About Edmund Kemper
Edmund Kemper, sometimes referred to as the “Co-ed Butcher” or “Big Ed’ (due to his imposing physical stature—he stood 6 feet 9 inches tall), but more commonly known as the “Co-ed Killer,” is a notorious American serial killer who was active in the early 1970s.
Born on December 18, 1948, in Burbank, California, Kemper’s crimes involved the murder of young women, primarily targeting female college students in the Santa Cruz, California area. Kemper was responsible for the murders of 10 victims between 1964 and 1973. His victims included his grandparents, six young women, his mother, and her friend.
His case is often studied in criminal psychology due to his high intelligence (he is purported to have an IQ of 145) and the psychological complexities of his behavior.
Kemper’s cognitive abilities allowed him to manipulate situations and people, including law enforcement, and he often displayed a deep understanding of his own psychological issues during interviews.
NAME: Edmund Emil Kemper III
OTHER NAMES / ALIAS: Co-ed Killer, Co-ed Butcher, Ogre of Aptos, The Mad Titan, Big Ed, Santa Cruz Killer.
BORN: December 18, 1948
COUNTRY: USA
VICTIMS: 10
CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS: First-degree murder (×8)
IMPRISONED AT: California Medical Facility in Vacaville
WHERE IS EDMUND KEMPER NOW?
- ON THE 9TH NOV 1974 – Received 8 concurrent life sentences.
Edmund Kemper remains incarcerated at the California Medical Facility (CMF) in Vacaville, California. He has been imprisoned since his conviction in 1973. Kemper was sentenced to life in prison and has been held in custody for over 50 years.
Kemper has reportedly struggled with various health issues over the years, including obesity and diabetes, which are common among long-term inmates.
He has been involved in prison activities, including participating in psychological studies and interviews. He has also worked in the prison’s braille program, transcribing books for the visually impaired.
Kemper has been eligible for parole since 1979, but he has repeatedly waived his right to parole hearings, stating that he believes he does not deserve to be released. During a parole hearing in 2017, Kemper expressed remorse for his crimes but acknowledged that he would likely re-offend if released. The parole board denied his release, and he remains incarcerated.
- PAROLE HEARING: 9TH July 2024 – Santa Cruz | RESULT: Denied 7 YR [1]
- His next chance for parole is slated for 2031
[1] Source: cdcr.ca.gov
CRIMES COMMITTED
Despite his high IQ, Kemper’s emotional and psychological instability, particularly his deep-seated anger toward his abusive mother, drove him to commit heinous acts of violence.
Kemper was responsible for the murders of 10 victims between 1964 and 1973:
1. Maude Kemper (Grandmother)
- Date: August 1964
- Details: Kemper shot his grandmother in the head while she was sitting at the kitchen table. He claimed he wanted to “see what it felt like to kill Grandma.”
2. Edmund Kemper (Grandfather)
- Date: August 1964
- Details: After killing his grandmother, Kemper waited for his grandfather to return home and shot him as well. He later stated that he killed his grandfather to spare him the pain of discovering his wife’s death.
College Student Victims (1972–1973)
Kemper targeted young women, often hitchhikers or college students, in the Santa Cruz, California area. He would pick them up, take them to secluded locations, and murder them. His victims during this period included:
3. Mary Ann Pesce (18)
- Date: May 7, 1972
- Details: Pesce was a Fresno State College student. Kemper picked her up while she was hitchhiking, strangled her, and later dismembered her body.
4. Anita Luchessa (18)
- Date: May 7, 1972
- Details: Luchessa was a friend of Mary Ann Pesce and was in the car with her when Kemper picked them up. She was also strangled and dismembered.
5. Aiko Koo (15)
- Date: September 14, 1972
- Details: Koo was a ballet student hitchhiking to her dance class. Kemper strangled her and dismembered her body.
6. Cindy Schall (18)
- Date: January 8, 1973
- Details: Schall was a Cabrillo College student. Kemper shot her with a .22 caliber rifle and hid her body in his closet for several days before dismembering her.
7. Rosalind Thorpe (23)
- Date: February 5, 1973
- Details: Thorpe was a University of California, Santa Cruz student. Kemper shot her after picking her up hitchhiking.
8. Alice Liu (21)
- Date: February 5, 1973
- Details: Liu was a friend of Rosalind Thorpe and was with her when Kemper picked them up. She was also shot and killed.
Final Victims: His Mother and Her Friend
After killing the six young women, Kemper turned his rage toward his mother, whom he blamed for much of his psychological torment.
9. Clarnell Strandberg (Kemper’s Mother)
- Date: April 20, 1973
- Details: Kemper bludgeoned his mother to death with a hammer while she slept. He then decapitated her and used her head as a dartboard. He also removed her larynx and shoved it down the garbage disposal, which he claimed was symbolic of her constant nagging.
10. Sally Hallett (Mother’s Friend)
- Date: April 20, 1973
- Details: Hallett was a friend of Kemper’s mother who happened to visit the house that day. Kemper strangled her to death to eliminate any witnesses.
CAPTURE & INVESTIGATION
After killing his mother and her friend, Kemper drove to Colorado, where he called the police to confess his crimes. He was arrested and later convicted of eight counts of murder (his grandparents’ murders were committed when he was a juvenile and were not included in the trial). Kemper was sentenced to life in prison and has been incarcerated at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville since 1973.
TRIAL & CONVICTIONS
Charges
Kemper was charged with eight counts of murder (his grandparents’ murders were committed when he was a juvenile and were not included in the trial). The charges included:
- The murders of six young women: Mary Ann Pesce, Anita Luchessa, Aiko Koo, Cindy Schall, Rosalind Thorpe, and Alice Liu.
- The murders of his mother, Clarnell Strandberg, and her friend, Sally Hallett.
Trial Proceedings
- Confession: Kemper’s trial was relatively straightforward because he confessed to all the murders in detail. His confessions were so thorough and chilling that they left little room for doubt about his guilt.
- Psychological Evaluation: Kemper underwent psychological evaluations, which revealed his high intelligence (IQ of 145) and his deep-seated psychological issues, including his hatred for his abusive mother.
- Defense Strategy: Kemper’s defense did not attempt to deny the crimes. Instead, they focused on his mental state, arguing that he was legally insane at the time of the murders. They highlighted his history of mental illness, including his diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia as a teenager.
- Prosecution Argument: The prosecution argued that Kemper was fully aware of his actions and understood the consequences. They pointed to his meticulous planning, his ability to manipulate his victims, and his calm demeanor after the murders as evidence of his sanity.
Verdict and Sentencing
Verdict: Kemper was found guilty of all eight counts of murder.
Sentence: He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. At the time, California had temporarily abolished the death penalty, so life imprisonment was the maximum sentence available.
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REFERENCES / CITATIONS:
1. Vronsky, P. (2004). Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters. Berkley Books.
2. Douglas, J., & Olshaker, M. (1995). Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit. Scribner.
3. Cheney, M. (1976). The Co-Ed Killer. Walker and Company.
4. Hare, R. D. (1993). Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us. Guilford Press.
BOOKS ABOUT ED KEMPER
There are a plethora of books featuring Ed Kemper, below is a small selection of titles that cover him specifically.
Edmund Kemper: The Life of the Co-Ed Killer
To the average American, there was nothing out of the ordinary about Edmund Kemper before 1973. Standing at six-foot-nine, the young man was a giant, but he was gentle, soft spoken, and shy.
Edmund Kemper: The True Story of The Brutal Co-ed Butcher
Welcome To Real Crime By Real Killer. This is a series where we explore how normal individuals turned their darkest fantasy into a reality.
Ed Kemper: Conversations with a Killer
The third title in our Conversations with a Killer series focuses on one of the most notorious serial killers of the 1970s, Ed Kemper, a key character in the hit Netflix series Mindhunter.
Edmund Kemper: The True Story of The Co-ed Killer
American serial killer Edmund Kemper III stalked co-eds in California at the height of the era of peace and free love, dismembering his victims and tossing their body parts in remote areas around Santa Cruz.
TV SHOWS & DOCS FEATURING ed kemper
Ed Kemper
Based on actual events of American serial killer Edmund Kemper, who murdered his grandparents at age 15 and, after being paroled for that crime, killed eight women in 1972 and 1973 including his own mother.
Movie | 2025
Mind of a Monster – S1:E8 – The Co-Ed Killer
Follows the story and reality of Edmund Kemper, who appears to be a gentle giant who offers rides to young female hitchhikers, but is actually a perverted monster with a tormented childhood and dark sexual fantasies.
TV Series / Documentary | 2019
ID
Born to kill? – S3.E3 – Edmund Kemper: Co-ed Butcher
Serial killer Edmund Kemper claimed the lives of female students (earning the moniker of Co-ed Butcher) before finally targeting his abusive mother and confessing.
TV Series / Documentary | 2011
World’s Most Evil Killers – S2.E1 – Edmund Kemper
Serial killer Edmund Kemper killed six women in California and several members of his family.
TV Series / Documentary | 2017
Kemper on Kemper: Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer
Ed Kemper, also known as the Co-Ed Killer, murdered and dismembered 10 people, including his own mother. Former FBI agent John Douglas takes us through his extensive interviews with Kemper, which became the backbone of modern criminal psychology.
TV Movie / Documentary | 2018
OXYGEN
Mindhunter S1.E2
Holden interviews the eerily articulate murderer Ed Kemper, but his research provokes negative feedback at the Bureau.
TV Series / Fictional | 2017
NETFLIX
Very Scary People S2.E7/E8 – The Co-ed Killer (2 Parts): The Murder Capital of the World
Desperate for answers community members live in terror waiting for the man dubbed the Co-Ed Killer to strike again.
TV Series / Documentary | 2019
YOUTUBE
Note: Symbol denotes the show/episode is currently available to watch on youtube: We will list the main youtube channel where available, but wont link to channels directly on the page. Please see the comments section for links to specific shows/episodes.
MORE ARTICLES ABOUT ED KEMPER
A selection of relevant articles about Edmund Kemper, sourced and curated from around the web:
Edmund Kemper: The Life of the Co-Ed Killer. Ed Kemper, serial killer known as ‘Co-ed Butcher,’ denied parole after not appearing at hearing over gruesome 1970s murders.
New York Post | Author: David Propper | 12 Jul 2024
Ed Kemper Was Released From a Forensic Hospital After Killing His Grandparents and Went on to Murder 8 More People
AETV | Author: Elena Ferrarin | July 25, 2022
Mindhunter’s Ed Kemper – his true story, according to the FBI agent who interviewed him
Digital Spy | Author: Laura Jane Turner | 18 Aug 2019
We Had A Criminal Psychologist Analyze An Interview With The Co-Ed Killer – Here’s What We Learned.
Ranker | Author: Kellie Kreiss | 6 May 2019
Edmund Kemper III, the hulking former construction worker serving…
UPI | Author: UPI Archives | June 3, 1985
SLAYER OF 8 GETS LIFE IN CALIFORNIA
NY Times | Author: NY Times Archives | Nov 10, 1973
Early Life of Edmund Kemper
Suecoletta.com | Author: Sue Coletta
This guy is a lunatic, but a strangely likeable lunatic. The way he speaks about his murders is so candid, and amusing, would be funny if it wasn’t so tragic.