Why-The Serial Killer in America

by Margaret Cheney

Many unknown serial killers are prowling the homes, schools, and streets of this nation. Only a few have been caught.This book will take you on a terrifying journey inside the mind of one of the first known serial kilers. In the early 70s, Edmund Kemper III stalked young women on the coastline of California. Against these scenic backdrops, he butchered his mother, her friend and six coeds.As this book explores the depth of Kemper's madness, it reveals the elements that all serial killers have in common, and why our culture is for them a kind of petri dish.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1992

Reviews

[Bill reilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a reprint of “The Co-ed Killer.” The subject is Edmund Emil Kemper III, an articulate (watch the HBO documentary with interviews) six foot nine, two hundred eighty pound serial killer. Like the late Ted Bundy (1989, Florida electric chair), Kemper has a superior intelligence, with an IQ of 136. He was born in 1948 to parents who fought constantly and after they divorced, the budding psychopath was raised by his mom with two sisters. At ten, the youngster buried a cat alive, cut off its head, which he stuck on a spindle and prayed. At fifteen, the six foot four Eddie was sent to live with his grandparents in Montana. Grampa made the mistake of giving the boy a rifle to shoot rabbits with; a fatal error, as the old man and gramma were killed, in addition to many big eared bunnies. He is left-handed. So am I, and so was Teddy Bundy. Not to worry; as I am fifty-nine and have never killed anyone, not yet, anyway. Kemper called the police and told them, “I just wondered how it would feel to kill grandma.” He was sent to a nut house. The lunatic was released back into society at twenty with his youthful record expunged. He dreamed of becoming a law man, but was too tall. He rejoined his mother who had a job at a college in Santa Cruz. It was 1972 and hitchhiking was popular. A fifteen year-old half Asian girl named Aiko was one of the first to disappear. The next was a seventeen year-old student named Cindy, whose body was found in a ravine, missing her head. Kemper went back to mom’s house and killed mommy dearest with a hammer and with his usual MO, then remover her head. Three days later he called the police and confessed from a phone booth. While in custody he gave a detailed account of two girls he abducted and killed in remarkable detail. Aiko’s rape and murder were particularly brutal. The 105 pound girl fought back with tremendous vigor, but the 280 pound Kemper was too much to overcome. He told the police that he carried the girl to his room and dissected her. He did the same to all of his victims and “reasoned” that he now “owned them.” He also had sex with the corpses. One of the girl’s heads was buried in his mother’s back yard. At trial, Edmund testified that the severed head faced his window so that he could have conversations with it. Several psychiatrists declared him sane. Cheney includes too much psychobabble from these idiots. I do not need a medical degree to realize that a man interacting with a disembodied head has a few screws loose. Under sodium amytal he admitted to cooking and eating the flesh of his victims. He was sentenced to life without parole. He is presently in the same prison as Charles Manson and the rumor is that he wishes to kill the 5 foot 3 inmate. Personally, I would put them in the same cell with a camera. Now that would be must see TV. Cheney’s book belongs in the sociology category, as she spends too much time on the why, why, why of Kemper’s crimes. He is a sadist, and, in the end, we will never know the reason why.

[Fishface · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty decent study of Ed Kemper, the Santa Cruz Coed Killer. I wasted years trying to find this under the original title, "The Coed Killer."

[Anguirus · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent recounting of everything we know (or knew at the time of writing) about Edmund Emil Kemper III, all the way from his childhood to the resolution of his trial. The information in this book is not for the faint-hearted, but it is an eye-opening look at what some human beings are capable of doing to others.

While the book provides an incredibly detailed account of the crimes and trial, what I found slightly frustrating was the author's injection of personal opinion throughout the book, many times in the form of dramatic, leading statements. For a book of this nature, I would have preferred a more objective and reportorial tone.

Contrary to another review, I very much enjoyed the inclusion of the perspectives of numerous psychologists and psychiatrists on the matter; psychology is, after all, an incredibly subjective field of study, and differing opinions will exist. However, it was far too easy to discern which "side" the author favored in regards to Kemper's sanity, even early in the book, despite a clear lack of qualifications to draw such conclusions.

Overall, this book provides a comprehensive account of the "Coed Killer," especially if you're interested in the psychology and sociology of the case. Still, the book would be much better off without the dramatization, leading statements, and the (sometimes embarrassingly) flawed discussions regarding the differences between medical and legal definitions of sanity.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because I really loved Cheney's book on Tesla. I was hoping that this book would live up to the "Why?" part of the title and go into broader detail about the motivations of serial killers. It was very narrowly focused on the life of one particular serial killer. It was quite in-depth and well-written but I found the title misleading, incorrectly setting my expectations as a reader.