MurderousMinds
MurderousMinds takes a deep dive into the dark world of serial killers. Each episode features an in depth analysis of some of history's most notorious murderers. We examine the impact these crimes have had on families and communities, as we attempt to gain a better understanding of what drives these individuals to do what they do. Narrated by Top5s, from the popular YouTube channel Top5s, join us as we make sense of why these individuals committed such brutal acts and discover what drives them, here on the MurderousMinds podcast.
MurderousMinds
The Chilling Tale of the Co-Ed Slayer: Edmund Kemper | The MurderousMinds Podcast
Prepare yourself to descend into the abyss of a notorious serial killer's psyche, Edmund Kemper, the infamous Co-Ed Killer. We promise you an unnerving exploration of Kemper's disturbed childhood, marked by abuse and violent fantasies that later served as catalysts for his horrific crimes. We track his journey from a turbulent home life to the shocking confrontation with his grandparents, which resulted in their murder and his subsequent incarceration.
Experience the chilling details of Kemper's manipulative skills as he evades psychiatric suspicion within the California Youth Authority, earning him an early parole. We then move into the terrifying era of his serial killings that held Santa Cruz in the grip of fear during the 1970s. Together, we will delve into the dark recesses of Kemper's mind, while addressing his failed attempts to join the police force, his intelligent use of his mother's university sticker to prey on unsuspecting victims, and his chilling recounting of his heinous acts.
Finally, we dissect the aftermath in the trial room, with Kemper's public defender pleading insanity, and the contrasting testimonials from his family. Ever wonder what goes on behind prison walls? Well, brace yourself as we reveal Kemper’s life locked up with other infamous killers, his candid self-reflections, and the varying reactions from his family. This episode is not for the faint-hearted, but it aims to help you comprehend the complex personality of Edmund Kemper, and the deeply unsettling psychology behind his gruesome crimes. Tune in if you dare.
From murderers to money launderers, thieves to thugs – police officers from the...
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Thank you for tuning in to MurderousMinds, the chilling true crime podcast that delves deep into the darkest minds. Join us as we explore the captivating stories of notorious killers, analyze their motives, and unravel the mysteries behind their heinous acts. Stay connected with us on Patreon for updates, bonus content, and behind-the-scenes insights. Remember, listener discretion is advised.
Welcome to Murderous Minds, a documentary series started by the Top 5's YouTube channel back in 2018, dedicated to exploring the twisted minds of serial killers. The following podcast episode is the audio version of our video series over on the Top 5's Patreon page. If you would like to watch the video instead of just listening, and would also like to support our show, then please head on over to Patreon using the link in the show notes. Thank you for joining, and now let's take a journey into the minds of murderers. In 2017, netflix aired its psychological crime thriller series Mindhunter, based on the 1995 true crime book Mindhunter inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit, written by retired FBI agent John E Douglas and author Mark Olshaker. The series focuses on two FBI agents along with a psychologist who began a research project on the psychology of killers in the 1970s. One of the most notable figures in the series is Edmund Kemper, a real-life serial slayer who cut short the lives of 10 people over the course of almost a decade during the 1960s and 70s. Both in real life and on screen, kemper can seem both approachable and easygoing and unnervingly intimidating. While Mindhunter helped us spot like Kemper's horrific crimes, he is well known in the true crime community for the terror he caused and his openness when speaking about his crimes. In this documentary, we aim to explore the life and crimes of Edmund Kemper, better known as the co-ed killer.
Speaker 1:Edmund ML Kemper III was born December 18th 1948, in Burbank, california. He was the middle child and only son of his parents, clarnal Elizabeth and Edmund ML Kemper Jr. Kemper had a younger sister, allen Lee, who was born two years after him, and an older sister, susan Huey, was six years his senior. While his relationship with Allen is unclear, it seems that Susan behaved rather antagonistically towards her brother, perhaps more than an older sibling normally would. In a similar vein to Kemper's mother, clarnal, susan would often go and poke fun at him. Clarnal, however, often took things much further. Their relationship was difficult from the start. As a result, kemper became closer with his father, who went by guy, a World War II veteran who spent time afterwards testing nuclear weapons at the Pacific Proving Grounds before leaving his position so he could return to California to be with the family here. He took up work as an electrician Guy and Clarnal's marriage wasn't a strong one. The two seemed to resent each other, and Clarnal described her husband's new job as menial. Furthermore, guy often compared his wife to war, claiming that she was worse than it, stating suicide missions in wartime and the atomic bomb testings were nothing compared to living with Clarnal. He later added she affected him greatly more than 396 days and nights of fighting on the front did.
Speaker 1:Growing up Kemper was different from the other kids in more ways than one. Weighing 13 pounds when he was born, by the age of 4 he was already a head taller than the other children his age and by 15 he grown to 6 foot 4, just 5 inches short of his height as a fully grown adult. Being his childhood, kemper was also noted for grizzly behavior when he began to exhibit habits such as cruelty towards animals. At the age of 10, he buried the family cat alive. After it died, he dug it up, decapitated it and mounted its head on a spike. In an article about Kemper's life written by Catherine Ransland, he stated that he felt empowered by successfully lying about the cat's whereabouts and whether or not he was involved with its disappearance. Kemper said he enjoyed being able to present the facade that people could trust, knowing he was not the person that he was revealing to them, and he knew he was living in two different worlds.
Speaker 1:By age 13, kemper's violent streak had not diminished. He killed another family cat when he felt that it preferred his younger sister, alan. He dismembered the animal after its death and kept pieces of it in his bedroom closet until his mother discovered the remains. Kemper later began to relegate her son to the basement, keeping it locked most of the time as she did not trust Kemper with his own sisters. Other unsettling behavior he exhibited as a child including it to capitating Alan's dolls, telling Susan if I'd kiss her I'd have to kill her first, when she teased him about having a crush on his teacher and sneaking out of the house with his father's bayonet and going to his second grade teacher's house where he would watch her through the windows. Eventually, by the age of 10, kemper had already begun to have sexual thoughts and fantasies about the opposite sex. In later interviews, kemper would describe his favourite games to play as a child gas chamber and electric chair. Unsurprisingly, the games consisted of Kemper asking his younger sister to pretend to flip a switch, after which he would collapse on the floor and ride around acting as if he was being executed by gas inhalation or electric shock. He also revealed that he'd had several near-death experiences at the hands of his older sister. Reportedly, susan once tried to push him in front of a train but failed In another. She successfully pushed him into the deep end of a pool where he almost drowned.
Speaker 1:Perhaps one of the biggest catalysts for Kemper's later crimes was the divorce of his parents in 1957, when he was 9 years old. Things may have gone differently had Kemper been allowed to live with his father, but instead the children stayed with Klannel, who moved them out to Helena Montana. The 9 year old appeared to be miserable. His relationship with his mother was as toxic as it had ever been. She reportedly made fun of his height and, as he grew into his teens, would poke fun at his manhood and tear him down with humiliating comments and both emotional and physical abuse. Kemper once overheard Klannel describe his son as a real weirdo, and she refused to show him any affection for fear she'd turn him gay. She also frequently berated him for being like his father, telling Kemper he reminded her of Guy, a man she obviously greatly despised, and that no woman would ever love him. Discussing her abusive nature, kemper remarked that his mother was a sick, angry woman.
Speaker 1:Kemper was 14 years old when he felt he could no longer take his mother's constant harassment and mistreatment, he made the decision to run away from home, believing that he could live a better life under his father's roof than his mother's. Guy, for his part, was now residing in Al-A and had since remarried to a German immigrant named Alfredi. The couple were expecting their first child together, a son who uses the name David when speaking to the press today to protect his family. When talking with the New Zealand Herald, david recalled that his mother feared Kemper when he came around, although Guy did his best to welcome him, david stated. I found out later that while she was pregnant with me and the reason he was sent to my grandparents was because he came to the house one day and started following her, she was getting creeped out. When he started shutting all the drapes and blinds, claiming it was too bright, she started opening them, telling him he needed to leave For this moment. Gilbert, alfredi's son from a previous marriage, drove up to the house. He grabbed a hammer and chased Kemper from the scene.
Speaker 1:David also alleges that Kemper attempted to molest his sisters during childhood. Although Kemper claims his mother locked him up for fear he would do this, guy, unsure of what else to do with his son, sent Kemper to live with his paternal grandparents on a 17 acre ranch in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, on Road 224. Two miles west of the town of North Fork, but Kemper hated it there too. Guy's mother, maude, was just like Clanel. Kemper said I went to live with dad and he sends me up to grandma. Now she's going to undo all the terrible things that my mother did to me. I'm going to be a showpiece. She's going to show the world that my mother was a lousy parent. I'm going to be a pawn in this little game. Kemper would later refer to his grandfather, also named Edmund, as Cynyle, and that his grandmother was constantly emasculating me and my grandfather, but for a brief period of time it wasn't entirely awful.
Speaker 1:At his grandparents, kemper made friends with David Mike Dosier, who was around the same age as him and lived a short distance away. However, the friendship was short-lived. The two stopped hanging out and went their separate ways. When the Dosier family noticed that their pet cat had gone missing, mike's mother also said that her pillowcase had vanished around this same time. Feeling uneasy, the family put distance between themselves and Kemper. While nothing was ever proven, it seems likely that Kemper was involved in the disappearance of the cat and the pillowcase. Given his history, kemper, for his part, described himself during this period of his life as a walking time bomb.
Speaker 1:On August 27th 1964, 15 year old Kemper finally hit his limit While sitting at the kitchen table with his grandmother. The pair got into an argument and the teenager's temper flared violently. He stood up and left the room, returning a moment later with the rifle that he had been given for Christmas the previous year by his grandfather. The weapon had recently been confiscated from Kemper because he was using it too frequently to shoot animals for no other reason outside of his own pleasure. Maud's last words were oh, you better not be shooting the birds again. A second later, kemper pulled the trigger, shooting his grandmother in the head. A psychiatrist who interviewed him as an adult named Donald Lund said the 15 year old then repeatedly stabbed Maud with a kitchen knife. However, most sources state that following her demise, the 66 year old woman was shot two to three times in the back. Kemper then dragged her body through to the bedroom an easy feat for a teen of 6 foot 4.
Speaker 1:Shortly after Maud's death, kemper's grandfather came home. The 72 year old had been out shopping and was just getting out of his vehicle when his grandson came to the door and shot him dead in the driveway. He hid Edmund's body in the garage and then, unsure of what to do next, kemper called his mother. Van Al instructed him to phone the police. When the pair hung up, she considered the fact that she had once told Kemper's father not to be surprised if one day their son killed Maud and Edmund. Kemper called the police, as he had been told, and waited calmly on the porch for authorities to arrive. He was immediately arrested and placed with the California Youth Authority. During his interviews at the time, the 15 year old claimed that he just wanted to see what it felt like to kill grandma. He then added that he'd killed his grandfather so he wouldn't know he'd already murdered Maud. He didn't want to get on Edmund's bad side and endure his anger. Psychiatrist Donald Lund said Kemper, carrying out this act in his way, had avenged the rejection of both his father and his mother.
Speaker 1:Following his arrest, a court psychiatrist diagnosed Kemper as a paranoid schizophrenic. As of his determination, he avoided a traditional jail and was sent to Atascadero State Hospital, a max security facility for convicts with mental health issues. While incarcerated he was found to have an extremely high IQ of 136. Although another test showed it was even higher, at 145. Kemper's half brother, david Weber, claimed that Susan had told him his IQ was over 180. Quote he faked his IQ tests so he would always come out showing that he had an IQ in the upper 140s. He's a demented super genius of a sociopath. He is incapable of caring, regardless of what he says or shows. This somewhat aligns with the notion that Kemper manipulated his psychiatric tests to show the results that he favored.
Speaker 1:According to John Douglas, the FBI agent who penned the Mindhunter book, the teenager quickly became so trusted by hospital staff that he was trained to administer psychiatric tests to other inmates. He reportedly memorized the response he needed, which ultimately helped to convict doctors that he was reformed and a longer threat to society. By all accounts, while incarcerated, kemper was a model prisoner who became a member of the United States Junior Chamber, sometimes known as the JC's, a training group and not for profit organization that aims to help people develop personal and leadership skills through service to others. Kemper claimed that he helped psychiatrists in the hospital develop new tests and scales. One psychiatrist encouraged Kemper's work ethic, noting he was a very good worker, and that is not typical of a sociopath. He really just took pride in his work.
Speaker 1:During his time at a taskadero, psychiatrists and social workers disagreed with the diagnosis Kemper had been given of paranoid schizophrenia. Their reports noted that the teenager showed no flight of ideas, no interference with thought, no expression of delusions or hallucinations and no evidence of bizarre thinking. As a result, he was diagnosed with a less severe condition described as a personality trait disturbance passive aggressive type. On December 18th 1969, kemper turned 21 and was released on parole. However, at the time there was little follow-up with inmates. Kemper did not have mental health support or financial assistance. Upon leaving the hospital, and because he was unable to afford to live alone, he was turned over into the care of his mother, despite the fact that hospital psychiatrists had warned against this move, believing that it may trigger violence in Kemper once again.
Speaker 1:By this time Klanal had married and divorced again and was using the surname Strandberg. She was working as an administrative assistant at the University of California in Santa Cruz and lived in a duplex on Ord Street in the town of Aptos, contrary to the side of her that was shown to her son, klanal was said to be cheerful and kind and was well liked by her colleagues. She appeared to be doing well for herself, but that changed when Kemper moved in with her. The 21-year-old was subject to more of her berating and belittling. Klanal hadn't changed and it's unclear why she even allowed Kemper to return to her. Their frequent fights were overheard by neighbours.
Speaker 1:As part of his parole requirements, kemper attended community college where he did exceptionally well and dreamt of becoming part of the police force in California. However, he was deemed to be too tall, as he was now 6'9", and was rejected as a consequence. Still, the 21-year-old kept up with the policeman he'd met while applying and regularly visited the bar. They frequented the jury room so he could listen to their stories. The officers came to know Kemper as Big Ed and thought of him as a polite, soft-spoken and articulate young man. Kemper, for his part, described himself as a friendly nuisance at this period of time.
Speaker 1:Following his rejection from the police academy, kemper began to work menial jobs before he managed to obtain employment with the California Department of Transportation. Meanwhile, he continued to live at home and engage in frequent arguments with Klanael. Kemper would later state my mother and I started right in on horrendous battles, just horrible battles, violent and vicious. I've never been in such a vicious verbal battle with anyone. It would go to fists with a man but this was my mother and I couldn't stand the thought of my mother and I doing these things. She insisted on it, and just over stupid things. I remember one roof raiser was over whether I should have my teeth cleaned.
Speaker 1:Over a short period of time, though, kemper was able to save up enough money that he was able to move out and live with a friend in Alameda. Despite this, he was still forced to suffer through his mother's taunts and chastisising, because she would frequently call him and turn up on his doorstep uninvited. To make matters worse, kemper had issues with money, which meant he would sometimes have to return to her. At one point, he purchased a motorcycle and ended up in two separate accidents. In one of these accidents, kemper severely injured his arm. He successfully filed a civil lawsuit against the driver and received a settlement of $15,000, which in today's money is worth just under $100,000. During this cash, he purchased a Ford Galaxy, and in later interviews Kemper described how he could cruise around in this vehicle and look at women. He then prepared his car by placing plastic bags, knives, a blanket and handcuffs in his trunk Around.
Speaker 1:This time, kemper met a Turlock High School student at a Santa Cruz beach. According to a 1973 article by the Greeley Daily Tribune, based in Colorado, the couple became engaged in March that year, but the relationship fell apart before they'd even married. When Kemper was arrested a month later, the student, who was 17 at the time, has never been publicly identified. She was in such shock that her parents requested her name be kept out of the press and she was sent away from school so that she could cope with Kemper's true identity in private. According to Kemper, he often looked for young women to prey on following fights with his mother. He recalled that during one specific fight, she'd refused to introduce him to any of the women she'd met through work, telling him you're just like your father, you don't deserve to get to know them. Furthermore, both psychiatrists and Kemper have agreed that the young women he targeted were surrogates for his mother. He also believes that he gave around 150 lifts to female hitchhikers before he decided to take advantage of the situation he was in and kill for the first time as an adult.
Speaker 1:Kemper's first murder since his release from prison occurred on May 7, 1972. Now 23 years old, he was driving through Berkeley in his fort galaxy when he spotted two 18-year-old girls thumbing for a lift. He let them in and they introduced themselves as Mary Ann Pishie and Anita Luchessa, both of whom were students of Fresno State University. They requested that Kemper drove them to Stanford University, and so he began the trip. However, after driving for an hour, he found a secluded wooded area near Alameda. He was familiar with the area from his time working with the Department of Transportation and was able to reach it without delerting his passengers. Here, kemper handcuffed Mary and locked Anita in the trunk. He then stabbed and strangled Mary to death before killing Anita in a similar fashion. Afterwards, the 23-year-old placed the bodies in the trunk of his vehicle.
Speaker 1:At this point in time, kemper was living in Alameda again and he knew that his roommate was out, so he headed home. While on his way back to Alameda, he was almost caught by a passing officer who spotted his broken tailgate. Being politeless and a good-natured facade, kemper managed to get off with a warning. The officer didn't see anything suspicious and didn't attempt to check the trunk. Kemper later stated that the encounter excited him and that he would have killed the police officer if he had looked inside the boot of his car.
Speaker 1:After making it home, kemper took the bodies from his car and to his apartment, where he removed their clothing, photographed their bodies and sexually assaulted the corpses. He then began to dismember them, placing the body parts into plastic bags. He then left the apartment again and dumped the bags into his shallow grave near Loma Prieta Mountain, before parting ways with the heads, which he dumped in a ravine, he engaged in irremation with both. While Mary's skull was discovered in August of that year, three months after her demise, the rest of her remains were never located. Likewise, none of Anita's remains were ever recovered. For the next five months, kemper went back to safely transporting hitchhikers. He reportedly even brought out the topic of missing hitchhikers to the people who entered his vehicle, but he didn't strike again until the autumn time.
Speaker 1:On September 14th 1972, kemper picked up Aikoku, a 15-year-old girl on her way to dance class, who decided to hitchhike rather than get the bus. The 23-year-old would later recall this encounter, stating �I pulled the gun out to show where I had it. She was freaked out. Then I put the gun away, and that had more effect on her than pulling it out�. Following this, kemper exited the vehicle and locked himself out, but Aikoku was too afraid to pick up the gun and instead let him back into the car. She could have reached over and grabbed the gun, but I think she never gave it a thought. Like Mary and Anita, aikoku was driven to a remote area where he choked her until she blacked out. Kemper then raped her before strangling her to death. Afterwards he placed her body into the trunk of his vehicle and stopped off at a bar for a few drinks. On his way home At his apartment, kemper sexually assaulted Aikoku's body before dismembering and disposing of her remains in a similar way to his previous two victims. Meanwhile, aikoku's mother called the police to report her daughter missing and began to distribute missing posters, but nobody had seen the 15-year-old and there was no trace of her anywhere.
Speaker 1:The next day, kemper attended an appointment before a panel of psychiatrists as part of his parole requirements. Margaret Cheney in her 1976 book the Co-Ed Killer a study of the murders, mutilations and matricide of Edmund Kemper III, wrote that some of her panel used the words normal and safe when referring to the 23-year-old. He had successfully fulfilled the requirements of his parole, including attending college, getting a job and staying out of trouble. Of course, nobody knew that he just murdered three young women. It was then decided that Kemper's criminal record would be expunged and he was deemed to be no longer a danger to society. The last report from his probation psychiatrist reads as follows If I were to see this patient without having any history available or getting any history from him, I would think that we're dealing with a very well-adjusted young man who had initiative, intelligence and who was free of any psychiatric illnesses. It is my opinion that he has made a very excellent response to the years of treatment and rehabilitation and I would see no psychiatric reason to consider him to be of any danger to himself or to any member of society. And since it may allow him more freedom as an adult to develop his potential, I would consider it reasonable to have a permanent expunction of his juvenile records.
Speaker 1:Following the murder of I Koku, kemper returned to a normal life again for a few months. Notably, he was not the only serial killer who had been operating in the Santa Cruz area in the early 1970s. In 1970, john Linney Frazier, an extremist who was seen as a hippie, murdered five people after convincing himself that he was the John referred to in the New Testament's Book of Revelation. He was later diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia by Donald Lund, the same psychiatrist who later interviewed Kemper. Frazier was deemed sane by the jury, however, and convicted of all four murders. He later hanged himself in prison in 2009.
Speaker 1:In between 1972 and 1973, herbert Mullen, a 25-year-old man who'd previously been institutionalised as he was determined to be a danger to society, embarked on a four-month kidding spree in which he took the lives of ten people. Mullen had become an outpatient and stopped taking his medication, telling the police that he'd voiced had urged him to kill. Like Frazier, mullen was a paranoid schizophrenic, considered legally sane by a jury and convicted on all ten counts of murder. Law enforcement also attempted to link the disappearances of Kemper's victims to Mullen, in an attempt to quell any panic from Santa Cruz citizens, unaware that another killer was operating in the area. It wasn't until February of 1973 that authorities realised that something more sinister was afoot, and they began to advise students that they only accept lifts from people whose vehicles had university stickers on them. For Kemper, however, this was no problem. His mother had already supplied him with one that she'd gotten from her job at the University of California. It allowed him to go unnoticed whenever he drove around university campuses looking for his next victim.
Speaker 1:One month earlier, on January 7th, kemper drove around Abrillo College campus in Aptos, where he picked up Cynthia Ann Scholl, better known as Cindy, an 18-year-old student in need of a ride. But instead of going to her chosen location, cindy was taken to a secluded wooded spot where she was shot with a.22-caliber weapon, before her body was placed in the trunk of Kemper's car. At this time the now 24-year-old was back living with his mother. He took Cindy's body into their shared apartment and hid the corpse in his closet overnight. The next day, after Clernel had left for work, kemper sexually abused the corpse. Before dismembering Cindy's body in the bathtub and decapitating her, he made sure to remove the bullet lodged into her skin that it couldn't be traced back to him. The 24-year-old kept the head for several days, once more engaging in irrematio with it, before burying it in the back garden. He had Cindy's face look upwards towards Clernel's bedroom. Kemper would later claim he did this because his mother always wanted people to look up to her. The rest of Cindy's remains were subsequently disposed of by means of being thrown off a clef, but over the course of the next few weeks her body parts were discovered when they washed up on the beach. Only parts of her that remained missing were her right hand and her head. The pathologists who examined Cindy's body and pieced it back together noticed that the dismemberment had been done with a power saw.
Speaker 1:Less than a month later, on February 5th, kemper left home after having a heated argument with his mother. By this point the police knew that there was a killer in their midst and had warned students not to get lifts with people unless they had the university sticker on their car. Using these to lull people into a sense of safety, kemper picked up 23-year-old Rosalind Heather Thorpe and Alice Helen Lu, a 20-year-old student who went by Allison. In a later interview, kemper chillingly recalled the events of this specific incident. Miss Lu was sitting in back right behind Miss Thorpe. I went on down a ways and slowed down. I remarked on a beautiful view. I hesitated for several seconds. I'd been moving my pistol from down below my leg in my lap. I picked it up and pulled the trigger. As I fired, she fell against the window. Miss Lu panicked. I had to fire through her hands. She was moving around and I missed twice A nerve that Allison wasn't dead. Kemper attempted to hit the 20-year-old on the temple before shooting her again, but according to some sources, the young woman was still alive as he pulled up in front of the university gates, with one account of the crime claiming she was breathing loudly in the back seat. Other accounts, however, know that Allison was now already dead. Kemper had wrapped both girls up in blankets and he was quickly waved through by security, who didn't look too closely inside the vehicle.
Speaker 1:After leaving the university, kemper took the two bodies home, where he beheaded them inside and outside his car and his mother's apartment, before taking their lifeless and now headless corpses into the apartment and sexually abusing them. Like he had done with Cindy, kemper removed the bullets from the woman's bodies and dismembered them. He tossed me many of their remains into the ocean and some around the hills, and made sure to dispose of their heads separately. Some of the remnants were found at Eden Canyon. A week later and on March 4th, hikers discovered some body parts near State Route 1 in San Mateo County. They located first a skull and then a jawbone. They were determined to belong to two separate individuals, which prompted the police to search the area where they discovered a second skull. Law enforcement compared the remains with the reports they had of missing female hitchhikers and determined that these two skulls belonged to Allison Leo and Rosalind Thorpe. As a result of this discovery, the university decided to implement a bus system which would safely transport students between locations.
Speaker 1:In later interviews, kemper would be questioned about his need to decapitate his victims. He replied disturbingly the head-trip fantasies were a bit like a trophy. You know, the head is where everything is at the brain, eyes, mouth. That's the person I remember being told as a kid you cut off the head and the body dies. The body is nothing after the head is cut off. Well, that's not quite true. There's a lot left in the girl's body without the head.
Speaker 1:It was April 20th when Kemper finally decided to target the one woman he'd wanted to kill all along his mother. That evening, clenal now 52, came home from a party, awakening her son from his slumber. As she sat up in bed and read, kemper entered her room. She said to him I suppose you're going to want to sit up all night and talk now. To which Kemper replied no good night. However, once Clenal was asleep, her son sneaked quietly into her room where he bludgeoned her with a claw hammer before slitting her throat with a pen knife. The gruesome act was over quickly, and interviewers would later note that retelling his story of murdering his mother was the only time where the six foot nine killer would show remorse, often becoming tearful as he recounted the events of the night.
Speaker 1:By the time he had finally taken the life of his own mother, kemper felt, according to one of his interviews later, that he would soon be found out. In the weeks prior, a sergeant with the police force had come by to inquire about his handgun. Kemper claimed he wanted to spare his mother the embarrassment of finding out he was the one the media had dubbed the co-ed butcher. Still, as many have pointed out, the treatment of his mother's corpse indicated something much deeper and more hateful was at play. After taking his mother's life, kemper stated it was so hard, I cut off her head and I humiliated her. Of course she was dead because of the way she'd raised her son. He added that he wished she'd stayed up and spoken with him.
Speaker 1:Following the murder of his mother, kemper did what he did with all of his victims he beheaded her and engaged in urination. Afterwards he put her head on a shelf and talked and screamed at it for an hour before using it as a dartboard. He ultimately smashed her face in. Furthermore, kemper went on to cut out Clanel's tongue and voice box, satisfied that she could no longer argue back with him. The garbage disposal couldn't break down the vocal cords, he said, and spat them back out into the sink. Afterward he hid his mother's body in a closet and went to drink at a nearby bar.
Speaker 1:There is some speculation that around this time Kemper decided that if he had another victim it may deflect attention away from him, and that's why he invited his mother's best friend, 59 year old Sarah Taylor Harlett, who was better known as Sally, over so they could have dinner and watch a movie. However, it's been noted that Kemper's plan all along was to kill Sally so that he could explain his mother's absence by saying she was on holiday with a friend. When Sally arrived at the property, the 24 year old invited her inside and strangled her to death. He put her body in a closet next to his mother's, then closed the door and left a note taped to it which read approximately 5.15 am, saturday. No need for her to suffer any more at the hands of this horrible, murderous butcher. It was quick asleep, the way I wanted it.
Speaker 1:Kemper knew that the end was drawing near, he fled Aptos in Sally's vehicle and made the journey to Pueblo, colorado, which was over 1000 miles away from Santa Cruz, using caffeine pills to keep himself awake so that he wouldn't need to take breaks, although at some point he got rid of Sally's car and hired a green Chevy Impala to complete his journey. He listened to the radio, sure that word of his crimes would soon spread, but his name and the names of his victims never came up. Kemper was driving with three guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, positive that he'd soon be the subject of a massive multi-state manhunt. And when that didn't transpire, he did what he'd done 10 years prior after slaughtering his grandparents, he turned himself in. Authorities in Santa Cruz were shocked when the call came through from a phone box in Pueblo on April 23rd, so shocked in fact that they didn't actually take Kemper seriously. I thought he was joking when he said I killed my mother and her friend and I killed those college girls. I killed six of them and I can show you where I hid the pieces of their bodies. The 24 year old managed to get put through to an officer who knew him from the jury room, but even he didn't believe that Big Ed was a killer. Eventually, however, he managed to persuade the police to send someone to his house to find the bodies. Sergeant Alufi, the same man who'd questioned Kemper about his handgun, was dispatched to the scene. Upon entering the apartment, he was met with a stench of death and decay. He easily located both Clanel and Sally's bodies in the closet, just as Kemper had said.
Speaker 1:After Sergeant Alufi confirmed the deaths, a team of detectives accompanied by DA Peter Chang travelled from California to Colorado to pick up Kemper, who'd been secured in a Pueblo jail cell. Following his confession, much like after killing his grandparents, kemper was calm and collected while he waited Twice. During his subsequent interviews with investigators, he waived his right to an attorney, although he would later say he did in fact ask for one. In custody, kemper confessed to the murders of the six hitchhiking university students who'd vanished in the year prior and was able to prove that he was telling the truth by pointing out the areas where he'd buried their bodies, including showing authorities that Cindy Scholl's skull was buried in his own back garden. When asked why he decided to confess, he replied the original purpose was gone. I wasn't serving any physical or real or emotional purpose. It was just a pure waste of time. Emotionally, I couldn't handle it much longer. Towards the end there I started feeling the folly of the whole damn thing and at the point of near exhaustion, near collapse, I just said to howl with it and called it all off.
Speaker 1:Kemper was indicted on eight counts of first-degree murder on May 7th 1973. He was defended by the Chief Public Defender of Santa Cruz County, jim Jackson, whose other clients included the infamous killers who had operated around the same time, herbert Mullen and John Frazier, now assigned to Kemper. Jackson took the same approach he did with his prior clients and entered a plea of insanity on the 24 year old's behalf. Jackson couldn't enter any other plea, such as not guilty. Given that Kemper had already made detailed confessions to all of his crimes, he believed the insanity plea would work, since Kemper had previously spent time in a max security hospital and been declared mentally unwell Twice. While in custody, kemper attempted to take his own life by slashing his wrists, but failed both times.
Speaker 1:On October 23rd, his trial finally commenced. During it, three quarter-pointed psychiatrists found him sane. One of these professionals, dr Joel Fort, examined both Kemper's juvenile record and his prior diagnosis and then interviewed him several times, including once under a truth serum. Afterwards he told the court that Kemper had probably engaged in acts of cannibalism, cooking and eating some of the flesh of his victims following dismemberment. Despite these allegations, dr Fort still concluded that the 24 year old was cognizant enough to know the difference between right and wrong and said Kemper was excited by the infamy that often accompanied being a serial killer. Kemper would later recant the confession of cannibalism, claiming he only said it because he thought it would help his insanity plea.
Speaker 1:During his trial, kemper's younger sister, alan, took the stand to discuss some of his odd behaviour from childhood. Meanwhile, his lawyer, jackson, attempted to get the court's psychiatrists to admit that the things the 24 year old had done, both as a criminal and as a child, were abnormal and not of someone in the right frame of mind. While the three agreed that the behaviours were unusual, it didn't change their opinion that Kemper knew what he was doing when he took the lives of eight people. They also questioned the original diagnosis he'd been given while at the Max Security Hospital in his teen years and suggested that just because Kemper had lived in a fantasy world, it didn't necessarily make him psychotic.
Speaker 1:On November 1st, kemper himself took the stand, although it does not appear to have worked in his favour. He discussed his mental state during the crimes and his need to possess women, stating he wanted them for himself like possessions, and that the acts of necrophilia he carried out were clear signs of an unstable mind. He also confessed that prior to his arrest, he'd started drinking more to cope with the guilt he felt from snuffing out innocent lives. However, he also talked about the thrill of beheading his victims and how killing was like a narcotic for him. During this time, kemper also mentioned that he felt he had two beings inhabiting his body at once, and that when his killer personality took over, it was kind of like blacking out. He indicated that this occurred when he killed his grandmother, maude. It's unclear if Kemper was being genuine when he said this or if this was another lie he told to further aid his insanity plea. Less than three weeks after the trial began it ended On November 8th the jury, made up of six women and six men, deliberated for five hours before concluding that Kemper was sane and guilty of all charges laid against him. While a 24-year-old wished for the death penalty, he was convicted at a time when there was hiatus on capital punishment, and so he was given life in prison. Instead, kemper was sent to the California Medical Facility State Prison at Vokerville in Solano County, where he remains to this day.
Speaker 1:In prison, kemper was placed in the same block as Herbert Mullen and Charles Manson. He particularly didn't like Mullen calling him just a cold-blooded killer, killing everybody he saw for no good reason. He often went out of his way to intimidate Mullen, who was a whole foot shorter than Kemper, and bragged about improving his behaviour, stating Mullen had a habit of singing and bothering people when somebody tried to watch TV. So I threw water on him to shut him up. Then, when he was a good boy, I'd give him peanuts herby-like peanuts. That was effective because pretty soon he asked permission to sing. That's called behaviour modification treatment.
Speaker 1:Shortly after he was first imprisoned, kemper requested that he undergo physiosurgery, which involved inserting a probe into his brain to kill brain tissue. He believed this might possibly cure him of his compulsive sexual aggression, but the request was denied, reported. The authorities were concerned that if Kemper got this treatment, he would use it as a reason as to why he was a suitable candidate for release. On the whole, kemper has been deemed as a model prisoner. He spent his time behind bars, recording audiobooks for the Blind, making ceramic cups, and was put in charge of scheduling other inmates' appointments with psychiatrists. The Alley Times reported in 1987 that he was the coordinator of several prison programmes and had spent over 5,000 hours recording audiobooks, having completed several hundred of them. Prison workers and professionals, including psychiatrists, noted Kemper was generally cooperative and kind. He has also said that he would like to forget his past. Despite his good behaviour, kemper has been rejected for parole on every occasion, although in some cases he has waived his right to a hearing.
Speaker 1:Kemper is known for his openness to interviews and self-examination, a rarity for those convicted of multiple violent offences. He has stated that he wants others to learn about people like him and encourages others with dark thoughts to seek help and not carry out the same monstrous actions that he did. There's somebody out there that is watching this and hasn't done that, hasn't killed people and wants to, and rages inside and struggles with that feeling or is so sure that they have it under control. They need to talk to someone about it. Trust someone enough to sit down and talk about something. That isn't a crime. Thinking that way isn't a crime. Doing it isn't just a crime. It's a horrible thing, it doesn't know when to quit and it can't be stopped easily once it starts. Margaret Cheney, in her 1976 book about Kemper, noted that he refused to let her access his juvenile records but was otherwise happy to be interviewed.
Speaker 1:Fbi special agents Robert Rosler and John Douglas the latter of who wrote the Mindhunter book were part of the Behavioral Science Unit at Quantico in the 1970s. It was their idea to interview notorious killers, which they believed would help them begin to profile future and unidentified criminals, which became the basis for the Netflix series. Kemper was one of 36 killers to be interviewed by the two men. Robert Rosler recalled one especially chilling incident where he decided to interview Kemper alone. Usually the men were accompanied by guards, but Rosler felt comfortable and believed he'd built a good relationship with Kemper. So on his third visit to interview the 6 foot 9 killer, he did so alone.
Speaker 1:The pair sat in a small locked cell for 4 hours until Rosler concluded the interview, hitting the guard button so that he could be let out. However, nobody came. For several long minutes Rosler continued to talk while hitting the button, but still no one came for him. Rosler stated Kemper was sensitive to his psyche and he believed he must have appeared anxious. The killer told him to relax then said if it went apeshit in here you'd be in a lot of trouble, wouldn't you? I could screw your head off and place it on the table to greet the guard. Rosler attempted to give the impression that he had a way to defend himself, and then the guard finally showed up. Kemper claimed he was just kidding, but Rosler had been shaken enough that he knew never to go in alone again.
Speaker 1:John Douglas, for his part, has admitted to liking Kemper and noted he was one of the most intelligent inmates he'd ever interviewed. He said he was friendly, open, sensitive and had a good sense of humour. He also stated that the serial slayer enjoyed talking a lot and was very self-aware. Upon first meeting him, douglas noticed his enormous size and wrote he could easily have broken any of us in two. Initially Kemper tried to lie, but Douglas and Rosler became aware of this and eventually he relaxed and began to talk more openly.
Speaker 1:Douglas reported that Kemper only became emotional when reflecting on his mother's treatment of him. He believed that Clonal hated him because he looked like his father and admitted that while she locked him in a dark basement he let his resentment and anger towards the opposite sex grow. Clonal had made him feel dangerous and shameful. Adding to the idea that Kemper was very aware of his actions and himself. Douglas and Rosler also noted that when talking about his issues, he would often use psychiatric terms and labels which he'd learned about through his assessments. Douglas and Rosler also concluded that Kemper saw what he was doing to women as a game and that he was surprisingly talented at putting others at ease and making them feel safe. Douglas wrote this type of information would start suggesting something important. The assumptions, verbal cues, body language and so on that were used to size up other people often don't apply to sociopaths. He also summed up Kemper's approach and his ultimate goals with three words manipulation, domination, control.
Speaker 1:The trio also discussed how the serial killer fantasised about killing even as a child and that his overriding fantasy was always to kill his mother. Before he eventually did, he would often quietly sneak into her room at night while she slept and imagine that he was finally carrying out the horrific deed. Douglas felt that Clanel had helped to make her son a killer and that every woman who was killed apart from her had been murdered for practice. The psychiatrist Donald Lund, who interviewed Kemper after his arrest, felt he was a very different type of man and killer from John Frazier and Herbert Mullen, noting that he was completely aware of what he was doing and relished in its perversion. He also believed his sexual aggression stemmed from childhood anger and violent fantasies and observed the fact that Kemper's difficult relationship with his mother was a commonality amongst sexual sadists, where the act of killing the mother is brought into the fantasy world and becomes a powerful aspect of sexual arousal. Lund also concluded that everything for Kemper had begun once he was separated from his beloved father. He blamed their separation and his father's absence from his life on his mother. Lund noted that Kemper wanted a fulfilling relationship with a woman, but felt so inadequate that he ended up killing them instead. He also stated that the psychiatric care he received as a teenager had not been enough for him and that effective treatment for Kemper's life to have turned out differently would have had to take place much sooner than it did.
Speaker 1:Kemper spent most of his time in jail among the general population. He stepped down from his numerous prison duties in 2015 when he had a stroke aged 67 which left him medically disabled, and a year later he received his first rules violation for failing to provide a urine sample. He is currently 72 years old and is next eligible for parole in 2024. David Weber, kemper's half-brother, is flooded with relief whenever he finds out that the 6'9 slayer has been refused parole. He believes the 72-year-old has kept up to 30% of the truth to himself and says he lives in fear of the day somebody decides to release Kemper into the public.
Speaker 1:Furthermore, he told the New Zealand Herald that the pair have members of their extended family who claim they'd hunt the serial slayer down if he ever got out, something their own father reportedly attempted to do when the news broke out that Kemper was a killer. According to David, when my parents found out it was Kemper who did the killings of the girls. My dad disappeared for two or three days with his guns. He came back and we moved again. I'm guessing you went to kill him, but couldn't do it without hurting someone innocent. He also states that the family grew distant following Kemper's conviction and that he and his parents moved 18 times before he turned 16, something he blames on Susan and Allen, who he claims would always tell Kemper of their whereabouts.
Speaker 1:The sisters also reportedly believe that Kemper is a good person who did bad things. David blames Clarnal for the way Kemper turned out, describing her as a complete alcoholic psycho. While the sisters blame their father, david claims that half of the family, who believe Kemper is a good man, deep down treated David as the black sheep, and he was often left out of family events and forgotten about when it came to Christmases and birthdays. Both Allen and Susan the latter of whom passed away in 2013, reportedly disowned David in adulthood.
Speaker 1:Edmund Kemper, although undoubtedly evil right down to his core, is a killer that reminds us that even the worst criminals are human. Over the years, he has held countless interviews, and many writers and journalists have come away from the experience noting that Kemper is a lonely man, a young boy whose parents didn't love him in the way he needed, and a somewhat remorseful killer. He is also a man who abused corpses, preyed on vulnerable young women who trusted him, and a calculated manipulator who would quietly observe and use whatever he noticed to his advantage, something John Douglas noted when he found out that Kemper frequented the jury room with local law enforcement, and even Douglas, who enjoyed the 6ft9Killers company during interviews, has made one thing abundantly clear you cannot rehabilitate someone like that.