The Murders of Edmund & Maude Kemper

It’s well-known that Edmund Kemper killed six college students, his mom, and his mom’s best friend. But, did you know the serial killer also killed his grandparents as a teenager, eight years before his murder spree began?

Ed lived with his grandparents at their ranch-style home in North Fork, California. He didn’t get along with either of his parents, describing both as abusive, controlling, and dismissive. He despised both of them from a young age. Experts agree that some of Ed’s social anxiety and odd behaviors likely resulted from his overbearing parents.

Maude, 66, and Edmund, 72, did their best to raise Ed right, but all those years of abuse and humiliation had already taken their toll on the teenager. He showed early aggression, like animal cruelty. Ed not only killed cats, dogs, and other small animals, but would dissect and mutilate them.

Even more troubling was Ed’s fascination with death. He talked obsessively about dead animals, corpses, and morbid subjects, and reportedly kept body parts from the animals he killed. When angry, he would make disturbing comments about hurting people. His rage would illuminate when he was upset.

Ed felt strange around other people. He was alienated from his mom and dad, and isolated himself from others out of fear of rejection. He spent time alone in his bedroom, giving way to his horrific thoughts.

By August 1964, Ed and his grandmother had begun arguing intensely. He expressed frustration with her over trivial issues and quickly became hostile andaggressive. He horsed around with firearms, even when his grandparents werent around.

August 27th was a typical California day, except in the Kemper household.

Ed stood on the patio holding his grandfather’s .22 caliber rifle. He looked through a window. His grandmother sat at her desk writing an article for Boys’ Life Magazine.

Suddenly, Ed pointed the rifle at his grandmother and pulledthe trigger. He strikes Maude in the back of the head. She slumps face-first onto the table. Ed fires twice more, hitting his grandmother in the back.​

Ed walked into the kitchen and grabbed his grandmother’s body, dragging her into the bedroom. Unsure if she was dead, Ed decided to stab her three times using a large butcher knife from the kitchen.

Edmund I returned home a while later. He had run a few errands, including a trip to the post office and grocery store. Ed ran outside with the rifle when he heard his grandfather’s truck arrive. As the elderly man walked toward him with a smile on his face, Ed fired the gun, killing his grandfather.

​He dragged his grandfather’s body to the garage and closed the door.​

Neighbors would later tell police they saw Ed cleaning outside on the day of the murders.

Ed called his mom in Montana and told her what happened. He then called the police and said an accident had occurred at his home. He later confessed that he killed his grandparents, saying he killed his grandmother because he wanted to know what it felt like to kill. He killed his grandfather, he claimed, because he wanted to spare him from seeing his dead wife. This statement is likely intended to be a rationalization for the murder rather than a show of empathy.

Ed was taken into state custody and eventually committed to a mental health institution until age 21. During his stay, doctors determined Ed had an IQ of 145. He was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, although medical experts later suggested the diagnosis is inaccurate.

Ed tried living a normal life after the mental health facility. He worked for the California Highway Department and dreamed of becoming a police officer. His huge stature - Ed stood 6’9” and weighed about 300 pounds- prevented him from joining the force due to regulations at that time.

Edmund Kemper would go on to kill six college students, his mom, and his mom’s best friend before turning himself in to the police in Pueblo, Colorado. He later told reporters that if he had killed his mom first, the others would still be alive.

Sources:

https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=MT19640828.2.4&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------

https://www.aetv.com/articles/ed-kemper-hospital-release

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/82383313/maude_matilda-kemper