Ed Kemper, who comes up in episode 9 of 'The Patient,' with a detective.

Serial Killer Ed Kemper Inspires Sam Fortner in ‘The Patient’ Episode 9 ‘Auschwitz’

'The Patient's Sam Fortner relates to serial killer Ed Kemper for one reason and it's not because he's a murderer.

by Lauren Anderson

Published on October 18, 2022

2 min read

Ed Kemper killed 10 people from 1964 to 1973

Kemper is an American serial killer known for murdering college students. He also killed his mother and her best friend, as well as his paternal grandparents. Dubbed the Co-ed Killer, Kemper terrorized Santa Cruz County in California for many years.

Kemper’s modus operandi often involved the rape of his victims. In some cases, he had sex with the bodies. When he killed his mother, Kemper had sex with her head after removing it from her body.

According to A&E, Kemper “severed the heads of all his victims except that of his mother’s best friend, whom he strangled April 20, 1973.” This helped create his alibi which centered around his mother and her friend going away together. Four days after those murders, Kemper was arrested in Mexico after calling the police to confess.

‘The Patient’ Episode 9 details Ed Kemper’s crimes

In “Auschwitz,” Alan Strauss (Steve Carell) remains Sam’s prisoner. Sam attributes his murderous tendencies to the abuse he suffered from his father as a child. Still, Alan helps Sam realize something significant about his desire to kill in episode 9 of The Patient. “It’s not the people you hurt that you’re mad at,” Alan says. “It’s him.”

“You think that I kill people because of him?” Sam questions. “Almost instead of him,” Alan replies.

Sam Fortner (Domhnall Gleeson) in 'Auschwitz' episode 9 of 'The Patient'

Domhnall Gleeson as Sam Fortner in ‘The Patient’ Episode 9 | Suzanne Tenner/FX

This conversation inspires Sam to get his laptop and pull up footage of an interview with Kemper. In the video, Kemper talks about his desire to stop killing and how he thought his mother had to die in order for him to break that pattern. “Once my mother was dead, it was almost a cathartic process,” Kemper says in the clip.

“Kemper said everyone he killed he was just killing his mother over and over,” Sam tells Alan. “It’s the same for me too, just with my father.” Despite Alans pleas not to, Sam visits his father in an effort to put a stop to his desire to kill.

What happened to serial killer Ed Kemper?

Kemper was found guilty at his 1973 murder trial. The justice system denied his request for the death penalty because capital punishment was suspended in California at the time. Instead, Kemper was sentenced to eight life sentences.

At publication, Kemper is still alive. According to California’s Inmate Locator, Kemper is incarcerated in the California Medical Facility located in Vacaville.

‘Mindhunter’ and other shows that mention Ed Kemper

The Patient isn’t the only series to mention the serial killer. Previously, Netflix’s Mindhunter featured a fictional Kemper played by The Umbrella Academy‘s Cameron Britton.