Ed Kemper, also referred to as Co-ed Killer, is an American serial killer whose parole is extended till 2024 with a consistent delay.
Over the course of his life, Ed has taken the lives of six college students, his mother, and her best friend. His murders chiefly targeted college women.
Let’s investigate the questionable life of Ed Kemper and understand his conduct which made him the harmful individual in his life.
A Glimpse Of His Harmful Childhood Life
Ed Kemper was born on 18th Dec 1948, in Burbank, California, and was raised in a toxic atmosphere that influenced his behavior.
He was a youngster when his parents got divorced. Following their separation, he resided with his mother, and they moved to Kemper, Montana.
His mother’s name was Carnell, who used to confine him in the basement of their house.
The basement was infested with rats and small insects. Kemper escaped from there to live with his father after his mother’s toxic and haunting behavior.
According to reports, when Kemper went to live with his father, he was sent to live with his grandparents, Edmund Sr. and Maude Kemper, who were living in North Fork, California.
Furthermore, in his school, he had been teased for his tall stature, as Ed Kemper’s height was 6.4 feet, and due to his tall height, he was ridiculed by his peers and classmates.
The truth is that Ed Kemper grew up in a very unhealthy environment which made him unable to live happily, and he was filled with negative emotions after experiencing the ongoing reaction of his classmates and father.
Unwilling to live with his grandfather, at the age of 15, with a despondent mind and continual negativity, he committed his first murder and killed his parents with a rifle received as a present on Christmas day.
As per sources, it is reported that he had a confrontation with his grandmother, which angered him, and he could not contain the rage and shot her.
When his grandfather arrived and witnessed the entire scene and was astonished by what he had done, he promptly alerted the police and Ed’s mother to inform her of what he had done to his grandmother.
When he was apprehended, he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and placed in mental care at the Atascadero State Hospital for the Criminally Insane.
Following his act, he was released after being in the mental care and was deemed non-threatening to his future victims. At the time of release, he was 21 years old.
Ed Kemper Targeted Young Females & Disintegrated Their Body
It is reported that Ed Kemper targeted young females and children. He lured the individuals into his vehicle and transported them to a specific location and brutalized them, and subsequently brought the lifeless body to his residence to behead and dismember.
Following his initial trial, he stayed with his mother. He aspired to join the Police force, and after several interviews, he secured a menial position at the State of California’s Department of Public Works as a laborer.
As his height increased, reaching 6.9 feet, and weighing 140 kg, his towering stature proved to be a major obstacle in pursuing a career as a police officer. Despite attempts by numerous police officers to assist him in becoming an officer, he was unsuccessful.
While living with his mother, he saved some money and bought his apartment, which he shared with a friend, as per reports.
In the interim, he acquired a yellow Ford Galaxy and started roaming in a specific area in search of females, whom he preyed on.
According to reports, he vacated the apartment for unspecified reasons and began living with his mother.
After his release, he committed two more murders as a serial killer on May 7, 1972, marking his initial foray into serial killing.
That same year, Kemper claimed the lives of four additional women. It is asserted that whenever Kemper quarreled with his mother, he would resort to murder.
In 1973, he killed his mother while she was asleep, mutilated her body, and dismembered her, but he was not satisfied with her murder. Subsequently, Kemper summoned her mother’s friend, Sally Hallet, and killed her upon her arrival.
He stated during his murderous spree: “If I killed them, you know, they couldn’t reject me as a man. It was more or less making a doll out of a human being… and carrying out my fantasies with a doll, a living human doll.”
Court Trial Of His Murders
Following his crime, he was convicted of first-degree murder on May 7, 1973. The case was taken up by the Chief Public Defender of Santa Cruz County, attorney Jim Jackson.
Ed Kemper was found not guilty due to being diagnosed with a mental disorder after the examination of his case and reviewing his mental incapacities.
Under the supervision of Attorney Jim Jackson, he attempted suicide on two occasions.
His Paroles Kept Postponing
In 1979, after the court trial, Ed Kemper became eligible for parole for the first time, but his parole was delayed for reasons unspecified.
Subsequently, his parole was scheduled in 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985, but once again, the prosecutors postponed his parole.
Once more in 1988, at the hearing, the parole was delayed, and with the continued postponements, he expressed: “Society is not ready in any shape or form for me. I can’t fault them for that.”
According to reports, his case was presented in court, but his parole was denied in 1991, 1994, 1997, and then in 2007.
In 2007, the Prosecutor Ariadne Symons remarked, “We don’t care how much of a model prisoner he is because of the enormity of his crimes.”
It is suspected that his next hearing will be in 2024 after 2017, and what happens in the hearing is still ambiguous.
In conclusion, He is still imprisoned with a constant delay in his parole, and it might be possible the counsel and prosecutor don’t get satisfied with Kemper’s behavior. They are trying their best to address his mental illness and disorder so that he will not commit inhumane killings in the future.
