Jody Valenti, friend of the first victim of The Son of Sam, wounded in the thigh. Scared away the gunman by leaning on the car horn
Donna Lauria and her friend, Jody Valenti were sitting in Valenti’s car outside the parent’s appartment discussing their evening in a disquotheque. However, when it was time for Jody to leave, Donna’s father, Mike, agreed to Donna’s suggestion that she and Jody would walk the family dog together. Before Mike Lauria went inside to get the dog, he noticed a man sleeping in a yellow compact car across the street, about sixty feet behind his own car. Neighbors would later report the unfamiliar car cruising around the area for hours.
When her parents went inside, Donna opened the car door to depart. At that moment, she noticed a man quickly approaching. Startled and angered by man’s sudden appearance, Lauria said to him: “Now, what is this…” From the paper bag, he carried, the man produced a handgun and, crouching while he aimed, fired three shots. Donna Lauria was killed almost instantly by a bullet in the chest, Valenti took a hit in the thigh and the third shot was a miss. The shooter turned around and walked away quickly.