Ed Kemper Essay, Research Paper

Meet Edmund

Ed Kemper (Associated Press)

When you re 6 9 , it s hard to keep a low profile, and to this rather obvious fact, we may owe much of our insight into the mind of the serial killer. It must have occurred to Edmund Kemper, as he drove frantically eastward from the scene of his last two murders that the jig was most definitely up. His six previous murders had been so carefully planned and carried out. He had picked up young female hitchhikers, women with whom he d had no previous contact, and after he d killed them, he took great care to conceal their identities and eliminate evidence.But now, he had committed a murder, the circumstances of which would point straight to him he had killed his mother in her own home. It would only be a matter of time until her body and that of her friend, whom he d also dispatched, were discovered.

Police would soon begin searching for Edmund, and, with his unmistakable appearance, he must have known there was really nowhere for him to hide. So, exhausted and anxious, Edmund placed a call from a phone booth in Pueblo, Colorado to the police in Santa Cruz, California. And he spilled his guts, so to speak.

Still, the scope and detail of his confession can t be completely attributed to his appearance. If he d wanted, he probably could ve confessed only to his last two murders, keeping mum about the six hitchhikers. There was no direct evidence as of yet connecting him with any of those killings. He d been careful, and because two other serial killers were operating in the Santa Cruz area at roughly the same time, police were confused as to who was killing whom. But Edmund had had a lot on his mind for a long time and was ready to be rid of all of it. Also, the size of his ego rivaled the size of his body, and once he was the center of police attention, he must have enjoyed the spotlight. He told them details that only he knew, that he expected they d never be able to uncover on their own. He felt important and intelligent. He was relieved to be speaking openly of what he d kept hidden for so long. And the police, recognizing all this, listened closely. Edmund talked and talked and talked, and when interrogators thought he couldn t possibly give them anything else, he talked some more. Because he did talk, we know a lot about what motivates such a killer, what peculiar thoughts and fantasies occupy such a mind.