Notorius Serial Killers in American History: Ted Bundy

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Recommended: critically evaluate maslow‘s hierarchy of needs

He was intelligent, articulate and handsome. During a gruesome killing spree, Ted Bundy slaughtered more than thirty five women within the span of five years, becoming one of the most notorious serial killers in American history. He grew up believing that his grandparents were his parents and his unwed mother to be his older sister. He was not very good at building relationships and had a lot of conflict with his stepfather and enjoyed the terms of violence and sex as a child. Ted shoplifted during his teenage years and enjoyed being above the law. He was generally very shy and gained a lot of popularity and self esteem in high school because of his good looks. It was there that he met his high school girlfriend Stephanie Brooks with whom he become obsessed, but the relationship did not last very long as she did not feel the same way for him so she broke up with him. Depressed by the break up, Ted dropped out of college and returned home with his family where he found out the truth about his biological mother. This left Ted in a state of confusion about his identity and he felt betrayed by the women in his life. He went back to high school where he and Stephanie got back together but right after she agreed to marry him, he broke up with her to seek revenge. After this charade his killing spree began, luring young women with lies, abducting, raping, physically abusing and killing them. The first theory to explain some of Ted's behavior is that of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs which focuses on describing the stages of growth in humans using the terms physiological, safety, belongingness, self esteem, self actualization and self transcendence. Ted had the necessities of life and shelter, and was therefore satisfied in his physiologi... ... middle of paper ... ...ore powerful or provides greater status. Bundy had detailed hero fantasies which eventually turned into sexual possession. Dr. Carlisle also stated that "Bundy’s criteria for determining right or wrong gradually changed over time. What was wrong for him as a child may have been acceptable as an early teen and then desirable when he was in his late teens." Conclusion 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.

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