CRJS 3010 DISCUSSION WEEK 1

Week 1 Discussion: Serial Killer Edmund Kemper and Mass Murder Charles Whitman

Edmund Kemper aka “the Co-ed Killer” was born on December 15, 1948, in Burbank, California

(biography.com, 2014.) His first murders were at the early age of 15. This is when he killed both of his

grandparents to as he put it as “to see what it felt like.” He began his criminal career by picking up

woman on the side of the road and raping them before releasing them. Later, he stopped releasing

them and began his killing history. In the 1970’s he killed at least 6 females around Santa Cruz, California

that he would later drop in parks to be found. In 1973 he killed his mother and then turned himself in to

law enforcement. Edmund Kemper is defined as a serial killer since his murders were spaced out over

time and there was a cool down period between murders. Kemper showed early signs of psychosis,

examples include cutting the heads off his sisters’ dolls, killing family pets and even began playing a

game with his siblings known as the “Gas Chamber.” Serial killers usually are noted to having started

with a history of killing or participating in animal cruelty. Futterman (2021) wrote in an article for

Discovery Magazine, that “21 percent of serial murders admitted to childhood animal abuse.” Kemper

was also raised by an alcoholic mother who belittled him his whole life and blamed all her problems on

him. This could be what led him to the violence he committed towards women. Kemper was charged

and convicted of 8 counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to 8 concurrent life sentences.

When asked by the judge during his sentencing what he thought his punishment should be, Kemper

stated that he should be tortured to death.

Charles Whitman aka “the Texas Tower Sniper” was born on June 24, 1941, in Lake Worth, Florida

(biography.com, 2014). Whitman is considered a mass murder because his murders happened within a

brief period. Whitman first murder was on July 31, 1966, when killed his mother in her apartment. He

then returned home where he killed his wife. The following morning on August 1, 1966, Whitman went

to the University of Texas and entered the tower located on campus. He killed a receptionist and two

other people on the way to the observation deck of the tower. Once there he killed 14 other people and

injured or wounded 30 more. The time from when he arrived at the observation deck until he was killed

by police officers was less than two hours. Most of the injuries and deaths occurred within the first half

hour. The reason for Whitman's killing spree is unknown other than the fact that he was having

headaches and possible suffered from mental illness. During his autopsy he was found to have a tumor.

Resources:

Holmes, R. M., & Holmes, S. T. (2009). Profiling violent crimes: An investigative tool (4th ed.).

Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Biography.com Editors. (2014, April 25). Edmund Kemper Biography. Biography.com. Retrieved January

12, 2022, from https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/edmund-kemper

Futterman, A. (2021, March 19). Are kids who abuse animals destined to become serial killers? Discover

Magazine. Retrieved January 12, 2022, from https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/are-kids-

who-abuse-animals-destined-to-become-serial-killers

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Biography.com Editors. (2021, April 2). Charles Whitman Biography. Biography.com. Retrieved January

12, 2022, from https://www.biography.com/political-figure/charles-whitman

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