'Son of Sam' doc director on NYC serial killer, unearthed interview: 'I don't know what to make of it'
In the Netflix docuseries, 'Conversations With a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes' (now streaming), director/ producer Joe Berlinger explores David Berkowitz and his reign of terror on 1970s New York City – and even includes the killer's claim that he wasn't the culprit who shot one of his surviving victims, Wendy Savino.
'The story gripped the city like no other. In my mind, it kind of gave birth to our modern fascination with true crime,' Berlinger exclusively told The Post.
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13 The front page of the New York Post from Aug. 11, 1977.
13 Police officers escort David Berkowitz (left), known as the Son of Sam, into the 84th precinct station on August 10, 1977.
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13 The front page of the New York Post on Aug. 11, 1977.
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'It's the first modern example of a serial killer taunting and baiting the press. People couldn't wait for the next New York Post….to come out, to get more information, and the letters that were all published,' he elaborated. '[It was the] first time that you saw media, public fascination and violence all coming together.'
Berkowitz, 72, whose reign of terror left six dead, and seven wounded — has been incarcerated at Shawagunk Correctional Facility in Wallkill, New York, since his arrest on Aug. 10, 1977. He was 24 at the time.
He's currently serving 25 years to life in prison, and has been denied parole 12 times.
Between 1976 and 1977, the Brooklyn born serial killer and former soldier went on a 13-month killing spree, shooting many of his victims through car windows, using a .44-caliber revolver.
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The serial killer often sent chilling and boastful letters to cops and journalists, signed 'Son of Sam.'
13 Joe Berlinger at the 46th Annual Documentary Emmy Awards in NYC on June 26, 2025.
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13 David Berkowitz in 1979.
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13 The New York Post front page from August 30, 1977.
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'He's more akin to today's school shooter than the classic serial killer,' Berlinger told The Post.
Berlinger has also covered the cases of Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and John Wayne Gacy in previous seasons of 'Conversations With a Killer.'
'All three of them wanted to be up close and intimate with their victims. Berkowitz…doesn't enjoy seeing the pain the way these other serial killers do,' he explained.
'Obviously there's no excuse for what he did and it was horrible – and they all obviously suffer from mental illness, you could argue – But I liken him more to the alienated youth expressing rage.'
'Conversations With a Killer' dives into Berkowitz's troubled childhood, his impact on his victims – including interviews with surviving family members – and recordings of a chilling interview with Berkowitz himself, conducted shortly after his imprisonment in 1980 by Jack Jones, a former reporter at the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
13 The 1977 mugshot of David Berkowitz.
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It also includes a snippet of a more recent interview that Berlinger did with Berkowitz in August 2024.
'I debated whether or not I wanted to put my interview with Berkowitz in the show, because it's very controversial. People do have this knee-jerk reaction like, 'you can't give a platform to a serial killer.' So I was sensitive to that issue,' he explained to The Post.
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In past seasons, serial killers such as Bundy and Dahmer were long dead and couldn't participate in the documentary. Berkowitz is one of the only famous serial killers from that era still alive.
'I debated whether or not I wanted to actually speak to him, and we did it at the very end of the production, just to see what we would get,' Berlinger explained.
He said that during his interview with Berkowitz, the serial killer was 'adamant' that he wasn't the culprit who shot his first victim, Savino, 88, who survived the 1976 attack but was permanently maimed, losing an eye.
13 David Berkowitz in 2009.
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13 The New York Post front page from August 12, 1977.
13 David Berkowitz, then 24, in 1977.
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The NYPD only officially validated Savino's claim that her attacker was Berkowitz in June 2024. But, Berkowitz, who confessed to his other crimes, alleges that it wasn't him.
Earlier this month, Savino told The Post: 'I'm very nervous. I was always afraid someone would come to me and say 'I'll finish you off for David.''
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Onscreen in the doc, she maintains that Berkowitz shot her.
'We felt obligated to see what he says about it, even though I believe Wendy Savino was a victim of David Berkowitz,' said Berlinger.
In a 2024 interview with The Post, Berkowitz claimed that he's reformed behind bars and has dedicated his life to Jesus.
About whether he thinks that has merit, Berlinger said, 'I didn't meet [Berkowitz] in person. It was a long phone conversation.'
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13 Wendy Savino in 2024.
J.C. Rice
13 Wendy Savino holding a Son of Sam police sketch in 2024.
J.C. Rice
13 David Berkowitz getting taken to police headquarters on Aug. 11, 1977.
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But the filmmaker added that he 'respects' Berkowitz's spiritual advisor, Mike Caparrelli, who is also included in the doc.
'[Caparrelli] believes that David has seen the error of his ways, that his finding of religion is legitimate,' he said. 'I can't say – I haven't spent enough time with the guy.'
'A lot of people dismiss this as his ongoing need for attention,' Berlinger said about Berkowitz. 'And, there have been decades where he was seemingly looking for more attention. But how he is now, I don't know. It was super important to him to tell me that he was not responsible for Wendy Savino.'
'I don't know what to make of it. I'm not inside his head, but it was so important to him to say that. And the police have closed that case as a Berkowitz shooting.'
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