Ted Bundy: Criminal Life
Bundy in court.
Bundy's serial killing began after his obsession over former girlfriend Stephanie Brooks developed. After rekindling his romance with Brooks and then dumping her, he began his killing spree by murdering women who were attractive and had long, dark hair parted in the middle like Stephanie. It is debated about whom his first victim was, however, Bundy's lawyer claims that Ted spoke to him and revealed that his first victim was a man, the only man he ever killed (see fourth video on multimedia page). It is also believed that he began killing in the year 1974.
Before he began his killing spree, Ted transformed himself from the man who was "going no-where" according to former girlfriend Stephanie Brooks. He attended the University of Washington and graduated with a degree in psychology and it is believed that this is where he began to start his career as a serial killer. He preyed on college campuses in the states of Utah, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California and Florida. He was able to murder his victims by utilizing his charm and good looks to lure them into his yellow VW Beetle. Ted often faked an injury and asked for help bringing things to his car, although early on in his career he would forcibly enter the victims home and attack the sleeping victims. He would also at times impersonate a police officer or a firefighter and pull over young women and then proceed to assault his victims and kidnapping them often by hitting them over the head with a crowbar and forcing them into the trunk of his car. He would then rape his victims both before and after he murdered them often through strangulation due to its silent nature. Oftentimes Bundy would take the deceased victims to a secondary location and burn their clothing and take pictures of the deceased. Likewise, he would continue to perform sexual acts with the corpses until the odor from decomposition became overbearing. At least a dozen of his victims were decapitated and their heads were stored in Bundy’s apartment for duration of time as well.
Few women survived Bundy’s brutal attacks, including Joni Lenz, however, she was forever damaged both physically and psychologically after she was viciously raped with a bedpost. When women such as 21 year old Lynda Healy disappeared in early 1974 police were not originally alarmed yet, after many other young women who shared similar qualities as Lynda began to disappear, suspicions began to arise with eyewitnesses identifying a strange man named Ted who wore a cast and drove a VW Beetle at the scene. Realizing that suspicions about him were growing, Bundy relocated to Utah and continued his killing spree murdering at least another four young women. When the bodies were discovered, police observed that the four women were brutally raped and had similar blunt force trauma to those who had been murdered in Washington earlier in the year.
At the time Bundy had been dating Meg Anders for over five years and she recognized the similarities between the description of her boyfriend and “Ted” the serial killer police had been hunting. However, when she called to report her realization she was disregarded due to her boyfriend’s apparent charm and personality.
Ted Bundy was first arrested for the possession of a crowbar, face mask, rope, and handcuffs which police believed were used in a robbery. Later that year he was arrested for the kidnapping of Carol DaRonch from a shopping mall in Utah, who was one of the few women to escape the serial killer and was able to correctly identify the man who had assaulted her. He received a fifteen year jail sentence. Two years later Bundy was arrested for the murder of a Colorado woman and decided to represent himself in the case. However, Bundy made his first escape after jumping out of a second story window in a library in Utah after he asked if he was able to research his case. He was relocated six days later.
A few years later in December 1977, Bundy escaped prison for a second time after climbing out of a hole that he made in the cell ceiling at Garfield County Jail. He eventually made his way to Florida. While in Florida, Ted Bundy broke into the Chi Omega sorority at Florida State University in January 1978 and attacking four women and killing two of them under the alias Chris Hagen. Following this horrific crime he kidnapped Kimberly Leach from her school and strangled her. She was just twelve years old. Leach is believed to be his final victim as Bundy was pulled over and arrested just a few days later for driving with stolen license plates.
Ted Bundy returned to court in June of 1979 in Miami, Florida for the murders of the Florida State students. It was the witness testimony and dental evidence that linked Bundy directly to the crime that night. About a month later on July 30, 1979, he was sentenced to death twice for the murders. Bundy was to be killed through the electric chair, and although he continued to plead his innocence it was clear that he was responsible for the horrific crimes. Six months later, on January 7, 1980, Ted went through a third trial related to the death of Kimberly Leach. Again he was found guilty and was sentenced to death by electrocution. At the end of the trial Ted proposed to Carole Ann Boone, a Washington state DES coworker who moved to Florida to be with Bundy. She accpted and in October 1982 she gave birth to a baby girl claiming Bundy as the father.
Over the course of the next decade Ted Bundy continued to appeal his case and shockingly told one investigator about his acts of butchery and necrophilia with up to 40 women in hopes to prevent his execution by reason of insanity. However, all of his appeal attempts failed and on January 24, 1989, he was executed in the electric chair in the Railford Prison. His ashes were spread across the mountain area in Washington that had served as his dumping ground a decade prior.
Before he began his killing spree, Ted transformed himself from the man who was "going no-where" according to former girlfriend Stephanie Brooks. He attended the University of Washington and graduated with a degree in psychology and it is believed that this is where he began to start his career as a serial killer. He preyed on college campuses in the states of Utah, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California and Florida. He was able to murder his victims by utilizing his charm and good looks to lure them into his yellow VW Beetle. Ted often faked an injury and asked for help bringing things to his car, although early on in his career he would forcibly enter the victims home and attack the sleeping victims. He would also at times impersonate a police officer or a firefighter and pull over young women and then proceed to assault his victims and kidnapping them often by hitting them over the head with a crowbar and forcing them into the trunk of his car. He would then rape his victims both before and after he murdered them often through strangulation due to its silent nature. Oftentimes Bundy would take the deceased victims to a secondary location and burn their clothing and take pictures of the deceased. Likewise, he would continue to perform sexual acts with the corpses until the odor from decomposition became overbearing. At least a dozen of his victims were decapitated and their heads were stored in Bundy’s apartment for duration of time as well.
Few women survived Bundy’s brutal attacks, including Joni Lenz, however, she was forever damaged both physically and psychologically after she was viciously raped with a bedpost. When women such as 21 year old Lynda Healy disappeared in early 1974 police were not originally alarmed yet, after many other young women who shared similar qualities as Lynda began to disappear, suspicions began to arise with eyewitnesses identifying a strange man named Ted who wore a cast and drove a VW Beetle at the scene. Realizing that suspicions about him were growing, Bundy relocated to Utah and continued his killing spree murdering at least another four young women. When the bodies were discovered, police observed that the four women were brutally raped and had similar blunt force trauma to those who had been murdered in Washington earlier in the year.
At the time Bundy had been dating Meg Anders for over five years and she recognized the similarities between the description of her boyfriend and “Ted” the serial killer police had been hunting. However, when she called to report her realization she was disregarded due to her boyfriend’s apparent charm and personality.
Ted Bundy was first arrested for the possession of a crowbar, face mask, rope, and handcuffs which police believed were used in a robbery. Later that year he was arrested for the kidnapping of Carol DaRonch from a shopping mall in Utah, who was one of the few women to escape the serial killer and was able to correctly identify the man who had assaulted her. He received a fifteen year jail sentence. Two years later Bundy was arrested for the murder of a Colorado woman and decided to represent himself in the case. However, Bundy made his first escape after jumping out of a second story window in a library in Utah after he asked if he was able to research his case. He was relocated six days later.
A few years later in December 1977, Bundy escaped prison for a second time after climbing out of a hole that he made in the cell ceiling at Garfield County Jail. He eventually made his way to Florida. While in Florida, Ted Bundy broke into the Chi Omega sorority at Florida State University in January 1978 and attacking four women and killing two of them under the alias Chris Hagen. Following this horrific crime he kidnapped Kimberly Leach from her school and strangled her. She was just twelve years old. Leach is believed to be his final victim as Bundy was pulled over and arrested just a few days later for driving with stolen license plates.
Ted Bundy returned to court in June of 1979 in Miami, Florida for the murders of the Florida State students. It was the witness testimony and dental evidence that linked Bundy directly to the crime that night. About a month later on July 30, 1979, he was sentenced to death twice for the murders. Bundy was to be killed through the electric chair, and although he continued to plead his innocence it was clear that he was responsible for the horrific crimes. Six months later, on January 7, 1980, Ted went through a third trial related to the death of Kimberly Leach. Again he was found guilty and was sentenced to death by electrocution. At the end of the trial Ted proposed to Carole Ann Boone, a Washington state DES coworker who moved to Florida to be with Bundy. She accpted and in October 1982 she gave birth to a baby girl claiming Bundy as the father.
Over the course of the next decade Ted Bundy continued to appeal his case and shockingly told one investigator about his acts of butchery and necrophilia with up to 40 women in hopes to prevent his execution by reason of insanity. However, all of his appeal attempts failed and on January 24, 1989, he was executed in the electric chair in the Railford Prison. His ashes were spread across the mountain area in Washington that had served as his dumping ground a decade prior.
Ted Bundy: Psychological Analysis
Sources:
http://killers.wadum.dk/archive/b/bundy/file3.htm
http://voices.yahoo.com/serial-killer-ted-bundy-blamed-pornography-his-311774.html
http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/ted-bundy.html
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1937349_1937350_1937464,00.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Bundy
http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/usa/pages-6/Ted-Bundy-fan-club-closed-after-member-found-with-ski-mask-and-machete-Scrape-TV-The-World-on-your-side.html
http://iamthemuffinman93.tumblr.com/
Sources:
http://killers.wadum.dk/archive/b/bundy/file3.htm
http://voices.yahoo.com/serial-killer-ted-bundy-blamed-pornography-his-311774.html
http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/ted-bundy.html
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1937349_1937350_1937464,00.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Bundy
http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/usa/pages-6/Ted-Bundy-fan-club-closed-after-member-found-with-ski-mask-and-machete-Scrape-TV-The-World-on-your-side.html
http://iamthemuffinman93.tumblr.com/