Research Paper On Ted Bundy

Ted Bundy: attractive, charming, funny, witty, intelligent, and a life saver. But also evil, manipulative, inhumane, psychotic, and a life taker. Serial killer Ted Bundy’s known killings began from 1974 – 1978. With a confirmed total of 36 women murdered in the states of Colorado, Oregon, Utah, Idaho, Florida, and Washington; Bundy allegedly holds the title of “one of the most notorious criminals of the late 20th century.”

November 24, 1946, Theodore Robert Cowell came into the family of self-proclaimed Christians Samuel and Eleanor Cowell in Burlington, Vermont, but was raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for his first three years. Eleanor was described by Ted as an apprehensive and compliant woman. She was also diagnosed with severe depression

and had to be treated with electro shock therapy from time to time. Samuel was said by family and others that he was a barbaric bully and one to be prejudice against minorities. He was rumored to be involved in animal cruelty and to have once tossed one of his daughters down the stairs for sleeping in too late. Despite these traits, Bundy looked up to Samuel and saw him as a role model. He respected him and even told close friends that he “identified with him.”

At the age of three, Bundy’s sister Louise wished to distance him from all the mayhem at home and relocated the both of them to Tacoma, Washington to live near some cousins.

Louise met and eventually married in 1951 to John Culpepper Bundy. John formally adopted Bundy and gave him the name he would carry for life; Theodore Robert Bundy. Bundy was never close to John and many conflicts sparked between the two of them due to his low ranking in society. From an early age, Bendy was a materialistic child; always dragging Eleanor to the most expensive clothing stores. He was ashamed of John for the lack of money he had and refused to become close to him and the four children Louise and John had together. Bundy was also confused whether to call Louise his sister or his mother because of the adoption, but refused to call John his father and simply referred to him as

John.

There’s no certainty as to how Bundy behaved in school from an earlier age. Some claim he was well liked by both students and teachers and was an average student. Others say he was a shy student and didn’t have many friends and liked to keep to himself. Bundy also became less confident in himself as he entered high school and stuttered a lot more and didn’t know how to socialize with people. In an interview he said he “didn’t know what made people want to be friends… what made people attractive to one another,” and he “didn’t know what underlay social interactions.”

Essentially, to everyone who knew Bundy, he was just a normal guy.

But what many didn’t know, by the time he was 15, he was already an accomplished shoplifter. As his darker self started to surface, he roamed the streets late at night to peer into the windows of young woman to watch them undress. Bundy was also a heavy drinker and enjoyed looking at violent porn magazines which he later claimed was associated with what drove him into fantasizing and taking action in the killings. He “has met a lot of men who were motivated to commit violence… and without exception, without questions, every one of them was deeply involved in

pornography.”

After graduating with the class of 1965 at Woodrow Wilson High School, Bundy attended the University of Puget Sound and transferred one year later to the University of Washington to study Chinese. During his stay at the university, Bundy got involved with UW student Stephanie Brooks, his first romantic relationship. Brooks was a beautiful young woman with long dark hair that was parted in the middle. She had everything Ted’s ever wanted; wealth, sophistication, and stature.