“Son of Sam” David Berkowitz’s throat was slit with a razor blade in Attica Correctional Facility 36 years ago in an attempt at vigilante justice that remains technically unsolved.
But the identity of the lone suspect has finally been revealed — a career-criminal biker who was never charged because the serial killer was terrified to cooperate, sources told The Post.
Former Attica superintendent James Conway, who was a correction officer at the time, named the suspect as William E. Hauser, 63, who is currently locked up for beating a man to death with a rolling pin.
Hauser — who is up for parole next year — was doing time for a first-degree assault on July 10, 1979, when Berkowitz’s throat was slashed.
“The doctor told David that it was very improbable he would survive. He was cut literally where his jugular was. He was obviously shocked and very frightened of dying. It really was a miracle he survived,” said Berkowitz’s lawyer, Mark Heller.
Hauser had been moved to Berkowitz’s special housing unit for his own protection after he witnessed a murder in the prison yard.
“[Hauser] did not get along well with his peers. He did not get along well with security staff. He was very abrasive,” said Conway.
Berkowitz, on the other hand, was a model inmate and his behavior was not indicative of a man who killed six people and wounded seven during his 1976-77 rampage.
On July 7, three days before the attack, Hauser was in the yard with other inmates when a guard spotted him receiving something through a window.
“It could have been the razor that slashed David Berkowitz. The guards frisked [Hauser], but they couldn’t find anything,” Conway said.
Three days later, Berkowitz was dispensing water to other prisoners in their cells.
“Berkowitz’s attention was focused on his task and it’s believed that Billy reached out with a razor and slashed his neck,” Conway recalled.
“It was a pretty gaping wound. I think it would not have bothered Hauser if he had killed Berkowitz — ‘Hey, I’m the guy who took out the Son of Sam,’ ” Conway said.
State and county investigators launched a criminal probe, but Berkowitz wouldn’t talk.
But Conway said the case was strong without his cooperation.
“Berkowitz’s blood was outside Hauser’s cell on the floor. And Berkowitz ceased his water dispensing after arriving at Hauser’s cell,” Conway said.
The razor was also never recovered, and Conway thinks Hauser flushed it down the toilet.