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Maybe looking for a copy of “Catcher in the Rye” among his belongs would be a good idea.

It's been a long time (about 40 years) since I read "Catcher in the Rye."

I know that it's about a disillusioned youth, and maybe at some point he mentions wanted to "just kill" all the hypocrite adults, etc. - but other than that, I don't understand the reference. Can you explain?

Regards,

“I don’t understand the reference. Can you explain?”
—
This pretty well explains it, from Wikipedia:
“The best-known event associated with The Catcher in the Rye is arguably Mark David Chapman’s shooting of John Lennon.[14] Chapman identified with the novel’s narrator to the extent that he wanted to change his name to Holden Caulfield. On the night he shot Lennon, Chapman was found with a copy of the book in which he had written “This is my statement” and signed Holden’s name.[15] Later, he read a passage from the novel to address the court during his sentencing.[16] Daniel Stashower speculated that Chapman had wanted Lennon’s innocence to be preserved by death, inspired by Holden’s wish to preserve children’s innocence despite Holden’s later realization that children should be left alone.[16]

After John Hinckley, Jr.’s assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan in 1981, police found The Catcher in the Rye in his hotel room.[17] Hinckley later admitted to being an admirer of Chapman and studying his attempt on John Lennon. Hinckley’s possession of the novel was later dismissed as an influence, as a half dozen various other types of books were also discovered in his possession.

Robert John Bardo, who murdered Rebecca Schaeffer, was carrying the book when he visited Schaeffer’s apartment in Hollywood on July 18, 1989 and murdered her.[18]

Christopher Buckley made reference to these shootings in a 1995 commencement speech at his alma mater of Portsmouth Abbey School, where he commented on Chapman’s possession of the book and later remarked “Catcher in the Rye is a fine piece of literature and well worth your time, if you have not so read it already. So long as does not inspire you to shoot any of the remaining Beatles.”