Edmund Kemper is an American serial killer who committed multiple murders in California, with attacks spanning the mid-1960s and an intensified spree in the early 1970s. He is most widely known for killing family members as a teenager and later murdering several young adults, many of them college students.

Key Facts

• Convicted of ten murders, including his grandparents, six young women, his mother, and his mother’s friend.
• Often referred to as “The Co-ed Killer” because a number of his victims were college students.
• Turned himself in to police in April 1973 after killing his mother and her friend and subsequently confessed to multiple killings.
• Found guilty at trial in 1973 and committed to a life term in a California state psychiatric facility.
• Remains incarcerated in a state medical/correctional facility and has been denied release.
• His offenses involved abduction, killing by strangulation and blunt force, and post-mortem mutilation in several cases.
• First known murders occurred in 1964 when he was a teenager; the later series of adult victims were killed between 1972 and 1973.
• Most crimes occurred in and around Santa Cruz County and other parts of northern California.
• Had a history of early mental health treatment, institutionalization, and a troubled family background.

Crimes and Victims

Kemper’s first known killings took place when he was a teenager; he killed his paternal grandparents in 1964 and was institutionalized for several years. After his release, he carried out a series of murders of young adults in 1972–1973, targeting people he encountered while driving at night.

The later victims included several women who were students or young adults and, in the final episode, his own mother and her friend. Investigations revealed patterns of abduction and violence, with the bodies of some victims found in rural locations around Santa Cruz County.

Capture and Trial

Following the murders of his mother and her friend in April 1973, Kemper contacted authorities and surrendered himself; he provided detailed confessions to investigators. His cooperation and admissions allowed police to link him to multiple unsolved killings from the previous year.

He was tried later that year; the court considered psychiatric evaluations alongside the evidence presented. The jury found him guilty and he was committed to a state facility under a life sentence, where he has remained under psychiatric care and correctional supervision.

Psychology and Motives

Psychological assessments of Kemper have emphasized a mix of personality disorder traits, impulsivity, and severe disturbances in interpersonal relationships. Evaluators have noted diminished empathy and chronic hostility, which contributed to violent behavior over time.

His motives have been interpreted as complex and multifaceted, involving anger toward specific individuals, attempts to exert control, and deeply rooted issues related to intimacy and rejection. Clinicians and criminologists cite both personal history and cognitive-emotional factors in explaining his actions.

Background / Early Life

Kemper grew up in a household marked by conflict and reported emotional and physical abuse, with difficulties in family relationships beginning in childhood. He exhibited behavioral problems and was hospitalized for psychiatric treatment as an adolescent after the early homicides.

After spending several years in a juvenile facility, he was released as a young adult and returned to the community, where he later initiated the series of adult murders. His upbringing and early institutionalization are frequently discussed in examinations of his life and criminal trajectory.

Legacy and Media Coverage

Kemper’s case has generated considerable attention from psychologists, law enforcement professionals, and the media because of its combination of familial homicide, a later serial pattern, and his subsequent interviews. His articulate discussions about his crimes have been used in research and teaching on violent offenders and forensic assessment.

Documentaries, books, and news features have examined his life, crimes, and the investigative work that led to his conviction, contributing to an ongoing public record. The case remains a reference point in studies of serial offenders, institutional treatment, and the interplay between mental health and criminal responsibility.