Just after midnight on July 29, 1976, Donna Lauria and Jody Valenti were sitting in a car outside of Donna's apartment in the Bronx chatting after having been out dancing that night. All of a sudden, four gunshots rang out and just like that, Donna Lauria was dead. Jody Valenti had also been shot, but the bullet landed in her thigh and she ultimately survived the attack.

The attack on Donna Lauria and Jody Valenti was the first in a year long shooting spree carried out by David Berkowitz AKA Son of Sam. By July 1977, Berkowitz had killed 5 and injured 8 people in addition to Donna Lauria and Jody Valenti. He became known as the "Son of Sam" after leaving a letter at the scene of one of his shootings that read, "I am the 'Son of Sam.' I am a little 'brat'. When father Sam gets drunk he gets mean . . . Sam loves to drink blood. 'Go out and kill' commands father Sam."

Donna Lauria was remembered by her family as loving teenager with many friends. She was the second of three children, with an older brother and a younger brother.

David Berkowitz was arrested and tried for the shootings in 1977 outside his apartment in Yonkers. He pleaded guilty to all of the crimes and was sentenced to six consecutive life sentences. He remains incarcerated in New York.