When people think about California's most notorious serial killers, Ed Kemper and Herbert Mullin are usually remembered as separate criminals with very different stories.
But there was a strange connection between the two.
Both men were active around Santa Cruz, California, during the early 1970s, with their murder sprees overlapping in 1972 and 1973. While Herbert Mullin was killing people he believed were connected to environmental catastrophe, Ed Kemper was targeting young women in and around Santa Cruz.
The coincidence became even stranger after both men were captured.
Ed Kemper and Herbert Mullin eventually ended up in adjoining prison cells, giving Kemper an opportunity to observe and interact with the man whose crimes had occurred in the same area and during roughly the same period as his own. Kemper later described Mullin in remarkably harsh terms and claimed he even used what he called "behavior modification" on him.
So what was the connection between Herbert Mullin and Ed Kemper?
Two Serial Killers Operating in the Same California Community
The most remarkable part of the Herbert Mullin and Ed Kemper story is that both men were committing murders in the same general area at nearly the same time.
Mullin's known murder spree occurred primarily between October 1972 and February 1973, while Kemper's later series of murders took place between May 1972 and April 1973. Their crimes overlapped geographically and chronologically, creating an extraordinary situation in which two unrelated serial killers were operating in the same region.
Mullin ultimately became responsible for 13 murders according to later admissions, although he was convicted of 10. His victims included men, women and children.
Kemper, meanwhile, murdered six young women and two additional people in his 1972–1973 killing spree, after having previously killed his grandparents as a teenager.
The two men therefore represented very different patterns of violence, despite operating in the same area.
Their overlapping crimes also contributed to the confusion surrounding the murders occurring in Santa Cruz at the time.
Who Was Herbert Mullin?
Herbert William Mullin was born in 1947 and grew up in California.
As a young man, Mullin developed increasingly unusual beliefs and experienced significant psychological problems. Eventually, he became convinced that natural disasters were imminent and that human sacrifice could somehow prevent catastrophe.
During his 1972–1973 murder spree, Mullin killed people he believed were somehow connected to his perceived environmental crisis.
His victims were not confined to one particular demographic.
Mullin killed people he encountered in different circumstances, including acquaintances, strangers and a group of young campers.
His bizarre motives made his crimes particularly difficult to understand.
Mullin was arrested in February 1973 after killing Fred Perez. He was eventually convicted of 10 murders and sentenced to life imprisonment. He remained incarcerated until his death from natural causes in 2022.
Related: [Who Was Herbert Mullin? The Serial Killer Who Believed He Was Saving the World]
Who Was Ed Kemper?
Ed Kemper, later known as the "Co-Ed Killer," was another California serial killer whose crimes became infamous because of the young women he targeted.
Kemper was exceptionally tall and physically imposing, and his crimes around Santa Cruz during 1972 and 1973 attracted enormous attention.
His victims included female college students whom he encountered while they were hitchhiking.
Unlike Mullin, whose murders were driven by bizarre beliefs about environmental catastrophe, Kemper's crimes followed a different pattern.
Kemper eventually murdered his mother and her friend before contacting authorities and confessing to his crimes.
He was convicted of eight murders and sentenced to life imprisonment.
The two killers had therefore arrived at their crimes through very different paths.
But their stories would eventually intersect.
Did Ed Kemper Know Herbert Mullin?
Yes.
Ed Kemper and Herbert Mullin eventually encountered each other in custody.
The two men were held in neighboring cells at one point, first during their time in custody and later at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville. Accounts differ in some details of their incarceration, but sources consistently document that the two men interacted while imprisoned.
Their relationship was not exactly a friendship.
In fact, Kemper later claimed that he disliked Mullin intensely.
Kemper reportedly considered Mullin a particularly senseless killer because of his seemingly random choice of victims. He described Mullin as someone who killed people without the kind of personal motivation Kemper believed characterized other murders.
The irony was obvious: one notorious serial killer was passing judgment on another.
The Strange "Behavior Modification" Experiment
Perhaps the most bizarre part of the Herbert Mullin and Ed Kemper connection involved television, singing, water and peanuts.
According to Kemper's later account, Mullin would sometimes sing or disturb other prisoners while they were watching television.
Kemper decided to do something about it.
He claimed that when Mullin behaved in a way Kemper disliked, he would throw water on him.
When Mullin behaved appropriately, Kemper would reward him with peanuts.
Kemper referred to this as "behavior modification treatment."
Kemper later claimed the method worked.
According to his account, Mullin eventually began asking permission before singing.
It was an extraordinarily strange dynamic: two convicted serial killers sharing prison space, with one attempting to modify the behavior of the other.
Kemper's account should be understood as his own recollection of events, rather than an independently established psychological experiment.
Why Did Ed Kemper Dislike Herbert Mullin?
Kemper's criticism of Mullin was surprisingly strong.
Although Kemper himself had murdered multiple people, he reportedly viewed Mullin as a particularly cold-blooded killer because Mullin appeared to kill people who had done nothing personally to him.
Kemper later described Mullin as having significant anger and anguish and suggested that Mullin directed those feelings toward people he did not know.
He also claimed that he understood something about Mullin because of their shared histories of institutionalization.
This created one of the strangest aspects of their relationship.
Ed Kemper was essentially analyzing another serial killer from the perspective of a convicted murderer himself.
The Santa Cruz Serial Killer Coincidence
The Herbert Mullin and Ed Kemper story is remarkable even without their prison encounter.
During the early 1970s, Santa Cruz and surrounding communities were dealing with murders committed by two unrelated serial killers.
Mullin was arrested in February 1973.
But the murders didn't stop.
That was because Kemper was still free.
After Mullin's arrest, investigators and the public were confronted with the disturbing realization that another killer was operating in the same general area. Contemporary accounts describe authorities recognizing that Mullin's arrest did not explain all of the murders occurring around Santa Cruz.
Kemper continued killing until April 1973, when he murdered his mother and her friend.
He then called the Santa Cruz Police Department and confessed.
The revelation effectively brought an end to the overlapping reigns of two serial killers who had been operating in the same California region.
Did Herbert Mullin and Ed Kemper Work Together?
No evidence indicates that Herbert Mullin and Ed Kemper worked together or coordinated their murders.
Their connection was primarily geographical, chronological and later institutional.
They were two separate offenders whose murder sprees happened to overlap in the same region.
There is no established evidence that they knew each other before their arrests or that either participated in the other's crimes.
Their eventual prison encounter happened after their murder sprees had ended, rather than being part of the crimes themselves.
Were Ed Kemper and Herbert Mullin Friends?
There is little evidence to characterize the two men as friends.
In fact, Kemper's own accounts suggest almost the opposite.
He reportedly disliked Mullin and described him in extremely negative terms. At the same time, Kemper also claimed to understand aspects of Mullin's behavior because of their shared experiences with institutionalization.
Their relationship was therefore unusual rather than friendly.
Kemper observed Mullin, interacted with him and claimed to have influenced his behavior.
But there is no strong evidence that the two developed a conventional friendship.
The Bizarre Irony of Two Killers Judging Each Other
Perhaps the most fascinating part of this story is the strange psychological irony.
Kemper was himself responsible for multiple murders.
Yet he looked at Mullin's crimes and apparently considered them particularly disturbing because Mullin's victims seemed so disconnected from any personal grievance.
Mullin, meanwhile, had his own elaborate explanation for why he killed.
Neither man's explanation makes the crimes less horrific.
But their interaction provides a rare glimpse into how one convicted murderer perceived another.
It also demonstrates why serial killers cannot always be neatly grouped together simply because they committed multiple murders.
Their motives, victim selection, behavior and personalities can be radically different.
What Happened to Herbert Mullin?
Herbert Mullin spent decades in prison following his convictions.
He was repeatedly denied parole and remained incarcerated until his death.
Mullin died on August 18, 2022, at the age of 75, from natural causes while in custody.
His death brought an end to the life of a man whose crimes had already become one of the darkest chapters in the history of Santa Cruz.
What Happened to Ed Kemper?
Ed Kemper was sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of eight murders.
Unlike Mullin, Kemper became particularly well known for later interviews in which he discussed his crimes, his background and his interactions with investigators and other professionals.
His descriptions of Herbert Mullin became part of the unusual historical record connecting the two men.
Kemper remains incarcerated at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville.
The Herbert Mullin and Ed Kemper Connection Explained
The connection between Herbert Mullin and Ed Kemper can be summarized in three strange coincidences:
Both serial killers operated in the Santa Cruz area during the early 1970s.
Their murder sprees overlapped in 1972 and 1973.
After their arrests, they eventually became prison neighbors and interacted with each other.
Their crimes were not coordinated, and there is no established evidence that they worked together.
The truly bizarre part of the story came afterward.
Two unrelated serial killers who had terrorized the same California region eventually found themselves in adjoining prison cells—with one of them claiming to have "trained" the other using water and peanuts.
It is an unsettling footnote in the history of American true crime, and one of the strangest connections between two serial killers who otherwise had very little in common.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Ed Kemper and Herbert Mullin know each other?
They eventually knew each other through their incarceration. The two men were held in adjoining cells at one point and interacted while in custody.
Did Ed Kemper and Herbert Mullin kill people at the same time?
Yes. Their murder sprees overlapped during 1972 and 1973 in the Santa Cruz area.
Did Ed Kemper and Herbert Mullin work together?
There is no established evidence that Kemper and Mullin worked together or coordinated their murders.
What did Ed Kemper do to Herbert Mullin?
Kemper later claimed that he used water and peanuts to influence Mullin's behavior, describing his actions as "behavior modification."
Why did Ed Kemper dislike Herbert Mullin?
Kemper reportedly believed Mullin killed people without a personal reason and viewed him as an especially cold-blooded killer.
How many people did Herbert Mullin kill?
Mullin was convicted of 10 murders and later admitted to additional killings, with authorities attributing 13 murders to him in later accounts.
How many people did Ed Kemper kill?
Kemper was convicted of eight murders during his 1972–1973 killing spree, in addition to the two murders he committed as a teenager.
When did Herbert Mullin die?
Herbert Mullin died on August 18, 2022, at age 75, from natural causes while incarcerated.
Final Thoughts
The story of Herbert Mullin and Ed Kemper is unusual because their connection wasn't created by an alliance, friendship or shared criminal enterprise.
It was created by coincidence.
Two serial killers operated in the same California region at roughly the same time. Both were eventually captured. And after their crimes were over, they found themselves sharing the same prison environment.
Their bizarre interactions became one of the strangest chapters in the story of the Santa Cruz murders.
For true-crime history, it is a chilling reminder that sometimes the most disturbing connections aren't planned at all.
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