Ed Kemper — The Co-Ed Killer
Edmund Kemper murdered 10 people in California between 1964 and 1973, including his grandparents, six college students, his mother, and her friend. Standing 6'9" with a genius IQ, he turned himself in and has been in prison since 1973.
Case overview
Edmund Emil Kemper III, known as the Co-Ed Killer, was an American serial killer who murdered ten people in California — including his paternal grandparents, six college-aged women, and his own mother and her friend — between 1964 and 1973. Standing 6 feet 9 inches tall and highly intelligent (IQ measured at around 145), Kemper was one of the first serial killers to cooperate extensively with FBI behavioral scientists, helping develop criminal profiling techniques. [Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2017/10/13/the-real-ed-kemper-who-inspired-mindhunter/)
Born on December 18, 1948, in Burbank, California, Kemper had a deeply troubled childhood. His parents divorced when he was nine and his mother, Clarnell, was reportedly emotionally abusive. She locked him in the basement as a child because she feared he would harm his sisters. Kemper displayed disturbing behavior from a young age, decapitating and mutilating his sisters' dolls and killing the family's cats.
On August 27, 1964, at age 15, Kemper shot and killed his paternal grandparents at their farm in North Fork, California. He stated he wanted to "see what it felt like to kill Grandma." He called his mother, who told him to call police. He was committed to Atascadero State Hospital as criminally insane. [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2013/10/11/us/edmund-kemper-fast-facts/index.html)
Despite the objections of state psychologists who recognized his danger, Kemper was released on his 21st birthday in December 1969. He moved back in with his mother in Santa Cruz and began frequenting a bar popular with local police — earning the nickname "Big Ed."
Beginning in May 1972, Kemper began picking up female hitchhikers, killing them, engaging in necrophilia, and dismembering their bodies. He buried some remains on a hillside and kept severed heads in his apartment. He killed six women in total during this period. [BBC](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41588592)
On Easter Sunday, April 20, 1973, Kemper killed his mother with a hammer and then killed her friend Sally Hallett. He placed his mother's head on a shelf and used it as a dart target. He then drove across the country to Colorado, called police from a phone booth, and confessed to all his crimes. [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/14/edmund-kemper-serial-killer-mindhunter-netflix)
Kemper was charged with eight counts of first-degree murder. His trial began in October 1973 in Santa Cruz County Superior Court. He attempted to represent himself briefly and requested the death penalty, but his attorneys argued insanity. Psychiatric experts testified both for and against his sanity. [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2013/10/11/us/edmund-kemper-fast-facts/index.html)
On November 8, 1973, the jury convicted Kemper on all eight counts of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison — eight concurrent life sentences. The death penalty was temporarily suspended in California at the time of sentencing, preventing execution. Kemper reportedly requested the death penalty for himself.
Kemper was incarcerated at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville. From the late 1970s, he began cooperating extensively with FBI agents Robert Ressler and John Douglas, providing insights into the psychology of serial killers that helped establish the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit and shaped the field of criminal profiling. [NPR](https://www.npr.org/2017/10/16/557996867/mindhunter-the-real-story-of-fbi-profiler-john-douglas)
Kemper has been denied parole multiple times. He has reportedly said he no longer wants to be released. He has also participated in extensive recordings of audiobooks for the blind, reportedly recording over 5,000 pages of text, including the complete works of John Updike. As of the date of this writing, he remains incarcerated. [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/14/edmund-kemper-serial-killer-mindhunter-netflix)
November 8, 1973
Kemper Convicted of Eight Counts of First-Degree Murder
Edmund Kemper is found sane and convicted of eight counts of first-degree murder. He requests the death penalty, but with California's moratorium on capital punishment, he is sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Source →April 24, 1973
Kemper Calls Police from Colorado to Confess
After driving to Pueblo, Colorado, Kemper calls the Santa Cruz police from a phone booth and confesses to all the murders. Officers initially do not believe him because of his friendly relationship with the department. He waits at the phone booth until officers arrive.
Source →April 20, 1973
Kemper Murders His Mother and Her Friend
Kemper bludgeons his mother Clarnell to death with a claw hammer while she sleeps, decapitates her, and then strangles her friend Sally Hallett when she arrives for dinner. He flees California the next day.
Source →May 7, 1972
First Co-Ed Murders — Pesce and Luchessa
Kemper picks up hitchhikers Mary Ann Pesce and Anita Luchessa, both Fresno State students. He drives them to a remote area, stabs them to death, and brings their bodies back to his apartment. This begins his series of co-ed killings.
Source →December 18, 1969
Kemper Released from Atascadero on 21st Birthday
Despite psychiatric warnings, Kemper is released from Atascadero State Hospital on his 21st birthday and placed in his mother's custody. His juvenile records are sealed. He later describes this period as one of growing rage toward his mother.
Source →August 27, 1964
Kemper Murders His Grandparents at Age 15
Fifteen-year-old Edmund Kemper shoots his grandmother Maude with a .22 rifle and then shoots his grandfather Edmund Sr. when he arrives home. He later says he "just wanted to see what it felt like." He is committed to Atascadero State Hospital.
Source →Relationship data not yet mapped — nodes positioned by force simulation.
Edmund Kemper
Serial killer known as the Co-Ed Killer who murdered 10 people between 1964 and 1973, including his grandparents, six college students, his mother, and her friend. Has been incarcerated since 1973.
Clarnell Strandberg
Edmund Kemper's mother, an administrative assistant at UC Santa Cruz. Kemper had a deeply troubled relationship with her. She was his ninth victim, bludgeoned to death and decapitated in her home.
Maude Kemper
Edmund Kemper's paternal grandmother, shot and killed by Kemper at age 15 at her ranch in North Fork, California. His first victim.
Aiko Koo
A 15-year-old student who was hitchhiking to a dance class when Kemper picked her up. She was one of six young women Kemper murdered in the Santa Cruz area in 1972-1973.
Aiko Koo
A 15-year-old student who was hitchhiking to a dance class when Kemper picked her up. She was one of six young women Kemper murdered in the Santa Cruz area in 1972-1973.
Clarnell Strandberg
Edmund Kemper's mother, an administrative assistant at UC Santa Cruz. Kemper had a deeply troubled relationship with her. She was his ninth victim, bludgeoned to death and decapitated in her home.
Maude Kemper
Edmund Kemper's paternal grandmother, shot and killed by Kemper at age 15 at her ranch in North Fork, California. His first victim.
Edmund Kemper
Serial killer known as the Co-Ed Killer who murdered 10 people between 1964 and 1973, including his grandparents, six college students, his mother, and her friend. Has been incarcerated since 1973.