Ed Kemper Research Paper

Ed Kemper was a serial rapist who terrorized California from 1972-1973 with 8 murders spread out among the Santa Cruz region. He primarily picked up young female hitch-hikers and either shot or strangled them. He would cut off the head and hands, rape the corpses, and dispose of the body separately. He had a very troubled childhood with a lot of psychological abuse from an alcoholic mother which attributed to most of his psychosis. He ended up turning himself in after the murder of his mother and given life in prison. In The Life of Ed Kemper

Ed Kemper truly was a troubled individual. His troubles began very early on in childhood and his actions were a clear indicator of the damage he was capable of. He would go on to kill 10 people including

He would cut off the heads of his sisters’ dolls and acted out ‘bizzare sexual rituals’ with them. He talked his sisters into playing a ‘gas chamber’ game with him. They were blindfolded, brought to a chair, and forced to listen to him writhe around the chair in mock pain. He also commented that in order to kiss a teacher that he liked, he would have to kill her. During this time his mother was still abusing alcohol. She would abuse, berate, and humiliate him. She took notice of his twisted actions and at the age of 10 she began to lock him in the basement away from his sisters, who she feared he would molest and abuse. At 13 years old he began showing very violent symptoms by taking a knife and stabbing and killing his cat. Fearful, his mother attempted to ship Ed to his father, but that didn’t last very long. His father noticed the same strangeness in his son that the mother did and he quickly sent him to his grandparent’s

His I.Q. was estimated to be a 136. He had little trouble in impressing his psychologist with his intellect and eagerness to learn. He ended up working as a pseudo-assistant for the doctors that worked there. In the meantime, he was absorbing all the information that he could. He took in the stories of other serial rapists that were admitted there and learned from their experiences. He helped administer tests and could even see their records with his assistance of the staff. He learned inside and out the mental process of a rapist and killer; taking all the information that he needed. Ed seemed to be rehabilitated and was released in 1969 at 21 years old. Immediately, he went to community college with the dreams of becoming a police officer. He applied for state trooper but was denied due to his size (He was 6’9” and 300 lbs). After his parole he was strongly advised not to go back to his mother due to the abuse and the potential for a relapse when put back into that situation. Ed ignored the advisement and went back with his mother who had relocated to Santa