A Different Kind of Serial Killer
Man Alleged to Have Killed Friend, Relatives over 3 Year Period
Oct 16, 2009
Kembo, 41, was arrested in July 2005 and charged with four counts of first degree murder. He is alleged to have killed his wife, girlfriend, step-daughter and business partner between late 2002 and July 2005.
Kembo’s Criminal History in Canada
Charles Kembo arrived in Canada in 1989 as a government-sponsored refugee from the African country of Malawi. Shortly after his arrival he was convicted of theft as well as charges of defrauding welfare by using over 20 different names in order to collect benefits. Kembo was ordered deported in 1994 but the order was stayed by the Immigration and Refugee Board on the grounds that he was a genuine refugee and his crimes were non-violent.
The prosecution is arguing that the murders were committed solely out of greed. It is alleged that after each murder, Kembo assumed the identity of his victims and used their PIN numbers, bank accounts, insurance policies and other assets for his own benefit.
Kembo’s Alleged Victims
The first victim was Kembo’s wife Margaret, 44. She went missing in the latter days of 2002 and her body was never found. Charles Kembo is alleged to have collected over $200,000 after her disappearance by using her identity documents.
The body of Ardon Samuel, 38, Kembo’s business partner was discovered in a Vancouver park on November 5, 2003. His body had been mutilated and partially covered with leaves. Racist notes were found beside the body of Ardon Samuel who was black. Police believe that Kembo attempted to throw police off the track by making the murder appear to be a racially motivated crime.
The body of Kembo’s girlfriend, Sui Yan Ma, 55, was found stuffed into a hockey bag in Richmond B.C. on November 4, 2004. Autopsy results showed that Ma was either drowned or strangled.
The final known murder was that of Kembo’s step-daughter, Rita Yeung, 20. Her body was discovered, clad only in a bra and wrapped in green garbage bags in the Fraser River on July 27, 2005. The prosecution is alleging that semen was found inside Yeung’s body and that it matches the DNA of the accused. Charles Kembo, who had been under police surveillance for some time was arrested immediately after this discovery and has been in custody ever since. As with all the other murders, Kembo was allegedly found in possession of financial documents of the victim.
Types of Multiple Murderers
Those who kill more than three or four people are generally classified into three distinct groups. The first group is the mass murderer. A mass murderer is defined as someone who kills at least four people during a continuous period of time. A typical mass murder is one that occurred last month in Collier Country Florida where the bodies of the wife and five children of Mesac Damas were found in their home. Damas is believed to have fled to his native Haiti. Incidents such as the shootings that took place 10 years ago at Columbine High School are also classified as mass murders.
The second classification is that of the spree killer. Spree killers kill several people during a continuous period of time but differ from mass murderers in that spree killers kill their victims at more than one location. An example of a spree killer is Charles Starkweather who killed eleven people across the U.S. Midwest during the late 1950s. A person who kills their immediate family and then goes to the home of their in-laws and kills them would also qualify as a spree killer.
The final category of the multiple murderers is that of serial killers. Serial killers are those who murder three or more people but the murders are spread out over time and distance. Ted Bundy, who murdered at least 30 women between 1973 and 1978, is a classic example of a serial killer.
If Guilty, Kembo Would be a Different Kind of Serial Killer
Convictions against Charles Kembo on at least 3 of the 4 first degree murder charges against him would qualify him as a serial killer. But as serial killers go, he would be unusual. Most serial killers like Bundy kill because of a sexual or other compulsion. If the allegations against Kembo are true, they stemmed solely from a financial motive. And while family members and close friends are often victims of mass murderers or spree killers, they are hardly ever the victims of serial killers who, like the alleged victims of Charles Kembo, were killed about a year apart. Unlike others who kill family members there is nothing to suggest jealousy, hatred or any other emotional reason to cause their deaths.
Kembo’s trial is expected to last between six and eight months.
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