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True Crime by Evil Killers #2

Edmund Kemper: The True Story of The Co-ed Killer

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American serial killer Edmund Kemper III stalked co-eds in California at the height of the era of peace and free love, dismembering his victims and tossing their body parts in remote areas around Santa Cruz. As pieces of young women began washing up on shore and turning up alongside rural highways, female residents – especially college students – were decidedly on edge.A lust killer who savored the act of decapitating his victims - and often used their severed heads for sexual pleasure - Kemper’s story is particularly twisted among historical serial killers.Still, the true crime tale of Edmund Kemper is particularly fascinating, because the man many people called “a gentle giant” was a near genius whose cunning manipulation of others made him particularly depraved and dangerous.This true crime story, a detailed biography of one of the most psychopathic serial killers of our time, shares some insight into the troubled childhood and awkward nature that led the American serial killer to take 10 lives, including those of six pretty co-eds, his paternal grandparents, his calculatingly cruel mother and his mother’s best friend. Among historical serial killers, Kemper is especially depraved, since he included necrophilia and cannibalism in his gruesome mix of sordid criminal activity. Ultimately, Kemper’s murderous inclinations and urges to kill were satisfied after he bludgeoned to death his mother, a woman he’d hated since he was eight years old, and he turned himself in. But if he hadn’t finally acted on his long-held fantasy to end his mother’s life, he might still be trolling California highways, getting away with murder. Look inside to read more!

103 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 22, 2015

90 people are currently reading
533 people want to read

About the author

Jack Rosewood

91 books146 followers
I live in one of the most beautiful places in Florida, Jupiter, with my wife, two kids and our golden retriever, Vincent. I've been a full time author for the last 15 years and I wouldn't trade it against anything in the world!

My father was a journalist and wrote about some of the worst crimes you could ever imagine, and that's where my big interest from serial killers and other horrible crimes comes from. Just to hear my father talk about the evil acts of Ted Bundy as we were out fishing as a kid are some of my best memories.

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
Profile Image for MadameD.
585 reviews56 followers
May 23, 2023
Story 3/5
Narration 4/5
Profile Image for Valerity (Val).
1,107 reviews2,774 followers
Read
December 18, 2017
A basic look into Edmund Kemper, a serial killer in California who started killing at 15. His first victims were his grandparents, who he was living with at the time. After spending 6 years at a hospital for the criminally insane, he fooled shrinks into believing he was cured. Then he was released, and continued his killing spree.
Profile Image for Michael.
Author 54 books67 followers
June 9, 2018
Let's go ahead and get to the only draw back here and that's the books length. Yes, it's short and is full of details you could find on any true crime show. You could even pull up Kemper's interview's on Youtube and get most of this information. I've always been fascinated by serial killers and have read a lot of books on the subject. Rosewood's book focuses on the crimes themselves. This is the draw and that's what makes it so interesting. Kemper is a likeable guy and no matter what I read, there's this odd fascination with the guy. You get a bit of that here, but the real focus is on the crimes themselves. As an introduction it's a good place to start despite its length. Rosewood wants the gore and violence to shine and it does. For fans of true crime this is a decent read until we something longer and more in depth
Profile Image for Jason Korbus.
16 reviews18 followers
October 23, 2018
Quick read, maybe 100 pages. It gets to the point. Check it out for the bare bones of Kemper and his crimes, but avoid if you’re looking for anything resembling deep insight.
Profile Image for Katy.
198 reviews10 followers
August 22, 2019
What a load of BS. The only readable parts of this mess are Kemper's words. The author obviously wanted a paycheck and can't write his way out of a paper bag.

Sorry I read it. I apologise self.
Profile Image for Elliot.
72 reviews19 followers
April 16, 2021
A very gruesome killer, one that you try to forget but just can’t because of how absurd his crimes still are.

This was a relatively informative read, until they demonized certain disorders at the end there. Serial killers being mentally ill is a no brainer, they all display (significant) childhood trauma and a lot of serious disorders stem from just that. This very much still means that serial killers acts are separate from their disorders, and should in no way be making certain disorders more “vile” or “dangerous”.

2/5 ⭐️
Profile Image for Emily Whitehead.
4 reviews
January 4, 2024
Story ok - basic dive into Kemper’s background and his crimes.
Just terribly written; the grammar and basic writing rules are out of the window with this one.
Glad it was short.
Profile Image for Amie's Book Reviews.
1,656 reviews178 followers
August 30, 2015
EDMUND KEMPER: The True Story of the Co-ed Killer

Author: Jack Rosewood

Series: Historical Serial Killers and Murderers - True Crime by Evil Killets: Volume Two

Type of Book: eBook

Length: 72 pages

Genre: Non-Fiction, True Crime

Release Date: June 22, 2015

Publisher: Wiq Media

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐

* I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Edmund Kemper is probably the sickest serial killer ever to have walked the Earth. His crimes are still talked about today and his deviant behavior both fascinates and appalls many people still to this day.

Edmund Kemper was born in Burbank, California in December of 1948. His was a troubled childhood with a mother that should have never been allowed to procreate.

Edmund was always awkward. His body was massive; weighing almost 300 pounds and reaching a height of six feet, nine inches.

His deviant thoughts started long before his killing spree did. He harbored gory and elaborate fantasies full of rage.

This book is his story. Readers need to be warned that this is not a story with a happy ending, and those who have sensitive stomachs should not read this book.

Kemper began his decapitation fantasies as a child and practiced by beheading the dolls of his sisters. This was soon not gratifying enough for this twisted psychopath and he moved on to torturing and killing the family's pet cats. "Kemper's rage against women - revealed first through the dolls with long, blond hair, and later through the cats - was a result of his abysmal relationship with his mother."

He would eventually kill ten people; including hitchhiking co-eds, his mother and both his grandfather and grandmother.

To learn how he became the vicious psychopath that he is today, you need to read this book.

I have mixed feelings about this type of book. While I find deviant psychology fascinating, I hate that the killers get so much more attention than their victims. However, it is a sad truth that people are more interested in the killer than the killed.

I would have liked it if there was a bit more detail about each of the victims.

Despite that, the author has done a good job of condensing the story into only 72 pages.

There are some editing/proof-reading errors, but once I pointed them out to the author, he has assured me that they will be fixed immediately.

I rate this book as 3.5 out of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐

To read more of my reviews visit http://amiesbookreviews.wordpress.com
Profile Image for For The Novel Lovers.
472 reviews8 followers
July 23, 2022
Book Review

Title: Edmund Kemper: The True Story of The Co-Ed Killer by Jack Rosewood

Genre: Non-Fiction, True Crime

Rating: 2.25 Stars

I have always been fascinated with serial killers and after reading Mindhunter and watching the show, it reignited my fascination and this was the first book I picked up, obviously looking into Ed Kemper, the Co-Ed Killer. The first portion of the book introduces us to early childhood, Kemper for the first part of his childhood was seemingly normal but he did suffer a lot of verbal and mental abuse from his mother and this would only get worse after her divorce from Kemper’s father. In the aftermath he was locked in the basement, separated from his sisters because his mother feared that Kemper would rape them due to his larger size. This obviously had a massive impact on Kemper’s early development leading to him dropping out of school despite his near genius IQ and run away to be with his father who he had a better relationship with.

However, upon arriving he learnt that his father had remarried and had a new family and there was no room from Ed who was only 15 years old at the time. This rejection coupled with his mother’s abuse landed him in the care of his grandparents but he soon learnt that his grandmother was a lot like his mother. Kemper had already exhibited many violent behaviours at this time like killing the family pets and beheading his sister’s dolls and finding pleasure in it. Soon after arriving with his grandparents, Kemper murdered the pair of them. In interviews he explained he wanted to see what it would feel like to kill his grandmother and only murdered his grandfather because Kemper didn’t want him to see what he had done. Under the weight of his emotions he called his mother who advised him to call the police and turn himself in which Kemper did. He spent 6 years in a mental hospital receive treatment for his paranoid schizophrenia but there is made friends with the staff and learnt to pass the tests that the doctors were giving him leading to him being released on his 21st birthday back into the care of his mother. However, Kemper had managed to create some level of self-respect and wouldn’t break under his mother’s even more ruthless taunting anymore.

It was around this time that Kemper began dating but after a disastrous attempt he didn’t try again which only feed to inferiority that Kemper was already feeling and the anger that came with it. After many attempts of picking up women in his car in attempt to build friendships or relationships with them, Kemper didn’t think it was working a progressed to more drastic methods of getting what he wanted. After fantasizing about killing young women and keeping weapons in his car, Kemper eventually picks up his first two victims, Mary Ann Pesce and Anita Luchessa. Kemper has admitted that Anita was flirtatious but he was more attracted to Mary Ann. After holding the girls at gunpoint, he attempts to rape Mary Ann but his inexperience with women and sex means he can’t do it. This sparks his anger and he ends up stabbing her to death quickly followed by Anita because he can’t let her go. After he takes the bodies back to his apartment being stopped by a police officer along the way but getting away with a warning for his broken tail light. He dismembers the bodies and uses them for his sexual desires before eventually disposing them. While the remains were found in part, no suspicion fell on Kemper and he went out hunting for another victim shortly after.

After this Kemper became a regular in a local bar called The Jury Room where many of the officers working the case went for drinks. Kemper who had been rejected from the police for being too tall had a fascination with law enforcement especially after his first murders. He then picked up 15 year old, Aiko Koo and this could have been the end of Kemper. At some point during this kidnapping, Kemper locked himself out of the car and Aiko let him back in where he proceed to rape and kill her. One interesting thing to note is that Kemper and another serial killer, Herbert Mullin were operating in the same area and the same time. They were also arrested close together and ended up in opposing cells where Kemper “trained” Mullin. These facts are broken up by commentary from various medical professionals, police officer and from Kemper himself. If anyone has seen the show Mindhunter on Netflix then you will know that Kemper was very open with the FBI about his crimes and the manner he committed them. Things were also about to get a lot worse for the community after Kemper had a massive argument with his mother and ended up picking up two more girls, Rosalind Thorpe and Allison Liu.

Kemper deals with the girls like he has with his other victims but the end is drawing close now, Kemper has often stated that the murders he committed was because he wanted to kill his mother and that hatred has been transferred onto other women. After another argument with his mother, Clarnell, Kemper does kill and some of the things he did to her after death are difficult to read. He also then invited Sally Hallett, his mother’s best friend over and kills her as well. After the object of his hatred is gone Kemper feels a loss of some sort coupled with the police looking into his owning of a firearm because of his record he flees. After hours of driving he eventually phones the police to turn himself in but at first many don’t believe what Kemper is telling them about killing his mother until they investigate the apartment and find out it is true. By the time the police mobilise and arrest, Kemper he has been waiting for them for a while and many of the arresting officer are concerned with Kemper’s size but ultimately describe him as being a gentle giant. We get to briefly read about the trial and Kemper’s subsequent conviction and incarceration but the interesting thing to note is the duality of his character. Many people that knew Kemper including law enforcement would describe him as being a quiet, gentle person who was soft spoken and highly intelligent. The phrase gentle giant is often attached to him and if you read Mindhunter even John Douglas from the FBI says that if he didn’t know what Kemper had done he could imagine them being friends. Overall, seeing the information laid out makes the book easy to read despite its difficult content but Rosewood doesn’t make any interesting commentary on Kemper or his crimes and at times reads like a Wikipedia pages which is the reason for the low rating.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Bonnie Kernene.
351 reviews195 followers
April 7, 2017
Edmund Kemper is a serial killer who killed his grandparents, his mother (the focus of his internal rage) and several young women in California. This book talks about Ed and his crimes, including his juvenile crimes (killing his grandparents) and the time he spent at Atascadero State Hospital, which is for the criminally insane. The author gets straight to the facts and has no filler, just the facts. It is well-written and well researched. This book makes no excuse for anything that Ed did, just told it like it was. He did make some conclusions, but those were based on the facts given. I have enjoyed all of the books that Jack Rosewood has written that I have read, and this one is no exception.
Profile Image for Bettye McKee.
2,188 reviews156 followers
September 15, 2015
I have long been fascinated by Edmund Kemper III, abandoned and betrayed by his father and emotionally destroyed by his mother. If he had been raised in a normal household with loving parents, would the outcome have been different?

Kemper murdered ten people, beginning with his grandparents when he was an adolescent and ending with his mother and her friend. Most tragic of all were the six young women who paid for his mother's sins.

The author presents a very good account of the Ed Kemper story. The deduction of a star is for the 20 or more errors. Also Kindle's dictionary and Wikipedia features do not work with Mr. Rosewood's books; Wikipedia comes up in Russian.
Profile Image for Jerry.
124 reviews4 followers
July 3, 2015
Short story

I think this could have been an interesting Book...but instead we have a short story. If more research had been done, direct interviews, and time, invested it would make a big difference. I think the author relied too much on the work and interviews of others . I could probably pull up the same info in a Google search of Edmund Kemper


Profile Image for Ronnie Cramer.
1,031 reviews34 followers
July 28, 2015
At 91 pages, it's one of those 'Kindle Singles' type books. Enough to give you a sense of the case but obviously not the definitive work. Quotes extensively from Front Page Detective Magazine.
Profile Image for Amanda.
268 reviews3 followers
October 21, 2017
Reads like a term paper. Basic facts and story line.
Profile Image for Katie.
322 reviews
April 27, 2019
Intrigued to read because of Mindhunters

I picked up this book to read for two reasons. One my coworker read it and she loves true crime and two I watch the Mindhunters show on Netflix and I was really intrigued. Well this book was short and easy to read I felt it was a little flat. Maybe that's because I'm used to reading fiction that involves more story and exaggeration then this nonfiction. At times I thought the story was so high-level that it was like oh he murdered this girl and then this girl and then this girl and then he had a beer with a cop. I guess I was looking for more of a story to link everything together and paint the picture of the serial killer.
Profile Image for Amanda.
65 reviews3 followers
April 15, 2018
I give this book one star for a few reasons. I wouldn’t consider 89 pages a “book” worth $10.95. Had I noticed the book was only 89 pages I would not have purchased it. I found many typographical errors throughout. This book could have been written by a 3rd grader using Wikipedia. I learned more about Ed Kemper from watching Mindhunter. Completely disappointing. I read it in an hour.
Profile Image for Ashley Hedden.
5,259 reviews43 followers
January 8, 2021
Edmund Kemper: The True Story of The Co-Ed Killer (True Crime by Evil Killers #2) was a good true crime read by Jack Rosewood. He was a serial killer who stalked co-eds in California. He dismembered their bodies and spread the body parts around Santa Cruz. This was a good true crime read by the author.
7 reviews
June 1, 2022
OK - not a great read and a bit Serial Killer True Crime by numbers

To be fair Ed Kemper was a major character in the Netflix series MindHunter that I found interesting and I was curious to understand how based in fact that character was. Not sure to be honest

Ultimately it is book that I needed to read
4 reviews
July 5, 2022
Very interesting

I love books by Jack Rosewood. He tells the story in order and to the point. This book is one of my favorites. And one day I would like to go to the Jury Room (bar) in Santa Cruz where he frequented. Ironic to find out that Kemper would like to help others by being studied. Hmmmm.
Profile Image for Aimée O'Brien.
9 reviews22 followers
September 1, 2018
Short but very informative

Jack Rosewood tells the story of Edmund Kemper in a brief, but very informative and interesting way. It's an easy read with bonus material about serial killers in general.
Profile Image for Meika.
4 reviews
June 1, 2019
I have always heard about him and listening to a true crime podcast finally lead me here. General facts were given and what you would expect when reading a biography. If you wanted to know the “basic” info of his life, this is the book to go.
Profile Image for Sam Tate.
1 review
April 25, 2018
A simple, straight to the point biography.

Easy to read with plenty of references to books related to this particular killer. Serves it's purpose :) Satisfied overall.
Profile Image for Narsames Maiky.
66 reviews2 followers
January 27, 2020
I had to give this book 5 stars, because not only it is straight to the point as it is just complete.
Profile Image for Preethika Anbalagan.
20 reviews
August 31, 2020
It’s quite a small book that talks about Edmund Kemper and his psychological aspects while quoting his words from the interview.
A good read if you’re someone fascinated by serial killers.
91 reviews1 follower
January 8, 2021
Very good, short history on this depraved man. Some spelling issues and random blank pages throughout, but overall it's a pretty decent book if you want some background on this killer.
Profile Image for Ilúvatar.
121 reviews
Read
January 20, 2023
Nothing more than what you could have gotten from a well researched podcast episode.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews

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