Edmund Kemper's Real Name: Edmund Emil Kemper III

Quick answer: Edmund Kemper's full name is Edmund Emil Kemper III, and he is often called Ed Kemper. He was born on December 18, 1948, in Burbank, California. In 1973 a jury found him sane and guilty of eight murders committed in Santa Cruz County, and he was sentenced to life in prison. As of the latest reports, he remains incarcerated and was denied parole in July 2024 (Britannica; KSBW).

Real name and early life

Britannica gives his name in full as Edmund Emil Kemper III, with the byname Ed Kemper. He was named after his father, Edmund Emil Kemper II, and his grandfather. Britannica says he was one of three children of Clarnell (née Stage) Kemper and Edmund Kemper II, who divorced in 1961. His mother moved the children to Montana and later kept the surname of her third husband, Strandberg.

According to Britannica, Kemper had a turbulent relationship with his mother. At 15 he was sent to live with his paternal grandparents in central California. In August 1964 he killed both of them. He was committed to a state hospital and released at 21, after which he returned to live with his mother in Santa Cruz.

Career highlights

Kemper's notoriety comes from his crimes, not from any career. He worked as a laborer for the California Division of Highways. Britannica says that in 1972 and 1973 he killed six young women and girls, most of whom were hitchhiking: Mary Anne Pesce, Anita Luchessa, Aiko Koo, Cindy Schall, Rosalind Thorpe, and Alice Liu. In April 1973 he killed his mother, Clarnell Strandberg, and her friend Sara Hallett.

Conviction and imprisonment

On April 24, 1973, Kemper called Santa Cruz police from a phone booth in Pueblo, Colorado, and confessed. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, but later that year a jury found him legally sane and guilty of eight counts of first-degree murder. He received life sentences; California's death penalty was suspended at the time. He has been held at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville ever since.

His interviews with FBI agents who were building psychological profiles of serial offenders were later dramatized in the Netflix series Mindhunter. Lookout Santa Cruz reported that the July 9, 2024, hearing was his 12th parole denial. He refused to attend, and the Santa Cruz district attorney told the board he remained dangerous. KSBW reported that a risk assessment rated him "high risk." A cousin attended to represent the victims' families. Lookout also reported that he uses a wheelchair and has serious heart disease.

Name notes for searchers

The "III" marks him as the third Edmund Emil Kemper in his family. Searchers often use "Ed Kemper." Nicknames coined by the press are not used on this page.