The Infamous Serial Killer: Theodore Robert Bundy

Theodore Robert Bundy is widely regarded as the most infamous serial of all time, and is indisputably the first to garner national recognition. He was able to attain this sinister status because of several factor, however, two have more obvious significance. Bundy had at least thirty kills confirmed to his name, however it is possible he was responsible for the deaths of 100+ women during his reign of terror. The other spectacular thing about Bundy was his overly dramatic trial, where Bundy would take full advantage of debonair personality, going so far as to amass a fanbase of young women while in custody. Though not the only reasons, the sheer number of women he was able to kill and his soap opera like trial were the biggest contributors

to his infamy.
Ted Bundy was one of America’s most successful serial killers, so it is needless to say that he had an extensive list of brutal crimes. Entire books could be written cataloging and describing the 30+ murders committed buy this debonair monster. Even then this list would not account for the unfortunate women who managed survive their encounter with Bundy or the nearly 100 other murders that are rumored to be his doing. For the sake of brevity, only a select few of his countless felonies will be mentioned, however, these are only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
Poor Joni Lenz is one of Ted Bundy’s most well known victims, both because of the brutality of her traumatizing encounter with the killer and because she managed to survive this ordeal. On an early January night in 1974, Bundy assaulted miss Lenz in the basement of a house she was renting along with several other young women. Ted Bundy was able to break into the house and proceeded to viciously assault and violate Joni with a metal bedpost he located in the house. Despite Ted’s unrelenting attack, Joni, miraculously, was able to survive her ordeal, however, she was also inflicted with permanent organ and brain damage. Along with these irreversible injuries, she was unable to remember any details of the attack and Bundy was only connected to her years after the fact.
Home invasion wasn’t Bundy’s only tactic to achieve his horrific hobby; kidnapping was another part of his modus operandi. Such as in the case of Denise Naslund, who’s body was discovered near the Lake Sammamish area in Washington state. Denise was on romantic picnic with her boyfriend when, around 4:00pm, she excused herself to use the restroom. She never returned.Some of body parts were found by park rangers two miles from the picnic area. Similarly to Joni Lenz, Bundy was not connected to Denise’s murder until he confessed to it before his death.
Another one of Ted’s kidnapping and murder victims was 21 year old Lynda Ann Healy. Similar to his past victims, she was tall and thin with dark, middle parted, hair. These were features Bundy was drawn to because of an ex girlfriend who had shattered his heart. Lynda was discovered missing by her boss, realizing that she had not arrived at work, contacted her roommates. Her roommates then discovered her beloved bike, which always used to travel, was still parked in her basement. This prompted her worried boss and friends to call the local police, who were only able to find a blood stained nightgown hanging in her closet. It was not until the excavation of the so called “Bundy’s Graveyard” (“Gale”) that her bones were discovered and linked to the spree killer.
It was during this time that the police began to suspect that some of these cases, as well as many other kidnappings, rapes and murders, were the doing of one man.

Many of the witnesses or victims that of these crimes would often describe a handsome and charming man who would refer to himself simply as “Ted”. (Marie J. MacNee) The police compiled a list of suspects matching this description, and, although, Bundy was a member of this list, few policemen, having known the upstanding and successful Ted Bundy, passed him over as a suspect. Ted was able to evade suspicion fore years and was able to carry out his brutal crimes unchallenged for a time. However, when Bundy was finally caught it was for a far less serious offense. Ted would often take slow drives through nearby neighborhoods, prowling like a hungry fox looking for its next victim. Unfortunately for Bundy, he was not inconspicuous enough and a resident alerted the police to his behavior. When he was pulled the police suspected him of casing houses for robbery, a suspicion that was seemingly confirmed upon discovering common burglary items such as a crowbar and a ski mask. It was while in custody for attempted burglary, however, that some his more heinous crimes were uncovered. One of his surviving kidnapping victims as well two other witnesses were able to confirm that this suave young man was indeed the serial rapist and murder

“Ted.”
Two years after his incarceration Bundy was charged with the death of a another young woman he had killed years previous. Caryn Campbell had been found raped and murdered in a snow bank the year following Bundy’s arrest. She had gone missing without a trace after skiing with her fiancé at a resort. Ted was taken to trial for this grizzly crime.
For many this extra trial would have been a nightmare, but Ted, always the opportunist, saw this as an opportunity to regain his freedom.

Bundy, who had previously attended law school, was granted permission to do research for his own case. While in Pitkin County Courthouse Library he was able to slip out a window into the outside world. This freedom was short lived as he was recaptured just days after breaking loose. This seemed to only embolden the spree murderer, however as he was able to escape a second time by squirming through a trap door in his cell. After his successful snake-like escape, Bundy fled to Florida where continued his vile misdeeds. Unbeknownst to him, however, these would be his last. As a fugitive Ted was able to kill three more victims,one of which had deep bite marks on the body, and beat two others, who managed to survive. Amongst these victims was his last, twelve-year-old Kimberly Leach, who’s corpse was found butchered underneath a hog shed. Thankfully, after this unreconcilable crime, Ted was caught fleeing on foot from a stolen vehicle. He reportedly told the officers restraining him “I wish you had killed me.” (Marie J.

MacNee)
The infamous “Ted” (Marie J. MacNee) was finally, and permanently, in police custody, but this was far from the end of his story. The Bundy trials was nearly as sensational as his murder spree and were the primary medium by which the American public were exposed to the terrible tale of Ted Bundy. From the very beginning of the trials there was media madness. The graphic sexual and violent nature of his heinous crimes sparked the curiosity of the American public. The Ted Bundy trials were some of the most publicly broadcast trials of the 1980s. Nobody knew this better than the “Golden Boy” (Mary Ann Farkas, Frank Burke, 60) himself. Ted began to kick his charm into overdrive for the television cameras, and, along with a little help with the media, was able to attain a strange cult folk hero status of sorts. Despite being best known for debonair persona, many who knew Bundy before his media rampage claimed much of his charm was overblown. Ann Rule, a former coworker, even quoted in her book about having known the future mass murderer, that “Ted was never handsome, Brilliant or charismatic as crime folklore had deemed him…” (Mary Ann Farkas, Frank Burke, 58)
Even though his charm was to some extent exaggerated, there were still other strange factors about the cases that kept viewers hooked. For starters, Ted, who had at one point attended law school, would represent himself in several of his numerous trials. Many of the witnesses prosecuting him were forced to endure vicious cross examinations from the very man who had committed such heinous acts against them. The time frame of the trials was equally strange as Bundy fought tooth and nail to free himself for an entire decade. Perhaps the most disturbing part of all, besides his murders, was the fact that Ted had amassed a group of young women, who acted as his fans during the trial. To this day, the Bundy trials are still considered some of the strangest and wildest criminal cases ever taken up in the United States of America.
With dozens of bodies and some of the most sensationalized trials in his wake, Ted Bundy has left a noticeable mark on the collective conscience of the American public. His life was a inglorious tirade of blood and screams and his death at hands of the electric chair were no different. On January 24th, 1989, Theodore Robert Bundy was executed by electric chair, with wailing onlookers excited to watch this monster burn.