Mindhunter viewers have a lot of questions after seeing most recent photo of serial killer Ed Kemper

Mindhunter viewers have been left seriously creeped out after seeing a recent photograph of real life serial killer Ed Kemper.

Kemper, who is also referred to as the 'Co-ed Killer', is a real life murderer whose case featured in season 1, episode 2 of Netflix's hit psychological crime series Mindhunter.

Now you'd think that as fans of true crime, the majority of Mindhunter viewers wouldn't be easily creeped out, however, a recent photo of Kemper left a lot of people on social media left asking the same question after seeing the image.

Born on 18 December, 1948 in Burbank, California, Kemper is a notorious serial killer who ended the lives of not only his paternal grandparents, but also eight other women and girls.

Kemper's first kill came at the age of 15, when he brutally murdered his grandparents Maude and Edmund by shooting them with a hunting rifle in 1964.

After serving time for their deaths, Kemper would be released from prison after serving just five years inside. He was released onto parole on his 21st birthday, against the advice of medical psychiatrists.

Kemper would later go on another killing spree between May 1972 and April 1973. Six of the victims were students aged between 15 and 23, as well as his own mother and her friend.

After murdering his victims, he would sexually assault them before decapitating and dismembering their bodies.

After the brutal killings, Kemper would eventually turn himself into police, admitting that he had decided to confess to his crimes as the violence was no longer serving any 'physical or real or emotional purpose', according to an excerpt from Peter Vronsky’s book, Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters.

Kemper photographed during his trial. (Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)

"The original purpose was gone… It wasn’t serving any physical or real or emotional purpose. It was just a pure waste of time," he said.

"Emotionally, I couldn’t handle it much longer. Toward the end there, I started feeling the folly of the whole damn thing, and at the point of near exhaustion, near collapse, I just said to hell with it and called it all off."

Kemper would be found guilty of eight counts of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment at California Medical Facility.

Now 75, Kemper remains in the facility where a recent photo of him dated to June 2024 appeared on the internet via the @thisisedkemper Instagram account.

The image has since been shared several times across social media, with creeped out true crime fans all wondering why he wasn't given the death penalty for his crimes.

The photo was taken in June 2024. (Instagram/@thisisedkemper)

"What do we get as a society for keeping this man alive," one person commented in X.

While a second added: "Think of the cost to society for housing/caring for this psycho who is clearly a menace to society."

And a third said: "He’s still alive!? omg."

However other users were quick to point out that multiple interviews with Kemper have since provided valuable insight into how serial killers think and operate - which was the basis for Mindhunter.