Hyfler/Rosner
2006-09-28 12:37:51 UTC
http://www.nypost.com/seven/09282006/news/columnists/a_mom_dies___forgiving_son_of_sam_columnists_andrea_peyser.htm
A MOM DIES - FORGIVING SON OF SAM
By ANDREA PEYSER
September 28, 2006 -- SHE survived the death of her husband
and all three
of her children - includ ing Stacy Moskowitz, the last
person gunned down
by David "Son of Sam" Berkowitz.
Neysa Moskowitz, who remained fiery and funny in the face of
unspeakable
tragedy, was sustained by the belief that, one day, she
would join her
family in the afterlife.
Now she will. Neysa died Tuesday at home in Miami Beach. She
was 73.
A friend told me she suffered from breast cancer. The Dade
County Medical
Examiner's Office will perform an autopsy because of a
suspicious amount
of drugs in her system - although foul play is not
suspected.
She has no close survivors - except, incredibly, Berkowitz.
The killer
lives, fat and happy, in an upstate New York prison.
When Berkowitz struck in 1977, Neysa had already buried the
first of her
three daughters, Jody, a decade before. Friends said she
evidently
committed suicide.
Then came the event that would define the rest of Neysa's
life. Her
daughter Stacy, just 20 years old, was murdered as she sat
in a car with
her date, Robert Violante, watching the moon over Bath
Beach, Brooklyn.
Violante, who was shot and blinded, survived.
Neysa used to talk about her last conversation with Stacy,
as the
flaxen-haired beauty prepared to go out.
"She told her, 'Stacy, be careful,' " Neysa told friend
Vincent DiMino.
"And Stacy said, 'Don't worry, mom. He's not after blondes.'
"
In the mid-1990s, Neysa moved with her husband, Jerry, to
Florida. Jerry
died of a heart ailment. Her youngest daughter, Ricki,
developed
scleroderma, a fatal disease of the immune system. Ricki
died about seven
years ago.
Alone in the world, Neysa never lost her spark, despite
failing health
that cut her weight down to some 90 pounds. She had already
developed into
an unofficial spokeswoman for murder survivors. In fact, 29
years ago,
over a drink with The Post's Steve Dunleavy, she vowed
vengeance on
Berkowitz.
"I don't believe in turning the other cheek when you take a
child from a
mother," she said at the time.
Years later, that changed.
"She would say things like, 'This kind of anger can make you
sick. Don't
let anger eat you up,' " said her close friend and neighbor,
Sharon
Denaro.
For a while, she seemed to make peace with Berkowitz. He
sent her letters
and a Mother's Day card. But she did not support his bid to
be let out of
prison on parole.
Neysa lived her final days in a Miami co-op, surrounded by
pictures of her
girls, whom she talked about constantly.
"But she said she did forgive everyone," Denaro said. "She
needed to
relieve herself of anger to be able to move forward with her
life."
Her friends are gathering for a memorial service in Miami
Beach on
Tuesday.
Neysa would have liked that.
***@nypost.com
A MOM DIES - FORGIVING SON OF SAM
By ANDREA PEYSER
September 28, 2006 -- SHE survived the death of her husband
and all three
of her children - includ ing Stacy Moskowitz, the last
person gunned down
by David "Son of Sam" Berkowitz.
Neysa Moskowitz, who remained fiery and funny in the face of
unspeakable
tragedy, was sustained by the belief that, one day, she
would join her
family in the afterlife.
Now she will. Neysa died Tuesday at home in Miami Beach. She
was 73.
A friend told me she suffered from breast cancer. The Dade
County Medical
Examiner's Office will perform an autopsy because of a
suspicious amount
of drugs in her system - although foul play is not
suspected.
She has no close survivors - except, incredibly, Berkowitz.
The killer
lives, fat and happy, in an upstate New York prison.
When Berkowitz struck in 1977, Neysa had already buried the
first of her
three daughters, Jody, a decade before. Friends said she
evidently
committed suicide.
Then came the event that would define the rest of Neysa's
life. Her
daughter Stacy, just 20 years old, was murdered as she sat
in a car with
her date, Robert Violante, watching the moon over Bath
Beach, Brooklyn.
Violante, who was shot and blinded, survived.
Neysa used to talk about her last conversation with Stacy,
as the
flaxen-haired beauty prepared to go out.
"She told her, 'Stacy, be careful,' " Neysa told friend
Vincent DiMino.
"And Stacy said, 'Don't worry, mom. He's not after blondes.'
"
In the mid-1990s, Neysa moved with her husband, Jerry, to
Florida. Jerry
died of a heart ailment. Her youngest daughter, Ricki,
developed
scleroderma, a fatal disease of the immune system. Ricki
died about seven
years ago.
Alone in the world, Neysa never lost her spark, despite
failing health
that cut her weight down to some 90 pounds. She had already
developed into
an unofficial spokeswoman for murder survivors. In fact, 29
years ago,
over a drink with The Post's Steve Dunleavy, she vowed
vengeance on
Berkowitz.
"I don't believe in turning the other cheek when you take a
child from a
mother," she said at the time.
Years later, that changed.
"She would say things like, 'This kind of anger can make you
sick. Don't
let anger eat you up,' " said her close friend and neighbor,
Sharon
Denaro.
For a while, she seemed to make peace with Berkowitz. He
sent her letters
and a Mother's Day card. But she did not support his bid to
be let out of
prison on parole.
Neysa lived her final days in a Miami co-op, surrounded by
pictures of her
girls, whom she talked about constantly.
"But she said she did forgive everyone," Denaro said. "She
needed to
relieve herself of anger to be able to move forward with her
life."
Her friends are gathering for a memorial service in Miami
Beach on
Tuesday.
Neysa would have liked that.
***@nypost.com