The winter child lived and breathed amongst us for several years. He was brilliant as he moved around society, exercising his charm and wit as he observed seemingly normal people going about their lives. He always felt he was looking from the outside, and never able to get in to the normal structures of society. He desired love and acceptance. He coveted respect. It was a constant inward struggle to have peace and satisfaction, carrying around a burden of such magnitude that his soul was in constant anguish never knowing when the pain will end.
After all is said and done, what do we understand about the fragile nature of mankind, and the reasons behind a life like the winter's child? This is an inward look at the development and sum total of the life of Edmund Kemper, one of the most notrious serial killers in recent history. Is he insane, or evil? Was he born destined to be nothing short of an accomplished killer, or was he the product of a disfunctional childhood and subjugation?
The indivduals that seek out to kill and destroy are not unlike ourselves. Disappointment, fear, and frustration that we work to control at times leaks out in our most vulnerable moments. We might act vindictively toward a friend or a lover, in word or deed. We may believe we stand apart from the mind of a killer, but if we dared to peer into the depths of our own creation we can find that there is a little Ed Kemper in all of us.
This is the first in a series of short listens with main points from real cases. Some things have been fictionalized for dramatic purposes.