Necrophilia, cannibalism, and a desire to be caught. Ed Kemper did some heinous
things to earn his incarceration, and now, he doesn't want to leave prison.
Edmund Kemper, also known as "The Co-ed Killer," is one of the most famous serial killers in the
United States. He was arrested in April 1973 after killing his mother and her best friend,
but he left a trail of victims behind him. The notorious killer is now serving a life sentence
at the California Medical Facility and became crucial in the FBI's understanding of serial
killers. Kemper has become significant in pop culture, appearing in Netflix's
"Mindhunter," and inspiring the character Buffalo Bill in "Silence of the Lambs."
"I was also involved in killing co-eds,
because my mother was associated with college work, college co-eds."
Like many other serial killers, Kemper had a troubled childhood. He was physically and
emotionally abused by his alcoholic mother, who would often lock him in a basement at night.
When Kemper was 14 years old, he ran away to live with his father, who rejected him. He then went
to live with his grandparents in North Fork, California, which is where he started killing.
According to Kemper, his grandmother was also abusive. In 1964, when he was just 15 years old,
Kemper shot his grandmother dead after an argument. When his grandfather arrived home,
Kemper shot him too. Following the murders, Kemper called his mother,
who told him to call the police. Authorities sent him to the California Youth Authority,
where he spent the next five years.
At the facility, Ed Kemper underwent multiple tests. Although the results showed that Kemper
had a very high IQ, they also diagnosed him with paranoid schizophrenia. After his diagnosis,
he was sent to Atascadero State Hospital, a maximum-security facility for convicts with mental
health issues. Surprisingly, Kemper developed a friendly relationship with his psychiatrist,
who eventually made the teenager his assistant. Despite apparently adapting well to the facility,
several psychologists didn't believe that Kemper was ready for release back into the
world. Nevertheless, on December 18, 1969, which was his 21st birthday,
Kemper was released from the facility to live with his mother.
Kemper killed six female students while they were hitchhiking. Kemper allegedly said,
"When I see a pretty girl walking down the street, I think two things:
one part of me wants to take her home, be real nice and treat her right;
the other part wonders what her head would look like on a stick."
Kemper murdered his victims in many different ways, including shooting,
stabbing, and strangling. The vicious killer would also have sex with the bodies of his victims,
and he would often decapitate them, and keep their heads as trophies.
In April 1973, Ed Kemper killed his mother while she was sleeping and raped the body. Later,
he invited his mother's best friend over and strangled her as well. Afterwards,
Kemper fled. However, he reportedly became upset when he didn't hear about his crimes
on the radio. To satiate his appetite for the spotlight, he called the police and confessed
to the murders. After being arrested, the serial killer gave details about the crimes,
which included necrophilia and cannibalism. During his trial, he pleaded insanity and asked
for the death penalty. In November 1973, Kemper was sentenced to life in prison.
Surprisingly, while serving his sentence, Kemper helped the FBI to catch other serial killers.
During the 1970s, researchers and police didn't know much about the inner workings
of serial murderers. The FBI launched a pioneer project that involved visiting prisons to talk
to dangerous criminals and understand their minds. In fact, Netflix's "Mindhunter," which
is based on real events, re-created some of the FBI's interviews with Kemper. Bryanna Fox,
a former FBI agent and researcher at the bureau's Behavioral Science Unit, revealed to A&E,
"He was able to provide a lot of insights as to why these
offenders commit these crimes. FBI agents were able to identify some common characteristics
and backgrounds among serial killers we normally would not have known about."
Kemper is serving his sentence at California Medical Facility in Vacaville, and he reportedly
doesn't want to live a normal life. His attorney said in 2007, per the New York Post,
"His feeling is that he — and this is his belief — no one's ever going to let him out,
and he's just happy, he's just as happy going about his life in prison."