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NDTV
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- NDTV
Conversations With A Killer: The Son Of Sam Tapes Review - The Killer Who Hunted Lovers In New York
New Delhi: In the unofficial handbook of serial killers, David Berkowitz doesn't really stand out at first glance. No clown suits, no cannibalism, no chilling charisma. Just a chubby-faced postal worker with an odd stare and a terrifying habit of sneaking up on couples in cars and pulling the trigger. But sometimes the most terrifying thing about a killer is how normal they seem, and that's what makes Conversations With a Killer: The Son Of Sam Tapes such a disturbing watch. The three-part Netflix docuseries, directed by Joe Berlinger (also behind true-crime hits like Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes), digs into the twisted mind of Berkowitz, whose 1976-77 killing spree paralyzed New York City, and attempts to understand the man behind the moniker that once sent a shiver through every borough: 'the Son of Sam'. A Killer With A Nickname And A Parking Ticket In the summer of 1976, New York was already teetering on the edge: crime rates were sky-high, the city was facing bankruptcy, and distrust in institutions ran deep. Into this chaos walked David Berkowitz, armed with a .44-calibre Bulldog revolver and deep-seated rage. His targets? Young women and couples, often caught in intimate moments - talking in parked cars, leaving discos or just walking home. Berkowitz, then a 24-year-old loner working as a postal clerk, would later say he was acting on the orders of a demon-possessed dog named Sam. But even more chilling than his bizarre explanations were the letters he sent to the police and newspapers, gleefully taunting authorities and calling himself "Son of Sam." The name stuck, and soon, every headline and every TV bulletin fed into the hysteria of a faceless monster lurking in the shadows. It wasn't until a parking ticket led police to his car-and then his apartment-that the mystery ended. As cops approached him with guns drawn, Berkowitz smiled and said, "Well, what took you so long?" "I Was So Angry, I Blamed Others" The series is built around a series of rarely heard 1980 audio interviews between David Berkowitz and journalist Jack Jones. These tapes are the spine of the show and offer firsthand access to a man who speaks not with frenzied chaos, but eerie calm. From his childhood memories to his killing motives, Berkowitz doesn't rant; he explains (every bit, quite literally). Born in 1953 and adopted by a loving Jewish couple in the Bronx, Berkowitz's life began with a lie. He believed his biological mother had died in childbirth and that his father had abandoned him. When he later discovered that she was alive and he was the product of an affair, his world further unravelled. "My whole life, I was wracked with guilt," he says on tape, adding, "I'd walk around with this death wish because I felt I now had to pay for her death." He acted out violently as a child-setting fires, fighting, destroying his mother's belongings and eventually, turned that rage outward. "I was so angry, I blamed others, and I started committing my crimes to make people pay attention to me," he admits. A City In Fear The Son Of Sam Tapes doesn't just focus on David Berkowitz's psychology, it recreates the raw panic that gripped New York during his reign of terror. Women with dark hair cut it or dyed it blonde. Parents begged their daughters to stop going out at night. Lovers' lanes emptied. The randomness of his crimes created a chilling sense that anyone, anywhere, could be next. Some of his victims were shot point-blank in their cars. One woman, Wendy Savino, now confirmed by the NYPD as his first target, was shot in April 1976 with a different gun, which led to initial confusion in connecting the dots. The docuseries vividly captures this era: grainy news footage, Farrah Fawcett hairstyles, tabloid covers and burnt-out boroughs. It was a time when a city on the edge was pushed into collective hysteria, and Berkowitz exploited every second of it. "The entire city was gripped by fear," Joe Berlinger says. He adds, "Just sitting with your partner in a parked car could get you killed." He Killed, Then Helped Push A Car Out Of The Snow One of the most haunting segments in the documentary is when David Berkowitz recalls sparing a couple who had asked him for help. Gun in pocket, rage boiling, he approached two people struggling to get their car out of a snowbank. They asked him for help. And so he did. "Even for that brief second, I looked at their faces. And I said to myself, 'Oh, thank God, I mean something to somebody, even if it's just for a second,'" he said. He let them go. Then he walked to a nearby street and shot Valentina Suriani, 18, and Alexander Esau, 20. This chilling Jekyll-and-Hyde contrast is what the series captures best. Berkowitz wasn't a frothing lunatic. He was an emotionally broken man who, by his own account, compartmentalised his crimes as acts of vengeance on a world he believed had wronged him. He was obsessed with stories of other killers, the Zodiac, Jack the Ripper, the Boston Strangler, and used these twisted heroes as inspiration. "Dave, Run For Your Life. Get Help." In the final episode, Joe Berlinger includes a rare 2024 phone interview with David Berkowitz, now 72 and still imprisoned at the Shawangunk Correctional Facility. When asked what he would tell his younger self, Berkowitz's voice softens. "'Dave, run for your life. Get help.' I could have gone to my dad. I could have gone to my sister. But I kept everything to myself... I wish I could start all over again and take a better path in life." It's not redemption. It's a regret-filled whisper from a man who once screamed through bullets. Berlinger, who debated giving Berkowitz airtime at all, justifies the moment. "Putting that message out there can help somebody realise, 'I'm feeling some of this rage. I need to get help.'" In that sense, the docuseries doesn't excuse; it warns. The Final Verdict The Son Of Sam Tapes doesn't glamorise a killer. It doesn't pretend to uncover unknown facts. What it does do is paint a complete, unnerving portrait of a man who looked ordinary, spoke plainly and still left an entire city paralysed. David Berkowitz might not be the most flamboyant figure in the serial killer hall of fame, but the sheer banality of his evil is what makes this series hard to shake off. In his own words, "I felt I had to do it." And somehow, that's scarier than any monster in a mask. Watch it, but maybe not right before you get into a parked car.
New York Post
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
'Son of Sam' doc director on NYC serial killer, unearthed interview: 'I don't know what to make of it'
The Big Apple's most notorious serial killer is getting a new close-up. 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. Advertisement 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. Getty Images 13 The front page of the New York Post on Aug. 11, 1977. Advertisement '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. Advertisement 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. Getty Images 13 David Berkowitz in 1979. Assoicated Press 13 The New York Post front page from August 30, 1977. Advertisement '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. Getty Images 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. Advertisement 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. AP Advertisement 13 The New York Post front page from August 12, 1977. 13 David Berkowitz, then 24, in 1977. Bettmann Archive 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.'' Advertisement 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.' Advertisement 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. AP 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.'
The Sun
a day ago
- The Sun
Son of Sam killer invited me into dark world… he was like ‘Jack the Ripper with a gun' but cowardly admission stunned me
HALF a century ago serial killer David Berkowitz began his reign of terror in New York city - shooting random women at point blank range. Today the question remains, why did the man - calling himself The Son of Sam - go on this murderous rampage? 11 11 Berkowitz, 72, who is serving a life sentence for six murders and seven attempted murders, decided to confess all in a series of taped interviews in 1980. Now journalist Jack D Jones has revealed the contents of those interviews in a new Netflix documentary titled Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes. Jones, who covered prison and had spoken to many inmates, became obsessed with Berkowitz - even visiting him at weekends during his free time. Having sat across from one of America's most notorious serial killers for hours on end, the reporter believes Berkowitz took 'gratification' from seeing victims' families grieve and, in his twisted mind, wanted to be 'a hero'. Berkowitz, though, is a slippery character who keeps changing his story. After being caught he told detectives that a 6,000-year-old demon, speaking through the dog of his neighbour Sam Carr, ordered him to commit the murders. But he told Jack that story was a 'sham' to excuse slaying 'innocent people'. Jack says: 'He was a modern Jack the Ripper character with a gun. This was some crazy motherf***er.' When the reporter received a letter from New York's notorious Attica prison in 1980 with the name D Berkowitz on it, he could hardly believe it. Just three years earlier the former US soldier had been caught by police following the biggest manhunt in New York's history. Netflix drops trailer for harrowing new true crime doc The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness The Son of Sam had targeted young women with long brunette hair, often firing at the men they were with as well. Having stabbed two young women in December 1975, both of whom survived the vicious attacks, he switched to using a .44 caliber handgun. From his first shooting in July 1976 to a final failed plan to commit a massacre in August 1977, fear spread across the Big Apple. Both young men and women stopped going out at night as the police appeared powerless to stop a killer who struck at will. When Berkowitz was apprehended, police officers found bizarre messages scrawled in red all over the walls of his spartan apartment. He was a modern Jack the Ripper character with a gun Jack D Jones To the world, this loner was a dangerous 'nut job'. But that is not the impression Berkowitz gave when Jack first met him. 'Berkowitz comes over, bounds round the table and to my surprise he stuck his hand out and says 'hi, I'm David,'" Jack recalls. 'He's the last person you'd expect to be a serial killer.' Intrigued, Jack wanted to know what his motivation was for ending the lives of so many young people. Over the weeks he says 'we formed an ongoing relationship' and slowly Berkowitz opened up about his past. Making of a murderer Berkowitz was adopted by the childless Pearl and Nathan Berkowitz, with his birth mother Betty Broder not wanting to keep a child she'd had with a married man. He told Jack: 'My parents were very nice, fair, kind, loving people, everything positive.' But he admits to being 'very mean' to his devoted adoptive mother, saying: 'I used to rip up her clothes, tear a hole in her blouse or something.' Berkowitz also used to set fires in stairwells. Berkowitz comes over, bounds round the table and to my surprise he stuck his hand out and says 'hi, I'm David.' He's the last person you'd expect to be a serial killer Jack D Jones His dad Nathan thought that rather than telling Berkowitz that his mother had given him up, he would lie and say she had died in childbirth. That, though, made the youngster feel guilty about the death of his birth mum. Then his adoptive mother Pearl died from cancer when Berkowitz was aged just 14 - and in 1974 he tracked down his birth mother. He disapproved of Betty having him out of wedlock and thinking he "was an accident", adding: 'It's like a volcano erupting.' Twisted logic Berkowitz resented others seemingly following a similar path to his mother. Often his targets would be couples making out in parked cars late at night - and in his depraved mind, 'It felt like I was getting revenge." But there might be another reason. While serving in the US Army in South Korea, Berkowitz started experimenting with drugs, including the hallucinogenic LSD. Friends felt he changed after this, and he became more of a loner on leaving the forces in 1974. It has been suggested that the Robert De Niro movie Taxi Driver, about a vigilante New Yorker, released in February 1976, could have inspired him. But Berkowitz had already stabbed two women by this point and told Jack: 'The movies didn't cause it, but they did reassure me.' Cowardly killer 11 11 Berkowitz did, however, buy himself a .44 Bulldog gun because he found it hard to kill someone with a knife. The coward didn't like to make eye contact with his victims. Jack says: 'He told me he was seeking out women he could kill. He said he had to view his victims as what he wanted them to be. 'When his intended victims asked him if he needed any help or would smile, he couldn't do it.' There were occasions where he ended up helping people he had initially targeted. He told Jack: 'I was always upholding the image of a good upstanding citizen.' In his spare time Berkowitz, who worked various dead end jobs, had helped fire trucks get to blazes. Jack says: 'His whole life he'd been practising keeping this horrible side of himself inside. David Berkowitz was looking to be a hero.' But the psychotic side of his personality took over. Donna Lauria, 18, was his first victim to die, gunned down as she got out of a car in the Bronx in July 1976. Berkowitz said: 'I had so much anger, one killing wasn't going to quench it.' Late at night he would trawl the city planning his next murder, mainly choosing couples sat in cars. After 20-year-old secretary Stacy Moskowitz was shot in the head in July 1977 her funeral was shown on television. Her boyfriend Robert Violante survived the attack but was shot in the eye, leaving him permanently blinded. Jack recalls: 'He remembered the grieving process everybody was going through. He seemed to get gratification from it.' Stacy was to be his final victim. Snared by parking ticket A parking ticket led detectives to Berkowitz, who a neighbour described as 'that nut'. They became even more suspicious on learning Berkowitz had shot a dog belonging to Sam Carr for barking. With the police closing in, Berkowitz headed to the wealthy Hamptons on the coast near New York with the intention of massacring holiday makers with an automatic weapon. But the terrible weather stopped him. Berkowitz admits on tape: 'When it started to rain and there was no one around, I got in the car and went home.' After his arrest he claimed he committed murder because Sam the Demon 'made me do it'. Berkowitz was declared mentally fit to stand trial and pleaded guilty to all of the shootings, and was sentenced to 25 years to life. In his interview with Jack, though, he admitted to making up the voice in his head line because he had to 'convince myself that I'm not the one that's doing this'. He confessed: 'It was all just a sham, to be frank with you.' Even though Berkowitz will be forever known as the Son of Sam, he does not think there was anyone called Sam behind his bloody crimes. Jack thinks that this loner was desperate for attention, concluding: 'He achieved what he wanted. A lifetime of notoriety.' It could be argued that another documentary about Berkowitz will just give him what he wants. But with his next parole hearing due in May 2026, it should also convince everyone how truly dangerous this serial killer is. Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes is streaming on Netflix now. 11 11 11 11
The Review Geek
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Review Geek
Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes Review – A disturbing and comprehensive look at David Berkowitz
Season 1 Episode Guide Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Out of all the true crime series on Netflix, Conversations with a Killer is one of the most chillingly intimate. With a unique hook of letting the killers themselves speak about their crimes, alongside re-enactments of these heinous crimes, some of the worst serial killers in history walk us through their reign of terror. This time around, the spotlight falls on The Son of Sam Tapes, which shines a light on the maniacal, egotistical David Berkowitz. Shooting his victims on the street or while sitting in parked cars, Berkowitz killed six people in total and wounded seven others during his rampage, gripping the city of New York in a stranglehold of fear. Feeling like an outsider all his life, Berkowitz was one of the more dangerous and unpredictable killers because on the outside, he was just an ordinary guy. He socialized with others, fell in with a decent crowd, patriotically fought for his country, and bounced around various odd-jobs. However, as we hear from various interviews with police officers, survivors and psychologists, underneath that façade Berkowitz was a 'walking, seething cauldron of rage'. This was a man desperate to be seen; a man willing to do whatever it took to get that attention, even if it meant killing innocent people. This three part docu-series peels back the smirking, nonchalant façade of this killer to uncover the real motives and reasoning behind his multiple killings. Each episode takes the usual hook from the Conversations with a Killer series, bouncing between two timelines. The first showcases recorded interviews of Berkowitz recounting his murders while behind bars. The other, jumps back to the chronological timeline of said murders and the police investigation that was underway at the time. The first episode looks at Berkowitz's family life, including his upbringing and lead-up to the first murders, before episode 2 tightens the screw and sees the origin of the .44 calibre gun, Berkowitz's inspiration derived from Taxi Driver and the start of taunting notes to the police. Notes which sport specific references to 'Mr Monster' and 'Son of Sam'. The third episode then focuses on a big break in the case, a shocking (but thankfully botched) grand finale bloodbath Berkowitz initially had planned, and his eventual arrest. In fact one of the most shocking moments comes when the police finally do capture David Berkowitz. He turned to the police, smirked and uttered: 'well you got me, what took you so long?' However, the story itself doesn't end there, as the final 10-15 minutes of the documentary feature another victim Berkowitz missed out recounting their story. We also see random theories and ideas (including the Twelve Disciples of Hell) and word from Berkowitz himself (as recent as 2024) about how he feels regarding the murders. The show also features (especially late on) the role of mainstream media and newspapers at the time. Hearing from Jimmy Breslin's son in particular, we see some of the shocking headlines that the newspapers ran with at the time. One in particular even includes Breslin basically egging on our killer to hit again. Overall though, The Son of Sam Tapes is a pretty comprehensive breakdown of Berkowitz and his reign of terror. It's hard to grasp just how fear-struck and panicked New York was at the time of Berkowitz's killing spree, but Conversations with a Killer does a decent job of showcasing some of this within the three episodes. This is a deeply affecting and in-depth documentary, and essential viewing for anyone who wants the complete story of this serial killer.
Time Magazine
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
The True Story Behind Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes
Nearly 50 years after the arrest of David Berkowitz, the serial killer who terrorized New York City between 1976 and 1977, a new documentary series, Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes, explores that chilling period in history. Out July 30, the three-part series features audio of past interviews Berkowitz did with Rochester Democrat and Chronicle journalist Jack Jones, plus a new interview with Berkowitz, who is serving a life sentence in upstate New York. Berkowitz, now 72, has never shied away from media attention. Before he was caught—a parking ticket traced his getaway car to his home address—he sent letters to police detectives and even the New York City tabloid columnist Jimmy Breslin encouraging them to keep up the search for him. Conversations with a Killer also features interviews with the victims' loved ones, researchers, and former law enforcement assigned to the case. Here's how the series explores what drove Berkowitz to murder. Childhood resentment The series traces the origins of Berkowitz's discontent to his adoption in 1953. While the Bronx native was adopted by a couple that loved to dote on him, one day, his father told Berkowitz that he was adopted, his mother died in childbirth, and his biological father didn't want him. 'I thought there was a man out there that hated me and was possibly going to try to kill me for causing the death of his wife,' Berkowitz tells Jones. He wasn't the same after that moment, and though his adoptive mother loved him, he began to lash out at her, tearing her blouses and ripping her lipstick out of its container. When he graduated high school, he found out that his biological mother was actually alive and visited her. He learned that he was born out of wedlock, and his father didn't want to stick around. As he wrote in a letter, he felt like an 'outsider' who was on a 'different wave length than everybody.' In the recordings, Berkowitz says: 'It brings me back to the idea of women, young girls having sex in a car with guys. Carelessness, you know? It was kind of degrading to me to see that I was an accident…Anger took over to replace the guilt.' He describes himself as a 'loner' who felt 'stigmatized for adoption' and got to a point where 'I was so angry, I blamed others, and I started committing my crimes to make people pay attention to me.' When Berkowitz realized he was the product of an affair, he began 'targeting young lovers having illicit sex in their cars, producing unwanted children, so that there wouldn't be another child born with this level of alienation and resentment,' director Joe Berlinger says. 'But obviously lots of children discover that they're adopted, and lots of children have traumatic childhoods, and they don't turn into killers. So that's what endlessly fascinates me: Where is that line where somebody will go off the deep end versus somebody who will just soldier on?' Reign of terror There wasn't initially a clear trend in his targets, so New Yorkers were paralyzed with fear. Women with long brown hair were advised to get shorter haircuts or wear their long locks in a ponytail. Some even bleached their hair blond and donned baggy clothing on a night out. Many parents begged their daughters to have their dates at home or put off dating until the killer was caught. As TIME reported in the Aug. 15, 1977, issue of the magazine, 'If terrorists might well pose a greater potential danger to more people, there was much more apprehension of the threat of random shots in the dark from the lone gunman. He has haunted lovers' lanes, attacked couples coming from strobe-lighted discotheques, even opened fire at a pair of girls on a house porch and shot another as he passed her on a street.' Several of the victims were couples. Berkowitz was always disappointed that he struggled to have a romantic relationship with a woman. He sought out women who reminded him of what his birth mother might have been like at a young age. 'I felt like this is what I had to do, like I felt I was getting revenge,' he can be heard saying in a recording in the doc. His first target, Wendy Savino, appears in Conversations of a Killer. The New York Police Department confirmed in 2024 that she was the first 'Son of Sam' victim. He shot her on April 9, 1976, with a different revolver than the one he used to kill the other victims, so that was one reason authorities missed the connection initially. Now 88, she pulls out a sketch of Berkowitz in the doc and says, 'I've been carrying this around in my handbag for 47 years.' Lessons from 'Son of Sam' for today 'I actually think this case is a foundational case in our current and ever-growing obsession with crime,' Berlinger says. 'The way Berkowitz interacted with the media, the way the media willingly cooperated, I mean, everyone in New York couldn't wait for the next headline and next newspaper to buy. This is obviously before the 24-hour news cycle, before social media.' Berlinger notes that back in the 1970s, police departments weren't readily sharing computerized data with one another the way they do today. As he puts it, 'the '70s and early '80s was kind of the golden age of serial killers going on for a long time before they were caught.' Despite conspiracy theories that suggest 'Son of Sam' refers to multiple killers, Conversations with a Killer makes clear that Berkowitz was the sole perpetrator, arguing that when Berkowitz was arrested, the killings stopped. The series ends with Berlinger asking Berkowitz two questions in a 2024 phone interview. When Berlinger asks Berkowitz what he wants people to know about his story, Berkowitz emphasizes that he's very sorry for the murders, that he was in a 'dark space' in his life, and that his life 'spun out of control, and I just couldn't get on that right path.' Then, when Berlinger asks Berkowitz what advice he'd give to his younger self, he says that he should have gotten help sooner, stating, ''Dave, run for your life. Get help.' I could have gone to my dad. I could have gone to my sister. But I kept everything to myself…I wish I could start all over again and take a better path in life.' While Berlinger wrestled with whether to give the serial killer a platform, he thought viewers could learn from this answer. 'That just touched me so deeply,' he says. 'Putting that message out there can help somebody realize, 'I'm feeling some of this rage. I need to get help,' or empower people to encourage someone with a lot of pent-up anger to seek help."
