Edmund Emil Kemper III
The "Co-Ed Murderer"
Information summarized by Radford University students
Michel ”Mika” Labergerie, Erin Connors, Diane Duncan, Bonnie Cullipher
John Stone, Paige Borton, Scott Campbell, Donald “Troy” Williams
Serial killer timelines researched by Radford University students
Sandy Crump, Shae Dunavant, Ashley Carle, A.J. Smith, Samantha Layne,
Department of Psychology
Radford University
Radford, VA 24142-6946
Date
Age
December
18, 1948
0
1957
9
Life Event
Ed was born in Burbank California the second of three kids. The son of Clarnell and E.E.
Kemper Jr.
Edmund’s Parents had an unstable marriage and separated (divorcing four years later)
Mother moved his room to the basement claiming his sisters were afraid of his size.
1958
10
1961
13
Pre-teen years Ed killed the two family cats both were mutilated and buried. (found by
Ed’s Mother)
During his pre-teen years Edmund had a crush on a grade school teacher and his sister
asked why he didn’t just go ahead and kiss her to which he replied “If I kiss her I would
have to kill her first.” (Warning signs of latent necrophilia)
Played Gas chamber with his sisters during his preteen years (age10-11)
Edmund’s parents divorce is final and he is very affected by his father’s absence.
1963
Sent by his Mother to live with his Father and step Mother in Los Angeles California.
Age 15 Mother left him at his Grandparents, Maude (age 66) and Edmund Kemper
Sr.(Age72) house during Christmas at North Fork, California
Age 15 Mother called him a “real weirdo” to his face.
1963
1963
Attended Sierra Joint Union High School
1964
1964
15
1964
1964
August
27,1964
Edmund shot his Grandmother three times in the back of the head, with the rifle that his
Grandfather had given him.
Edmund’s Grandfather returned shortly and was shot by Ed in the back of the head. Ed said that
he did it because he “wanted to protect his Grandfather from seeing his wife dead and possibly
having a heart attack.”
1964
After killing Grandparents, Edmund calls his mother and asks her what to do. She said
to call the Sheriff.
1964
1964
Edmund was an average student and caused no trouble
Edmund visited his Mother and was much worse upon returning to his Grandparents
house.
Edmunds Grandfather gave him a .22 caliber rifle to shoot and kill rabbits and gophers.
Edmunds Grandmother would hide her husband’s .45 caliber handgun, so that Edmund
would not take it while she was out of the house.
15
He was taken in for questioning and confessed to both murders. He told the Sheriff that he “just
wanted to see what it felt like to shoot Grandma.”
Edmund was sent to Juvenile Hall while the California Youth Authority decided what to
do with him.
1964
Psychiatrists diagnosed that Edmund had a personality trait disturbance, and was a passive
aggressive type.
Ed is diagnosed as paranoid and psychotic by a court appointed Psychiatrist.
The Youth Authority committed him to Atascadero State Hospital.
December
6,1964
He was released from Atascadero State Hospital to his Mother’s new home against the
recommendation of his Doctor.
1969
21
He argued with his Mother, and collected guns and knives
Edmund was 6’9” tall and weighed 300 pounds
Edmund attended the Community College while being monitored by the youth Authority. He
made A’s while attending school at this time.
1969
21
1969
Edmund is considered “square” by his peers in the Hippie Counter Culture movement of the late
1960’s.
Edmund wanted to be a Law Enforcement Officer but was denied at both local and state Police
Departments due to established maximum height requirements.
1969
21
1969
21
1970
22
19701971
22
1971
22
May 7,
1972
August
1972
Sept. 14,
1972
23
Sept 16,
1972
January 8,
1973
January 9,
1973
Feb 5,
1973
24
Edmund got a job with the Division of Highways working as a road construction
flagman.
Edmund bought a motorcycle to deal with his disappointment and make him feel like a
police officer.
Edmund crashed the motorcycle injuring his head and received a settlement and used
this money to buy a car resembling an unmarked Police patrol car.
Edmund purchased a radio receiver-transmitter to listen to Police broadcasts
Edmund cruised the highways picking up female hitchhikers, refining his technique to
make them feel more comfortable about getting into his car.
Edmund starting making friends with police officers and hanging out with them in the
“jury room”; a bar frequented by off-duty officers.
Edmund killed 2 students; Mary Anne Pesce and Anita Luchese from Fresno State
College. Placed Anita body in the trunk of his car and tried to strangle Mary Anne
unsuccessfully. Then stabbed her several times and cut her throat. Ed removed Anita
from the trunk and stabbed her with a larger knife. Ed brought the girls into his home,
undressed them and dissected their bodies. He decapitated and kept their heads, before
disposing of them in a ditch.
Mary Anne’s head was found in a ravine and the police identified Anita’s head but the
bodies were never found.
Ed picked up Aiko Koo, a 15 year old. She caught on to his scheme and tried to escape
unsuccessfully. He tapped her mouth shut and tried to suffocate her by putting his
fingers into her nostrils. That failed, Ed then raped and strangled her with her scarf. He
placed her body into the trunk of the car and went to a bar for drinks. He brought her
body to his house and dissected her.
Edmund visited a court-appointed attorney who stated that there was nothing wrong
with him. During this visit, he still had the head of Aiko Koo in his trunk of his car. He
disposed of her head and hands in separate locations.
Ed bought a .22 caliber Ruger hand gun. He was afraid that he was going to be caught
because he was not allowed to own a gun due to his previous felony convictions. He
picked up a girl named Cindy Schall and drove her to Watsonville. He placed her in the
trunk where he shot her in the head and took her to his mother’s house.
Ed had sex with her body. He dismembered Schall’s body and buried her in the back
yard. He threw the rest of her remains off a cliff; which where found the next day.
After a fight with his mother, he stormed out ready to kill and picked up Rosalind and
Alice. Ed stated that the next “good looking” girl he saw would die. Ed did not stop the
car to kill them. Ed turned to Alice in the back seat and shot her several times. Alice did
not die right away. Ed shot Rosalind point-blank and went to a cul-de-sac and placed the
bodies in the trunk. He later beheaded them. The following morning, Ed brought
Alice’s body into his home, had sex with her body and removed the bullet from
Rosalind’s head. He disposed of some parts of the body in Santa Cruz.
April 20,
1973
April 21,
1973
24
April, 1973
Edmund tried to slash his wrists during the trial with a ballpoint pen but was not successful.
April,
1973
1980
1988
Ed stayed awake that night deciding what to do about the killing of his mother. Ed killed
his mother with a claw hammer while she was sleeping. He slashed her throat and
placed her larynx in the garbage disposal; but it was thrown back out. Later that day, Ed
decided to kill someone else to insure that suspicion would not be on him. He invited
his mother’s friend to the home, Sara Hallett, She came over for dinner. When she
arrived, he strangled her to death with Aiko Koo’s scarf. Ed had sex with her corpse
that night.
Ed left town in Sara’s car then rented a separate car for fear of being discovered. He
dropped off Sara’s car at a repair shop, pretending that it needed maintenance. He then
drove 18 hours; stopping only for gas, no-dose, and soda. In Colorado, Ed was stopped
for speeding, paid the fine and went on. Then Ed became tired, stopped in Pueblo,
Colorado. Called the Santa Cruz Police Dept. Where he knew some of the officers and
started to confess. Ed had to call several times to prove that it was not a prank and had
to tell them where he was. That was difficult because he was disoriented. Ed was then
taken into custody and confessed to all 8 murders in great detail. While returning to
Santa Cruz Ed took investigators to various disposal sites where they thought the
investigation would never end.
The court appointed defender, James Jackson, had no strategy for a defense except for
claiming insanity. All witnesses that testified stating that Ed did not know what he was
doing; where discredited by the prosecution. The most damaging witness was Dr. Joel
Fort, who claimed that Ed was not a paranoid schizophrenic. But was only obsessed
with sex and violence and craved attention.
2440
19901999
2004
No one could prove his insanity and therefore he was found guilty of first degree murder
and sentenced on all 8 counts. He was placed under observation at Vacaville Medical
Facility and then sent to maximum security prison at Folsom for life. When asked what
type of punishment he thought was appropriate, Ed said “death by torture.”
Ed became eligible for parole at age 31. Since then he has been denied six times.
At age 40 Ed and John Wayne Gacy took part in a broadcast by satellite where they
discussed the details of their crimes in an interview with FBI agent Robert Ressler.
Since 1990 then he has recorded audiotapes for the blind and has continued to compose
petitions for his parole. Ed routinely answers his “fan” mail at the prison and enjoys his
notoriety.
To date, all petitions for parole have been denied.
General Information
Sex
Race
Height
Number of victims
Country where killing occurred
States where killing occurred
Male
White
6’8”
10
United States
California
Childhood Information
Date of birth
Location
Birth order
Number of siblings
December 18, 1948
Burbank California
Second of three
2
XYY?
Raised by
Birth category
Parent’s marital status
Family event
Age of family event
Problems in school?
Teased while in school?
Physically attractive?
Physical defect?
Speech defect?
Head injury?
Physically abused?
Psychologically abused?
Sexually abused?
Father’s occupation
Age of first sexual experience
Age when first had intercourse
Mother’s occupation
Father abused drugs/alcohol
Mother abused drugs/alcohol
Cognitive Ability
Highest grade in school
Highest degree
Grades in school
IQ
Work History
Served in the military?
Branch
Type of discharge
Saw combat duty
Killed enemy during
service?
Applied for job as a cop?
Worked in law enforcement?
Fired from jobs?
Types of jobs worked
Employment status during
series
Relationships
Sexual preference
Marital status
Number of children
Lives with his children
Living with
Not found
Parents, grandparents, state institutions
Middle
Separated, then divorced
Parents separated
9
No
Yes, by peers for his height
no
no
No
Fell off motorcycle hit head
None Documented
Mom blamed him for her problems
None Documented
Past military combat experience, electrician
23
23
College admin assist.
No
No
10th
GED
Average
145
No
Yes, turned down because he was too tall.
No
No
Labor for highway division/ flagman
Construction road worker
Heterosexual
Single
None
N/A
Mom
Triad
Animal torture
Fire setting
Bed wetting
Yes, Family cats
No.
No.
Killer Psychological Information
Abused drugs?
Abused alcohol?
Been to a psychologist?
Time in forensic hospital?
Diagnosis
No
No
Yes
Yes
Sociopath
Killer Criminal History
Committed previous crimes?
Spend time in jail?
Spend time in prison?
Killed prior to series? Age?
Yes
No
No
Yes, 15
Serial Killing
Number of victims
Victim type
Killer age at start of series
Gender of victims
Race of victims
Age of victims
Method of killing
Type of serial killer
How close did killer live?
Killing occurred in home of
victim?
Killing occurred in home of
killer?
Weapon
Behavior During Crimes
Rape?
Tortured victims?
Stalked victims?
Overkill?
Quick & efficient?
Used blindfold?
Bound the victims?
After Death Behavior
Sex with the body?
Mutilated body?
Ate part of the body?
Drank victim’s blood?
Posed the body?
Took totem – body part
Took totem – personal item
Robbed victim or location
Disposal of Body
Left at scene, no attempt to hide
Left at scene, hidden
Left at scene, buried
Moved, no attempt to hide
Moved, buried
8
Family, young women
23
female
Caucasian, Asian
15 - 72
Knife, strangulation, firearms, hammer
Organized Lust
Drove to crime scene.
No
Yes
Killer brought with him, and found at scene
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
Cut-op and disposed of
Moved, too home
Sentencing
Date killer arrested
Date convicted
Sentence
Killer executed?
Name and state of prison
Killer committed suicide?
Killer killed in prison?
Date of death
Yes
Yes
April 24, 1973
1973
Life
No
Folsom
No
No
Still Alive
References
Web Sites
http://www.crimelibrary.com
www.criminalprofiling.ch/kempter.html
www.angelfire.com/oh/yodaspage/kemper.html
www.serialkillers.net/cases/kemper.html
www.flashback.net/~slayer/kemper.html
www.angelfire.com/oh/yodaspage/kemper.html
www.criminalprofiling/ch/kemper.html
www.mayhem.net/crime/serial3.html
BOOKS
Cheney, Margaret (2000) Why: The Serial Killer in America. CA: R&E Publishers.
Newton, Michael. (2000) The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. New York: Checkmark Books
Sifakis, Carl. (2001) The Encyclopedia of American Crime. Volume 2, New York: Facts on File, Inc.
Douglas J. & Olshaker M. (2000) The Cases That Haunt Us, New York, New York: Mindhunters Inc.
Mclead, M. (2000) Edmund Kemper III Meet Edmund, The Crime Library.
Ressler, R.K. and Shactman, T. (1992) Whoever Fights Monsters, New York, New York: Pocket Books.
Schecter, H. & Everett, D. (1996) The A-Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers, New York, New York: Pocket
Books
Wilson C. (1990) The Mammoth Book of the History of Murder. New York, New York: Carroll and Graf
Publishers