The Playboy Murders: How was Roy Radin linked to David Berkowitz and the Son Of Sam killings?

The 1983 murder of Roy Radin became a topic of speculation as David Berkowitz's former cellmate, Vinny, made alarming allegations of cult practices and Satanic beliefs that tied Radin and Berkowitz together. Vinny mentioned that the final Son Of Sam murder of Stacy Moskowitz and her boyfriend was intended for a snuff film shot by camera operator, Ron Sisman.

With investigative efforts from Gannett newspapers reporter Michael Zuckerman and investigative journalist Maury Terry, an open King James Bible was recovered from the crime scene which strengthened Terry's belief. However, the police arrested four in connection to the murder-for-hire plot of The Cotton Club murder in which Karen Greenberger was the mastermind.

The Playboy Murders Season 2 Episode 6 titled Horror in the Hamptons showcases the widely covered case of Haller as it airs on February 19, 2024, at 10 p.m. EST.

The synopsis reads:

"Actress Melonie Haller is poised for stardom after appearing in the television series "Welcome Back, Kotter" and a pictorial in the March 1980 edition of Playboy; eager for her next role, she goes to a party in the Hamptons that takes a violent turn."

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Why was Roy Radin associated with the Son Of Sam killings?

David Berkowitz's cellmate and an alleged prison informant, a man named Vinny, had approached the Gannett newspapers reporter Michael Zuckerman revealing key details about the final Son of Sam killing of Stacy Moskowitz. The 20-year-old blonde and her date for the night, Robert Violante, was shot to death by the .44‐caliber revolver killer as they sat in a parked car in a Brooklyn lover's lane.

Vinny alleged that Stacy Moskowitz's murder was meant for a snuff film for which a man by the name of Ron Sisman was the camera operator. According to Vinny, Sisman was connected to a man from Long Island who inclined underground dark films. This mysterious figure was known by the initials RR.

The Netflix docuseries Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness picked up on the story as Zuckerman and investigative journalist Maury Terry tried to break open the then-unsolved case. They allegedly figured that RR was meant for Roy Radin who lived in his 72-room mansion in Long Island, Southampton, and was infamous for drug-fuelled s*x parties within the walls of Ocean Castle.

Roy Radin, the American show business promoter, had been accused of brutally beating, r*ping, and filming the model and actor Melonie Haller as she had refused to partake in one of the sadomasochistic s*x games after a dinner party at Ocean Castle, per the Los Angeles Times. Radin had served three years' probation on the weapons charge he pled guilty to and was fined $1,000.

In the quest to find answers, Maury Terry traveled to Copco Canyon in California in 1988 where he found a King James Bible close to the crime scene, per Oxygen. Terry wrote in his 1987 book titled The Ultimate Evil,

“It was deliberately folded open. [It was] bent at the spine so that its left-hand pages were beneath those on the right. To ensure that it remained open to the intended passage, the front cover and the first few hundred pages had been torn off."

The Bible allegedly opened to a passage in Isaiah, Chapter 22 which partially read,

“And behold, joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine; let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die.”

Maury Terry was convinced that Roy Alexander Radin had been involved in Satanic activities and cult practices which clubbed him and David Berkowitz together.

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What happened to Roy Radin? Details explored

Roy Radin, aged 33, was found shot to the head and heavily decomposed in a dry creek in Copco Canyon, California on June 10, 1983. He was last seen stepping into a limousine with Karen Greenberger, also known as Elaine Jacobs, on May 13, 1983, according to the Los Angeles Times. The two were on their way to a meeting scheduled in Beverly Hills.

In 1988, four people including the mastermind, Greenberger, were arrested for the murder-for-hire plot for Roy Radin. The three others included the limo driver, Robert Lowe, and two former bodyguards, William Mentzer and Alex Marti.

The motive behind the crime was the unsatisfactory share Roy Radin put aside for Greenberger for The Cotton Club deal with Robert Evans, per the New York Magazine.