David Berkowitz, widely known as “Son of Sam,” is an American serial killer who carried out a string of shootings in New York City from 1976 to 1977, leaving six people dead and seven wounded. His crimes and subsequent arrest drew intense media attention and prompted changes in law enforcement and legal policy.

Key Facts

• He killed six people and wounded seven others in a series of shootings across New York City between 1976 and 1977.
• He became widely known by the nickname “Son of Sam” and was earlier linked in the press to “the .44 Caliber Killer.”
• Berkowitz was arrested on August 10, 1977, outside his Yonkers apartment building after investigators traced a parking ticket and other leads to him.
• In 1978 he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to multiple consecutive life sentences, ensuring he would remain in prison for life.
• He confessed to a series of shooting attacks and admitted involvement in several unsolved arsons across the city during the same period.
• The attacks were carried out with a .44-caliber handgun, a detail that helped link several scenes and victims.
• The incidents took place in multiple boroughs, including Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan, with some attacks occurring late at night.
• Berkowitz was born in 1953, was adopted as an infant, served in the U.S. Army in the early 1970s, and later worked as a postal worker in Yonkers.
• Following his arrest he became the subject of extensive media coverage, books, documentaries and legal reforms related to criminal publicity and proceeds.

Crimes and Victims

The attacks consisted of shootings directed at young people in public places, often late at night, and in most cases the victims were strangers to the attacker. Several of the victims were couples sitting in cars or walking on city streets when they were shot without prior interaction.

Investigators eventually linked multiple scenes through ballistic evidence, patterns of behavior and letters left by the perpetrator, which included signed notes using the name “Son of Sam.” The pattern of seemingly random targets created widespread fear across the city and complicated early investigative hypotheses that focused on gang activity.

Capture and Trial

Police narrowed their investigation through a combination of ballistic work, witness reports and documentable links such as a parking ticket that tied a suspect vehicle to the shooter’s movements. Authorities arrested Berkowitz after tracing that evidence to his Yonkers residence and locating additional incriminating material left at crime scenes.

He ultimately pleaded guilty to the shootings and received consecutive life terms in 1978, avoiding a lengthy jury trial but effectively ensuring he would remain in custody. The guilty plea included admissions that connected him to multiple attacks and to other criminal acts attributed to the same timeframe.

Psychology and Motives

Berkowitz gave various explanations for his actions over time, at points claiming external influences and at other times offering limited personal reflections; investigators and clinicians examined both situational and psychological factors. Some communications from the attacker referenced commanding voices and a need for notoriety, which shaped public and professional assessments of motive.

Mental health experts and commentators have debated the relative weight of psychosis, personality pathology and social factors in his case, while Berkowitz’s later statements included expressions of remorse and religious conversion. Determining a single definitive motive has remained difficult because his accounts and the evidence combine personal, symbolic and situational elements.

Background / Early Life

Born in 1953 and adopted as an infant, Berkowitz experienced social isolation and difficulties forming stable peer relationships during childhood and adolescence. He dropped out of high school, held a variety of short-term jobs and enlisted in the U.S. Army in the early 1970s before returning to civilian life in Yonkers.

By the mid-1970s he was employed as a postal worker and lived with his adoptive parents; acquaintances and family members later described episodes of erratic mood and withdrawal prior to the shootings. Those life-course details have been examined by researchers seeking to understand how personal history intersected with his criminal behavior.

Legacy and Media Coverage

The Berkowitz case generated extensive news coverage, books, films and documentaries that shaped public perceptions of serial violence in the United States. His crimes directly contributed to legal and policy discussions, including measures aimed at preventing criminals from profiting from publicity and changes in police investigative coordination.

Interest in the case has persisted in true-crime media and academic studies, focusing on the investigative techniques used to capture him and on the broader social impact of the shootings. The episode remains a reference point in discussions of urban crime, media influence and the challenges of assessing motive and mental health in violent offenders.