti, just for them to run into her parents, who were also returning home – this was around 1 am. Rose and Michael reportedly teased their daughter before going inside to settle in for the night, following which the teenagers sat in Jody’s car discussing their evening at a discotheque named Peachtree’s. Roughly 10 minutes later, Donna opened the passenger side door to leave, only to notice a strange man quickly approaching them from behind and shutting the door again.
Donna and Jody were both startled, but before they could say anything or react, he pulled out his weapon, crouched, braced one elbow on his knee, aimed with both hands, and fired thrice into the vehicle. The first bullet struck Donna on her back, killing her instantly, whereas the second hit Jody on the thigh, while the third missed both women completely – Jody fortunately survived and fully recovered. She later described her assailant to authorities, the description of whom was repeated by Michael, as well as a few neighbors, who had seen a similar man sitting in a yellow compact car parked nearby around the time of the shooting.
Vinny Minutolo Prefers to Lead a Quiet Life Today
While the description provided by Jody, Michael, or the neighbors did not match Donna’s ex-boyfriend, Vincent “Vinny” Minutolo, he was a person of interest in her homicide for a few long months. After all, the other alternative was it being a senseless killing by a stranger since the teenager had no known enemies, and this entire notion was rather unusual at the time, especially in a neighborhood like Pelham Bay in the Bronx. As per records, they had dated for 4 years between 1971 and 1975, starting when they were merely young teenagers residing a couple of blocks away from one another, but it soon grew into a real, high-stakes romance. In fact, he took her to his prom and spent as much time with her as possible when they were together.
Vinny reportedly also affectionately referred to Donna as “My Lady,” which she absolutely adored. Hence, he was shattered when he heard the news of she having been killed, just for his heart to break further when he was accused of being her assailant and asked not to attend her wake on August 1. It was his own father who had suggested the latter because he was worried his son would be publicly blamed, leading to tension or drama at the time of mourning, so the then-teenager agreed to stay behind. By this point, he had already been interviewed by officials before being allowed to return home, but he was not 100% cleared despite having an alibi, as there were no other leads.
It was months later that detectives realized there was actually a serial killer on the loose since several other similar incidents had occurred across all boroughs, and only then did the cloud of suspicion vanish from over Vinny’s head. However, it seemingly understandably took this young man a long time to move on, especially considering his loss was multifold due to the allegations against him, because he still had a lot of love for Donna in his heart. So, today, in his late 60s/early 70s, he prefers to stay well away from the limelight, meaning all we really know is that he continues to reside in New York, where loved ones surround him at every turn.
Read More: Jody Valenti: Where is the Son of Sam Survivor Now?
