Edmund Kemper: California Camouflage

At 6'9" and 300 pounds, Edmund Kemper was a formidable type. Considered a "gentle giant" by his cop buddies, he was never suspected of being a cold-blooded killer. Then again, his friends didn't know about his brutal past.



In 1964, when Kemper was 15, he fatally shot his paternal grandparents simply because he didn't like them. After spending several years in a psychiatric hospital, he was released into his abusive mother's care. This was specifically traumatic because his mother used to lock him in the basement for fear he would rape his sisters (among other things).

While living with his mother, Kemper started picking up young female hitch-hikers. He later admitted to authorities that he let most of them go without harm. However, he killed, decapitated, & committed necrophilia with 6 of them. After 6 practice kills, it was time to kill the ultimate victim, his mother. He killed Clarnell Kemper in her sleep with a claw hammer. Her body received the same treatment as those of his previous victims. When he was finished, he hid her body, then killed her best friend, Sally Hallett, the same way. Afterwards, he drove to a payphone and confessed to the killings. Police came and took him into custody.



It's easy to see that Kemper knew how to appear to be a gentle soul whom people trusted. Young women easily got into his car, his psychologists believed he was cured after his time in the mental hospital, and his mother didn't fear him at all. His mask had to be convincing just long enough to ensnare his victims and then they saw the real monster underneath.