ladbible logo

To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

See If You Can Sleep After Watching Real-Life Interviews Of 'Mindhunter' Killer Edmund Kemper

See If You Can Sleep After Watching Real-Life Interviews Of 'Mindhunter' Killer Edmund Kemper

The 'co-ed killer' was incarcerated in 1973, and now you can find out about his grisly history in his own words

Will Fitzpatrick

Will Fitzpatrick

By now you're probably all over Netflix's latest crime drama Mindhunter, and rightly so - it's pretty compelling viewing. As an insight into the early days of criminal psychology, it unsurprisingly turns up some creepy and unsettling results - and we're not talking Stranger Things-style creepy, either.

One of the most memorable appearances in the whole show comes from Cameron Britton's portrayal of Edmund Kemper, also known as the 'co-ed killer', which will almost certainly have curious viewers desperate to know more about 'Big Ed's real-life back story. Well, guess what? Real-life interviews have now emerged - one from 1984, one from 1991 - and they're at least as chilling as the TV special. Take a look for yourself...

Born in 1948, Kemper abducted and murdered several women in the 1970s, not to mention his own mother and grandparents. His victims were typically young female hitchhikers, who he would lure into his vehicle before driving them to secluded areas to kill them. He then took the corpses back to his home to be decapitated and dismembered.

He also admitted to regularly engaging in necrophilic acts and once claimed to have feasted on the flesh of one of his victims, although this grisly confession was later retracted.

Following trial in 1973, and having been earlier diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, he requested the death penalty. However, capital punishment was temporarily suspended in California at the time following a ruling that previous death penalty laws were unconstitutional, and he instead received eight life sentences.

Kemper remains incarcerated in the California Medical Facility in Vacoville, Solano County.

Credit: Netflix

Produced by Fight Club and Se7en director David Fincher, Mindhunter is set in 1977 and tells the story of FBI agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench (played by Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany, respectively), who interviewed imprisoned serial killers to attempt to understand the criminal mindset, and apply this knowledge to solving subsequent cases.

The show currently has a 95 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and has been hailed by critics for its 'ambitiously cinematic visuals and meticulous attention to character development'.

Featured Image Credit: State of California / Netflix

Topics: Mindhunter, TV and Film, True Crime, UK Entertainment, US Entertainment, Serial Killer