TED BUNDY 3 Forensic science is the investigation of all of the available evidence and information that is gathered from a crime scene, and how it can be used to uncover mysteries. Forensic scientists analyze the evidence and make conclusions that paint a picture of what happened at a crime scene. This information is then used by the police and prosecutors to bring a criminal to justice. This paper tells the story of Ted Bundy, a serial killer, whose case was solved with the help of forensic science. Theodore “Ted” Bundy (November 24, 1946 – January 24, 1989) was an American serial killer, kidnapper, rapist, burglar and necrophiliac …show more content…
In just a couple of years, he managed to kill almost two dozen girls. The victims were reported missing and later found in remote places. Bundy was known for his accuracy because he never left fingerprints, and evidences collected from crime scenes proved inconclusive. Ted Bundy became the first person in the United States to be convicted of a capital offense where all evidence against him was circumstantial (Mike Tabor, 2014). This situation changed in 1978, when Bundy committed a double murder in the Chi Omega Sorority house in Tallahassee. Bundy entered FSU's sorority house and brutally killed Margaret Bowman with a wooden club before moving on to his next victim. Down the hall he strangled fellow student Lisa Levy with a panty hose and smashed her head. He went on to brutally assault Kathy Kleiner and Karen Chandler leaving them with broken jaws among other serious injuries. The investigators collected evidence such as blood type, a few print smudges, and sperm samples, however all proved inconclusive. (Qaiser, 2015) Ultimately, an odd bite mark on the left butt cheek of Lisa Levy became the centerpiece of the trial. One of the investigators was Leon County sheriff Ken Katsaris, who investigated the murder spree in the Chi Omega sorority …show more content…
I proceeded to get with the medical staff and try to preserve those as best we could after taking photographs with a ruler. The bite marks became the centerpiece of that investigation. Certainly, they were very important. He used his teeth on two of the young ladies. It’s as if he was definitely signing his signature. (Steve Helling, 2015) Ted Bundy’s bite-mark impacted the case and ultimately the trial and was found to be the best evidence the prosecutor had. The only physical evidence that police had to work with was the bite mark on the buttocks of Lisa Levy. The investigators requested Ted Bundy to provide a dental impression, but Bundy at first refused to give an impression of his teeth. Afterwards, the investigators obtained a court order to force him to comply. Interestingly, Bundy’s teeth were a wreck that had broken edges, chips and defective fillings that matched the indentation marks found on Lisa Levy
He lied to Clarence’s defense attorney to get Clarence before the Grand Jury and then lied to the Grand Jury to get a murder indictment. He then lied to keep Clarence from getting bail. The last lie that the DA told was to prevent the defense from even getting access, as required by law, to any of the state’s evidence. The medical evidence that would have cleared Clarence was “lost." The original exhibits in Clarence’s two trials were "stolen." The medical examiner "forgot" the results of the dead girl 's autopsy, "mislaid" his notes and "threw out" the samples he had taken from her body (Gores, 1991). Texas Ranger John Styles terrorized witnesses whose testimony would have supported Clarence’s innocence, then coached the rest into telling outright lies. Styles also reversed the polygraph test supporting Clarence’s
That night, many witnesses reported having seen a man changing the tire of his van and waving any possible help away angrily while others reported seeing a woman wandering around the side of the dangerous highway. More witnesses reported that Kenneth and his wife were having many violent disputes at their home that usually resulted in Kenneth pursuing an angry Yvonne around the block. The most compelling evidence against Mathison, however, is purely scientific. Detective Paul Ferreira first noticed that the extensive blood stains inside the Mathison van. After hearing Mathison’s original account, he summoned the assistance of famed forensic expert Dr. Henry Lee to analyze what he thought was inconsistent evidence. Blood stains on the paneling and the spare tire in the cargo area reveal low-velocity blood stains meaning that the blood probably dripped from Yvonne’s head onto the floor. The stains found on the roof and steering wheel were contact transfer patterns probably caused by Mathison’s bloody hands. Blood stains on the driver’s side of the van were contact-dripping patterns which indicate that Mathison touched the inside of the van multiple times before and after moving his wife’s body. The final groups of blood stains on the instrument panel of the van were medium-velocity stains which show investigators that Mathison probably struck his wife at least once in the front seat causing the blood to fly from her open head wound. The enormous amounts of blood inside the van lead prosecutor Kurt Spohn to investigate the Mathison case as a murder instead of a misdemeanor traffic violation.
Throughout history, America has been the home of serial killers, with more than 2,000 throughout history. In this country, America has encountered many different kinds of these sick people. One of the most infamous serial killers throughout American History was Theodore Robert Bundy, also known as Ted Bundy. On November 24, 1946, in Burlington, Vermont, Theodore Robert Bundy was born. When people think of serial killers, they usually see a dirty, insane looking person that would stand out from the average person. In Bundy’s case it was very different. Ted was a very smart individual who had attended 5 different colleges throughout the United States, studying law and eventually getting his degree in psychology at the University of Washington. Bundy was a very handsome and charming man, unlike most other serial killers. Looking helpless and using his good looks, Bundy was able to lure his victims and would knock them unconscious with an object such as a crowbar or a pipe, then would handcuff them inside his car. Once the victims were under his control he would then proceed in kidnapping, raping, sodomizing, and eventually killing them in very harsh ways. Throughout the 70’s, he raped and murdered young women all across the country. Bundy was said to be connected to at least 36 murders, and suspected to have committed one hundred or more.
A pretrial plea bargain was given to Bundy, which was Bundy would plea guilty to the murders of killing Levy, Bowman and Leach. In exchange, Bundy would be sentenced to prison for a firm 75 years. He ultimately declined the offer and decided with trying to win the case, which was not a smart move by Bundy. Bundy thought the prosecutors had no evidence from the Chi Omega sorority, but what he’s about to find out ruins his life. No evidence was recovered at the Chi Omega sorority house like Bundy thought, but two crucial testimonies from sorority members played a big role. Connie Hastings believed she saw Bundy in the house that night, while Nita Neary stated that she saw him escaping the house clasping the oak firewood murder weapon. These testimonies showed that Bundy was in the house and was in the house around the same time of the murders. But with no physical evidence, Bundy could not be found guilty. What Bundy didn’t realize was that there was a piece of evidence from the sorority crime scene. While investigators examined the scene, one officer found the bite marks on Levy’s buttocks. The officer picked up a yellow marker ruler and took photographs of the bite mark. By the time the trial had started the bite mark disappeared, because the tissue around Levy’s buttocks had gone back to its normal color, size and shape. Prosecutors took the photos to forensic odontologist Dr. Richard Souviron.
The double murder case of O.J. Simpson is one that will live on forever and one that will never be forgotten. On June 12, 1994 Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were found dead at Nicole’s home in Los Angeles. According to Doug Linder, it was “most likely a single male that came through the back entrance of Nicole Brown Simpson’s condominium” (Linder). Since they did not have any other suspects they went right to Orenthal James Simpson who was Nicole Simpson’s ex-husband. Law enforcement had seen him as suspicious and they had charged him with both of the murders. The case had gone to trial and it was the prosecutor’s job to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Simpson was guilty and that he had done the crime. Simpson had what was called
Ted Bundy was a notorious Florida Serial Killer, convicted of murdering and raping thirty women and girls, and suspected of having more than twenty other victims. After being convicted on July 31st, 1979 of these heinous crimes Bundy was sentenced to death and spent ten years in a Florida penitentiary until he finally faced the electric chair and his sentence was carried out. What kind of background did Ted Bundy have, and what insight might we glean from this? What criminological theories could even begin to explain the reasons behind such heinous crimes? What role, if any, did the seduction of crime have on Ted Bundy’s choice to carry out his killings? Perhaps more is unknown than is known, however, the evidence is clear: Bundy was a born
Ted Bundy was a brutal serial killer. He was also very charming and handsome to
Ted Bundy was a monster who refused to accept his crimes and tried to delay his execution many times. He confessed that he committed gruesome acts of butchery and necrophilia many crimes and left behind an unparallel number of victims to an investigator. Bundy’s delaying tactics finally came to an end on 24th January, 1989, and he was executed at 7 am. His body was cremated and spread over the same Washington State Mountain area that served as his dumping ground for the bodies of his victims.
On the morning of July 4, 1954, Marilyn Sheppard was violently beaten in her home in Bay Village, Ohio, on the shore of Lake Erie. She was four months pregnant and had been felled by 35 vicious blows (Quade). Right away Sam Sheppard was accused of being the victim to do this. Sheppard had told investigators that he had been asleep downstairs and was awakened by his wife’s screams. Sheppard said when he went upstairs and entered the room he was knocked unconscious by the intruder. He denied any involvement and described his battle with the killer he described as “bushy-haired” (Linder). After a police investigation, Dr. Sam Sheppard was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. With the hectic media covering it, they were quick in decision that it was him that committed the murder. This was an unfair trial, ruined a man’s life, and gave him no time for a career.
Introduction: On the spectrum of criminal activity, serial killers are rather rare. Rarer still is a serial killer like Ted Bundy. Bundy confessed to killing 28 women in the 1970s in ghastly fashion and some believe he may have killed far more. It is hard to imagine what could cause any person to cross the mental boundary into such macabre behavior as Bundy perpetrated. Nevertheless, it is important to try to understand that behavior because only though such an understanding would society be able to identify and deter mass murderers in order to save lives.
On a chilly afternoon in late 1977, a young, newly-wed woman of 26 was dropped off at her Volkswagen Beetle by her sister-in-law. Her name was Gini McNair. She waved goodbye to her companion, unlocked the driver's door, and stepped into her vehicle. Sitting at the wheel, with the key in the ignition, she glanced around the deserted Boulder Canyon Road located outside of Boulder, Colorado. While waiting for her dusty red Volkswagen to warm up, she saw another one, light blue, heading down Sugarloaf Road towards her. When she glanced at the driver as he went past, he took the opportunity to look her over as well. With piercing eyes, Ted Bundy quickly examined Gini as he drove by her. When his eye caught hers, Gini immediately felt like she had just been delivered a swift punch in the stomach. He turned around at the bottom of Sugarloaf Road and drove over to where she was parked. As he walked over to her window, she rolled it down. He leaned in close and asked, "Are you having car trouble?"
Ted Bundy was an American born rapist, a necrophile; a serial killer and a kidnapper who assaulted and murdered several young women during the 1970’s. The criminal kept on denying the charges for more than ten years and later confessed of having committed the thirty homicide crimes in seven different states before his execution (Rule, 2009). Bundy’s handsome and charismatic appearance made it possible for him to easily win the confidence of young women who were always his targets. He broke into the dwellings of his victims at night and bludgeoned them as they slept. He also approached young women in public places where he impersonated as an authority figure or feigned injury on his victim before empowering and assaulting at a more secluded area where he left them dead (Rule, 2009).
Theodore Robert Bundy was born Theodore Robert Cowell on November 24, 1949.His mother, Louise Cowell was unmarried at the time, and the name of his biological father has never been determined with certainty, however Lloyd Marshall was named on his birth certificate. Louise moved into her parent’s home shortly after Ted’s birth and allowed him to be raised as her ‘brother’ for quite some time. When Ted’s mother married Johnnie Culpepper Bundy in May 1951 in Tacoma, Washington, when Theodore was four years old, Theodore took his step-father’s last name of Bundy.
Ted Bundy is one of the most infamous, sadistic serial killers known to man. During his tenure as a killer, Bundy confessed to the murders of 30 women, though the official number of kills is unknown to this day. Bundy’s sadistic habits began at an early age due to his rough upbringing and abusive parents. His tactical methods of killing left miniscule amounts of evidence, which remained undetectable by the “still rudimentary forensics techniques of the 1970s” (Crime Museum). Bundy also managed to uphold an impressive “clean-cut appearance” and portrayed characteristics of an “upstanding character” (Crime Museum). Ted Bundy, through the course of a troubled childhood and keen wit, managed to successfully become known as one of the most infamous
Forensic psychology is an area of psychology that has been rapidly gaining popularity in recent years. Entertainment media’s fascination with the intersection of crime and psychology has fueled the growing interest in the field. According to Jane Tyler Ward, PhD, forensic psychology can be defined as psychology that “emphasizes the application of research and experimentation in other areas of psychology to the legal arena.” Although forensic psychology is popular right now, it was not until 1962 that a court case set the precedent that properly trained psychologists could provide expert testimony (Page 20). Additionally, forensic psychology was not APA (American Psychological Association) certified until 2001 (Page 16). The field of forensic