*Necrophilia: Sexual intercourse with or attraction towards corpses.
I have a somewhat unorthodox annual tradition where I like to stay in Bed & Breakfast Victorian mansions in obscure locations across the United States. Back in 2013, I enjoyed a gloomy visit to the Vrooman Mansion in Bloomington, IL. My train back to Chicago was stopped in the city of Joliet due to a snowstorm. I couldn’t help but overhear the prying whispers that traveled among the passengers about the abnormal occurrence that had just taken place in this otherwise normal town involving young teen Alisa Massaro — a supposed necrophiliac.
“They had a threesome on top of their dead friends,” said a woman on the platform. “The police found them playing video games on top of the bodies when they showed up.”
This event sparked my curiosity as to not only why, but how people commit these atrocious crimes. After doing a bit of research, I uncovered several similar necrophilia cases throughout the country. The following is a list of some of the most shocking and unconventional cases on record.
Case #1: Alisa Massaro
Miner was accused of being the mastermind behind the plan to help fulfill his girlfriend’s necrophilic intentions. Unfortunately for them, only $120 was found on the victims and their families reported them missing after a few days. The police found the accused playing video games on top of the corpses and appeared “surprised” that they were caught. There was no evidence found that the bodies were sexually assaulted post death.
Massaro received a plea deal of ten years in prison if she testified against all others accused. Miner, McKee and Landerman were all sentenced to life in prison.
Case #2: Edmund Kemper
At the age of 15, Kemper had a history of kills, including the murder of his abusive grandmother. Kemper also murdered his grandfather because he feared he would be upset about the death of his grandmother.
Kemper picked up female students who were hitchhiking along the highway between May of 1972 until February 1973. He took them to rural areas where he dismembered their bodies and had sex with their corpses. He collected their decapitated heads and would have sex with them at home.
Ultimately, Kemper wanted to kill his abusive mother whom he despised. He claw-hammered his mother and strangled her best friend on Good Friday in 1973. He then calmly called the police to confess his crime, but not before having sex with his mother’s decapitated head.
The police refused to believe him as he was a common figure at a local, police hangout bar called “The Jury Room.” Kemper finally convinced the police that he was “The Co-ed Killer” after many follow-up calls and providing actual evidence. Kemper was found guilty on eight counts of murder in the first degree and was given a life sentence.
Fun fact: You can find Ed Kemper Valentine’s Day cards for sale on Etsy.
Case #3: Anthony Merino
Rumors of his now defunct Myspace page stated he worked as a Histotechnician. Histology is the microscopic study of biological tissues and involves the section of abnormalities in thin slices of human or animal tissue.
The most peculiar rumor on Merino’s myspace is a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.”
Case #4: Karen Greenlee
Greenlee was only convicted of stealing a hearse and had to pay a $255 fine with eleven days in jail since acts of necrophilia were not illegal in the state of California at the time (now it’s a felony). Greenlee continued to work in mortuaries even during her trial before she was sued by her victim’s mother for $117,000 on account of emotional distress.
Greenlee gave a detailed and remorseless interview about her fixation with necrophilia to Jim Morton for his book Apocalypse Culture. She later regretted the interview, changed her name and moved to another town. Greenlee’s conviction influenced Barbara Gowdy’s short story “We So Seldom Look on Love” which inspired the 1996 indie film, KISSED.
Case #5: Ted Bundy
Bundy put makeup on the corpses, then had sex with them. He often returned to the dead bodies to assault them repeatedly. Bundy later admitted he took home and had sexual relations with his victims’ decapitated heads – his reason being that necrophilia was the ultimate form of possession. Bundy’s fiancee, Liz Kloepfer confessed that she pretended to be dead during sex or else he could not have an orgasm.
One of the most fascinating, little-known-facts about Ted Bundy is that he actually served as a consultant to the police during the “The Green River Killer” case in 1984, which successfully helped identify the killer as Gary Ridgway. Bundy provided insightful parallels to homicide detective, Robert Keppel, about the mind of a serial killer and how to catch them. This event inspired aspects of characters in Thomas Harris’ RED DRAGON and the relationship between Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling in the novel, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.
