Ted Bundy Essay, Research Paper

Murder is the most vindictive crime society can commit. As individuals in society, the belief of being born a murderer is false. No one is born a murderer; society gives birth to that murderer. In Ted Bundy’s case the lack of parental guidance and constant rejection of women contributed to him evolving into a vicious serial killer. Bundy was a man who let his fantasies run his life, he believed that life was a game. All this contributed to making Bundy revengeful, bitter, and not quite mentally stable. Bundy took countless numbers of young female lives in the 70’s. This man seemed to have a highly unstable personality and was often confused in life, some have suggested that, “Bundy was insane and that he should have been in a mental institution.” Bundy was executed in 1989 in Florida for his crimes, but the real question is what really made this vicious man tick? Ted Bundy went down in history as one of the most brutal serial killers of the 20th century (AP 10).

Ted Bundy was born on November 24, 1946 in Burlington, Vermont in a home for unwed mothers. His 22-year-old mother Eleanor Louise Cowell felt forced by the norms of society to have her parents raise Ted as their own and she portrayed herself to be her son’s older sister. As for Ted’s natural father Lloyd Marshall, who was an Air Force veteran was unknown to him throughout his life. When Ted turned four, his mother, Louise took him with her and moved to Tacoma, Washington where she married Johnnie Bundy. Ted Bundy felt nothing towards his stepfather, he was very bitter that he was forced to move across the continent from his grandfather, the only man he looked up to. Although, a psychiatrist had concluded after talking with Bundy year’s later, that his grandfather was an abusive brute or even worse. As a young boy, Bundy had started becoming obsessed with females and obscure sexuality, “..as a boy, he was already roaming his neighborhood and picking through trash barrels in search of pictures of naked women” (Davis.) This seems to be the result of very poor to no parental guidance, he stated himself that he couldn’t talk to his parents about many things. Ted Bundy had expressed feelings during an interview that, parental involvement and security is very important in a young child’s life and that he never had that protection. Bundy was very shy as a youth and he was often bullied in junior high, as a result of he was subjected to humiliation often. Even though he was subjected to this kind of behavior he managed to maintain a high grade average throughout his education. Many say that Bundy was a very successful, pleasant student. Bundy’s focus changed in the spring of 1967, when he met the woman of his dreams Stephanie Brooks. This relationship would change his life forever. Stephanie was Bundy’s first love and he was infatuated with her to the point of obsession. Stephanie felt that Ted had no direction in his life and that he didn’t know what he wanted and where he was going. Which is what lead to their breakup. Bundy was extremely depressed over their breakup, and to make matters worse Bundy learned the true about his “sister”, that she was really his mother. This was in an addition to turning point in Bundy’s behavior. “During this time in his life Bundy became possessed of a kind of icy resolve”(Duijndam.) Bundy went from a shy, sweet, and naive individual, to a dominant, focused, and revengeful person. Although, Stephanie and Bundy kept close contact after their breakup and they visited often. Around 1972 Ted’s life seemed to emerge with higher hopes. Bundy sent out various applications for law schools and became involved in politics. Bundy was looked upon as a caring and respectful individual. “He was even commended by the Seattle police for saving the life of a three-year-old boy who was drowning in a lake” (Duijndam.) In 1973 Bundy had met up with Stephanie Brooks once again. Stephanie noticed the Ted’s transformation resulting in a reconcile of their relationship. Just as suddenly as their relationship was rekindled, it dissipated just as quick. Bundy had been plotting his revenge against Stephanie for a long time. He wanted to reject her the way she rejected him; he became cold to her and broke all contact off with her in February 1974. (Duijndam.) This was just the beginning of Bundy’s revenge and vicious sexual fulfillment against society.

The remains of Kathy Devine were found on December 6, 1973 which the police had immediately began an investigation. Shortly after the Devine attack, Lynda Ann Healy went missing. During the spring and summer as many as seven female students went missing from the states of Utah, Oregon, and Washington. A pattern emerged from these mysterious disappearances; all the victims were white, thin, and single. The police interviewed various college students and some had stated that they had seen a strange man in the parking lot on campus that was wearing a cast and asking for assistance with starting his Volkswagen (VW) Bug. In August of 1974 in Lake Sammamish, Washington, the two girls were found and then identified from their remains, as Janice Ott and Denise Naslund. (Duijndam.) Similarities between the murders in Utah and Oregon caught the attention of the local police in Utah, desperately searching for the person liable for these horrendous murders. Slowly the evidence was built with every murder; investigators concluded that the man who committed these murders in Utah was the same man in the other murders. Ted Bundy, pretended to be a police officer, approached Carol DaRonch one night. Bundy stated that he saw someone try to break in her car. Bundy escorted her into his VW Bug, took her to a remote area which, he stopped the vehicle (Larsen.) He put handcuffs on her and he threatened her with a gun, she managed to get away and escape with some people passing by in a car. Police found blood on the victim’s coat, which matched Bundy’s blood type. Later that same night the police had found a key in the parking lot where Debby Kent went missing. A month later a witness called in stating they saw a VW Bug speed away from a high school the night Kent disappeared. Bundy was arrested on August 16, 1975 caught speeding away with no lights on, in the Salt Lake neighborhood. A search was conducted of the VW. There was no passenger seat, there were the handcuffs, a ski mask, and an ice pick and tape. The was connection was made to the previous attempted kidnappings, Bundy was convicted of the attempted kidnappings and sent to prison after DaRonch and a friend of Kent’s picked Bundy out of a lineup. Ted was eventually charged with the murders of Melissa Smith and Caryn Campbell when their bodies were found, Bundy was extradited. Bundy kept protesting his innocence and a full-blown investigation was conducted on Ted Bundy. Police then approached Stephanie Brooks for information on Ted Bundy. She told them how Ted had abruptly changed his behavior toward her, how he became cold and insensitive. It seemed Bundy was living a double life filled of lies and betrayal. The evidence was building towards Bundy’s conviction. An old friend of Bundy’s had said he saw pantyhose in Ted’s car and that he spent a considerable amount of time up at Taylor Mountains where bodies of victims have been discovered. Another old friend of Bundy’s had reported that he saw him with a cast on, but no record of him ever breaking his arm in any hospital. On February 23, 1976 Bundy was put on trial for the kidnapping of DaRonch. Bundy felt confident that there was no hard evidence to convict him, but he was wrong. DaRonch pointed to Bundy the man who portrayed himself to be “Officer Roseland” (Mellow 10.) The judge reviewed the case and found Bundy guilty on aggravated kidnapping. Bundy was sentenced to fifteen years with the possibility for parole. Farther investigations had found that hairs from Campbell and Smith were found in Bundy’s VM Bug. This linked him to the murders of the two females, Bundy was moved to Garfield County Jail in Colorado in April of ‘77 to await the murder trial of these two girls. “Bundy was granted permission to leave the confines of the jail on occasion and utilize the courthouse library in Aspen, to conduct legal research. In order to defend himself. What police didn’t know was that he was planning his escape”(Michaud.) On June 7th during one of his trips to the library Ted jumped out the window and escaped to freedom. In this poor attempt, within six days Bundy returned to jail when caught trying to steal a vehicle in Aspen. However, seven months later he escaped again and fled to Florida. Bundy changed his name to Chris Hagen and settled in an apartment in Tallahassee, Florida (Reinhold.) Ted lived off of stolen credit cards for the time being. Bundy spent a considerable amount of time at the Chi Omega House on the university campus in Florida. On January 14th, after 3A.M. two sorority sisters were dead and three severely injured at the hands of Ted Bundy. The police were called and Bundy was eventually arrested again, “a college student pointed to Ted Bundy as the man who fled the Chi Omega House the night two women were killed and three others clubbed senseless.” Bundy faced three trials, all spaced in three years, but it was the Chi Omega trail that sealed his fate forever. Bundy acted as his own attorney in the Chi Omega trail, but was fighting an impossible battle. There were two events in the trial that swayed the jurors against Bundy. The testimony of Nita Neary, who pointed out Bundy as the man who fled the Chi Omega House the night of the murders. The other event that swayed the jury was the testimony of Odontologist, Dr. Richard Souviron. While on stand he described the bite mark injuries that were on Lisa Levy’s body. The jury was shown the photographs of the bite marks taken the night of the murder. The doctor pointed out the uniqueness of the imprints on Levy’s body and the pictures of Bundy’s teeth; they matched perfectly. On July 23 Bundy was found guilty on all counts of murder and on July 31st, he was sentenced to die in the electric chair in Florida. Ted Bundy eventually confessed to about 28 murders of women. However, society believes the number is far greater. Bundy was executed on January 24, 1989.

After almost a decade since, Bundy’s execution the horror of what this individual orchestrated lives on. Bundy was deprived of security and guidance at a very young age and was subjected to constant rejection. Through those faults, he created an individual on his own. This individual could place barriers around himself alone, which eventually drove Ted to psychopathic behavior. Bundy had built all this anger inside and turned it on his biggest frustration and obsession, women. There are many more vindictive murderers out there like Bundy. Many years before, society had a difficult time tracking these murderers down and understanding them. Bundy was one of the first serial killers that allowed society to travel in the mind of a killer.

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