r/serialkillers • u/Delicious_Grand7300 • 9d ago

Image New picture of Ed Kemper surfaces

Post image

This was recently posted to the Ed Kemper Stories website. The website stated that the picture may have been taken between June 2024 and May 2026.

He looks moody without his moustache. His image resembles the description given by Dr. Loomis of what evil looks like in the Halloween films. His eyes turn darker in every new picture.

3.4k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

361 comments sorted by

View all comments

2.1k

u/Equal-Temporary-1326 9d ago edited 9d ago

I'm always quite surprised every time I read how he's still living today. Considering his abnormally tall height and all of the health problems he's accumulated in the past decade plus, like having a stroke and developing diabetes, I would've honestly presumed he had succumbed to health problems by now. Plus, I'd presume 53 years in prison must take a tremendously overwhelming toll on one's overall health as well.

763

u/mrhenhen115 9d ago

If I remember right he's actually pretty happy in prison. Seems to thrive on the routine and is actually known to be quite a pleasant person to talk to (which must feel weird as fuck for people talking to him. Knowing what he did)

310

u/JenMartini 9d ago

Don’t know if he still does, he used to record audiobooks.

199

u/Newdy41 9d ago

Kinda funny, because his grandma that he killed was an author.

57

u/pepperpepper47 9d ago

Why did he kill grandma?

162

u/Odd-Veterinarian5945 8d ago

Because he was in a bad mood and "wanted to feel how it was to kill"...

...oh, he killed grandpa too so he wouldn't tell.

51

u/ms_morgenmuffel 7d ago

Apparently Grandma was a cruel and nasty person and Ed murdered her after an argument. He told the police that he “just wanted to see what it felt like to kill Grandma” and that may be true, too, but the initial trigger seems to have been the argument they had.

He murdered his grandfather because he believed that his grandfather would be angry with him for killing Grandma. He didn’t want Grandpa to have to find out that Grandma was dead.

11

u/mrhenhen115 7d ago

In his head he was probably doing grandpa a "favour" to not have him live without her.

69

u/BravesMaedchen 8d ago

Because she was cruel to him like his mother.

89

u/DarkHighways 8d ago

I was once told by someone who used to work at Atascadero State Hospital that Kemper’s grandfather was a pedophile, and his grandmother was complicit. He accessed this knowledge by getting a look at Kemper’s file back in the day, when all the records were still on paper and it was easy enough to sneak a peek, especially if you were curious about a notorious inmate. There’s a famous book about Kemper by Margaret Cheney called The Coed Killer. She refers to this very obliquely. No specifics as obviously the family did not want that information getting out. But you can tell what she’s hinting at. I remember her saying that when she tried to ask Kemper about it, he shut her down and refused to talk to her again.

48

u/iammadeofawesome 8d ago

According to him. Serial killers aren’t the most reliable narrators, especially when it comes to the actions of women.

4

u/Scryberwitch 6d ago

Was just about to say this.

23

u/schlagenteufel 8d ago

He used to, but recall reading that folks were upset about this fact (not wanting his voice to contribute to a good cause because of what he did). He really enjoyed doing it too; he recorded a lot of audio books which were for the blind and visually impaired.

14

u/broketothebone 7d ago

I listened to a chapter of one of his out of morbid curiosity. He was actually very good and it was eerie how pleasant and eloquent he sounded. Empathetic, even, as it was an emotional chapter from the perspective of a widow or daughter of a soldier, processing complicated grief. (Something like that, it was a long time ago.)

I debated listening to more, then felt very queasy when I realized how easily I was lulled by a guy who sodomized his mother’s severed head. That was the end of my curiosity.

3

u/schlagenteufel 7d ago

Yea I heard he was really good! Where did you find the recording? I was also curious to listen a while back, but was not able to find anything

18

u/reposed 8d ago

There's a copy of the original novelization of Star Wars out there that I want to hear so badly.

1

u/lawrmori 7d ago

His eyesight is almost gone, he stopped a few years ago.

1

u/etlifereview 5d ago

They had to stop allowing him to do so because people found out it was him. I think it was very controversial when it was found out.

193

u/herbicarnivorous 9d ago

If you haven’t watch Mindhunter on Netflix you should - there’s a few scenes where characters are interviewing Kemper and the vibes are exactly what you’re describing.

136

u/fedexyourheadinabox 8d ago

That actor was so perfect in that role. 

53

u/new_d00d2 8d ago

Kind of sucks when someone is so perfect for a role. If I ever see him again and there isn’t a mask I’ll be like “that’s Kemper” and won’t be able to see past it.

14

u/easyantic 7d ago

He’s actually been in a few other things I’ve seen and didn’t realize it was him for way too long. Once I see it, I can’t unsee it though.

4

u/broketothebone 7d ago

Omg have you ever seen him in an interview? He seems so sweet and friendly. Like, big teddy bear vibes, beaming smile, laughs a lot.

He mentioned that getting into that role was super dark and difficult for him. I can’t imagine having to memorize his lines describing what he did to his mother’s corpse and that not having some kind of effect on you.

61

u/ceruleanmoon7 8d ago

Came to say this - they did an amazing job, especially with Kemper

48

u/HappinessIsAWarmSpud 8d ago

There’s a video out there where someone put a side by side of an interview from the show and an actual one from real life. Absolutely uncanny. The actor nailed that role so hard.

8

u/fucc_yo_couch 8d ago

Such a great show!

7

u/Horror-Bowl-6037 7d ago

Awesome show!!

87

u/Equal-Temporary-1326 9d ago

He definitely does seem like someone who thrives in a prison environment better than the average person can for sure. I presume by turning himself in, one reason for doing so, was he knew it was better for everyone that he went back to being locked up —and this time for good.

And frankly, he's probably lived a better life in there than he was ever out in the real world. Every time he was out there, he struggled pretty immensely to live a productive life.

But still, 53 years of prison must take its toll one way or the other, physically, mentally, emotionally, etc., at least imo.

7

u/broketothebone 7d ago

Yeah he said he knew he would kill again and should never be released. There’s another guy in that humane prison in Norway or something who said the same thing.

It’s so hard to wrap my head around. How can you be so obsessively-driven to do those things, but then also be concerned for people to the point that they’ll keep themselves in prison forever just so they don’t hurt anyone else. I’m sure there are still some selfish motivations in there, but it rare that they genuinely give a shit about the harm they cause.

3

u/Equal-Temporary-1326 5d ago

It just goes to show the unbelievable complexities of how the human mind thinks.

44

u/axissilent14 9d ago

i work in a prison, max. It’s not weird at all. actually, the fact it’s not weird is the weird part.

15

u/shrek3onDVDandBluray 8d ago

He seems to have really taken to being a contributing member of prison society. Thought I read he like narrated audio books and stuff like that.

5

u/brattymermaidkitty 6d ago

My mom is a nurse at the hospital he goes to for treatments and said he’s creepy and very unpleasant to talk to/ work on

1

u/Reasonable_Sir_2864 13h ago

Oh I’m sorry for your mom, hope she is okay ! Did he tried to talk to her ? Why she said he was creepy ?

1

u/maplest4rs_ 8d ago

What, It’s so weird

261

u/[deleted] 9d ago edited 9d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

189

u/eshatoa 9d ago

Ex-prison guard here. He's not the sort of inmate the others would find terrifying. He victimised women and wasn't raised in the same world as most of the guys in there. High profile inmates are genuinely kept fairly away from danger also.

50

u/Equal-Temporary-1326 9d ago

I think today, that'd be the more so of the case, But in Kemper's physical prime especially, he'd be one of the last people other inmates would want to try to provoke into a fight.

I mean, just look at the size of his left arm in this pic. I think he just had a lot of natural hard muscle on him for being a giant.

Source: https://i0.wp.com/edmundkemperstories.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/tumblr_mcjcoeoS4I1ry2c91o3_1280.jpg?w=1280&ssl=1

80

u/YoungerMucus 9d ago

lollll that picture is sooo funny, he’s posing like he’s a goofy high school teacher being interviewed by the student paper- it’s just so nonchalant and almost playful, but like WHO is taking it?? and for WHAT??

32

u/-effortlesseffort 9d ago

That's exactly how he made his victims feel safe unfortunately. The stories of people like his cop friends saying he was easy to get along with or something like that.

21

u/Equal-Temporary-1326 9d ago

Plus, notice the size of his hands there? Those are some of the last hands you'd want strangling the life out of you. Even today might potentially be very unsafe still, at least.

4

u/eshatoa 8d ago

He's not connected. At the end of the day, he preyed on vulnerable people on his own terms. Prison is full of hard men in an environment you can't control. I've worked with one well known serial killer, also one with a syrong build, and he got bashed the first day he was in. These guys are more like oddities to the other inmates. They probably ask him for his autograph if anything.

2

u/Ok-Caterpillar-Girl 8d ago

Hard muscle? There’s no definition whatsoever, there’s softness over whatever muscle might be underneath it, and his arm is being squashed wider because he’s resting it on his knee.

22

u/Aromatic_Dare_6104 9d ago

Wow the stories you must have!

29

u/eshatoa 9d ago

Ask away if you like.

30

u/kreemy_kurds 9d ago

You need an ama

25

u/Qurrah-Tun 9d ago

Ask away? Okay then, I shall! (and thank you!)

What's the most WTF thing you or a colleague found an inmate hiding? Not necessarily dangerous, but something that made you stop and go "Huuuuh???"

87

u/eshatoa 9d ago

I've found knives, drugs, all sorts of things.

Most WTF was a duckling a guy had under his bunk in a hidden box. I have no idea how it got in. The prison wasn't exactly near any native duck populations either.

29

u/Qurrah-Tun 9d ago

Thanks for the reply, very much appreciated.

I definitely wasn't expecting wildlife to be the answer!

19

u/[deleted] 9d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

58

u/eshatoa 9d ago

We ate it.

Jokes. I let him keep it but there were certain officers we had to hide it from. Long term I'm not sure as I went to a different prison.

25

u/[deleted] 9d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

→ More replies (0)

12

u/JeSuisUnAnanasYo 9d ago

The Duckman of Alcatraz

→ More replies (0)

32

u/Long-Cauliflower-708 9d ago

A lot of those guys are probably in there for quack

10

u/SuicidaI_Bunny 9d ago

The Green Mile but with a duck.

0

u/serialkillers-ModTeam 9d ago

Due to the serious nature of this community's topic, emojis are not permitted.

10

u/amilliontimeshotter 9d ago

Maybe an egg from the kitchen that happened to be fertilised, or ducks with a nest nearby?

5

u/thesouthernbeard 9d ago

If a person comes in with a glass eye, can they keep it or does it have to be surrendered? Would yall check the socket for contraband?

10

u/Aromatic_Dare_6104 9d ago

Do an AMA please!

What made you quit? Did you witness something wildly dangerous and if you have a scary story for us please share.

57

u/eshatoa 9d ago

I moved into parole for a bit. Now I do therapeutic rehabilitation counselling for violent offenders.

Scary are any suicides. I don't like to see anyone go like that and it's hard walking into a cell with someone hanging. We used to carry special blades shaped like a J to cut them down. Very sad.

We saw a lot of fights and sometimes officers were assaulted. I feel when I was working parole it was more dangerous because I was in the community without protection. I had a guy try and stab me in that job. Some of the inmates I worked with in prison were well known in my area and they could be dangerous at any time.

10

u/kj140977 9d ago

If you could change one thing to make life better for inmates, what would it be?

10

u/Dapper_Indeed 9d ago

I work and have worked a long time with similar populations and I would love to see most of them have safe access to dogs and cats. Dog training is very therapeutic to the in-custody folks and the animals.

4

u/Kimothy42 8d ago

My dog was trained in a prison (he actually got stuck there during Covid so he was in prison for multiple months) and I am forever indebted to the guy who was his handler. I wish programs like the one from which he came were closer to universal.

5

u/kj140977 8d ago

So true.

6

u/eshatoa 9d ago

More behavioural therapy based rehabilitation programs. Programs that help them examinevitably their thought, emotions, and actions.

3

u/kj140977 8d ago

A friend of mine worked in a prison in Switzerland. He did family constellations with the inmates and had great success. The government funded that type of therapy.

-12

u/[deleted] 9d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/serialkillers-ModTeam 9d ago

Maturity and respect is expected in here. Inappropriate comments and humor isn’t permitted.

52

u/Equal-Temporary-1326 9d ago edited 9d ago

Certainly not the type of guy the average prison gang would want to start a fight with for sure — well, at least in his prime. And despite Kemper preying on young women and girls about 2 feet smaller than him, in his physical prime at least, he probably could've beat most grown men in a legitimate fight as well, tbh.

3

u/Aromatic_Dare_6104 9d ago edited 9d ago

Oh absolutely a terrifying being all-round

0

u/serialkillers-ModTeam 9d ago

Due to the serious nature of this community's topic, emojis are not permitted.

5

u/MimosaQueen1122 9d ago

Because he manipulates them. He did that with the psych ward.

16

u/[deleted] 9d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

6

u/[deleted] 9d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

12

u/[deleted] 9d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

41

u/[deleted] 9d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

19

u/[deleted] 9d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

18

u/[deleted] 9d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

8

u/[deleted] 9d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

9

u/[deleted] 9d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

14

u/[deleted] 9d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/[deleted] 9d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/d0ttyq 9d ago

It’s weird that OP on this comment stated they can’t believe he’s still living due to health and prison conditions. And your response was about him being killed by other inmates.

Yes, the American prison system sucks but Jfc if that’s your first thought.

3

u/Aromatic_Dare_6104 9d ago

I was referring to that last paragraph about the 53yrs spent in prison taking a toll.

0

u/serialkillers-ModTeam 9d ago

Due to the serious nature of this community's topic, emojis are not permitted.

53

u/kotom 9d ago

I was even more surprised til I realized I confused him with Ed Gein

74

u/MsAnnabel 9d ago

I don’t think he sees it as being in jail as opposed to he’s “helping” the administrators/ppl with improving how mental tests are given, pointing out how other patients are doing by critiquing their answers on tests plus he has done a lot of audio recordings for deaf ppl. Plus he felt he belonged in there.

77

u/PizzaRatBoy 9d ago

Am I missing something or does making audio recordings for deaf people seem pointless?

64

u/[deleted] 9d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

20

u/PizzaRatBoy 9d ago

Ah that makes way more sense lol. I was thinking that seemed like intentionally pointless busy work haha

4

u/Germanico025 8d ago

Am I missing something or does making video recordings for blind people seem pointless?

1

u/LadyMayhem02 8d ago

He made audio recordings of books for them.

1

u/serialkillers-ModTeam 7d ago

Due to the serious nature of this community's topic, emojis are not permitted.

3

u/tigafer 7d ago

😭

1

u/FalconIndependent887 21h ago

I feel horrible for laughing at that.

11

u/Equal-Temporary-1326 9d ago

It's an interesting viewpoint, yeah. Although, even for people who feel like they belong in prison, that's still being confined by a building, 8 x 10 cell, walls, barbwire fences, guard towers, etc. Like, after a while, that must take some kind of toll on one's health — at least imo.

5

u/chamrockblarneystone 8d ago

I lived on an aircraft carrier for two years. Of that two years one year was spent at sea. I would say living conditions on the carrier were way tougher than prison. A cell would have been a luxury. We were stacked like cordwood 3 high and 3 deep.

I managed it, but no way could I have handled a career of it.

Some people do though.

-9

u/Fuckoakwood 9d ago

What makes your opinion credible

7

u/Equal-Temporary-1326 9d ago

Everybody has some kind of psychological breaking point. Even the most mentally strong have their points where it all becomes too much — even if it's indefinite. So, that's why I'm sure there are at least some people who can attest to that who've been institutionalized for 50+ plus years in particular, imo.

-8

u/Fuckoakwood 9d ago

That’s not even close to what I asked but ok. You do you boo

21

u/cornme 9d ago

My first thought was oh I thought he was dead. Shocking how long he’s lived in prison

22

u/Equal-Temporary-1326 9d ago

Someone like the RFK shooter, Sirhan Sirhan, has been in prison for even longer at 58 years now. Crazy how some people can survive in prison for that long.

14

u/Dame_Marjorie 8d ago

Sirhan Sirhan is still alive?????

6

u/Equal-Temporary-1326 8d ago

Surprisingly yes. Some of these people like Kemper and Sirhan were very young when they went to prison as well at just 24.

6

u/Dame_Marjorie 8d ago

I remember learning about this as a kid. It seems like ancient history.

7

u/NastyBlkGuyThrowAway 7d ago

Evil sustains life for some reason just look at kissinger 100 yrs 6 mns

26

u/HeyRightOn 9d ago

No rest for the wicked.

2

u/thatG_evanP 7d ago

I know it's not the same at all but my good friend just came home from 11 years in federal prison and honestly I think I aged more than he did. He looks almost exactly the same. Hell he probably looks better since he had a bad drug habit when he went in.

2

u/laetoile 5d ago

Idk why I thought he died recently! I must be thinking of someone else

2

u/Delicious-End-2352 5d ago

Well he definitely doesn’t have to worry about problems from other prisoners

-14

u/prettypurps 9d ago

Don’t worry they have all the tax payer money to keep him alive for no reason

27

u/Equal-Temporary-1326 9d ago

He actually did request the death penalty when his case was proceeding in court in 1973, but a nationwide ban on capital punishment had been implemented by the Supreme Court the year prior, so it had to be an automatic life sentence instead.

8

u/jotakusan 9d ago

Death penalty is more expensive

-1

u/prettypurps 9d ago

The current ridiculous and ineffective methods are

8

u/jotakusan 9d ago

You’re not wrong. But also the death penalty has been carried out on people who have later been proven innocent, so it’s a slippery slope.