Ted Bundy, the Consummate Psychopath

Ted Bundy, a self-confessed perpetrator of the murders of more than 30 women (the total number of victims was never determined), was known for his sadism, cruelty, and viciousness.

One of the ways in which Ted Bundy operated was to ask a woman to help him load an object into his car while he kept an arm into a sling. Of course, she didn’t think twice about it as he seemed vulnerable. Not only that but he was cute and nice. Why wouldn’t they trust a man like that, right? Unfortunately, the women who fell into his trap and kindly agreed to help him disappeared. He murdered them.

Ted Bundy was a wolf in sheep’s clothing and no one really suspected him. The disappearances continued, there were too many in a short amount of time. So much so that Ted Bundy is known as one of the most active serial killers in the United States.

Ted Bundy’s childhood

Theodore Robert Cowell was born in Burlington, an American town located in Vermont, on November 24, 1946. The son of a teenage mother, Eleanor Cowell, and an unknown father, Ted’s life was hard from the very start. This is because his mother’s pregnancy brought “dishonor” to her family.

His grandparents, who made him believe that his mother was actually his sister, raised him. He never overcame such rejection. According to Ted, he grew up in a violent environment in which his grandfather abused his grandmother.

He moved with his mother to Washington in 1950 and she married John Bundy a year later. The husband adopted little Ted and gave him the last name that later became infamous around the world. Despite his attempts, Ted confessed he never built an emotional bond with his adoptive father.

In addition to his complicated childhood, marked by continuous rejection and a violent and unstable context, Ted Bundy was withdrawn and unsociable. Also, he already displayed traits of what today psychology refers to as conduct disorder (DSM-V). This dissocial disorder, as they knew it back then, is an indicator of a future antisocial personality disorder in many cases. People know it colloquially as psychopathy, usually diagnosed in adults.

Ted’s adult life

Bundy began studying psychology at the University of Puget Sound around 1967. He dated a classmate, Stephanie Brooks, who ended the relationship two years later. She listed Ted’s immaturity and the absence of clear goals in life as the main reasons. Ted became obsessed with her and sent her many letters, trying to win her back.

It was then that he decided to quit college and began working but he didn’t last long in the various jobs he took. In 1969, he met Elizabeth Kloepfer, with whom he maintained a five-year relationship and also resumed his studies, graduating some time later.

Then, he enrolled in the University of Washington, where he began his law studies in 1973. Defined as a brilliant student, he also began to participate actively in politics and did community work during that same period. He was a volunteer on a hotline for sexually assaulted women.

Ted Bundy, a serial killer on the loose

There’s no corroborating evidence but some believe Ted Bundy began his killing spree long before 1974. It was around the time when he behaved like a model citizen and people thought him successful.

The first confirmed crimes and murders happened in 1974. He beat and sexually assaulted Joni Lenz, his first victim, who survived with permanent brain damage.

Shortly after, he did the same with Lynda Ann Healy, who didn’t survive and became the first known victim of Ted Bundy. Things escalated from there to a well-defined victim profile after the disappearance of numerous young women.

Ted Bundy modified his modus operandi. At first, he moved in the darkness of the night but soon found that women trusted him. Thus, he began to murder them at any time of day. He realized he could easily manipulate people with his charisma, and attractiveness. Such traits made it easier for him to find victims.

A police car stopped Ted Bundy in 1975 and found suspicious elements in his such as levers, handcuffs, and tape he used to immobilize his victims. Thus, he was arrested and identified as the author of the failed kidnapping of Carol DaRonch.

Trials and getaways

The trial against Ted Bundy began in 1976, and the jury sentenced him to 15 years in prison. However, it wasn’t the only trial he had to attend, as the expert witnesses found remains of other murdered women in his car.

In this second trial, Ted Bundy skipped the attorney and represented himself. It allowed him to visit the library in order to prepare his defense, a situation he took advantage of to escape. The police captured him six days later, though.

He escaped again the following year. This time around he attacked four women; only one of them survived.

Then, he also kidnapped and murdered a 12-year-old girl, Kimberly Leach. She was his last victim. The police eventually arrested him in a Florida hotel after checking the license plate of his car.

On July 24, 1979, after six and a half hours of deliberation, the jury found him guilty and the judge sentenced him to death in the electric chair for the murders of two college girls. Another death sentence for the murder of little Kimberly Leach followed this one.

The end of Ted Bundy

The confessed murderer of more than 30 women between 1974 and 1978, fought for his life until the last day. He tried to delay his execution as much as possible by confessing murders, offering clues, collaborating in investigations, etc.

He received numerous letters from fans who claimed to love him. In fact, he married one of them. Carole Ann Boone believed in and even procreated a daughter with him. He finally died in the electric chair in Florida on January 24, 1989.

“We want to believe that we can identify dangerous people, but the scary thing is we can’t. People don’t realize they’re living with potential murderers,” said Ted Bundy.

You can watch a documentary on Netflix titled Conversations with Killers: The Ted Bundy Tapes if you want to know more about this serial killer. It contains recordings extracted from more than 100 hours of interviews with him while on death row.