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The Son Of Sam Tapes: How NYPD Finally Caught Serial Killer David Berkowitz Over A 'Simple Mistake'
Here's the whole story behind Berkowitz's chilling crime spree and the surprising twist that led to his arrest. Know what his first words were after getting caught.
Netflix’s new docuseries, Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes, isn’t just another retelling of a serial killer’s crimes. It’s a raw, unfiltered journey through fear, frustration, and the near misses that allowed David Berkowitz, the man who terrorised New York City with a 13-month killing spree, to stay hidden in plain sight. The three-part docuseries, directed by Joe Berlinger, dives deep into rarely heard 1980 prison interviews between Berkowitz and journalist Jack Jones, revealing unsettling insights into the mind of a killer who craved attention more than freedom.
The Son of Sam Tapes, with its rarely heard interviews and first-hand accounts of Berkowitz’s surviving victims, finally gives a voice to those who endured unimaginable trauma and continue to carry the physical and emotional scars even after nearly 50 years. But what ultimately led to Berkowitz’s capture?
As the series delves into the investigation, it reveals how the notorious killer managed to elude police for over a year until one small detail during his final attack finally unravelled the mystery. Before you binge on the series, here’s an overview of the true story behind Berkowitz’s chilling crime spree and the surprising twist that led to his arrest, and what his first words were after getting caught.
How the Son of Sam managed to hold a whole city hostage
Between 1976 and 1977, the city of New York found itself under siege after a series of random and brutal shootings left young couples in constant terror. David Berkowitz, who soon became infamously known as the ‘Son of Sam’ and the ‘.44 Calibre Killer,’ unleashed a deadly rampage across New York City. Throughout his year-long killing spree, the notorious killer reportedly left six people dead and seven others injured, keeping the entire city reeling in fear.
Berkowitz mainly targeted young couples sitting in parked cars, often focusing on young white women with long dark hair. Most of his attacks happened at night, but a few victims were shot point-blank in public places like parks during broad daylight, yet he couldn’t be captured. His weapon was a .44 Bulldog revolver, and after killing his victims, he even taunted police and the media with cryptic letters, claiming he was driven by demonic forces.
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Why did it take over a year for the police to catch David Berkowitz?
Unlike most serial killers, David Berkowitz didn't follow any consistent pattern, which made it more challenging to trace him. With conflicting witness accounts and mismatched police sketches, the fear spread like wildfire. The terror was so intense that people started altering their appearances to avoid fitting the perceived victim profile. Women with long and dark hair chopped off or dyed their hair, while some avoided going out at night entirely. The whole of New York lived in a constant state of anxiety, knowing the killer could strike anywhere, at any time.
Things turned even more frantic when the serial killer began sending taunting letters to newspapers and the police, all of them signed ‘Son of Sam.’ In those bizarre letters, Berkowitz claimed to be driven by demons, including one that allegedly lived inside a neighbour’s black Labrador. The case became even more twisted with these eerie claims, deepening the mystery and intensifying the panic.
Berkowitz’s final victims before getting caught
Berkowitz’s unpredictable killing spree continued for over a year, during which he took the lives of numerous victims, including Donna Lauria (18), Christine Freund (26), Virginia Voskerichian (19), Valentina Suriani (18), Alexander Esau (20), and Stacy Moskowitz (19). However, Moskowitz would become his last victim to die.
On July 31, 1977, Berkowitz struck again. Nineteen-year-old Stacy Moskowitz and her boyfriend, Robert Violante, were sitting in a parked car in Brooklyn when a man approached and opened fire. Moskowitz died, while Violante was blinded in one eye and legally blinded in the other. But this time, it was different, as someone noticed something unusual.
Cecelia Davis, a local resident, was in the middle of walking her dog, not very far from the shooting location, when she saw a man acting oddly. He was allegedly walking stiffly with one arm at his side, and the timing later checked out to be around the same time the shooting had taken place. More importantly, Davis noticed a police officer issuing a parking ticket to a cream-coloured car parked near a fire hydrant.
Davis reported what she had seen a few days later, a crucial detail that would turn the entire investigation.
How a parking ticket helped catch the Son of Sam
After Davis’s reports, police quickly looked into all the parking tickets that were issued in the area on the night of the Moskowitz shooting. And this time, one stood out: a ticket for a 1970 Ford Galaxie registered to David Berkowitz of Yonkers. That detail raised immediate suspicion. What was someone from Yonkers doing near the scene of a Brooklyn murder at 2:30 a.m.?
Upon further investigation, even more red flags emerged. It was found that Berkowitz had previously been reported to the Yonkers police for disturbing behaviour, including setting fires and sending anonymous threats to neighbours. While those tips weren’t followed up on properly, they were now too significant to ignore. With a name and address in hand, the NYPD placed Berkowitz under surveillance.
Berkowitz’s first words after getting caught
On August 10, 1977, a team of officers waited outside Berkowitz’s Yonkers apartment. As he approached his car, he noticed the police moving in. Before they could say a word, Berkowitz smiled and said:
“Well, you got me.”
Soon after, the police recovered a duffel bag inside Berkowitz’s vehicle, which contained the .44 calibre revolver used in the shootings, along with maps, handwritten notes, and a letter seemingly intended for law enforcement. It was the evidence police needed to close the case. Berkowitz confessed to everything during interrogation, and with a constant smirk on his face, he didn’t even ask for a lawyer, nor did he try to deny the charges. What’s more unsettling is that he revealed that he had been planning a mass shooting at a nightclub in the Hamptons. Thankfully, the one parking ticket and a witness’s memory saved further casualties in time.
Where is Berkowitz now?
Now 72, David Berkowitz is serving six consecutive life sentences in the Shawangunk Correctional Facility, New York. As a born-again Christian, Berkowitz calls himself ‘Brother Dave’ and claims to have renounced the ‘Son of Sam’ name. After being denied parole 12 times, he reportedly no longer wants to be released.
In a 2024 phone interview featured in the Netflix series, when director Joe Berlinger asked Berkowitz what he wanted people to know, he expressed deep remorse for the murders, saying he was in a "dark space" and that his life had ‘spun out of control.’ When asked what advice he would give his younger self, Berkowitz replied:
“‘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.”
Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes doesn’t glorify Berkowitz. Instead, it forces viewers to confront the uncomfortable truth: monsters don’t always hide in the shadows. Sometimes, they live just across the river, in plain sight, until someone decides to look a little closer.
Read Next: Where Are The 'Son Of Sam' Survivors Today? Life After Surviving David Berkowitz's Reign Of Terror