Ted Bundy's life from childhood through arrest and serial murders

Ted Bundy -- Serial Killer

Ted Bundy: Serial Killer

Theodore Robert Bundy aka Ted Bundy, was born Theodore Robert Cowell to Louise Cowell on November 24, 1946 in Burlington, Vermont at the Elizabeth Lund Home for Unwed Mothers. After spending eight weeks in the home Louise went to her parents house to raise her son in Philadelphia. Ted Bundy, serial killer grew up believing that his mother was his sister and his grandparents were his parents until in 1951 when Louise and Ted moved to Tacoma, Washington where Louise married Johnnie Bundy, a military cook. Ted Bundy was handsome wel liked and a good students. Following school Ted attended the University of Puget Sound and although he achieved academically he felt inferior to his classmates who were mostly a group of wealthy individuals. Ted Bundy's first love was a girl with long brunette hair and this young lady jilted him and he was became obsessed with her and suffered a deep depression. During this time he learned that his parents were his grandparents and that his sister was his mother.

Ted in Politics

Ted Bundy replaced his shyness with a new false front of confidence. Bundy went to work for Washington's Republic Governor, Dan Evans who upon being elected appointed Bundy ot the Crime Prevention Advisory Committee in Seattle, Washington. Ted Bundy was dating a woman, had his old girlfriend once again in love with him and had a strong footing in politics. However, in 1974 young women were coming up missing from college campuses in Washington and Oregon. Among the missing, was Lynda Ann Healy, a radio announcer that was 21-year of age. The women were reported to have been approached by a man named Ted at a Seattle state park and were seen going off with the man never to be seen again. The young women who were missing were slim and had long hair parted in the middle.

Ted the Serial Killer

Bundy enrolled in school at the University of Utah in 1974 and in November of the same year, Carol DaRoach was attacked at a mall in Utah by a man in a police officer uniform. DaRonch managed to escape from her attacker and was able to give the police a description of not only the man, but as well of the Volkswagen he was driving and a sample of the man's blood that got on her jacket when she was struggling to get away. Only hours after the attack on DaRonch, 17-year-old Debbie Kent came up missing. It was around this time that hikers in Washington found a graveyard of bones in a forest in Washington. The bodies of the dead women that were found in the state of Utah had all been hit on the head with some type of blunt object before they were raped and sodomized.

Ted's Mind

Ted Bundy was a highly intelligent individual and it is reported that during the time that Bundy was active "he had gained a deep understanding of the society he lived in and successfully manipulated its weak spots for his own sadistic gain. He realized that the young, pretty girls he targeted were not encouraged to cultivate physical strength, or to question authority figures (he impersonated a police officer on at least one occasion). He recognized that the status he had attained -- that of an attractive, educated, and genial young man -- essentially placed him above suspicion. He worked in politics and aspired to a career in law, and saw that self-absorption, manipulation of others, and the cultivation of a deceptive exterior were not just encouraged but required of the powerful men he observed." (Marshall, 2013, p.1)

Ted's Execution

It is reported in the work of Rachelle H. Saltzman, a folklorist for the State of Florida: "Those from the general public [at the time of Bundy's execution] included a white-haired 81-year-old grandmother from Jacksonville who offered to pull the switch." (Marshall, 2013, p.1) The public was in a state of glee over Bundy's execution. Ted Bundy attempted to bargain with offering information on the location of the bodies of those whom he had killed in an attempt to get his execution stayed but it was unsuccessful and he was executed to death in July, 1989.

Summary & Conclusion

Ted Bundy was a highly intelligent serial killer who must have developed psychological problems due to believing his mother was his sister and following being jilted by his first love. However, Ted Bundy never showed remorse for any of the murders he committed.