On 29th July 1976, David Berkowitz murdered his first victim. He called himself the ‘Son of Sam’ and for more than a year he prowled the streets of New York City looking for young women to kill. With his haunting letters to the public, Berkowitz panicked the city and frustrated the police, who launched the most extensive manhunt in the history of New York to find him.

When Berkowitz was finally apprehended the public was shocked to find that the "face of terror" was a cherubic looking postal worker who smiled sweetly for the camera. Berkowitz confessed to all of the Son of Sam murders and asked the judge to put him away forever so that he would not kill again. Who was this strange character and what led him to create the ‘Son of Sam’?

This programme explores Berkowitz's haunting and desperate inner life from childhood to the present. It reveals how his many frustrations and disappointments turned into a pent up rage which he could release only through his gun.

Now he calls himself the ‘Son of Hope’ and he ministers to other prisoners and born again Christians all over the world. Berkowitz says he wants to live a meaningful life now and forget the past but very few people will ever forgive him or let him forget.