While he was in the Santa Cruz jail [during his 1973 trial], Kemper got along famously with the other prisoners. Jovial and fun-loving by nature, at least with male companions, he genuinely enjoyed the companionship of the communal cellblock. According to other inmates, the jail authorities were feeding him sedatives. The downs apparently had little effect on him, and he stopped taking them, preferring to trade them for extra food from the prisoners employed as “kitchen trustees.”
Source: Urge to Kill by Ward Damio (1974, Pinnacle Books)
New information unveiled in the Kemper case in the book The New Evil: Understanding the Emergence of Modern Violent Crime by authors Michael H. Stone MD and Gary Brucato PhD, published earlier in 2019.
According to a source close to the 1973 investigation, Kemper did not use his mother’s head as a dartboard, after he murdered and decapitated her. Instead, he apparently used her genitals.
The authors are currently writing a new book, which will feature a full chapter about the Kemper case. No release date announced yet.
Thanks to the authors who informed us about this finding.
May 1, 1973. Accused slayer Edmund Emil Kemper towered over detectives Don Smythe (left) and Terry Madina (right) as he was taken into court for arraignment Monday. Kemper waived reading of the eight counts, which include charges of killing several young women and his mother, Clarnell Strandberg. Municipal Court Judge Donald O. May ordered the defendant to be held without bail. The uniformed guard to the right of Kemper is Bruce Colomy.
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel/ Photo by Sentinel Photographer Pete Amos
Shortly after his arrest, upon his return to Santa Cruz, serial killer Ed Kemper lead police to the sites where he buried his victims. Kemper targeted young female hitchhikers, luring them off the road and into his vehicle. He would drive to a secluded spot to murder them, and then take their corpses home to dismember, desecrate, and decapitate them. Detectives said Kemper was extremely cooperative throughout the search.
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.
“Imperfect criminal justice systems execute the innocent along with the guilty — Kemper’s case does not fit that rubric. However, Kemper’s execution would have done nothing to change the unpardonable acts of his past, while it would have precluded every decent, useful and beautiful that he has done in prison. Considering the lives of his victims, Kemper’s execution could not fairly have been called an injustice, but considering the life he has led in prison, it would have been a mistake. However, it is Kemper’s remarkable art work that, ultimately, confirmed my faith in the futility of the death penalty.
Because of powerful forces beyond his control, Edmund Kemper is too high-risk to be on the street, but in 41 years of incarceration, he has been a model prison-citizen, an effective functionary and a very interesting artist, whose ceramic designs have amazed me and astonished my friends for almost 35 years. The cup Kemp mailed to me, almost 35 years ago, continues to delight me every day.
NOTE: Above is my photograph of an amazingly intricately-glazed, slip cast cup. It was made on the dock near my home in the South of France. Below it is my photograph of Ed Kemper making that cup, in his house in California State Correctional Facility — Vacaville.“
Photographer Joey Tranchina who visited ed kemper at the cmf in vacaville in the fall of 1979
Source: Excerpt from My Life Tumbled – Photographer Joey Tranchina’s Blog on Tumblr – July 12, 2014
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.
