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Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes is Netflix's latest offering that has become the topic of discussion among true crime fans. This is the fourth chapter in the Conversations with a Killer series, which featured other infamous serial killers in the preceding installments including, Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer. Joe Berlinger's The Son of Sam Tapes contains three insightful episodes.
Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes dives into the twisted mind and complicated past of David Berkowitz. First dubbed as the ".44 Caliber Killer", he later came to be known as the "Son of Sam" serial killer. Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes features newly unearthed audio interviews along with insightful modern-day interviews with detectives, journalists, and survivors.
In this list, we take a look at some shocking new insights revealed in Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes that help unravel Berkowitz's twisted reasoning.
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Disclaimer: This list contains information from various sources and has spoilers.
7 things that became clear in Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes
1) David Berkowitz was a fan of true crime himself
During his interviews with reporter Jack Jones in Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes, Berkowitz shared that he would often look up content about murderers, both real-life and fictional. From watching movies to borrowing books from the library, he did everything he could to enhance his knowledge about what made them commit murder and he also learnt about their patterns.
Berkowitz admitted that his process was inspired by those who came before, and even his idea of writing threatening letters to the authorities seems to have been borrowed from other serial killers.
Now it would be irrational to assume that the only reason Berkowitz resorted to murder is because he was influenced by the things he saw and read, but Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes reveals that he used the insight he gathered to refine his tactics and compartmentalize his thoughts so that he could live both lives seamlessly.
2) Donna Lauria's murder didn't raise red flags because authorities thought it was the boyfriend
Whenever there is a homicide, law enforcement officers don't automatically go the "serial killer" route, and the same was the case back in the late 70's. In fact, back then, there was such a rise in crime that officers had their hands full with multiple investigations, and so, it wasn't always possible to devote all their attention and resources to one case.
Donna Lauria was one of Berkowitz's early victims. However, there were no pattern that officers could follow up on yet, so they focused all their attention on her boyfriend. He was the prime suspect for several months before he was cleared thanks to a clear-cut alibi.
When watching Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes, viewers can't help but wonder if the police had dug a little deeper at the time, they may have been able to catch Berkowitz before he went on his killing spree.
3) David Berkowitz's demeanor changed when he learnt his birth mother died in childbirth
There are plenty of cases wherein individuals with tough childhoods grow up to choose a life of violence. But that is not what happened with Berkowitz. It is evident in Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes that his adopted parents, Nathan and Pearl Berkowitz, were kind and loving. They tried to give young David everything he needed to live a happy life.
However, things changed when Nathan told Berkowitz that he was adopted and that his birth mother had died during childbirth. While talking to Jones, he revealed that learning the truth about his mother made him feel guilty and that he would have to pay for her death in some way.
After learning about his birth mother, Berkowitz's personality changed drastically. He started treating his adoptive mother badly, picking fights and even displaying antisocial behavior.
4) He channeled his emotions using toy soldiers at the psychologist's office
When Berkowitz's behavior started to take a turn for the worse, his adoptive parents were understandably concerned, and they sent him to a child psychologist. Like any sensible parents, Nathan and Pearl wanted to help David overcome whatever he was going through, and they felt that a trained child psychologist would be able to help him more than them.
In Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes, Berkowitz revealed that the child psychologist presented him with toy soldiers and asked him to express his feelings towards other people through play. He would envision that he was shooting at the people he was angry with, and described to the psychologist whom he was shooting at and why.
One of the many shocking reveals of Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes, this account suggests that the idea of shooting people was inadvertently planted in Berkowitz's mind at a young age.
5) The story of the demon voices was a lie
Berkowitz's case received a lot of media attention because his reign of terror was so pronounced across New York. Women would get shorter haircuts in the hopes that they wouldn't end up as his targets, and parents would advise their children to have dates at home instead of going out.
In the beginning, after his arrest, Berkowitz claimed that he had been following the orders of a demon which had manifested in the form of his neighbor's dog known as "Sam". As expected, this chilling tale was spread through different media channels and led many to believe that he wasn't mentally sound.
However, in Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes, it is revealed that Berkowitz made up the story in order to confuse the officers and the masses. In any case, Berkowitz was found mentally competent to stand trial and pleaded guilty to the charges against him.
6) More than anything, Berkowitz wanted attention
It becomes clear in Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes that Berkowitz thrived on attention. He was delighted when he saw his name in the headlines, and his insistence on taunting the police with menacing letters hints at the fact that he was enjoying the notoriety attached to the "Son of Sam" title.
This also, in a way, explains why he didn't kill the couple who asked for his help. In Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes, Berkowitz confided that once he had been looking for his next targets when this couple approached him out of the blue. Their car was stuck on a snowbank, and they wanted his help getting it out. Berkowitz did help them out, and they went on their merry way.
Jones asked Berkowitz if he thought about killing them, even for a moment, but he said that he liked feeling important in the moment and so, couldn't bring himself to shoot them.
7) Wendy Savino claimed to be the first victim
Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes is an eye-opener in many ways because the audience learns more about Berkowitz's story from his own mouth. Not only that, the show also features many interesting interviews, and one of them is with Wendy Savino.
For the longest time, it was believed that Donna was Berkowitz's first victim, but Wendy came forward to say that he shot her before July 1976. Even though the pattern of the killing matched his other victims, the model of the gun used was different, which could be one of the reasons officers didn't automatically link the case to Berkowitz.
The fact that Wendy Savino's case came to light after all these years indicates that there could be more victims of Berkowitz who haven't been identified yet.
Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes has been praised by viewers because it has helped them better understand Berkowitz's mentality and the influences from his past experiences.
