BUNDY
Ted Bundy
Born: November 24, 1946 - Burlington, Vermont
Died: January 24, 1989 - Florida State Prison, Raiford, Florida
THE LADY KILLER
Ted Bundy is probably the most well-known psychopathic rapist and serial killer in our true-crime universe. This necrophiliac narcissist also proved to be a pretty good escape artist, breaking out of jail twice while awaiting trial. He was gaslighting and mansplaining long before those terms became part of our everyday language, deceiving and manipulating women with a fake arm cast and a wink. His execution in the electric chair became a widely covered news story, with crowds of hundreds outside the prison yelling and chanting, 'Burn, Bundy, burn!"
OUR CREEPY AND PERVERSE BUNDY PLAYLIST
OUR FAVORITE BUNDY TUNE:
Big Empty - Stone Temple Pilots
“Drivin’ faster in my car, fallin’ faster from just what we are
Smoke a cigarette and lie some more, these conversations kill…”
iconography
explained
BELOW IS A GUIDE TO THE ICONS ON THIS KILLER'S PAGE IN OUR BOOK. ENJOY!
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A total of three Volkswagen Beetles are linked to Bundy! There's the one he owned in Utah - a tan 1968 VW Beetle; the one he stole in Florida - an orange VW Super Beetle; and one that belonged to his on/off girlfriend, which Bundy borrowed and drove - a light blue VW Beetle Bug.
Bundy bought his tan 1968 VW Beetle in his hometown of Tacoma, Washington. He had removed the Bug's passenger seat and its inside door handle, trapping his victims inside the car, where they were often handcuffed to the Beetle and strangled.
The tan bug was the location of many of Ted's murders - first in Washington and Oregon, then in Utah and Colorado.
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On August 15, 1975, Bundy managed to evade police attempting to pull him over, leading to a search of his VW Beetle. During the search, authorities discovered suspicious items, including a crowbar, a box of large green plastic garbage bags, an ice pick, flashlight, gloves, torn strips of sheeting, a knit ski mask, handcuffs, and a peculiar mask crafted from pantyhose. Notably, they also observed that the passenger seat had been removed and placed in the back seat. Bundy was arrested for evading an officer, but despite the presence of these suspicious objects and his questionable behavior, he was eventually released.
While out on bail, Bundy meticulously cleaned the tan VW and then sold it to a Utah teenager. However, the police confiscated the car when they arrested Bundy for attempted kidnapping. The victim had identified him in a police lineup, and told them Bundy had posed as a police detective. While the vehicle was in police possession, they found found hairs and DNA that matched victims.
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Bundy was a chainsmoker, and also liked pot, which he reportedly smoked in jail, and spoke about it in an interview: “I smoked a lot of weed, and I have never in my life been so fucked up. I don’t like the dope that gets you mildy giddy. I mean, when I smoke dope, I like to hallucinate a little bit.”
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When Bundy was finally caught after a high speed chase in Pensacola, Florida, authorities found 21 stolen credit cards in the stolen orange Bug.
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Bundy had bitten one of his murder victims—a woman in a Florida sorority house— multiple times and left behind some unusual forensic evidence: the distinct imprints of his teeth. And not just one, but multiple sets.
The sheriff on scene, desperate to find strong physical evidence at the crime scene, discovered the bite marks on one of the sorority victims. He immediately took a picture while placing a ruler next to them as a point of reference.
While on trial, the photograph was used as evidence and forensic dentists testified. Bundy's bite marks revealed some identifying characteristics: The set of teeth that created them had a chipped left incisor with three peaks and distinctly crooked bottom teeth. This perfectly described Bundy’s teeth. The prosecution used wax molds of Bundy’s bite and photographs of the prints on the corpse to help make their case.
They also compared a large photo of Bundy’s bite impressions to the marks photographed on the body. When one was placed on top of the other, they matched. According to these experts and their visual supporting evidence, both were virtually identical. They also used computer-enhanced imagery to show the impressions in more detail.
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While his victims encompassed a wide age range, spanning from 12 to their late 20s, they shared common characteristics: they were all young women with brown hair, particularly featuring a middle part. Ann Rule, a journalist with a close connection to Bundy, suggests that he targeted this specific type because his homicidal impulses were ignited by rejection from his first girlfriend, who bore a resemblance to his eventual victims.
Bundy was diobolical. He kidnapped, raped, killed, and then had sex with his victims' corpses until they were so decomposed he was forced to stop, all while photographing his victims. He said that after raping and killing women, he liked to spend the night with their corpses.
He also decapitated approximately twelve of them with a hacksaw and kept the heads as souvenirs in his apartment. He would wash their hair, apply makeup, and engage in sexual acts with them.
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Bundy would sport a cast / arm sling and approach women, seeking their assistance in loading his sailboat onto his car. Numerous women reported seeing him at Lake Sammamish State Park, situated east of Seattle.
Months later, the bodies of the two women who had extended their help to the stranger were discovered on a secluded hillside.
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Ted Bundy moved to Salt Lake City in the Fall of 1974, and the following year, he joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, rumored to be because of his Mormon girlfriend at the time. He would later be excommunicated by the LDS Church after his 1976 kidnapping conviction.
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On November 8, 1974, Bundy made an attempted kidnapping, and per the victim's account, Bundy intercepted her during her shopping trip, masquerading as a police officer. He purportedly informed her that there had been an attempted theft of her car and requested her presence outside to file a police report.
He then told the victim that law enforcement was detaining a suspect at the police station, insisting that he needed her to accompany him there. On the way to the station, he tried to handcuff her and hit her with a crowbar. She was able to escape and reported the incident to police, which subsequently led to his arrest.
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Bundy's typical MO was to bludgeon his victims with a metal rod or a crowbar, sexually assault them, and then strangle them. Although none of his victims were shot, he would brandish a gun to threaten them, and sometimes beat them with it.
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Bundy was in custody, awaiting trial for murder in an Aspen, Colorado jail, and was permitted to aid in his own defense. Consequently, he had access to the law library, conveniently situated on the second floor of the same courthouse building. The judge ruled that Bundy should not be restrained by leg shackles or handcuffs, granting him the liberty to move freely both within the courtroom and the law library.
During his time in the law library, Bundy became increasingly aware of opportunities to escape. This desire for freedom culminated on June 7, 1977, when he seized an opportunity while confined in the law library. While a guard stepped outside for a cigarette break, Bundy noticed open windows and made a daring leap from the building's second-story window, making a beeline for the nearby mountains.
Approximately 10 minutes passed before anyone realized Bundy's escape. Roadblocks were swiftly established at both entrances to Aspen, with the sheriff's department scrutinizing each departing vehicle.
Bundy ventured deep into the mountains, eventually breaking into a cabin where he remained for several days. Eventually, he returned to Aspen and made off with an unlocked car that had the keys in the ignition. A deputy spotted the vehicle weaving on the road, leading to Bundy's apprehension six days after his daring escape.
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Bundy kept a small military-style shovel, as well as a hacksaw, in his car to use for the dismemberment and burials.
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Bundy was also know as the Casanova Killer: a narcissist with a “Casanova Complex.” Men with this complex actively seek numerous sexual encounters without forming any emotional or romantic bonds with the women involved. In Bundy's case, he brought this meaning to a whole new level.
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When Bundy realized he was about to get his teeth photographed to compare his unique indentation marks to the bite marks left on the victims, he screamed for his attorney, as he grasped the understanding that this would most likely nail him for murder.
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Upon completing high school in 1965, Bundy enrolled at the University of Puget Sound for a single year before transferring to the University of Washington (UW) to study Chinese.
Bundy's first documented assault targeted an 18-year-old student at UW. After entering her apartment, he subjected her to sexual assault and severe physical violence. Although she managed to survive the ordeal, she sustained brain damage and has no memory of the attack. His next victim was another student at the university. Once more, Bundy forcibly entered her apartment, but this time he abducted and then killed her.
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Carole Ann Boone crossed paths Bundy in Washington in 1974, and fell in love with him, displaying unwavering loyalty even throughout his arrest and trial. She expressed her desire to have a child, and somehow they had sex while he was imprisoned.
Leveraging his legal acumen as a former law student, Ted Bundy devised a plan to marry Carole Ann Boone while serving his sentence. He uncovered an obscure Florida law that declared any marriage in which a judge presides over the declaration in court to be legally valid.
Simultaneously, Boone took enlisted the services of a notary public to be in court and affix their marriage license in advance. Representing himself as his own defense attorney, Bundy summoned Boone to the witness stand on February 9, 1980. When asked to describe Bundy, Boone characterized him as "kind, warm, and patient." He then proposed marriage. She accepted, and the legitimacy of the union was sealed when Bundy uttered the words, "I do hereby marry you," officially binding them in matrimony.
She gave birth to their daughter Rose while he was on death row.
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Bundy kept his "murder kit," which included various knives, in a gym bag inside his car.
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Bundy has said that his early childhood in Tacoma, Washington was normal and somewhat idilic, and he used to catch frogs as a kid: “First grade I was a somewhat champion frog-catcher,” Bundy said. “I mean, I was a frog man.”
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Bundy's favorite alcoholic beverage was Mickey’s Big Mouth Malt Liquor.
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At 7 a.m. on January 24, 1989, Bundy died via execution in the electric chair at Florida State Prison. As he was hit with two thousand volts, his body tensed and his hands tightened into a clinch. Outside, hundreds of people sang, danced and lit fireworks outside the prison, singing "Burn, Bundy, burn" and celebrated when his body was brought out in a hearse.
After his death, Bundy's brain was extracted, and scientists conducted a sequence of experiments to try to ascertain the underlying reasons behind his psychotic acts.
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