The Life and Crimes of Serial Killer Ted Bundy

Theodore Robert Bundy, or Ted Bundy, was diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder and is considered one of the most notorious serial killers of his era (Jenkins, 2018). Charged with the murders of 30 women, it is theorized that he may have killed over 100. Born on November 24, 1946, in Burlington, Vermont, Ted's unwed mother, Elenor Cowell, was a mere 22 years old. After giving birth in a home for unwed mothers, Elenor's perceived disgrace led her to take Ted back to her parents' home in Philadelphia.

In an effort to conceal Ted's illegitimacy, Elenor's parents presented him as their adoptive son, allowing him to grow up thinking his grandparents were his parents and that his biological mother was his sister ("Ted Bundy", n.d.). In 1951, Elenor and Ted relocated to Washington, where she married Johnnie Bundy.

Ted's relationship with Johnnie was fraught with tension, and Ted's antisocial personality led to bullying at school (Jenkins, 2018). From an early age, Ted exhibited disturbing interests, including a fascination with knives that emerged when he was merely three years old. By the time he reached adolescence, he exhibited clear signs of sadistic behavior, demonstrating no guilt when stealing or lying, spying on girls through their windows, and even having repeated run-ins with the law. However, his charm and intelligence enabled him to perform well at college, where he was romantically involved with numerous women. His first college girlfriend possessed several qualities that would come to mirror those of his future victims (). He graduated with a degree in psychology in 1972 and was admitted to a Utah law school.

It's widely debated, but around 1974, Bundy's killing spree began. His victims were young, attractive college students. That same year, women in Seattle and Oregon began disappearing. Reports indicated these women were last seen with a man named Ted, who had dark hair. Bundy would entice these women into his car, feigning injury or impersonating a police officer to win their trust. Once in his car, he would bludgeon and handcuff them before loading them into his Volkswagen Beetle (). He continued his reign of terror in Utah, Florida, Colorado, and Washington, managing to avoid arrest thanks to his charming personality and good reputation.

However, when he was stopped by the police in 1975 as a suspect in a robbery, a more in-depth investigation connected him to more serious crimes, including the kidnapping of Carol DaRonch and murder of women in Colorado. Opting to represent himself in court, Bundy never reached his intended destination — on route, he leaped from the window of the car and avoided capture for eight days (). In 1977, he managed to break out of prison by digging through his cell, giving him a 15-hour head start before his escape was discovered. Once in Florida, he kidnapped a 12-year-old girl and killed two sorority members. He was recaptured in February ().

In 1980, during his trial, Ted Bundy proposed to Carole Ann Boone, whom he had allegedly been dating since before his first killing, and she was at the trial to testify. While he was in jail, Ted and Carole conceived a baby girl named Rose Bundy. Bundy was sentenced to the electric chair, a verdict he spent years trying to change by taking his case up to the Supreme Court and offering his help in an investigation. His attempts at avoiding the death sentence were futile; he died on January 24, 1989.

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