Murder and Mayhem: The Life of Ted Bundy
Disclaimer: Ted Bundy was not a good person. At all. He was a burglar, murderer, rapist, and necrophile. Please don’t talk about how hot he was or anything like that. That’s why so many women were fooled and subsequently killed by him. He seemed normal until he was bashing their head in with a crowbar.
During the spring and summer of 1974, women in the Pacific Northwest were disappearing at an alarming rate, sending the general public into a panic. Police had few leads as to who or what was happening to the women.
In six months, six women had been abducted; Janice Ann Ott and Denise Naslund disappeared in broad daylight while at Lake Sammamish State Park. That day, several women reported that a man had approached them and tried to lure them to his car. With these reports, the police knew he drove a brown Volkswagen Beetle, had his arm in a sling, and introduced himself as “Ted”. After the description was released, his ex-girlfriend, a close friend of his, a co-worker, and a psychology professor from his college came forward to identify him.
Despite the substantial evidence, the police dismissed Bundy. Why would a clean-cut law student abduct women? He didn’t fit the profile, a judgment that would benefit him until 1975. Bundy confessed to the murders of 30 women, though is believed to have killed more.
Born Theodore Robert Cowell on November 24, 1946, Ted Bundy was brought into the world (at the Elizabeth Lund Home for Unwed Mothers in Vermont.) In the 1950s, being a single mother was considered “scandalous” and illegitimate children were ostracized. Eleanor “Louise” Cowell, his mother, knew this and tried to minimize Bundy’s suffering by moving in with her parents.
For many years, Bundy assumed his grandparents were his parents and his mother was his sister. His birth father remains unknown. The Cowell house was known to relatives as a turbulent environment. Samuel Cowell, his grandfather, was a raging bigot, while his grandmother, Eleanor, suffered from depression and agoraphobia (an anxiety disorder where the person sees their environment as unsafe and inescapable). Bundy’s grandmother and the family dog were both abused by Cowell.
In 1951, Louise moved to Wisconsin with Ted to live with her cousins. Cowell changed her name to Nelson. In Washington, she met an ex-military cook (then working as a hospital cook), Johnnie Culpepper Bundy. They married within a few months; The two had four children together and Louise changed Ted’s surname to Bundy. This sudden adjustment for Ted was difficult. The home was tense and crowded. Louise had little to no help with the children, even from Johnnie, who had now legally adopted Ted. Bundy somewhat faded into the background of their home; his developmental issues went unaddressed, often attributed to shyness.
Despite his extreme introversion, he grew into a well-liked teenager who did well academically. While attending Woodrow Wilson High School, Bundy aspired to go downhill skiing, which spawned his career in breaking and entering, as well as theft. According to Bundy, later in life, “It was the only sport I was good at.” He used the funds from the stolen goods to buy ski equipment. He was arrested twice for suspicion of theft and auto theft, though his record was cleared upon his 18th birthday.
Following high school, Ted was accepted into the University of Puget Sound. His social awkwardness and inferiority complex ultimately decided his transfer to the University of Washington in 1966. Initially, the change was difficult, however, Bundy soon met Diane Edwards.
Bundy eventually dropped out of college and started working several jobs while volunteering for Nelson Rockefeller’s presidential campaign. Edwards broke up with Bundy due to his lack of ambition and social grace. This broke his heart, and he took to obsessing over her for years. Meanwhile, rumors about Bundy’s burglary started circulating among his friends. Bundy sunk into depression and decided to relocate. First, he traveled to Colorado, then Arkansas, then Philidelphia. He moved back to Washington in 1969 after three months. His friends noticed a change in Ted, noting his newfound confidence bordering on narcissism. Unbeknownst to most of them, Bundy had discovered that his supposed sister was his mother, and his “parents” were his grandparents. It isn’t known how Bundy dealt with the news, but it seemed to be the catalyst of his sudden change of disposition.
Ted became involved with several women, one of which was Elizabeth Kloepfer. Kloepfer eventually wrote a book about her deep infatuation with Bundy, The Phantom Prince: My Life With Ted Bundy. Meanwhile, he worked to further his political career by aiding in the re-election campaign of Governor Dan Evans, who eventually won. Bundy was appointed by Evans to the Seattle Crime Prevention Advisory Committee and later became assistant to Ross Davis, Chairman of the Washington State Republican Party. This seemingly secured his political career.
Women started disappearing from college campuses in the Pacific Northwest in 1974. One near-victim, Carol DaRonch was attacked by Bundy (dressed as a police officer) in a mall and notified the police with a sample of his blood (from her jacket) and a description. Meanwhile, hikers had recently found bones of two of his victims in Washington. A profile and composite sketch were made of Ted Bundy.
The victims were compared and found to have similar traits: all white women with long hair parted down the middle and a lithe body. Each corpse had been struck in the head with a blunt object, raped, and sodomized. At this point, authorities knew they were dealing with a serial killer. In 1975, six women were found dead in Colorado, all results of Bundy’s vendetta.
In 1975, Bundy’s car was searched after several traffic violations, and police found similar things in his car as to those of DaRonch’s attacker. The handcuffs in his car had retained some of her DNA, and after she had identified him in a lineup, he was charged with attempted kidnapping. His trial in 1976 for the kidnapping found him guilty and charged him 15 years in prison. Later that year, he was found guilty for the murder of Caryn Campbell.
During a pre-trial hearing, Bundy escaped through a library window and was captured a week later. After some time he resurfaced, breaking into a sorority house; he killed two women that night and would kill a twelve-year-old girl (Kimberly Leach) within the next few months. Bundy was arrested for stealing a vehicle in Pensacola, and later turned down a plea bargain which would have given him three 25 year sentences.
Bundy went on trial in 1979, was found guilty for the murders of the sorority women. He was given two death sentences by the electric chair. In his next trial (for the murder of Kimberly Leach), his attorneys decided on an insanity plea, which failed. During the trial, he called Carol Boone to the stand and married her there. She was convinced of Bundy’s innocence and later gave birth to his child. After his confession, she divorced him.
Following countless appeals, Bundy’s execution was scheduled for January 17, 1989. Before being put to death, he confessed to the murders of 30 women, though those who knew him believed he may have had up to 100 victims. He also confessed to keeping the heads of several victims and engaging in necrophilia with them. He blamed his exposure to violent pornography at a young age as the catalyst in his final interview.
The environment outside the prison was highly volatile, nearly carnival-like. Crowds chanted, “Burn, Bundy, Burn!” Meanwhile, Theodore Bundy was led to the electric chair. It was reported that he had spent the night before crying and praying. When he entered the room, he was said to have looked sullen and gray. When asked by Supt. Tom Barton if he had any last words, Bundy’s voice broke as he said, “Jim and Fred, I’d like you to give my love to my family and friends.” His attorneys, Jim Coleman and Fred Lawrence, nodded. Ted Bundy died on January 24, 1989. Two thousand volts of electricity surged through his body, rendering him lifeless. One of the most well known and notorious serial killers of all time was finally gone.
Citations:
Fagan, Kevin. E-Book explores Ted Bundy’s Rape-Murder Saga. https://blog.sfgate.com/crime/2012/02/08/e-book-explores-ted-bundy-rape-murder-saga/. February 8, 2012.
Krosofsky, Andrew, and Andrew Krosofsky. “Ted Bundy Survivor, ‘The Girl Who Got Away,’ Recalls Meeting ‘Creepy’ Killer Before Putting Him Behind Bars.” LifeDaily, LifeDaily, 30 Jan. 2018, www.lifedaily.com/story/woman-is-called-to-investigate-car-thief-and-ends-up-in-the-fight-for-her-life/9/.
Michaud, Stephen G. and Aynesworth, Hugh. Ted Bundy (Conversations With a Killer The Death Row Interviews). 2005.
Rule, Ann. Stranger Beside Me. 2008
