Back Stories: 'Son Of Sam' Sparks 'A Very Fearful Time'

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- In the summer of 1977, the "Son of Sam" serial killer struck terror into the hearts of New Yorkers.

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"It was a very fearful time, and it affected everyone," WCBS reporter Irene Cornell remembers. "Stalking young women and men, finding them in lovers lanes in the early morning hours."

People started going to great lengths to protect themselves.

"Women were dying their hair, if they had long brown hair. Beauty parlors could barely keep up with all the women coming in to change their appearance," Cornell says.

When David Berkowitz was arrested, she learned he lived just one street away.

"It really sent extra chills through me," she says. "Pretty much freaked me out."