Bobby's School of Criminology Part 3 - Ted Bundy

bobbythebrony Everyone has probably heard of Ted Bundy. He raped, beat, strangled and dismembered at least 35 women in at least five states in the 1970s. To this day, he continues to fascinate us, but who exactly was Ted Bundy?

Ted Bundy was born Theodore Robert Cowell at the Elizabeth Lund Home for Unwed Mothers in Burlington, Vermont on November 24, 1947. He grew up believing his mother was his sister and his grandparents were his parents. Whether this was the product of incest or not, it would have an impact on him later in life.

While still a young boy, Bundy and his mother moved to Tacoma, Washington where she married a man named Johnny Bundy. Ted's name was later officially changed to Theodore Robert Bundy. Bundy was distant from his step-father and longed to be with his grandfather. In 1961, it is believed that Ted killed his first victim when a young girl disappeared. If so, the then 14 year old Bundy's path was set. He did well in high school and was very handsome. Afterwards, he enrolled at a University in Seattle where he studied politics.

While at the university, he dated Stephanie Brooks who was the love of his life. Even though he wanted to marry her, she ultimately broke up with him on the grounds that he was immature and had no ambition. This was the first ingredient in Bundy's recipe of serial murder.

After his breakup, he traveled back to Vermont to look up his history as he wanted to know who he really was. It was then that he discovered that his sister was his mother and his grandfather was his father. This, which occurred during his grief about his breakup, was his eventual trigger.

Bundy spent the next few years obsessing about getting Stephanie back. He then began to apply him. He went back to college and became an outstanding politics student, eventually getting a seat on the governor's reelection campaign. He eventually won Stephanie back during a trip to California and proposed to her. She said yes but not long after that, he dumped her via telephone. Two days later, Bundy began a serial killing rampage that would shock the world.

Soon after ending his relationship with Stephanie, Bundy traveled back to Seattle where he began kidnapping women, killing them, having sex with their corpses, and dismembering them. His Seattle victims were mostly college students whom he got near their campuses and dorms. He also got two women the same day at Lake Sammamish. His method was simple. He would fake an injury, either with a cast or crutches, before knocking them out and taking them away. He killed at least 11 victims in Seattle with possible Oregon victims around the same time.

Eventually he transfered to another university in Utah and began killing women there. Around this time, Bundy became a suspect in the Seattle murders thanks to a tip from his girlfriend. He soon moved on to Colorado.

After killing some women in Colorado, Bundy was arrested for the first time for possible burglary during a routine traffic stop. He was soon identified, by Carol DeRonche, as the man who attempted to kidnap her. Bundy was charged with kidnapping but escaped, only to be captured days later. He was later convicted and sentenced to between one and fifteen years in prison. Afterwards, he was charged with a murder but again managed to escape jail.

After his second escape in Colorado, he made his way to Tallahassee, Florida. He tried to control himself but ended up sneaking into a university and beating five women. Two of them, Lisa Levy and Margaret Bowman, died. Sometime later, Bundy killed his final victim, 12 year old Kimberly Leech. Afterwards, he was captured for the final time.

When he was brought to trial for the murders of Levy and Bowman, Bundy chose to act as his own attorney. He enjoyed reliving his crimes as he questioned the detectives and asked his groupie girlfriend to marry him. He was found guilty and sentenced to death in the electric chair. He was later sentenced to death for killing Kimberly Leech.

Bundy spent the next nine years on death row filing appeal after appeal. He recieved hundreds of letters a day from women who claimed they loved him. He bore a daughter through semen smuggled out of the prison and helped Robert Keppel profile the infamous Green River Killer. He also attempted to blame pornography for his crimes.

On January 24, 1989, Ted Bundy walked his final walk and was strapped into the electric chair. He said goodbye to his family and the hood was put over his head. The switch was thrown and one minute later, America's most notorious serial killer was pronounced dead. Outside the prison, people cheered in delight. After his death, his wife and daughter changed their names and moved away.

So what can we learn from the case of Ted Bundy? One thing is that love can make a man do crazy thing. All his victims had a remarkable resemblance to Stephanie Brooks. Also, two simultaneous tragedies can lead to disaster. His discovery of his heritage coinciding with his breakup caused the already unstable Bundy to snap. Hopefully women out there will watch who they trust as Ted Bundy will never be forgotten.

Next Episode - Gary Ridgway

Comments

This is the best post series I have read in a while! I think this series should be more frequent. - visitor (6/27/2015)

Thanks - bobbythebrony (8/17/2015)

Can't wait for the gary one! - visitor (8/20/2015)

I'll get to it soon maybe - bobbythebrony (10/23/2015)

I think this is one of my best posts - bobbythebrony (1/15/2016)