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Son of Sam: The Irish-American cop who led the hunt for the New York serial killer

The ‘Son of Sam’ murdered his first victim in the summer of 1976. The manhunt that followed gripped the world.

AN IRISH-AMERICAN NYPD officer was tasked with catching the notorious ‘Son of Sam’, as the serial killer terrorised New York in the mid-1970s.

Forty years on, the laborious investigation undertaken by Deputy Inspector Timothy J Dowd and his team is now the subject of a new documentary.

‘Son of Kerry, Son of Sam’, which will be broadcast on TG4 in the coming week, reveals the extraordinary work carried out by Dowd and his detectives to catch the murderer as he targeted young couples sitting in parked cars and taunted the police with crazed letters.

David Berkowitz, known as the Son of Sam, murdered six people in New York City from 1976 to 1977. He later claiming he had received orders from a demon-possessed dog.

Initially dubbed the ‘.44 Calibre Killer’, he eventually got his name from the ‘Son of Sam’ sign-off he included on letters he sent to both the police and newspapers.

After his arrest, Berkowitz explained that ‘Sam’ was his neighbour Sam Carr, who he believed was an agent of the devil transmitting his commands through his pet black labrador.

[image src="http://cdn.thejournal.ie/media/2018/05/34-21-630x419.jpg" width="630" height="419" credit-source="IWR%20Media%2FTG4" caption="Timothy%20J%20Dowd%20" class="alignnone" /end]

Timothy J Dowd had served in the NYPD for over 30 years by the time the Son of Sam shot his first victims, killing one young woman and wounding another, in the Pelham Bay district of the Bronx, New York in July 1976.

Dowd had emigrated from Kerry to Boston as a child and was regarded as part of a new generation of Irish cop because he had a university education. He wasn’t assigned to investigate the serial killer until several of the ‘Son of Sam’ murders had taken place.

As violent crime was on the rise in New York in the 1970s – with over 1,600 murders in 1976 – Berkowitz’s first few attacks seemed unremarkable. 

On 23 October ’76, a couple were shot as they sat in a car in Queens. A month later, two girls were talking on a stoop outside a home when the serial killer approached, asked for directions, and then suddenly pulled a gun out and fired several shots. In both attacks, all victims survived.

Initially, police were unable to find a motive for these three seemingly random attacks, but similarities began to appear. The bullets were all from a .44 calibre revolver.

As forensic science was still in its infancy in the 1970s, detectives were unable to establish a link between the bullets used in each attack.

However, in April 1977 another young couple was shot. 26-year-old Christine Freund died from the injuries she sustained in the attack.

This time, the results came back with a positive match. The same .44 calibre gun had been used in the four attacks. New York had a serial killer.  

[image src="http://cdn.thejournal.ie/media/2018/05/director-neal-boyle-and-crew-on-location-in-brooklyn-296x222.jpg" width="296" height="222" credit-source="IWR%20Media%2FTG4" caption="Director%20Neal%20Boyle%20and%20crew%20%20on%20location%20in%20Brooklyn." class="alignnone" /end]

As attacks began to escalate in both the Bronx and in Queens, detectives in the two boroughs disagreed on who should take the lead on the case. Dowd was brought out from Manhattan to take charge.

Dowd’s 200-person ‘Omega’ task force was announced as the team in charge of finding the killer, with Chief Joseph Borelli of the NYPD’s 15th Homicide division as his second in command.

The killer began to write letters, first to Borelli and then directly to newspapers,  causing public hysteria and further fueling interest in the case in the media.

In his first letter to Borrelli, the serial murderer denied claims that he was a woman-hater because his attacks were mostly targeted at young women.

He wrote:

I am not a woman-hater, but I am a monster. I am the Son of Sam.

Dowd found himself at the centre of the media frenzy which also put his family in the spotlight and firing line.

An anonymous threat was sent to him about his teenage daughter Melissa, who told the documentary-makers that her dad had stepped up security on the family home in response:

I don’t think I was mature enough to realise how frightening it was at the time, but I came home and they had installed an active police radio in the dining room, and a radio police car circled our block periodically from that point forward.

With each attack, the Omega task force was expanded and soon Dowd was running the largest manhunt in New York history.

The Son of  Sam’s last victims were Stacey Moskowitz and her boyfriend Robert Violante, both 20, who were kissing in a parked car in Brooklyn, on 31 July 1977.

A .44 calibre slug destroyed Violante’s left eye and damaged his right eye as it tore across his skull. Moskowitz died from a gunshot wound to her head. 

Arrest 

After 13 months of bloodshed – amazingly, it would be a parking fine that eventually ended the killing spree.

The Son of Sam, who had taunted cops through anonymous letters, was caught due to a $35 parking ticket he received before his last killing.

A witness remembered seeing him lurking around the crime scene and getting a ticket for parking his Ford Galaxie in front of a fire hydrant the night of the murder. 

The witness, Cacilia Davis, contacted the NYPD four days later. Police cross-checked all the cars ticketed in the area that night.

David Berkowitz was one of the drivers that they came across in their search. 

Dowd’s team nabbed the 24-year-old postal clerk as he walked from his apartment in Yonkers to his car on 10 August 1977. It was later revealed that the apartment walls were covered with scrawled Satanic verses. 

[image alt="Lost Tapes series on Smithsonian Channel" src="http://cdn.thejournal.ie/media/2018/05/lost-tapes-series-on-smithsonian-channel-296x228.jpg" width="296" height="228" credit-source="%20TNS%2FSIPA%20USA%2FPA%20Images" caption="David%20Berkowitz%20is%20arrested%20on%2010%20August%201977." class="alignnone" /end]

In 1978, he pleaded guilty to the six killings, receiving 25-years-to-life for each murder, to be served consecutively.  Berkowitz tried to jump out the window of the seventh-floor courtroom upon hearing the judge’s decision.

While in prison, Berkowitz became an evangelical Christian. Instead of ‘Son of Sam’ he now prefers to be referred to as ‘Son of Hope’. The New York Post reported in February that the serial killer, now aged 64, was recovering from emergency heart surgery.

Timothy Dowd died aged 99 in 2014.

‘Son of Kerry, Son of Sam’ airs on TG4 on Wednesday 16 May at 9.30pm.

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22 Comments
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    Mute SEAN LYNCH
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 6:47 PM

    Driver looks non too happy to be on that shift.

    161
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    Mute Will Hourihan
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 6:58 PM

    She is probably thinking that the mask she purchased from Woodies DIY isn’t going to be much good!

    138
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    Mute bob®
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 6:46 PM

    One reason an island is a bonus, nasty thing to get!

    154
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    Mute potatoman
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 7:01 PM

    Unless they stopped in Shannon to refuel

    241
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    Mute winding_down
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 7:08 PM

    Britain is an island too, with an unprecedented number of direct air connections to the outbreak zones in West Africa. Given the number of people transiting to Ireland via the UK, Ireland’s geography as an island means nothing.

    We are utterly dependent on the UK to put in place measures to prevent its spread to this part of the World.

    121
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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 7:23 PM

    Infection with Ebola requires direct contact with the boldly fluids (blood, semen, vomit etc) of an infected person, that’s how it spreads, it’s not airborne and you don’t breathe it in as droplets like the flu.

    If we heard in the morning that there were 3 Ebola cases in St Vincents Hospital there would not be much cause for alarm, they’d just be moved to an isolation unit.
    The only danger is in it mutating into something that is more easily transmitted.
    Even in that worst case scenario, where the movie outbreak or the novel executive orders happened there would be a few simple measures we could take to shut it down:
    -Declare a state of national emergency
    -Close the ports and airports and get the UK govt to do the same to the ones in NI
    -Have the Taoiseach announce that 6 hours from the state of emergency’s beginning all places of assembly (schools, shopping centers etc) would be shut down, all intercity road and rail travel would be terminated, a curfew would be in place for all nonessentials, and all congregations of more than 2 persons will be unlawful.
    -Enforce the curfew and travel bans with the army, army reserve and Garda.
    That would give people enough time to grab some groceries and get home.

    We would do ok. My only concern in this kinda scenario is the lack of adequate CBRN gear for our first responders, civil defense and military. We could get those quick enough though.
    We would not be alone either, we’d have help from WHO and even the CDC in the US if we asked.

    86
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    Mute Ciara Ryan
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 7:58 PM

    Not when you have mass immigration or open borders. Defeats island defence.

    44
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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 8:07 PM

    What exactly do you define as ”MASS” immigration, I’ve been hearing that for years but I’ve never heard anyone define it.
    The immigration in the EU goes both ways, plenty of our citizens go to France, UK, Cyprus etc

    The point remains however, it’s a simple matter to close down that flow of people in an emergency. Germany for example can officially ”’close” it’s borders but it will still be porus because even with patrols there won’t be a wall around it.
    However if we close our ports and airports on the island the only way for people to get in or out is by personal boats and thats easier said than done for the smaller craft, and the bigger ones are easily spotted and intercepted by the navy.

    24
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    Mute Ciara Ryan
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 8:24 PM

    @Ryan

    Tell me did we have the same amounts of immigrants before mass immigration?

    No we had a very small trickle and had secure borders, the difference in type of influx and numbers we have now and what we had then is a defining characteristic of mass immigration, one where the island retains it’s ancestral, indigenous demographic, culture and heritage.

    Western Europeans do not go to each others countries in vast quantities that change the identity of the country, also we are same/similar in ancestral and cultural make-up, this is incomparable to Africans and asians coming here.

    Your idea that closing ports keeps people out is naive in the extreme, and thus dangerous. Illegals have been coming to Ireland via the north since mass immigration began.

    20
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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 9:04 PM

    You’re not explaining what mass immigration is, so I can’t say what it was like before or after it.

    You’re not saying what ”then” was.

    So unless you’re willing to define these things, I’m not responding to you. I don’t argue with vague emotional rhetoric, get specific

    19
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    Mute Ciara Ryan
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 9:43 PM

    @Ryan

    I actually have given you a working definition of that word.

    But with or without such a definition one can still describe what the situation was like before and after a time when there was ongoing immigration from the time it occurred to before the time it occurred sometime around the 90′s.

    For example before this time, there were next to none Africans coming here. Yet you somehow are unable to include that in any description you might give as to how it was before such a time.

    Hello troll.

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    Mute James Franco
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 6:47 PM

    Not very Christian of Mr trump

    86
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    Mute winding_down
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 7:10 PM

    My thoughts exactly. But then, this is one of the few things that all his wealth wouldn’t protect him from…

    58
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    Mute Aaron
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 7:40 PM

    It’s harsh but he’s right. Why transport the virus back to the US or anywhere else. Keep it contained where it is.

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    Mute Ann Mc Loughlin-O'Connor
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 7:08 PM

    I hope both of these patients can fight this terrible virus and wish them well. They were doing a selfless job helping so many. They deserve to be home near their families.

    85
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    Mute Ger Kelleher
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 7:15 PM

    One word – ‘isolation’
    Might be near their families but still can’t see them!

    33
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    Mute Ann Mc Loughlin-O'Connor
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 7:39 PM

    I know!

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    Mute Lily
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 6:53 PM

    I’m sure America has kept the Ebola virus in a high security laboratory for decades. Probably since the first know outbreak. You know to study it and maybe even see if it could be made into a biological weapon.

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    Mute darragh murphy
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    Aug 3rd 2014, 1:38 AM

    Don’t be ridiculous. It’s a horrific virus. You think a little more of Americans.

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    Mute Diarmuid Lenihan
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 6:57 PM

    SARS was 11 years ago ? Christ.

    37
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    Mute cosmological
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 6:58 PM

    This is panic inducing and rightly so. It shows how these dystopian fictions aren’t so far fetched. You don’t want to catch this one.

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    Mute Pat Lennon
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 6:56 PM

    Why the hell would you bring this virus into your country, surely they could of brought the best care to the 2 unfortunate people instead of them being brought back. Somethings not right.

    33
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    Mute cholly appleseed
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 7:12 PM

    Peopke are just not understanding ebola transmission. Its as hard to transmitt as hiv

    23
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    Mute winding_down
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 7:13 PM

    West Africa as a region lacks the critical clinical equipment and personnel to provide to best care. Why would you treat somebody with serious head injuries in a rural hospital, when the best services for treating head injuries are at Beaumont?

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    Mute Sandra Turner
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 8:18 PM

    It can be transmitted in sweat I don’t think you get HIV from sweat

    38
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    Mute Aaron
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 8:20 PM

    Cholly – maybe you should head to West Africa and tell them all there’s nothing to worry about because its really hard to spread the disease. And then go to the US and tell the two patients over there because they obviously didn’t realise how difficult it was.

    27
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    Mute Hank Schrader
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 7:14 PM

    I haven’t ever subscribed to all the conspiracy theorists but on this occasion all is not right as to why the US are really taking these 2 unfortunate people back to US soil.

    I expect they want them on their patch in order to be able see what they can find out about the Ebola virus now and, hopefully not be the case, when they die of it.

    Maybe it’s the case that they seriously hope they can save the two people but me thinks they want to do a few experiments in the meantime.

    Here’s hoping they survive and the US can indeed learn a little more about it but I’d rather they didn’t peddle this story about wanting to do all to save their citizens etc.

    28
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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 7:28 PM

    There have been several ebola outbreaks before, they know all about it they don’t need to do any new primary research.
    They took them back to the US because they don’t have the facilities to treat them where they were.

    33
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    Mute Ciara Ryan
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 8:02 PM

    @Ryan

    Naive apologia.

    There is nothing stopping the most advanced nations on the planet in setting up state of the art facilities in these countries. Transporting this virus to jam-packed areas is asking for trouble. Nevermind disasters like airplane crashes.

    One would think that governments want Ebola to spread.

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    Mute Ciara Ryan
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 8:05 PM

    Conspiracy theories.

    Like our govt’s have done right by us up to this, like there really were WMD’s in Iraq, when are people going to realise govt’s lie.

    11
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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 8:11 PM

    There is indeed many things stopping them. Most of these countries still carry around a kind of childish nationalism and the idea of a foreign government coming in and it’s agencies taking over a section of their country to run as they please would not go over well, besides if it’s their people they will want them back on their own soil.
    The CDC facilities are in the US, it’s a logistical nightmare to move many of these halfway across the planet for 1-2 patents when you can just fly that patient home.

    I’m not even going to bother with the conspiracy nonsense, my experience with that kind of mindset is that nothing you say, no logic or facts will change their mind, 600 people see a plane crashing into the pentagon ”no no it was a missile” , you could argue it all day and they won’t change their minds because it’s not about the facts it’s about their mindset.

    12
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    Mute Ciara Ryan
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 8:18 PM

    @Ryan

    Nationalism is the opposite of childish, no nationalist country with it’s own currency as espoused by Libya would have succumbed to the world recession. It is interesting to note that what you would espouse as mature, results in mass devastation of peoples lives and livelihood.

    I did not say transport the facilities, it is obvious temporary bio-hazard clean-facility fabrications are capable of being erected in very short time and dotted around each country.

    To play around with global health is what is immature and irresponsible in the extreme.

    As for your conspiracy theory opinion, what people have seen a plane crash into the pentagon?

    Why at the Pennsylvania crach site there is no debris yet at the Russian MH17 crash site there is ample debris, all perfectly reasonable, in your book.

    6
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    Mute Ablitive
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 8:37 PM

    America has a bad reputation for turning Drills into “actual events” …It has happened with almost every false flag to date including 9/11, Sandy Hook, , Boston Bombing and I also believe UK’s 7/7.

    When we hear of drills being carried out, they should be a sign of caution

    http://www.myfoxny.com/story/26170612/drill-in-new-york-city

    10
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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 9:07 PM

    Again, I don’t argue with conspiracy theories because they are not based in rational thought, you’re just arguing with someones psychosis.

    I’ve learned that lesson too many times, I’m not gonna exhaust myself debating someone who will not change their mind no matter what facts are presented to them. I’ve talked to enough truthers to know nothing anyone says will change their mind, they are fundamentally irrational.

    15
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    Mute Barry Cooper
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 9:20 PM

    When the facts r not really facts . 9-11 commission report never explain y building 7 fell. There is and has only been 3 tall rise buildings that have ever collapsed due to fire and they all fell on the one day. Does anyome know the odds on that. I just cant belive people belive governments cause they tell ya too. If my misses cheats I will never belive ir trust her again. Its human nature .

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    Mute Ciara Ryan
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 9:48 PM

    @Ryan

    A conspiracy is when 2 or more people make a plan. Yet you seem to think people in govt are above making plans.

    You also decline to answer a very rational argument, a contrast and comparison argument.

    Plane crash in pennsylvania of one of the hijacked 9/11 aircraft left no debris, yet every other plane crash site I have seen, leaves debris including the recent Malaysian MH17, explain that.

    As an engagement in rationality one should ask that question on the simplest basis of contrasting results, yet your “rationality” prefers to ignore such pertinent questions. that sunshine smacks of irrationality.

    5
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    Mute Shane O'Donnell
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    Aug 3rd 2014, 1:37 AM

    So you’re saying the plane left no wreckage. That’s a new one. Are you the only person on the planet who has spotted that flaw in this master plan? Or did you read it off some whack job website?

    4
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    Mute Stephen Downey
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 6:59 PM

    Anyone else thinking the driver of the van is hot?

    Awful situation to be in, otherwise.

    20
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    Mute Bon Jonham
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 7:20 PM

    She’s got green fingers and half a blue face ffs!!! That’s f**ked up man..seek help!

    46
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    Mute Stephen Downey
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 7:24 PM

    Oh no! You think she’s been infected?

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    Mute seamus mcdermott
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    Aug 3rd 2014, 2:57 AM

    She’s employed.

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    Mute Dorothy Kavanagh
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 9:45 PM

    Did I not hear on the news last night that there was to be no people leaving from that area so to contain the disease? And now I see two medical personnel have left and flown to the US. Ok it was a private jet but mistakes can be made and it could spread into the population.
    There is no cure apparently.

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    Mute onewrongopinon
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 7:19 PM

    Nice to see my correction Of your headline was deleted

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    Mute Emmet Galvin
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    Aug 3rd 2014, 10:51 AM

    I never realised there were so many experts on the ebola virus reading TheJournal.ie.

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    Mute Barry Cooper
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 8:42 PM

    Agenda21 . Google it

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    Mute Barry Cooper
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    Aug 2nd 2014, 9:14 PM
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    Mute md
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    Aug 3rd 2014, 12:41 AM
    1
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