TED BUNDY

Ted Bundy was attractive, smart, and had a future in politics. He was also one of the most prolific serial killers in U.S. history

Ted Bundy" was born as Theodore Robert Cowell at the Elizabeth Lund Home For Unwed Mothers, in Burlington, Vermont, on November 24, 1946.  The home was originally built as a "Home for Friendless Women"in 1890.  

Actual photograph of babies a the Lund Center

Today it is known as the Lund Center. His mother's name was Eleanor Louise Cowell, always referred to as "Louise".  It is interesting to note that his he was not raised by Eleanor, and was brought up believing that she was his older sister.  

Ted with his mother, Louise

Eleanore Louise Cowell

Bundy's maternal grandparents posed as his parental guardians.  He did not learn his mother's true identity until he was in college, and presumably, this deception was ultimately to protect the child from the social stigma attached to unwed mothers.

The identity of his father has never been determined with certainty. His birth certificate assigns paternity to a salesman and Air Force veteran named Lloyd Marshall, but Louise later claimed that she was seduced by "a sailor" whose name may have been Jack Worthington.

Later, Louise moved to Pennsylvania  and became involved with a man and changed Ted's surname from Cowell to Nelson.  During his high school years, Louise then relocated to Tacoma, Washington and met Johnny Culpepper Bundy during a church function.  After they were married, Johnny adopted Ted, which changed his name yet again to Theodore Bundy.  

Ted seemed like an ordinary child

Ted remained distant from his stepfather. During high school, Ted was often isolated from other kids his age. He couldn't seem to understand teenage social behavior but was skilled in "faking it", indicating a propensity towards psychopathy.

Ann Rule, Bundy's biographer and true crime writer that personally knew him and worked with him, believes that he discovered his own original birth record in Vermont in 1969.  Apparently, it is recorded that Bundy expressed "a lifelong resentment toward his mother for lying about his true parentage and leaving him to discover it for himself"

Some strange facts about Ted Bundy:

✳He showed violent tendencies as young as three years old:   His mother's sister, Julia, awoke from a nap while babysitting the child, only to discover that little Teddy had surrounded her with an array of kitchen knives, raising her eyes to see the smiling toddler looking back at her.

✳It is reported that his grandfather Samuel (known to Bundy as his father, at the time) abused the family dog, swung local cats around by their tales, and tortured animals.

✳Bundy' grandmother was described as a shy woman who underwent electro-convulsive therapy for depression and was most likely agoraphobic, fearing to leave her own home. 

✳As a child, Ted tormented animals with knives.  He mutilated them with the knives which seemed to fascinate him so much.

✳Young Ted served as Vice President of the Methodist Youth Fellowship.

✳He was a  Boy Scout. 

✳His criminal activities began before he finished high school.

✳He was a constant and habitual liar.  

✳He compulsively shoplifted.   He was arrested (at least twice) as a juvenile for automobile theft and burglary, but upon reaching the age of 18, Washington State laws expunged the records.  

✳He was involved voyeurism from a young age and peeped into unsuspecting windows.   In college, he was known to "canvas the community" in search of open windows into which he could observe women undressing. 

✳He majored in Psychology in University and graduated with a degree in 1972 and graduated with honors.

✳Eerily, part of his psychology studies involved volunteering at a Suicide Crisis Center; where he became friends with his future biographer, Ann Rule, who wrote the book "Stranger Beside Me", detailing Bundy's crimes.  Ironically, at this time, she was unknowingly researching crimes that had been committed by Bundy.

✳He started taking classes upon his graduation from high school in 1965 in Psychology and Oriental Studies.  
He volunteered at a suicide crisis center alongside his now biographer, author, Ann Rule.

✳Ted was a staunch Republican, and in 1968 managed Seattle's Presidential campaign for Nelson Rockefeller, during which time he attended a Republican Convention in Miami, Florida.  Later, he was caught spying on and taping speeches by the Democrats, then later reporting back to his Republican peers.

✳He was a necrophiliac, often revisiting the murdered bodies of victims to engage in sexual activities with their corpses.

During the summer of 1974, Bundy secured employment in Olympia, Washington at the state Department of Emergency Services where he met Carol Ann Boone, whose personal life was in shambles, having recently lost a close uncle; she was a single Mother trying to raise a son, (named Jamey) and was involved in a sloppy love affair.

Ted Bundy and Carol Anne Boone with their daughter who's identity and location is protected to this day

During the penalty phase of the trial, Bundy took advantage of an obscure Florida law providing that a marriage declaration in court, in the presence of a judge, constituted a legal marriage. As he was questioning former Washington State DES coworker Carole Ann Boone—who had moved to Florida to be near Bundy, had testified on his behalf during both trials, and was again testifying on his behalf as a character witness—he asked her to marry him. She accepted, and Bundy declared to the court that they were legally married."

Another site tells that "Carole Boone, whom Bundy cruelly encouraged to believe him innocent until just before his 1989 execution. Boone married Bundy after he was condemned to death we helped engineer [a] courtroom coup." 

Incredibly, in October 1982, Boone gave birth to a daughter (whose name and current location, thankfully, are not known) and Bundy's name was given as the father.  

Bundy was suffering from relationship woes, as well, with his long-time, long- distance girlfriend, Liz, (Elizabeth Kloepfer) who lived in Utah, and whom he met in 1969.  They had been together for some time, and she wanted a deeper commitment from him, and their geographical barriers made Liz feel insecure and questioned his truthfulness concerning the possibilities of external, sexual affairs.  

Bundy with Elizabeth Kloepfer

Liz had reason to be uneasy, as over the course of time, Bundy had left strange things in her apartment that included, among other things, a container of Plaster of Paris, surgical gloves, and crutches.  While with her, his sexual drive waned, and his bizarre behavior began to really frighten her.   Bundy confirmed that he had dated at least a dozen women outside of his relationship with Liz.

VW bug he famously kidnapped victims with

CHANGELING~ The Chameleon

Posted on an Internet forum by a "man who used to work with him" (the natural assumption would be a prison guard):  "He also was like a chameleon in that he seemed to be able to frequently change his appearance. One day his hair seemed curly or parted on this side, then the next day it seemed straight or parted on the other side, or his eye color seemed different etc. I have also seen him make the scary eyes and face that some of his living victims told of. He seemed to like to manipulate people a lot, and very much enjoyed the celebrity status he had. He worked out a lot in his cell (push ups, sit ups and rapid pacing). He smoked, and solicited money for canteen and smokes from people who wrote him."

"Significant obstacles for law enforcement were Bundy's "generic", essentially anonymous physical features, and a curious "chameleon-like" ability to change his appearance almost at will. Early on, police complained of the futility of showing his photograph to witnesses; he looked different in virtually every photo ever taken of him. In person, "... his expression would so change his whole appearance that there were moments that you weren't even sure you were looking at the same person," said Stewart Hanson, Jr., the judge in the DaRonch trial. "He  really a changeling." Bundy was well aware of this unusual quality and he exploited it, using subtle modifications of facial hair or hairstyle to significantly alter his appearance as necessary. He concealed his one distinctive identifying mark, a dark mole on his neck, with turtleneck shirts and sweaters."

KILLINGS, CONVICTION & EXECUTION

Shortly after midnight on January 4, 1974, Bundy first attempted murder. He broke into the basement bedroom of a female student at the University of Washington, bludgeoned her in her sleep and sexually assaulted her. She survived, but suffered permanent brain damage. Over the following four months, he killed three students; another from the University of Washington on January 31, one from Evergreen State College on March 12 and one from Central Washington State College on April 17. After more abductions and murders, the authorities became aware that the same man, who a number of witnesses had said called himself "Ted", was responsible for the disappearances. 

Among the people who reported Bundy as a potential suspect were his ex-girlfriend, one of his psychology professors, and Ann Rule. Because of his reputation as a clean-shaven and well-mannered student, the police paid no attention to their tips. During this time, he also killed women in Oregon. Bundy then moved on to Salt Lake City, Utah where he attended the University of Utah College of Law and became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, though he never really attended any gatherings. During the first semester, he killed four more women, one of which was the daughter of a police chief. The next semester, 1975, he killed four more women, three of which were taken in Colorado. 

The fourth was 13-year old Lynette Culver, who was abducted from a school playground in Pocatello, Idaho, taken to a hotel room, and raped and drowned in a bathtub. As with a number of Bundy's victims, her body was never found. He killed another girl, 15-year old Susan Curtis, during his summer break. On August 16, he was pulled over when he wouldn't stop for a police officer. Inside his car, the officer found balaclavas, gloves, a crowbar, handcuffs, and other items he suspected to be burglary tools. On March 1, 1976, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the kidnapping of Carol DaRonch, whom he had tried to abduct in Utah in 1974 by pretending to be a police officer.

In 1977, investigators had found enough evidence to charge Bundy with the January 1975 murder of Caryn Campbell, who had disappeared while on a ski trip, and managed to extradite him to Aspen. At the Pitkin County courthouse, Bundy was allowed to visit the courthouse library. From there, he escaped through a window but was pulled over in a stolen car for having dimmed headlights and arrested again. He was placed in a jail in Glenwood Springs, from which he escaped on December 30, 1977, by somehow getting his hands on a hacksaw and $500 and getting out through a crawlspace. 

By the time the jail staff realized that he was missing, he had already made his way to Chicago. After then spending some time at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and in Atlanta, he settled at Tallahassee, Florida on January 8, where he supported himself through shoplifting and purse snatching. On January 15, 1978, Bundy committed his first murders in almost two-and-a-half years. He broke into the Chi Omega sorority at the Florida State University, raped, strangled, and bludgeoned students Lisa Levy and Margaret Bowman. Two other students were also attacked but survived. The same night, he attacked another woman eight blocks away; she also survived.

On February 9, 1978, Bundy committed his last known murder. He abducted 12-year-old Kimberly Leach outside her school, raped and killed her and tried to hide the body in an abandoned hog shed. On the morning of February 15, he was arrested for driving a stolen vehicle and was quickly linked to the sorority murders. 

In the end, Bundy received two death sentences; one for the sorority murders and one for the murder of Kimberly Leach. Two pieces of evidence proved crucial: a set of bite marks on Lisa Levy's buttocks and the testimony of a Chi Omega resident who hadn't been present at the killings and saw Bundy leave the building. Bundy spent the better part of the 1980s fighting his sentence. 

Ted in captivity

During this time, he was interviewed by FBIprofiler Robert Ressler, who found him uncooperative, and married Carole Ann Boone, a former co-worker, and had a daughter, Tina, with her in October 1982. When Bundy talked about the murders, he always did so in third-person and speaking hypothetically. 

As the execution date came closer, Bundy confessed to more murders for which he hadn't previously been conclusively linked to. In October 1984, Bundy contacted the Green River Task Force and offered personal insights on the case, which hadn't been solved at the time. 

REMEMBERING TED'S VICTIMS

Victims: A so-called charming man, he earned the trust of his victims before luring them to a secluded place to murder them. He preferred female victims with long, dark hair, parted down the middle

Modus Operandi

Bundy's method of obtaining victims varied; sometimes he would burglarize their homes and bludgeon them in their sleep, sometimes he would use an elaborate ruse, and sometimes he merely relied on his looks alone. The latter method was successful for Bundy because of the fact that women considered him to be good-looking and charming. 

In fact, this characteristic even allowed him to successfully abduct women in broad daylight, even if they were aware that a serial killer was present in the area. His facial features were also "unremarkable"; that is, though attractive, not especially memorable. 

This allowed him to completely change his appearance with only minor adjustments; a mustache, different hair style, a hat, etc. Sometimes, Bundy would use a fake cast to play on a potential victim's sympathy. He would ask them for assistance of some kind, such as helping him put something in his car or asking for directions. Whatever the method, his initial attacks were typically blunt force trauma to the head with a crowbar. He would later kill his victims by strangulation and would sometimes decapitate them. In one case, he cremated the severed head in a fireplace.

Bundy would often visit his victims, whom he dumped at a site in Taylor Mountain. He admitted to applying makeup to the corpses, having sex with them, and would lie with them for hours afterward. Bundy also kept a collection of photos of his victims.

VICTIMS

• 1974:January 4, Seattle, Washington: Karen Sparks^[1] (bludgeoned in her bed and sexually assaulted with a speculum; survived)
• February 1, Seattle, Washington: Lynda Ann Healy, 21 (bludgeoned while asleep and abducted from her house; her skull and mandible were found)
• March 12, Olympia, Washington: Donna Gail Manson, 19 (abducted and killed; body was never found)
• April 17, Ellensburg, Washington: Susan Elaine Rancourt, 18 (abducted and killed; her skull and mandible were found)
• May 6, Corvallis, Oregon: Roberta Kathleen "Kathy" Parks, 22 (abducted and killed; her skull and mandible were found)
• June 1, Burien, Washington: Brenda Carol Ball, 22 (abducted and killed; her skull and mandible were found)
• June 11, Seattle, Washington: Georgeann Hawkins, 18 (abducted and killed; her skeletal remains were found)
• July 14, Issaquah, Washington (both abducted and killed four hours apart in the same location; their skeletal remains were found):Janice Ann Ott, 23
• Denise Marie Naslund, 19
• September 2, unspecified location in Idaho: An unidentified teenage hitchhiker (confessed to killing; her body was never found)
• October 2, Holladay, Utah: Nancy Wilcox, 16 (assaulted and strangled; her body was never found)
• October 18, Midvale, Utah: Melissa Anne Smith, 17 (abducted and strangled; her body was found)
• October 31, Lehi, Utah: Laura Ann Aime, 17 (abducted and bludgeoned with a crowbar; her body was found by hikers)
• November 8:Murray, Utah: Carol DaRonch (abducted and intended to kill; she escaped by jumping out of his car)
• Bountiful, Utah: Debra "Debby" Kent, 17 (abducted and killed; minimal skeletal remains not positively identified to hers were found)
• 1975:January 12, Snowmass, Colorado: Caryn Campbell, 23 (abducted, raped and bludgeoned; her body was found)
• March 15, Vail, Colorado: Julie Cunningham, 26 (abducted and killed; her body was never found)
• April 6, Grand Junction, Colorado: Denise Oliverson, 25 (body was never found)
• May 6, Pocatello, Idaho: Lynette Culver, 13 (abducted, raped and drowned in a bathtub; her body was never found)
• June 28, Provo, Utah: Susan Curtis, 15 (abducted and killed; her body was never found)
• 1978:January 15, Tallahassee, Florida:Two killed and two injured in the Chi Omega killings (all of the following were bludgeoned with a log as they slept):Margaret Bowman, 21 (also strangled with a pair of pantyhose)
• Lisa Levy, 20 (also raped, bitten and strangled)
• Karen Chandler, 21 (survived)
• Kathy Kleiner, 21 (survived)
• Cheryl Thomas, 21 (bludgeoned in her bed just a few blocks away from the above killings; survived)
• February 9, Lake City, Florida: Kimberly Leach, 12 (abducted, raped and killed; her skeletal remains were found)
• PossibleEdit
• August 31, 1961, Tacoma, Washington: Ann Marie Burr, 8 (disappeared; was never found)
• June 23, 1966, Seattle, Washington (both were bludgeoned with a log as they slept):Lisa E. Wick, 20 (survived)
• Lonnie Trumbull, 20 (killed)
• May 30, 1969, near Somers Point, New Jersey (both were stabbed to death; their bodies were found in the nearby woods three days later):Susan Davis, 19
• Elizabeth Perry, 19
• July 19, 1971, Burlington, Vermont: Rita Curran, 24 (raped, strangled and bludgeoned)
• 1973:June 29, West Linn, Oregon: Rita Lorraine Jolly, 17 (disappeared; was never found)
• August 20, Eugene, Oregon: Vicki Lynn Hollar, 24 (disappeared; was never found)
• November 24, near Olympia, Washington: Katherine Merry Devine, 14 (disappeared; her body was found; the murder was later attributed to one William E. Cosden in 2002)
• 1974:May 27, near Puyallup, Washington: Brenda Joy Baker, 14 (disappeared; her body was found a month later)
• July 1, Salt Lake City, Utah: Sandra Jean Weaver, 19 (disappeared; her body was found near Grand Junction, Colorado)
• August 2, near Vancouver, Washington: Carol L. Valenzuela, 20 (disappeared; her body was found two months later along with that of another victim)
• 1975:April 15, Nederland, Colorado: Melanie Suzanne "Suzy" Cooley, 18 (abducted, bludgeoned and strangled; her body was found)
• July 1, Golden, Colorado: Shelly/Shelley^[2] Kay Robertson, 24 (disappeared; her body was found a month later)
• July 4, Farmington, Utah: Nancy Perry Baird, 23 (disappeared; was never found)
• February 1976, Salt Lake City, Utah: Debbie Smith, 17 (disappeared; her body was found two months later)
• Unspecified date and location: An unidentified victim (her body was found alongside that of Carol L. Valenzuela)
• Notes:

• Minutes before his execution, Bundy was questioned about unsolved murders in New Jersey, Illinois, Texas, and Miami, Florida. Though he denied involvement in any of the cases, Bundy previously stated that he didn't want to talk about certain murders he committed, leaving the cases still open.
• After his capture, Bundy was suspected of committing the so-called Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Murders, in which at least seven female hitchhikers were all murdered in Sonoma County and Santa Rosa in 1972 and 1973. Bundy had spent some time in neighboring Marin County, but was ruled out by a Sonoma County detective. In addition, it was proven that he was Washington on the dates of some of the victims' disappearances.
• 
  

FINALLY

At 7:06 a.m. on January 24, 1989, Bundy was executed by electric chair. 

His last words were "I'd like you to give my love to my family and friends." In May of 2012, John Henry Browne, who defended Bundy during his final trial, claimed in a memoir describing his conversations with Bundy that he claimed to have killed over 100 people and that his first victim had been a man.

Scary....

TED PLAYING THE BLAME GAME

Hours before his execution, Ted Bundy conducts his last interview with Dr James Dobson and this is what he says:

"I’ve met a lot of men who were motivated to commit violence just like me. And without exception, without question, every one of them was deeply involved in pornography."

“Well-meaning, decent people will condemn the behavior of a Ted Bundy, while they’re walking past a magazine rack full of the very kinds of things that send young kids down the road to be Ted Bundys.” 

“There lots of other kids playing in streets around this country today who are going to be dead tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day and month, because other young people are reading the kinds of things and seeing the kinds of things that are available in the media today.”

“We serial killers are your sons, we are your husbands, we are everywhere. And there will be more of your children dead tomorrow.” 

In his interview he seems to blame his deviant ways on pornography, but then again, he he was an avid republican..