Documenting the Co-Ed Killer case
The latest addition to my collection of true crime collectibles is this press photo of Ed Kemper after his arrest in Pueblo, Colorado, in April 1973. The text below the picture reads as follows:
Pueblo, Colo., Apr. 25 — Questioned in slayings — Edmund Emil Kemper III, 24, of Aptos, Calif., is taken to court in Pueblo, Colo., Wednesday after turning himself in to police. Kemper called police in California telling them of the murder of his mother and her friend. (See AP Wire Story) (AP Wirephoto)
Since 1985, the print magazine Murder Can Be Fun has dedicated itself to the unpleasant, unhealthy, yet oddly gratifying task of revelling in the more sordid and violent side of life. Dead people in Disneyland. Santa Cruz Serial Killers. Molasses Floods. Soccer Riots. Published by John Marr and meticulously researched at libraries and from his own collection of more than 10,000 books, Murder Can Be Fun presents the choicest and weirdest anecdotes to a bemused and often goggle-eyed readership. Number 8 featured a dark-humoured article about the Kemper case.
This magazine is part of my collection of true crime collectibles.
In 2018, we went to Santa Cruz on vacation and visited some of the places that were important in Ed Kemper’s story. First stop was the Jury Room, a bar where he hung out and drank beer with policemen, while having conversations about the co-ed murders, which were being investigated at the time. The police did not suspect him and found him friendly.
On one of the walls, there’s a sign acknowledging that Kemper was at one time a regular patron. We don’t know to what ‘colorful history’ they are referring to, as nobody suspected him of the crimes and few people knew that he had killed his grandparents years before…
We went a couple of times and enjoyed a few drinks. On one of our visits, a dog kindly lent us his seat…!
Here’s another ceramic mug that Ed Kemper made at the CMF in Vacaville in 1978. It’s a half mug. Really pretty and nice to the touch.
As written on the face of the mug, “Tony” is Tony Palmiero (also Palmerio), a film writer and producer who was in charge of making a film about Kemper in the late 1970s. Kemper was very involved with Tony in making it as close to the real story and the truth, but funding was cut to the movie. Kemper was mad and decided to make two halves of a mug stating “Budget cuts are hell” in regards to the cancelling of the film.
I don’t know if Kemper made the two halves. On the certificate of authenticity prepared by Kemper, he says that the project was not completed and that he retained the half mug until 1991 when he gave it to a friend.
This ceramic mug is part of my collection of true crime collectibles.
Here is a ceramic mug made by Ed Kemper at the CMF in Vacaville. It was one of his pastime in prison and he became quite skilled at it. What makes it unique is that the handle was custom fitted to Kemper’s left hand.
Here is Kemper’s description of the mug on the certificate of authenticity he prepared: “One large wheel crafted ceramic mug, medium mottled green in color, with dark green form fitting handed handle grip. Handle was custom fitted to Kemper’s hand and worked by same. This mug was crafted in 1980.”
This ceramic mug is part of my collection of true crime collectibles.
This new Polaroid of Ed Kemper at the CMF in Vacaville surfaced yesterday on Instagram. According to its owner, it was taken some time between 1995 and 1999. The man standing next to Kemper is unknown. He is probably a visitor.
Thanks to serialkillermurderabilia for sharing this item from their awesome collection!
Ink by artist David Jouvent for his upcoming graphic novel based on Ed Kemper’s life and crimes. Éditions Hachette. To be released Summer 2019.
This drawing is part of my collection of true crime collectibles.
Several years after Edmund Kemper had been incarcerated (at Atascadero), a parcel arrived at the home of psychiatrist Dr. William Schanberger, who’d been friendly with teenage Edmund.
Images from the documentary Born to Kill – The Coed Killer
Portraits of Ed Kemper by Nicolas Castelaux
Nicolas Castelaux, whose real name is Nicolas Claux, is a French painter, writer and collector of murderabilia.
A devotee of Satanism, he was sentenced to twelve years in prison in 1997 for murder and released in 2002.
After having written and published several books in the collection “Camion Noir”, including several biographies, such as Richard Ramirez (2009), Ted Bundy (2014), and the band Mayhem (2010), and the marking “Je tue donc je suis” (2009) resulting from his correspondence with killers (something that had never been done in France before him), among which are the infamous culinary texts by Issei Sagawa (the Japanese cannibal student), Castelaux is now the manager of the collection, related to publisher Camion Blanc.
As a painter, Castelaux notably does portraits of famous serial killers. He also illustrated with his works the famous American “Serial Killer Calendar”.
A unique piece: “The Annotated Dracula” hardcover book, signed, dated and dedicated on the inside first page by Ed Kemper in 1992 and signed, dated and dedicated on the title page (second page) by famed author and poet Leonard Wolf in 1978. This book was Kemper’s personal copy given to him by Wolf. I blurred the names in Kemper’s note to protect their privacy.
This book is part of my collection of true crime collectibles.
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