Ted Bundy
By Areeb Daimee
Backround Information
NAME
Ted Bundy
OCCUPATION
Murderer, Criminal
BIRTH DATE
November 24, 1946
DEATH DATE
January 24, 1989
PLACE OF BIRTH
Burlington, Vermont
PLACE OF DEATH
Starke, Florida
ORIGINALLY
Theodore Robert Cowell
Parents
The relationship behind Ted Bundy and his parents was quite abnormal from an early age. Ted Bundy, born as Theodore Robert Cowell, was born out of wedlock in a home for unwed mothers (biography.com). With his father abandoning the family before his birth, his mother, Eleanor Louise Cowell, was given the daunting task of raising a child as a single mother. However, his mother decided to tell her son that his grandparents were his parents and that she was his sister (crimefeed). His grandmother, who he thought was his mother, had clinical depression and would have severe and daily panic attacks. Bundy would witness his supposed mother go through painful electroshock therapy on a daily basis. His grandfather, Samuel Cowell, who he thought was his father, was known to be extremely violent in nature. He was known for throwing his daughter down the stairs whenever she overslept, abusing dogs and had even tossed the neighbours cat by the tail over a fence (crimefeed). Bundy’s grandmother and mother were victims of domestic violence for years on end at the hands of this abusive and aggressive man. He also had an addiction to pornography and read or viewed it everyday. Such pornographic content would be scattered around the house without any care for the eyes of his grandchild. Despite this, Bundy looked up to who he thought was his father as a role model and wanted to be just like him. His mom, who he thought was his sister, took him along with her to move to his uncle Jack’s house. Leaving who he thought were his parents was very devastating for the young Bundy (Jenkins). He was especially sad that he had to leave his grandfather, supposed father and role model, Samuel Cowell. After moving, he was able to find a new role model. His uncle Jack was very inspiring to him as he was a very successful man as a professor of music at the University of Washington. Bundy was mostly inspired by his uncle for his materialistic achievement and assets rather than who he was as a person. A year after Bundy moved into his uncle Jack’s home, his supposed sister got married to John Culpepper Bundy in 1951 (biography.com). After their marriage, John Bundy adopted the five year old Theodore Robert Cowell who’s name was then changed to Theodore Robert “Ted” Bundy (biography.com). Ted Bundy grew up resenting his step father and wanted no relation with him whatsoever. They would have many conflicts within the home and Ted would do anything he could to keep stepfather John out of his life. He even kept away from the children that were born after him between his supposed sister, Eleanor Cowell, and his stepfather (crimefeed). John Bundy hosted a boy scouts group across the town and all of his kids would participate in some way except for Ted. Ted Bundy also looked down upon his stepfather because he was not successful. John Culpepper Bundy had a job as a military cook and was making a low amount of money (crimefeed). Disregarding the humanity of his stepfather, Ted looked down on him due to his lack of materialistic achievements and assets; something he looked up to his uncle Jack for. Throughout these years, his mother and supposed sister would neglect him and have no connection with Ted whatsoever (Jenkins). She would never make any kind of effort to make conversation that brought them intimately closer and never showed love or affection to the young Bundy. It wasn’t until 1969 when the 22 year old Bundy found his birth certificate and found out that the woman who he thought was his older sister was actually his mother all along. He was devastated when he found out that he was an illegitimate child he felt betrayed by his mother. With no connection with his stepfather, being neglected and lied to by his mother, and keeping away from his younger siblings, Ted Bundy had been living a life of isolation and loneliness from a very young age.
Friends
In school, Ted Bundy was described as extremely shy by his fellow classmates. He was seen as socially awkward and had the tendency to stutter when he spoke. Bundy had a lot of trouble making friends and struggled to make any kind of connection with other people (fbi.gov). Bundy also never dated or talked to any girls in school and only ever dated when girls would ask him out. He had a lot of trouble making close and intimate relationships with anybody. This can be attributed to him being neglected by his mother and supposed sister as well as having no connection with his stepfather and other siblings. As an adult, Bundy was described as very friendly and sociable by his coworkers. Bundy was a person that everyone knew and was an approachable person to all (biography.com). Bundy was such a talented and promising individual that he that could have done anything in life that he set his mind to do. Ann Rule, one of Bundy’s coworkers at a suicidal hotline in Seattle, stated that she was “working alone with Ted Bundy in a 4 story building in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night and I couldn’t have felt any safer with anyone besides Ted” (Grimes). Rule was working with Bundy during his years of killing sprees which makes this all the more strange.Ralph Munro, another co-worker of Bundy through politics stated that “The Ted Bundy we (other coworkers) knew before there were any acquisitions…was a very nice guy and a friend of ours. We didn’t think he was strange or different; he was a person that we socialized with and we knew a bit professionally. I thought he was going to do well in life” (crimeandinvestigation). When first convicted of his crimes, many of Bundy’s coworkers denied the idea that he could do such gruesome acts for years and believed that he was a good hearted, genuine person (Grimes). Ralph Munro said “We were shocked. We couldn’t believe it. We tried to raise money for a defence fund for him and tried to protect him. We couldn’t believe it. They had to have the wrong guy” (crimeandinvestigation). Whether he was studying in university, working at a law firm or political office, or even volunteering for places such as a suicidal hotline, Ted Bundy portrayed himself as a young, talented individual who was someone that lived his life by the law and fought for justice to the best of his ability for the good of society.
Childhood Behaviour
Ted Bundy was your typical child and did not take part in any extreme behaviour. However, there was one instance where, at the age of 3 years old, Bundy took all the knives from the kitchen and put them around the body of his sleeping aunt with the blades in her direction. Her aunt woke up to a smiling Ted Bundy standing beside her bed as if waiting for her reaction (Jenkins). There were also many cases of Bundy being a peeping tom at the age of 15. He would mostly go to other homes in the neighbourhood and peep on young girls that were usually 8 or 9 years old (crimefeed). He mostly did this as the towns newspaper boy where he would be travelling around the whole area which gives him an excuse of going from home to home while peeping as he goes. He was also involved in multiple cases of shoplifting at the age of 15. He was a suspect in 2 burglaries but was never caught and charged (fbi.gov). Bundy was known for being an expert shoplifter that could outwit the police and get away with his crimes. In his adolescent years, he began to feel that he was above the law and that he was somehow entitled to do what he wants. Other than this deviant behaviour, Bundy was a quiet individual that kept to himself as a child. He was someone that was not socially strong in school or at home.
Education
- - Went to Woodrow Wilson High School from 1961 to 1965. (biography.com)
- - Spent 1 year at the University of Puget Sound; transferred to the University of Washington in 1966 to study Chinese (biography.com).
- - Dropped out of college in 1968 (biography.com).
- - Enrolled for a semester at Temple University in 1969 (biography.com).
- - Reenrolled to the University of Washington in 1970 for a psychology major (biography.com).
- - Graduated from the University of Washington in 1972 (biography.com).
- - Accepted into law schools of the University of Puget Sound and the University of Utah in 1973 (biography.com).
- - Started law school at the University of Puget Sound in the fall of 1973 (biography.com).
Personality and SES
Bundy was known as a very charismatic individual by his coworkers, colleagues, and teachers (Jenkins). Many said that he brought about a great first impression and seemed like someone that would achieve wonders should he continue to utilize his skills for a respectable goal. His law and psychology professors have made comments regarding Bundy that he was an extremely articulate and intelligent person. He also came off as a very kind person who was a charming and good looking man. Ann Rule, a coworker of Bundy, stated that he was “kind, solicitous and empathetic” (Grimes). He was described to have a unique cockiness in his classes or work environments that differentiated him from them.
Social Economic Status: Middle Class
Occupations
- - Worked at many minimum wage jobs after dropping out of college in 1968 (crimefeed).
- - Worked at the Seattle office of Nelson Rockefeller’s presidential campaign (crimefeed).
- - Worked at the King County Law and Justice Planning Office in 1969 (crimefeed).
- - Worked at a suicidal hotline in 1971 at Seattle's Suicide Hotline Crisis Center.
- - Joined governor Daniel J. Evans’ re-election campaign in 1972 after graduating from the University of Washington (crimefeed).
- - Hired as an assistant to Ross Davis, chairman of the Washington State Republican Party after Daniel J. Evans’ re-election (crimefeed).
Relationships
Ted Bundy was in a relationship with a woman by the name of Stephanie Brooks. They met in the University of Washington as classmates in 1967. Bundy was madly in love with her and was almost obsessed with her. She was described to be wealthy, sophisticated, elegantly dressed and had long hair parted down the middle (biography.com). For Bundy, this was the first time in his life that he was experiencing an intimate relationship with someone else. In 1968, Brooks abruptly ended the relationship with Bundy for reasons that Bundy was simply too immature and that he was not taking his life seriously. Bundy would tend to always try and scare her by hiding behind bushes. Brooks felt that Bundy never acted his age and was not mature enough for her to be with in a long term relationship (Grimes). Also, Bundy had no real direction in life as to what he wanted to do which brought Stephanie Brooks closer to the decision of ending her relationship with Bundy. The loss of his first true love and very first intimate relationship in his life made Ted Bundy feel absolutely devastated. He was in such a spiral in his life that he dropped out of college and felt that he had no identity whatsoever. Shortly after this breakup, he also found out that his mother was who he thought was his sister and now felt betrayed and hurt by two women in his life (Dobson). In 1969, he connected with a woman by the name of Elizabeth Kendall. She was described to be a smart, shy woman that was as obsessed with Bundy as he was with Brooks. In 1973, Bundy began to date Brooks even though he was in a relationship with Kendall. Brooks fell in love with Bundy due to his amazing and promising career as well as how much he had changed over the years. Brooks then agreed to marry Bundy, but what she didn’t know about was that this rekindled relationship was simply a way for Bundy to get his revenge on Brooks for breaking up with him in 1968. In 1974, at the pinnacle of their relationship, Bundy abruptly cut off all ties and ways of contact with Brooks (fbi.gov). It took her an entire month to finally get into contact via phone line with Bundy. When she asked him about why he ended things the way he did, he said “I have no idea what you mean” and never talked to Brooks again (fbi.gov). He remained with Elizabeth Kendall for the next few years. She was completely unaware of the events that took place between Bundy and Brooks. They parted within a year and Bundy eventually married Carole Anne Boone in 1979, who eventually divorced him in 1986 (biography.com).
Interaction with the Law
- Suspect in 2 cases of burglary at 15 years old (fbi.gov).
- Aug 15,1975, Bundy’s car was stopped by police officer because of reckless driving, car was searched and found crowbar, handcuffs, ski mask. He was arrested for suspicion of burglary, later found gas receipts and map that linked Bundy to sites of abductions in Colorodo, Carrol DaRonch identified him as assailant (fbi.gov).
- Feb 23, 1976, Bundy went on trial for her attempted kidnapping, found guilty and sentenced to 15 years, while in jail he was linked to murder of Caryn Campbell in Colorado (fbi.gov).
- Apr 1977, was transferred to Colorado to await trial, he fired lawyers and granted permission to defend himself, had supreme confidence in intellect and beat the system. Tried to avoid trial, jumped out of 2 story window and escaped, captured 6 days later (fbi.gov).
- New years eve 1977, Bundy went through air duct of Colorado jail and walked out of and escaped the prison (fbi.gov).
- On February 15, 1978, a patrolman pulled over car that was reported stolen, Bundy ran on foot and was arrested; over the following months investigators got evidence that linked him to the Leach and Chi Omega sorority killings, first trial would be in Florida on July 7 1979, represented himself, was found guilty for the murder of Levy and Bowman (fbi.gov).
- Jan 1980, Bundy went on trial for Kimberly Leach and found guilty, sentenced to death (fbi.gov).
- Over the next 9 years, Bundy would appeal his convictions, after countless appeals his death was scheduled for Jan 1989 (fbi.gov).
- Would delay his death to take place by providing information to the police regarding other unsolved cases, would say he needs more time this is all I can tell you today, delay my death I need more time, if you delay it I can provide you some more information (fbi.gov).
Patterns of Episodic Aggressive Behaviour
Ritualistic Behaviour
Ted Bundy’s ritualistic behaviour is quite evident when we look at two things; the way he killed his victims and what he did after killing those victims. The way Bundy would kill his victims is by, firstly, wearing an arm sling and pretending that he is injured and asking a woman if she could help him take his books to his car (crimefeed). When the woman is bending over to put the books in the car he hits her with an iron pipe, handcuffs her and proceeds to rape her. He did this for every single victim he killed to lure them into his trap and would kill all of them in the exact same way. After killing them, Bundy would always take the bodies to the deep parts of a forest and dump them there. For all of his victims, Bundy has gone back to the dumped and decaying bodies to rape and penetrate them again. He would keep coming back to do this until the body was so rotten that it was impossible to continue doing so. Bundy did these things to every single one of his victims.
Mask of Sanity
While on his killing spree, Bundy did many things to cover his image of being a potentially deviant person. He was very involved in local politics in the state of Washington and made great ties with people of the Republican Party such as Ron Davis and Daniel J. Evans. He would work as Davis’ assistant and have played a role in the re-election of Daniel J. Evans in 1972 (biography.com). He also worked at a suicide hotline in Seattle to showcase an intention to help people rather than hurting them (Grimes). His reputation among his professors and colleagues, predominantly in the University of Washington, gave him the title of a charismatic, articulate and intelligent man with a bright future. He kept such a reputation by becoming an outgoing individual in his classes and workspaces to eliminate any doubt from the minds of the people around him that he is capable of such heinous crimes.
Compulsivity
The compulsive behaviour of Ted Bundy was for the reason of acquiring a feeling of pleasure when killing someone. Specifically, he feels a certain pleasure when hitting a person with a pipe or suffocating them. Ted Bundy has stated “when I kill a woman in such a manner and look into her eyes in the last seconds of her life, it’s like being God” (Dobson). This is the irresistible feeling that Bundy loved and craved for so many years that pushed him to murder one woman after another. Rhonda Stapley, a survivor of Ted Bundy’s attacks, said that “he would choke me until I went unconscious, rape and abuse me, wait for me to regain my consciousness and choke me again and did it 4 times. It’s as if he liked watching me die over and over again” (Stapley).
Deviant Sexual Behaviour and Hyper Sexuality
Bundy was known for exerting his extreme hyper sexuality on his victims by raping them after kidnapping them while they were handcuffed and/or unconscious. He would also return to the dead bodies to continue his deviant sexual behaviour until the bodies were so decomposed that it was no longer possible (fbi.gov). The fact that he did this to at least 35 women in a period of 5 years show how extreme his case of hyper sexuality was and how horrifying his sexual urges were. Ted Bundy’s idea of good sex was to handcuff an attractive woman, terrorize her and make her think that she is about to die (Dobson).
Victim of Physical or Emotional Abuse or Cruel Parenting
From a young age, Bundy was a victim of emotional abuse and cruel parenting. For the first 22 years of his life, he did not even know who his actual mother was. This was due to his mother lying to him that his grandparents were his parents and that she was his older sister (crimefeed). He was impacted with emotional abuse by witnessing the extreme case of domestic violence within his own home. Who he thought was his father, who is actually his grandfather, would constantly physically abuse Bundy’s grandmother and mother in a daily basis. In addition to this, Bundy felt emotional pain when moving out of his grandparent’s house with his mother due to him believing that he is leaving his own parents for good. That is emotionally disturbing for a 5 year old to handle. He was also neglected by his mother and essentially grew up without having a close and intimate relationship with anyone (crimefeed).
Result of Unwanted Pregnancy
It is still unclear who Ted Bundy’s biological father really was. His mother, Eleanor Louise Cowell, listed an air force veteran and salesman named Llyod Mashal as Bundy’s father on his birth certificate. She later claimed that she had a sexual affair with a sailor by the name of Jack Worthington (biography.com). Authorities say that neither men are in any records and do not even exist. Born out of wedlock in a home for unwed mothers, Ted Bundy was a child that was by no means pre planned and was affected by a negative environment and was not even raised by his single mother. He instead was thrown into the hands of his notoriously abusive grandfather and his mentally ill grandmother which was certainly not a healthy environment for his upbringing.
No Bliss of Childhood
Bundy’s childhood was one that had no happiness throughout it whatsoever. Growing up, he was completely neglected by his mother and never made any close or intimate relationships as a young child. He also had many conflicts with his stepfather, John Bundy, and had no connection with him or his younger siblings (Jenkins). Bundy also had trouble making connections and relationships with others at school. He was a very shy individual that stuttered and struggled to make friends. He quickly developed into a lonely, anti-social child.
Use of Pornography
Bundy has admitted to his use of pornography many times (Dobson). He has admitted that the type of pornography that he was fond of watching was hardcore sex with a woman who is kidnapped, handcuffed, tied down and is raped and sexually assaulted (Dobson). This clearly influences Bundy’s idea of sex and may have even influenced his method of physically acquiring the feeling he gets when watching such pornographic content.
Psychological and Socialogical Indicators
- Growing up in house with an abusive and porn addicted grandfather and a mentally ill grandmother, Ted Bundy was certainly not raised in the best of circumstances (biography.com). Being around such influences, such as an abusive grandfather who would throw his daughter down the stairs or beat his wife during small arguments, would make Bundy believe from a young age that using violence against women and abusing them will ensure that you get your way and that there will not be any significant conflicts in the future. In addition to this, witnessing his grandmother, who he was told was his mom, go through electroshock therapy and have severe depression and mental health issues for years is very traumatizing for a young child to witness for his entire childhood (biography.com). His mother also neglected him his whole childhood and never made any intimate connection with him (crimemuseum). Bundy grew up as a child without making any intimate connections or relationships with anybody as well as witnessing domestic violence on a daily basis towards a helpless and mentally ill grandmother.
- Bundy was involved in acts of burglary from the age of 15 (biography.com). He was known to be an expert shop lifter and was a suspect in 2 burglaries (crimefeed). He shoplifted many times as a young child but always got away. Specifically, the times where he was stopped and questioned by police as a suspect, he was able to manipulate them and outwit them to get away with his crimes. From being able to successfully do this many times at a young age, Ted Bundy would believe that he could get anything he wanted and could get away with anything that he wanted to do by manipulating others. The manipulation of others is clear when Bundy uses this as the main way to get his victims to do what he wants, by going to his car, and get what he wants, by sexually assaulting and killing them (fbi.gov). In short, Ted Bundy acquired the belief that he could manipulate everybody to get away with committing crimes.
- His break up with Stephanie Brooks was no doubt the biggest turning point in Ted Bundy’s life. He was in absolute, obsessive love with Brooks and she suddenly dumped him for his extreme immaturity (crimefeed). Bundy felt devastation as that was the first time he had ever made an intimate relationship and connection with anyone in his life. His life went down in a spiral as he didn’t know who he really was and eventually dropped out of college to work minimum wage jobs (biography.com). After just over a year, Bundy was finally able to bring himself back together and re enter college. A few years later, Ted Bundy was a confident, charismatic man with a bright future in law and politics. However, the breakup with Brooks left an urge for deviance in his mind. He and Brooks got back together for a few years. After Brooks agreed to marry Bundy, he dumped her as revenge (crimeandinvestigation). From this point on, Bundy’s killing spree began by targeting attractive women with long hair parted down the middle, exactly like Stephanie Brooks (murderpedia).
- Ted Bundy found out that his mother was pretending to be his sister at what was one of the worst times of his life. He found out when viewing documents at a Virginia library and found his birth certificate (crimefeed). Bundy got a hold of these documents soon after his break up with Brooks. At this point, Bundy felt that the 2 women closest to him in his life completely betrayed him. This is related to one of Bundy’s reasons for guiltlessly murdering 35 women which is that he is entitled and his actions are justified. After what women did to him, why shouldn’t he do this to women? (Dobson)
Victims of Crimes
Georgeann Hawkins
In 1974, Georgeann Hawkins was a student at the University of Washington and the member of an on-campus sorority known as Kappa Alpha Theta. The horrifying incident occurred on the night of June 10, 1974 (murderpedia). Hawkins walked 6 houses down from her sorority room to visit her boyfriend that evening. Her roommate became very concerned when the time was 2:00am and she did not return to the sorority. Sher called Hawkins’ boyfriend, who said that she left his home at 1:00am. The police was called and immediate action was taken because of so many other cases of missing women in the same area in such a short period of time (murderpedia). Before his execution in 1989, Ted Bundy admitted to killing Georgeann Hawkins in 1974 (fbi.gov). He made mention of how he committed the crime; he pretended to be injured by walking on crutches and dropped his books in front of Hawkins (Dobson). He then asked her for help to pick up the books and take them to his car. Bundy would usually target girls with long hair parted down the middle but would also ask women that seemed soft and kind in nature so that it would be easier to deceive them. As she bent over towards the seat to put Bundy’s books in his car, he grabbed a crowbar and proceeded to bash her on the head with it (Dobson). He did so until she went unconscious and put her in handcuffs and tied her with strips of sheet and leather. He said that he had one of his car seats missing from his vehicle so that he could lay his victim down and out of sight from other traffic passing by (Dobson). Bundy began to drive to the deep parts of the woods of Seattle. He made mention that she regained consciousness in the car so he had to bash her in the head until she was unconscious again (Dobson). Once in the deep part of a Seattle forest, he raped Hawkins many times when she was both conscious and unconscious. Followed by choking her to death and dumping her body in the forest. Bundy went back to the dead body multiple times to have sexual intercourse with her corpse. He repeatedly came back to the body for this reason until her corpse was either so decomposed that it was impossible to have intercourse or an animal fed off the body making it impossible to have intercourse. Ted Bundy was not charged for the murder of Georgeann Hawkins because he admitted to the crime shortly before his execution by electric chair in 1989 (fbi.gov).
Jancie Ott
On July 14, 1974, Janice Ott was minding her own business getting a tan and relaxing at the Lake Sammamish State Park in Washington. That was the case until Ted Bundy approached her in an arm sling and asked her if she could help him tie his boat to his car (murderpedia). As Ott agreed to help and headed towards the car she was struck with an iron pipe until she went unconscious (murderpedia). Bundy put her in handcuffs and tied her in sheets and leather. He raped her countless times and physically abused her. He then drove an unconscious Ott to the deep parts of the woods of Seattle. Upon arrival, he choked her to death and continued to have intercourse with her dead corpse. Once done with her, Bundy dumped the body within a deep area of the woods. He would come back to the dead body that he dumped and would have intercourse with the decaying remains (murderpedia). Much like Georgeann Hawkins, Janice Ott was murdered in the exact same way and method and even dumped in the exact same area. Ted Bundy was also not charged for the murder of Janice Ott because he admitted to killing her shortly before his execution by electric chair in 1989.
Caryn Campbell
Caryn Campbell was a registered nurse that was residing at the Wildwood Inn in Aspen, Colorado on January 12, 1975. She was last seen walking to her hotel room to get a magazine. The hallway that she was last seen in was brightly lit and she only walked 6 rooms down the hall. When out of nowhere an injured Ted Bundy approached her on crutches posing as an injured man and asking for help. Bundy asked her if she could help him carry his ski boots to his car (murderpedia). She kindly agreed to help him and walked over to the car with Bundy’s ski boots. When bending over to put the item in the car, Bundy took an iron pipe and hit her on the head multiple times until she went unconscious (murderpedia). He then repeatedly sexually assaulted and raped Campbell in the vehicle. Bundy then choked her to death and drove the corpse to Snowmass, Colorado where he dumped the body next to a dirt road (fbi.gov). Bundy was not linked to the murder of Caryn Campbell until after he was sentenced for 15 years for attempting to kidnap Carrol DaRonch (fbi.gov). Prior to this trial, Bundy was famous for firing his lawyers and was granted permission to defend himself in court. He showcased supreme confidence towards the media that he was no guilty and that he would beat the system. On June 7, 1977, Bundy was taken to the Pitkin County courthouse in Aspen, Colorado for the preparation of the Caryn Campbell murder trial that would take place within that week. He was granted entry to the courthouses law library where he snuck through a second story window and jumped out of the building (fbi.gov). Ted Bundy had escaped. But he was not free for long, he was driving a stolen Cadillac in Aspen and two police officers recognized him and pulled him over. Bundy was arrested after 6 days of extensive searching. After his capture, the Caryn Campbell trial was set for January 9, 1978. On December 30, 1977, Bundy had planned another escape. He had carved a hole in the ceiling where he then entered the crawlspace and crawled to the area that was directly above the wardens closet (fbi.gov). From there he entered the closet, exited the closet and simply walked out of the jail through the wardens office. Bundy made this escape knowing that the warden was not there that night and even planted books and pillows under a blanket on his bed in his jail cell to make it look like he was sleeping. The Caryn Campbell trial never took place even after Bundy’s capture on February 15, 1978 because of the horrific murders that he committed after his escape which he was convicted for and sentenced to death. Ted Bundy got away with killing at least 32 women and was convicted for only 3 of the murders he committed.
Lisa Levy and Margret Bowman
After escaping prison for the second time, Ted Bundy was already on a flight to Chicago when jail officers realized he was missing on the noon of December 31, 1977. Upon arrival to Chicago, he took a train to Ann Arbor, Michigan where he would stay the night in a room at the YMCA. The next day, he went to a bar to watch the University of Washington play against Michigan in the Rose Bowl. Shortly after this he stole a car and drove to Atlanta, Georgia. Bundy abandoned his car and took a bus to Tallahassee, Florida, where he would continue to commit more gruesome murders. On January 15, 1978, Bundy entered the Florida State University Chi Omega sorority house at about 3:00 am through a faulty door. He then began to repeatedly beat Margret Bowman with a piece of oak firewood while she was asleep and then killed her by strangulation with a nylon stocking (murderpedia). He then made his way to the bedroom of Lisa Levy where he aggressively beat her until she went unconscious. He also strangled her, ripped off one of her nipples and belligerently bit into her left buttock. Bundy proceeded to repeatedly rape her and sexually assault her by shoving a hair mist bottle into her genitals (murderpedia). He also assaulted and severely beat 3 other women that night: Karen Chandler, Kathy Kleiner and Cheryl Thomas (fbi.gov). He was not able to kill them but left the 3 women in serious condition. Bundy was not re-captured until February 15, 1978, when a police officer stopped his vehicle and arrested him (crimefeed). The trial took place on July 7, 1979 where Bundy decided to represent himself again and confidently showcasing to the media that he was completely innocent and will prove himself right. Two pieces of evidence that turned out to be crucial for the direction of the case. Firstly, an eye witness and sorority member, Nita Neary, said that she saw Bundy leave the house as she was walking back to the sorority that night (fbi.gov). Secondly, the bite marks that Bundy left in the left buttocks of Lisa Levy during the attack (fbi.gov). Police took plaster casts of Bundy’s teeth and matched it with the bite marks on Levy’s buttocks. Bundy was found guilty, convicted on all counts and sentenced to death for the murders of Lisa Levy and Margret Bowman.
Kimberley Leach
After going on a murdering rampage on January 15, 1978, killing 2 women at a sorority, Bundy’s hunger for death continued 3 weeks later. On February 9, 1978, Bundy travelled from Tallahassee, Florida to Lake City, Florida where he abducted 12 year old Kimberly Leach from Lake City Junior High School in a stolen white van. He then belligerently raped and murdered her (murderpedia). Witnesses at the school believed that Bundy was Leach’s father picking her up from school. While raping her, Bundy slit her throat from ear to ear and Kimberley Leach died during intercourse (murderpedia). Her body was found under a small pig shed near the Suwannee River State Park (fbi.gov). Her shirt was pulled up and wrapped around her neck and the rest of her clothing was in a pile not far from her body. On February 15, 1978, as Bundy was driving in Pensacola, Florida, a patrolman pulled over his car for reckless driving (crimefeed). When seeing the license plate, the officer made inquiries and found out that it was a stolen vehicle. Shortly after Bundy was stopped, he began to run on foot but was caught, taken down and arrested by officer David Lee. After being found guilty and sentenced to death for the murders of Lisa Levy and Margret Bowman on July 7, 1979, a second trial took place on February 7, 1980 for the murder of Kimberley Leach (fbi.gov). Bundy was found guilty and convicted of all counts and was sentenced to death. The evidence that played a huge role in the decision were fibers that were found in Bundy’s van that matched the clothing of Leach (fbi.gov). It would take over 9 years for Bundy to be executed since he would repeatedly appeal his convictions. He would also delay his death by providing information of unsolved cases of missing women to the police. He would provide a small amount of information and then say that he needs more time and to delay his death if they wanted to find out about the unsolved cases. After 9 years of appeals and delays, Ted Bundy was executed on January 24, 1989 at 7:16am in an electric chair.
Modus Operandi
Typologies
The Lust-Oriented Hedonist
The crimes that Ted Bundy committed were circled around acquiring a sexual pleasure that he could not get by legitimate means. Bundy’s hyper sexuality may have been the main cause of him kidnapping, raping and killing at least 35 women. Bundy’s idea of good sex was to have an attractive woman in handcuffs, torture and terrorize her and make her think she is going to die (Dobson). Such thoughts have come to the mind of Bundy due to his addiction to pornography. Bundy himself admitted that he was very fond of watching hardcore sex where a woman was kidnapped, raped and severely tortured (Dobson). Much like a drug, watching such content will only give you a certain feeling of sexual pleasure for a certain amount of time, and that in order to continue acquiring that pleasure one needs to take things to the next level. In Bundy’s case, the next level was to physically be part of such a situation. Meaning, instead of just watching the horrid content, Bundy would have to physically perform the actions that he was fantasizing about to continue feeling the same, strong sexual pleasure. From the results of Bundy’s crimes, we can see that his actions went much further than what he was fantasizing about. It is most likely that Bundy had to do as much as indulge in sexual behaviour and intercourse with his victims corpses to re-acquire the sexual pleasure that he was craving.
The Thrill-Oriented Hedonist
Bundy had some sort of pleasure in killing his victims and strangling them to death. He would acquire some type of a rush in watching his victims die right in front of him. Bundy acquires so much excitement from killing that it pushed him to kill as many people as he did. Rhonda Stapley, a survivor of Ted Bundy’s attacks, said that “he would choke me until I went unconscious, rape and abuse me, wait for me to regain my consciousness and choke me again and did it 4 times. It’s as if he liked watching me die over and over again” (Stapley). From a victims perspective, we can see that Bundy clearly felt excitement and happiness in killing his victims and putting them through extreme amounts of pain and anguish.
The Power/Control Freak
Pretending to be injured and needing help from his victims made Ted Bundy’s killing spree more pleasurable for him. The methods of which he tortured his victims, which was mostly by rape, shows that he found extreme pleasure in feeling absolutely dominant over them and being able to do what ever he wants without them being able to stop him. This unstoppable feeling of invincibility he gets from raping a weak, innocent and gullible woman and making her feel an extreme amount of misery gives him a pleasurable feeling that he cannot get by doing anything else. Bundy himself mentioned, “Murder is not about lust or violence, its about possession and looking into woman’s eyes in last seconds of her death is like being God” (Dobson).
Biological and Socialogical Theories
Rational Choice and Deterrence Theory
Strain Theory
This theory can be easily connected with Bundy’s actions. Bundy mentioned that he constantly viewed pornography and that he enjoys viewing content that had to do with women being kidnapped, handcuffed and raped. As his addiction of pornography continues to increase, there is a certain threshold that you cross where you can no longer acquire that same sexual feeling from viewing the graphic content. Instead, one would have to physically experience it and go to the next level in order to satisfy their needs. Obviously, one cannot do something like this by legitimate means, resulting in Bundy committing the crimes that he did.
Socialization Theory
Bundy was raised in a very negative environment as a young child. With a notoriously abusive grandfather who was a pornography addict, a grandmother who had mental health issues and constantly had electroshock therapy, and a neglectful mother who posed as his sister for his entire childhood, Bundy’s environment would be a logical explanation for the development of his insane mind. What really triggered him to begin murdering women was when his girlfriend, Stephanie Brooks, ended their relationship and crushed Bundy’s heart. In accordance to this theory, we can clearly see that Ted Bundy began his involvement in criminal behaviour and sexually deviant behaviour from an influence of his family, predominantly his grandfather, and other loved ones.
Biological Trait Theory
Neurophysical Theory
According to this theory, it is genetically possible that Ted Bundy had neurological dysfunctions that caused him to get involved in criminal activity. To this day, nobody is aware of who Bundy’s father was. There is a slim chance that his father may have had such neurological dysfunctions that it potentially caused him to get involved in criminal activity. Due to this, Bundy may have genetically acquired such dysfunctions from his father at birth.
Works Cited
Grimes, William. "Ann Rule, 83, Dies: Wrote About Ted Bundy (a Friend) and Other Killers."The New York Times. The New York Times, 28 July 2015. Web. 15 May 2017.
Jenkins, John Philip. "Ted Bundy." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., n.d. Web. 15 May 2017.
Stapley, Rhonda. I Survived Ted Bundy: The Attack, Escape & PTSD That Changed My Life. Seattle, WA: Galaxy 44, 2016. Print.
"Ted Bundy's Campaign of Terror." Federal Bureau of Investigation. FBI, n.d. Web. 15 May 2017
"Ted Bundy." FBI. FBI, 06 Dec. 2010. Web. 15 May 2017.
"Ted Bundy." Federal Bureau of Investigation. FBI, n.d. Web. 15 May 2017.
"Ted Bundy." Biography.com. Biography, 28 Apr. 2017. Web. 15 May 2017
Ted Bundy Interview 1989. By James Dobson. Perf. Ted Bundy, James Dobson. N.p., 24 Jan. 1989. Web.15 May 2017.
"Ted Bundy | Serial Killers | Crime Library." Crime Museum. Crime Museum, n.d. Web. 15 May 2017.
"Ted Bundy - The Trial." Crime and Investigation. Crime and Investigation, 07 Oct. 2015. Web. 15 May 2017.
"The Twisted Life of Serial Killer Ted Bundy." NY Daily News. N.p., 08 Nov. 2016. Web. 15 May 2017.
Bibliography
Good, Meaghan Elizabeth. "Georgeann Hawkins." The Charley Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2017.
Grimes, William. "Ann Rule, 83, Dies: Wrote About Ted Bundy (a Friend) and Other Killers."The New York Times. The New York Times, 28 July 2015. Web. 15 May 2017.
Jenkins, John Philip. "Ted Bundy." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., n.d. Web. 15 May 2017.
Stapley, Rhonda. I Survived Ted Bundy: The Attack, Escape & PTSD That Changed My Life. Seattle, WA: Galaxy 44, 2016. Print.
"Ted Bundy's Campaign of Terror." Federal Bureau of Investigation. FBI, n.d. Web. 15 May 2017
"Ted Bundy." FBI. FBI, 06 Dec. 2010. Web. 15 May 2017.
"Ted Bundy." Federal Bureau of Investigation. FBI, n.d. Web. 15 May 2017.
"Ted Bundy." Biography.com. Biography, 28 Apr. 2017. Web. 15 May 2017
Ted Bundy Interview 1989. By James Dobson. Perf. Ted Bundy, James Dobson. N.p., 24 Jan. 1989. Web.15 May 2017.
"Ted Bundy | Serial Killers | Crime Library." Crime Museum. Crime Museum, n.d. Web. 15 May 2017.
"Ted Bundy - The Trial." Crime and Investigation. Crime and Investigation, 07 Oct. 2015. Web. 15 May 2017.
"Ted Bundy." Ted Bundy Expert. Ted Bundy Expert, n.d. Web. 15 May 2017.
"Ted Bundy." Ted Bundy - Biographical Summary. MyHeritage, n.d. Web. 15 May 2017.
"The Twisted Life of Serial Killer Ted Bundy." NY Daily News. N.p., 08 Nov. 2016. Web. 15 May 2017.