EKS: What new information about the Kemper case did you learn that marked you? WebToday, Edmund Kemper is still behind bars, serving his sentence at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville. June 10, 1984 Ray Charles was first major entertainer to perform at CMF. But little Herbie was, when I met him in Redwood City Jail, okay? Despite Eds wealth of ever-changing interviews, there are many mysteries. So, that was that little desperate hanging on. Kemper became one of the most famous killers in the country and has given some fascinating interviews over the years. CMF is located in Vacaville, 35 miles from the capital city of Sacramento and 55 miles from San Francisco. Hes just giving me some peanuts and I didnt do anything for them. Apparently, the real target in Kemper's murders was his mother, Clarnell. Providing a child in need with a bicycle might just help keep him or her on the right path. He went to mental institutions and he went through these processes where these doctors told him what was wrong with him, and these doctors treated things that they decided were wrong with him and he just sat back very passively and went through these treatments and they had almost no effect on him because he didnt dare say what was really going on in his head. But he soon stopped letting them go, killing six young women in the Santa Cruz, California, area in the 1970s. Shales, Tom. The state budget in 1950 appropriated $6.4 million to construct CMF but first they opted for a temporary location at Terminal Island in San Pedro near Los Angeles. Ed was covered widely then and now. The Co-Ed Killers amicable attitude fooled almost everyone during his crime spree and even had his investigators enjoying his company after he turned himself in. Theyre trying to throw things at him and they cant get at him. His life was much easier subsequently at Vacaville, either from being transferred there, or released from the Vacaville hole and allowed to roam around in population. Richard A. McGee watches. If so, what? Edmund Kemper (born December 18, 1948), is a serial killer currently serving a life sentence in the California Medical Facility. The deputies are on camera watching me. In 1937, Republic Pictures hired him because he resembled Roy Rogers. This is one of Ed Kempers hand holding his prison ID. Ed Kemper shows cops where he buried some of the bodies. Since then, he has been incarcerated at the California Medical Facility. The State Personnel Board has set July 18 as the examining date for candidates wanting guard positions at Folsom, San Quentin, Soledad, Terminal Island and Tracy state prisons, reported the Lodi News-Sentinel on May 28, 1953. And she regularly berated and insulted him, telling him that no woman would ever fall in love with him. Little bags of peanuts. They knew and liked Big Ed the 69 local man who was always hanging around and seemed like nothing more than a gentle giant. For the state to make use of Terminal Island, state corrections director Richard A. McGee traveled to Washington, D.C., in 1944 to make a presentation to the Pentagon. She didnt believe she was in danger until Ed suddenly transformed into killer mode and became the monster he was. Garofoli, Joe. If you are interested in knowing more about the Blind Project in which Ed Kemper participated for many years, this archive recently surfaced on YouTube. I dont know him. Large and strong from his youth, Ed was spared that fate despite being incarcerated as a teenager in an adult psychiatric facility with nearly 1,000 sex offenders. I worked in the psych testing area in Atascadero. We asked author Dary Matera a few questions about the process of writing the book: EKS: How did you come about writing the book Ed Kemper, Conversations With a Killer? Ed Kemper, The Disturbing 'Co-Ed Killer' Of 1970s California Edmund Kemper Current Facility California Medical Facility Parole Eligibility Date 1979 Edmund Kemper Other News. For Ed Kemper, living on his grandparents ranch was no better than living at home. WebCalifornia Medical FacilityCalifornia Medical Facility (CMF) is a male-only state prison for inmates with long-term medical needs, located in Vacaville, California. Some reports say he was doing hard time in isolation in a harsh prison like San Quentin, Folsom, or Pelican Bay. I called one of the guys over to the bars from the place in the back, the tank and I went like this (Kemper pretends he is sleeping with his folded hands beneath his face for a pillow]. You set them around in little areas right around close and practice shooting them real fast. And he looks at me all shocked, he says, How do you know that? I said, Because thats what I used to do. I says (he holds his hands out in a mime-gesture to ask what is he doing?) He reads it and says (nods yes]. I think about 1947, it became apparent the U.S. Bureau of Prisons wanted to get (Terminal Island) back but they didnt have any money and they didnt have enough prisoners either at that time. Born on December 18, 1948, in Burbank, California, Edmund Kemper presented troubling behavior from an early age. After his father left the family in 1957, the young boy killed both of the familys cats. CMF is a medium security medical facility located in the city of Vacaville in Solano County. Prison need not be an end, but can sometimes mean a new beginning.. Bettmann Archive/Getty ImagesEdmund Kemper enjoys a smoke with a detective. Bettmann/Getty ImagesThe shocking stories of what happened to Ed Kempers victims horrified the nation. The DPP Teacher works with the VEP Coordinator to facilitate student participation in the Braille Program offered through the Hadley School for the Blind. Dickey, Jim. Inmates at CMF then refurbish the bicycles and make them look and ride like new. She transferred to Mule Creek State Prison as the Chief Support Executive in 2015, and acted as the Chief Executive Officer from 2019 to June 2021. Kemper was arrested and later convicted of eight counts of first-degree murder. "[5] CMF has the largest hospital among California prisons. With a gleeful smile, he cracked I taught women not to hitchhike., Source: Ed Kemper Conversations with a killer, by Dary Matera, Sterling Publishing, 2021 / Photo: Pete Amos, Murder Capital of the World, by Emerson Murray, 2021, Ed Kempers behavior modification therapies, masterclass How to Think Like an FBI Profiler., California inmate who admitted 13 murders dies natural death, Ed Kempers greatest contribution to society, He would notice a girl and really stare, not just look or glance., As far back as I can remember, Guy has wanted to be by himself.. Ed Kemper's Favorite Pastime In Prison May Surprise You. The gigantic task of moving prisoners and personnel from Terminal Island in southern California will be completed when the last group of some 500 inmates arrives (by) bus, reported the Vallejo Times-Herald on May 9, 1955. [My victims] represented not what my mother was, but what she liked, what she coveted, what was important to her, and I was destroying it, he said. He even buried a severed head from one victim in his mothers garden and left it facing toward her bedroom. 22? Hey, wait a minute! Kemper was nicknamed the Co-ed Killer, as most of his victims were female college students hitchhiking in the vic I saw a kindred spirit there, somebody who was doing something very similar to what I was doing as a child. He became known as The Co-ed Killer after murdering six female students. He had no need for it, but he took it with him. Public DomainEd Kemper shows cops where he buried some of the bodies. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, "California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation: Monthly Report of Population As of Midnight July 31, 2022", "Governor Newsom Announces Appointments 8.4.21". CMF was actually the states second attempt at creating a psychiatric prison hospital, the first being recommended in 1890 and built on a bluff above Folsom State Prison. From there, Kemper continued his murder spree, killing again on September 14, 1972. Theyre just watching it, and after a while, one of them come in and said, Herbie is completely cooperative now. He couldnt sing a lick at all. Source: The Co-Ed Killer Mind of a Monster (documentary, 2021). And she refused to coddle her son for fear it would turn him gay. In that turbulent environment, Kemper began to develop dark fantasies early on. It is older than California State Prison, "Yesterday's Crimes: LAPD Snitches, CIA Mind Control and the Birth of the SLA", "Ben Gurecki interview on Outsight Radio Hours", "Daniel John Montecalvo Obituary (2013) Los Angeles Times", "Kenneth Eugene Parnell, A Notorious Child Molester Dies In Prison", "Too crazy to die: The story of Erwin "Machine Gun' Walker", California Medical Facility's Blind Project, the Volunteers of Vacaville, California State Prison, Los Angeles County, California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, Corcoran, Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility, Golden State Medium Community Correctional Facility, Eagle Mountain Community Correctional Facility, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=California_Medical_Facility&oldid=1152216109, Buildings and structures in Vacaville, California, Law enforcement in the San Francisco Bay Area, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with obsolete information from August 2009, All Wikipedia articles in need of updating, Infobox mapframe without OSM relation ID on Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, 1,887 (79.9% capacity) (as of July 31, 2022, A 1988 lawsuit charged that CMF was "a filthy, vermin-infested, overcrowded prison," and that medical care there was "grossly inadequate. He then drove to Colorado, certain that he would soon see the two murders in the news. All were for killings he committed during a four-month period in late 1972 and early 1973. Edmund Kemper and his younger sister, Allyn. A subconscious level. Douglas challenges you to identify these traits in people you know to avoid being manipulated. Gov. He didnt miss a beat. I got the shower cell. So, without saying anything, I just reached around and I laid them on the bars and then pulled my hand away: He took them and he enjoyed them and all of that and Id say later, Id say, Gee, uh, Herbie, did you eat all those peanuts?, Hed say, Oh, no, I still got some left.. [9] Inmates who participate in the Volunteers of Vacaville's Blind Project create audiobooks, transcribe books into Braille, clean and repair Perkins Brailler machines, and resurface eyeglasses. You know, just target shooting?. If you enjoyed Edmund Kemper, also known as "The (113kg), was given eight life sentences and is currently living with the normal prison population at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville. Others say he was at the much easier Cuckoos Nest at Vacaville since day one. Ed Kemper is currently being held at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville, California, which is a state prison that specializes in providing medical and mental health care to inmates. He loved Planters Peanuts. Academic: Adult Basic Education, GED Prep, High School Equivalency Test (HiSET) Prep, and Voluntary Education Program (VEP), College Program (face to face) through Solano Community College, Distance Learning through Coastline Community College, Lassen Community College, Ohio State University, and California Coast University. The DPP ensures that eligible students have access to equipment and software used for Braille. Theyre not involving themselves. On his left is his lawyer, Jim Jackson, and to Kempers right is County sheriffs deputyBruce Colomy who accompanied Kemper during his trial and who Kemper considered as a father figure, although they were practically the same age. U.S. Probe Criticizes Inmate Care at Overcrowded Vacaville Prison. Kemper soon began to risk getting caught just for an additional thrill. You punish them when theyre bad, and if youre absolutely accurate in when you do these things, quick punishment when they do bad and quick reward when they do good, supposedly this is supposed to attack you at a subliminal level. Fueled by these thoughts, he started decapitating his sisters dolls. He has been denied parole multiple times and is considered a high-risk offender due to his past behavior. 1942 US Navy began using Terminal Island. He specifically spent over 5,000 hours recording between 1977 and 1987 (via Rare). If hes back away from the bars, go back that far and position yourself so its a grid. Or they could watch the monitor and watch him. Then, when I give you a signal, that will be a hand signal, very casually walk over, dont look at me, just casually walk over and drape yourself on the bars where hes at so Ill know. Construction was never completed. He was convicted of eight counts of first-degree murder and is currently serving eight concurrent life sentences at California Medical Facility in Vacaville. NetflixEd Kemper, as portrayed by actor Cameron Britton, on the Netflix series Mindhunter. Inside The Bizarre Murder Of Blair Adams And Why It Remains Unsolved Decades Later, Bolivian Man Survives In The Amazon Rainforest For A Month By Eating Worms And Drinking His Own Urine, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch, Edmund Kemper, the murderer who once terrorized California as the Co-Ed Killer.. Focus on the positive instead and the negative will go away. I dont think anybody ever did that with him before, because he responded real well to it, and later when we were up here in the hole together, and we werent even supposed to be together, they didnt want us together. And he confessed to everything. Right? Youre going to get me with that stuff. Theyre just trying to mace the guy in the back of the car because he wont shut up! Traci Patterson began her career with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in 2008 as a Manager in the Budget Management Branch providing services for the Mental Health and Dental programs. He killed Maude, he later explained, because he just wanted to see what it felt like to kill Grandma. But Kemper killed his grandfather so that he wouldnt find out that his wife had been murdered. You can see a scar on Kempers wrist, a remnant of his suicide attempts before and during his 1973 trial. He could have lived a happy, lucrative celebrity life. ), it might not be surprising that he now lives in hospice. His initial duties included everything from bolting bunks onto walls to assembling kitchen tables, a 2005 CMF document states. The Disturbing Crimes Of Ed Kemper, The 69 Serial Killer Who Saved His Grisliest Murder For His Own Mom. Theres guys back in the tank, and he and I are in these cells facing them through three bars. The project provides bicycles to needy children. The 43-year-old former head of Californias Sonoma State Hospital believes most people fail in life because they dont know how to use their free time (and failed) to develop a meaningful avocation, the newspaper reported. This enabled to me to take on the project with a fresh objective perspective. 1952 CMF construction began in Vacaville. Terminal Island started as a federal prison before becoming a Navy facility. According to Book Riot, this nonprofit organization started The Blind Project. So, I started this, they call just real basic behavior modification therapy, okay? We receive donations of new, used, and damaged bicycles from police departments, private businesses, and private citizens. Nine years later, he was looking at release from prison. He even went as far as burying one girl's head in his mother's garden, per Edmund Kemper Stories. Donnell Spade Cooley gained fame in the early days of television as the King of Western Swing with such hits as Shame, Shame on You. He started his career playing with the Sons of the Pioneers and working for star Roy Rogers as a stand-in and arranger. Id say, Excuse me, Mr. Mullin. I say, Do you have a bar of soap? That was before the prison system outlawed interviews with incarcerated criminals, and Ed was very loquacious and gave many before the shutdown. At first, the police didnt believe that Big Ed could be a killer. She thought she had more balls than any man and was constantly emasculating me and my grandfather to prove it, Kemper later said. Superintendent Keating had been in his position for four years by 1964. The Bike Project inmate workers learn their skills from local volunteers, including Rays Cycle owner Mike Posey, whose family has been coming to the prison for years to share their skills with inmates in the program. The set of bars (stretches out his arms wide) is nine feet wide and eight or nine feet high. And theyre fascinated. Theres no soap over here. He took it all with him. Patients who require additional nursing care may be housed in the Outpatient Housing Unit (OHU). Bernhardt took command of the CMF Fire Department. Prison Hospice and Pastoral Care Services in California. DM: The publisher, Barnes & Noble/Sterling, recently republished my 1998 bookTaming The Beastabout Charles Mansons wild life in prison postHelter Skelter. I say, Well, try this on. In 1964, Sgt. Theyre yelling, because he caused them great interruption in their day. The Governor laid the cornerstone. Manson was convicted and notoriously despised for being the leader of a drugged up hippy cult that acted out the brutal slaughters. As of 2021, Ed Kemper is still alive and in prison. Exactly who is Ed Kemper? But the mechanism couldnt break up the tissue properly and spit her remains back into the sink. 1973 First female correctional officers joined staff at CMF. Patterson accepted a position at California Medical Facility in 2011 as the Health Program Manager III, and serving as the Correctional Health Services Administrator II for Quality Management at the same time. In 1969, at age 59 and just three months shy of his scheduled release, Cooley was allowed to perform at a benefit show sponsored by the Alameda County Sheriffs Association. California Medical Facility (CMF) in Vacaville has a history stretching back to southern California and a former federal prison that once housed Al Capone. Volunteers of Vacaville still exists at Edmund Emil Kemper III (born December 18, 1948) is an American serial killer who murdered a total of 10 people, including a 15-year-old girl, as well as his own mother and her best friend, from May 1972 to April 1973, following his parole for murdering his paternal grandparents. Public DomainDetectives dig in the Co-Ed Killers yard in search of the remains of Ed Kempers victims. [7], As of April 30, 2020, CMF was incarcerating people at 101.5% of its design capacity, with 2,396 occupants. I got him every time. The Killer Interview; Snyder's Manson Interview; Tom Snyder's Jailhouse Spar With Charles Manson. Oct. 26, 1954 CMF in Vacaville dedicated. Kemper would describe Mullin as having a lot of pain inside, he had a lot of anguish inside, he had a lot of hate inside, and it was addressed to people he didnt even know because he didnt dare do anything to the people he knew. In that same interview, Kemper called Mullin a kindred spirit there due to their similar past of being institutionalized. He worked at a gas station where I used to buy gas. DM: As mentioned, all the information on Ed was new to me, so thats a difficult question to answer. (Btw, when the judge asked Kemper what his The workers feel a sense of gratification knowing they are giving back to society. September 4, 2019 / Edmund Kemper Stories / 0 Comments. He actually got away from the bad behaviour when he said, Hey! Hed come back out and all the way over there and all the way back there. Source: Ed Kemper Conversations with a killer, by Dary Matera, Sterling Publishing, 2021 / Photo: Pete Amos, Murder Capital of the World, by Emerson Murray, 2021. About Edmund Kemper. So, I said, Herbie, would you like some peanuts? And hed say, Yeah! And I said, Oh, I got to him, right down to the inner core there. Yeah! This little childhood thing comes out and it says, Oh, here! And he was fascinated by this thought of Gee! According to Rare, after his grandparents' murders, Kemper was sent to Atascadero State Hospital. Mullin died Thursday evening [August 18] at the California Health Care Facility in Stockton, corrections officials said, and the San Joaquin County medical examiner will determine his exact cause of death. Kemper is eligible for another parole hearing in 2024. Richard Allen Davis: How Suspect Became "Quintessential Convict.". Donations are regularly made to other charitable organizations such as The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Mission Solano, Orchard Kindergartens Playground just to name a few. I had a little bit of psychology study. So, I started thinking about that and I went back to my old relationships in therapy and group therapy in Atascadero and Youth Authority and stuff and Im saying, Okay, well we can deal with this. Scary. I wasnt. Before long, he was even meeting with the FBI to discuss his heinous crimes and why he committed them in a chillingly objective conversation. ", A 1989 lawsuit by HIV-infected inmates at CMF claimed that separate housing limited their access to prison services (such as recreation, visitation, and jobs) and subjected them to "unnecessary mental anguish. We often receive messages from our dear followers asking news about Kempers health and current situation. He even buried one of the cats alive and later decapitated it. The Blind Project has since grown into a nationally and internationally recognized leader in blind services. Nov. 27, 1984 Gov. Hard time: California bracing for a flood of elderly inmates. CMF's facilities include Level I ("Open dormitories without a secure perimeter") housing, Level II ("Open dormitories with secure perimeter fences and armed coverage") housing, Level III and IV ("Individual cells, fenced perimeters and armed coverage") housing. Like with his first murders, Kemper picked up a hitchhiker, 15-year-old Aiko Koo, who had missed her bus to dance class. (He) collapsed during an intermission after receiving a standing ovation for his performance on the violin, reported the Desert Sun newspaper on Nov. 24, 1969. Thatd get me off.. In addition, Kemper forced his sisters to play disturbing games like electric chair and gas chamber. As if imagining where he might end up, Kemper had his sisters pretend to march him to his death. George Deukmejian dedicated California Medical Facility-South (which later became CSP-Solano), 1992 CSP-Solano officially separated from CMF. I mean, theyre on the monitors watching every move Im making. "California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation: Monthly Report of Population As of Midnight April 30, 2020", "The History of the Volunteers of Vacaville". Born on December 18, 1948, Edmund Emil Kemper III turns 74 today. I envision her possibly ascending to Congress or the Senate. DM: I would have loved to have channeled the person I felt was Ed most tragic victim, Aiko Koo. On August 27, 1964, Kemper got into yet another explosive argument with his grandmother. The video features Kemper (Cameron Britton) snacking on an egg salad sandwich in silence for his Christmas dinner while at the California Medical Facility. Ed Kempers victims were hidden somewhere in a ravine near Loma Prieta Mountain. April 6, 1955 First inmates arrived at the new CMF. But the point is, I got a handle on his behaviour, and the cops are watching this. One day I asked him, tongue in cheek, what did he consider his greatest contribution to society. But at first, he initially tried to live a normal life. Her interaction with Ed, if reports are to be believed, was courageous and even humorous at times. She was home free at that point if she could drive or shoot. It was like being in jail. Kemper even received two trophies for his work and later said that he was quite proud of his accomplishments with the organization. Then, take a look at Carl Panzram, the most cold-blooded serial killer in history. After serving five years in prison for their murders he was released in 1969. His cheerful demeanor made the stories of Ed Kempers victims all the more horrifying. With a convoluted idea about a cover story Kemper thought that he could say that his mother and her friend went on vacation together Kemper murdered Hallett and stole her car. 1938 Federal prison built at Terminal Island. When asked why he stopped killing and turned himself in, Kemper said, It wasnt serving any physical or real or emotional purpose. When he would get to acting up, hed sit there hours writing and writing at this little desk and the other guys were ignoring him, so that night theyre watchingSaturday Night Live, you know, with all of this rock music playing and stuff and theyre enjoying it. Though our prices are below industry averages, price adjustments are sometimes made for clients living on a fixed income or those who cannot afford the repairs. The majority of inmate-patients at CMF reside in an outpatient setting and receive health care in an outpatient clinics. Right? Now, Ed Kemper is in charge of scheduling other inmates appointments with psychiatrists and has spent over 5,000 hours narrating audiobooks of stories like Dune and Star Wars. Prison System to Resume Health Care at Vacaville. This mugshot was taken at the California Medical Facility (CMF) in Vacaville on June 5, 1995. You werent there!, I know. He saw the institution he headed at Terminal Island become the birthplace five years ago of group therapy for prisoner rehabilitation. Inmates With HIV Slighted. The Co-Ed Killers amicable attitude fooled almost everyone during his crime spree and even had his investigators enjoying his company after he turned himself in. Its just a self-perpetuating thing, and it was the only way he could get out his negative feelings. Copyright 2023 California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation, Public Information Officers (PIOs) at Adult Institutions, Institution Statistics (SB601),Operational Performance Measures (COMPSTAT) andInmate Population Reports. The Long Beach Press Telegram dated June 2, 1950, reported on the preparations to transfer use of the facility. Its a crazy world. At the time, it was standard for sergeants to regularly rotate to the position of fire chief. He is still incarcerated at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville, CA. When it Fu, Kimberly K. CMF inmates book 'em in Braille project. On June 30, 1950, San Quentin State Prison transferred 65 inmates to Terminal Island to prepare. I cant see him and he cant see me. This went on for two or three weeks. Dr. Patterson returned to CMF in July 2021 as Chief Executive Officer. Douglas interviews with Kemper set him on a path to understanding that all criminal minds exemplify three personality traits: manipulation, domination, and control. He and a skeleton staff have been at the institution for the past month and 65 trustees arrived yesterday to start preparation for receiving prisoners.. It's here that Ed Kemper got involved in a hobby that benefits the visually impaired (via Oxygen). He then decapitated her and raped her severed head before using it as a dartboard. Dr. Marion King was appointed as CMFs first warden, known then as superintendent. King had previously served as medical director of the federal bureau of prisons. Theyre watching this thing go back and forth with me and Herbie. O JULGAMENTO. When later asked what crossed his mind when he saw a pretty girl, Kemper said: One side of me says, Wow, what an attractive chick. There, doctors determined that Kemper had paranoid schizophrenia as well as a very impressive IQ. Theyd walk him around into their tank. On May 7th, he picked up two Fresno State students, 18-year-old Mary Ann Pesce and 18-year-old Anita Luchessa, near Berkeley, California. In the early '70s, Kemper began to pick up female college-aged hitchhikers around Northern California. I couldnt please her. Meanwhile, without Edmund Sr. around, Kempers mother began to focus her aggression on her teenage son. ", In spring 1992, the two top HIV specialists at the prison resigned, frustrated by limited resources and what they described as "institutionalized apathy" toward AIDS among inmates. His mother, Clarnell Elizabeth Kemper, was an alcoholic who possibly suffered from borderline personality disorder. Associated Press. Right? Gabe is a New York City-based writer and an Editorial Intern at All That Is Interesting. Superintendent T.L. EKS: What was your research process? McGee was a featured speaker. Facebook/Allyn SmithEdmund Kemper and his younger sister, Allyn. My book,Ed Kemper, Conversations With a Killer, of course covered that in detail, but it also takes readers from his turbulent childhood up until today. Kemper attempted suicide twice and even requested the death penalty, but was ultimately given seven concurrent life sentences instead. In 1944, he formed his own band, the Western Dance Gang. Manson, despite prevailing beliefs, wasnt a hands-on killer. If he had, he wouldve found the bodies of Ed Kempers victims inside. Built 12 years ago, the new state prison for sex offenders began the fourth phase in its history. A program like the Blind Project is important because it positively affects three segments of society; the visually impaired community is provided with affordable/donated services; the Lions In Sight & California Talking Book Library benefit from our donated services; and the inmate workers while learning a technical/marketable skill also get to work in a stimulating environment. But his real story is far more chilling than any TV show could ever depict.