Ted Bundy : Theories Behind His Murders

He consistently fought for his life against the courts, giving confessions in an attempt to receive less of a penalty, or at least delay his death. He confessed to 8 killings in Washington that had taken place in 1974(“Bundy Details…”), and indicated that he had killed anywhere from 40 to 50 women(Tilstone). Although the actual number of his victims is unknown, it is believed that Ted Bundy could have killed up to 100 women, 36 of which he admitted to(Biography.com). In the book Serial Murder, by Ronald M. Holmes, it is stated that Ted was questioned about whether he had killed the 36 women, to which he replied “Add one digit to that and you’ll have it.” This could mean a number of things, like which digit do we have to add, and where? Did he murder 136 women? 361? We might not ever find out. His last minute confessions would help to close up to 23 pending cases of women that were either missing or had been found dead(Lamar). Of all of the open cases, there were three major investigators surrounding the killings of Ted Bundy. Bob Keppel of the King County Police Department in Seattle, Jerry Thompson of the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office, and Michael Fisher of the Glenwood Springs District Attorney’s Office in Colorado. Fisher and Thompson noticed similarities in the disappearances and murders that they both had in their areas, and connected them to the same suspect(Holmes). After all of his arrests and all of the evidence piling up against him, Ted Bundy was sure to lose the many cases against

Throughout history, criminal investigators have encountered different forms of serial killers. One of the many famous serial killers in the twentieth century was Theodore Robert Bundy (Ted Bundy). Ted Bundy was responsible for the Chi Omega killings and many more. When people think of serial killers, they visualize some dirty, crazy, looking individual that would stand out from everybody else. In Ted's case this was different. Ted Bundy was a very smart individual who had attended college at various colleges, studying law and finally receiving his degree in psychology from the University of Washington. He had volunteered for the Republican Party in California for a Governor campaign. His family and friends considered Bundy as

“Ask a psychopath what love is and he’ll go on and on, but he has never felt it himself…If you catch him lying, he’ll just shift gears and go on as though nothing had happened” (Goleman). Ted Bundy was one of the most famous psychopaths in the history of the country (Nordheimer). People say he was the perfect killer- handsome, intelligent, witty, and charming (Boynton 25). Bundy was the complete opposite of what people thought a serial killer looked like, so his victims did not fear him (“Ted Bundy”). Robert Keppel, an expert on serial killers, stated, “He taught us that a serial killer can appear to be absolutely normal, the guy next door (“Serial Killers and Mass Murderers”). At one point he was working for a suicide hotline; a friend

Ted Bundy is known for charismatic personality, good looks, and charm; he is also known as the most organized murderer to have lived. Bundy would lure woman to his car using a number of excuses; he was handicap or else lost. Because he was so charming women would feel at ease around him and go where he asked. Once at his car, Bundy would grab and restrain the woman. He would then drive to a different location where he would beat and rape the woman until death. Finally he would drive to yet ANOTHER location to dispose of the body. In February 1978, Ted Bundy was finally captured and interviewed. As a child, raised by his grandparents, he showed no signs of previous abuse or neglect. He was raised well and sociable during high school where classmates report that he was well liked. After further analysis, Bundy was presumed to have low activity to his orbital frontal cortex; this is the part of the brain in charge of the conscious, and the “right or wrong” factor. This is not to say that Bundy had a deficiency that prevented him from knowing what he was doing. Just merely a common abnormality that should be noted. Bundy’s case supports the idea that an individual’s makeup can have an effect on their actions.

Out of all the Infamous killers in the U.S the two well-known killers that I will be researching are Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy. These two murderers share many similarities such as their backgrounds, Crimes, and Motives. Both Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy are serial killers who’ve killed over a dozen people each. They’ve committed crimes including rape, murder, and kidnapping. In this research paper I will be comparing and contrasting the two serial killers.

Looking into Bundy's life, many of the facts and images from his early life stand in stark contrast to the vicious killings he engaged in. The young many Bundy was well behaved and "grew up an attractive teen" that was "generally liked and who performed well in school," according to Charles Montaldo writing in About.com. When he enrolled in the University of Puget Sound, he did very well in his schoolwork but he was embarrassed that he had so little money and the students around him were far wealthier, so he transferred to the University of Washington

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

Theodore Bundy was an infamous American serial killer who preyed upon numerous young women during the 1970s and possibly earlier. He was associated with at least 30 counts of homicide and suspected of an estimated one hundred or more. Beyond homicide, he also made it apparent that he was capable of other sinister crimes such as rape, kidnapping, and necrophilia. His most frequent method of killing was an attack with a blunt weapon to the head. However, he did not merely kill his victims; evidence concludes that each were also sexually assaulted and sodomized. It is reported that he even revisited his crime scenes to further engage in sexual acts with the decomposing corpses. Moreover, at least 12 of his victims had been decapitated .

He later admitted to being socially inept and confessed that he didn’t understand social behavior, “I didn’t know what made things tick. I didn’t know what made people want to be friends. I didn’t know what made people attractive to one another. I didn’t know what underlay social interactions” (Murderpedia.org). In high school Bundy developed a strange interest in magazines and books on crime. He would frequent libraries in search for these types of books. Except that he would look for sexual violence and dead bodies within the contents of these books. He was arrested two times as a juvenile and was described has a compulsive thief and

This research paper will explore the life of a serial killer named Ted Bundy. We will look at the cause and effects of him becoming a serial killer. We will also discuss the different criminology theories behind Ted Bundy’s actions. Based on what was discovered in the research no one theory can explain the action of Ted Bundy as a serial killer. The remainder of the paper is laid out as follows: biography of Ted Bundy, introduction, discussion of crimes and theories, and the conclusion.

This report will focus on Theodore Robert Bundy. Bundy was confirmed to be have been connected to at least 40 murders and was executed by Old Sparky, Florida’s electric chair in January 24, 1989. Initially, Bundy was arrested for a driving violation in August 1975. When police searched his vehicle, suspicious items were found that led to Bundy’s charge of Carol DaRonch’s kidnapping. Bundy was sentenced to 15 years in prison in February 1976 but was later charged with the murder of Caryn Campbell in October 1976. However, Bundy escaped prison and proceeded to live a College life until brutally murdering two women of Florida State University and other reported murders. Bundy was finally brought to trial where he arrogantly acted as his own attorney.

Theodore was born in Burlington, Vermont on November 24, 1946. He was known for raping and murdering young women and girls in several different states. Theodore, also known as Ted, was charged with more than thirty homicides residing in different states between the years of 1974 to 1978. There is no way of knowing the actual number of victims, but it is believed to be higher than the actual reported number. Theodore Robert “Ted” Bundy was a charismatic and handsome individual, which he used as tool to execute his crimes. He seemed like a great citizen but in reality he was an American serial killer, rapist, kidnapper, and necrophilic who raped and murdered multiple women/girls.

Ted Bundy was a notorious serial killer of the 1970’s. He killed around 30 plus victims in a 4 year span. Bundy attacked, raped, and mutilated his victims. When his victims were dead, Bundy would keep the corpses and still have sexual intercourse. Bundy was first arrested in Utah, 1975 on a sentence to 15 years in prison, to then escape only a week later and continue to attack more women and finally be caught in a stolen vehicle. Throughout the the second trial Ted Bundy claimed he was innocent. It was not until the day of the execution, on the way to the electric chair, that bundy pleaded guilty to the many murders and mutilations of women. Bundy was then put onto the death sentence, and was killed in the electric chair on January 24, 1989 at the age of 42.

The killings later spread to Utah and Florida, and the suspect was identified as Ted Bundy. One of the first murders that Ted Bundy committed was in Washington State on a college campus. Ted Bundy’s modus operandi (MO) was strictly young white females, college students between the ages of 15 and 25 (Organized Offender Cast Study: Ted Bundy, n.d.). During the killing spree, detectives made a profile of the suspect and described him as someone suffering from chronic mental disorder with a violent social behavior. He was also described as a sexual psychopath, intelligent, and insecure (Ted Bundy Psychological Profile, 2013). The profile was established by both the witnesses and the way in which he committed the murders. The strangulation suggested that he had hatred towards females of a certain criteria, which included white young females. Ted Bundy’s ability to commit murders in different states also suggested that he was mobile, and he was young enough to wonder into college campuses without being singled out. The profile eventually lead to Ted Bundy being a person of interest, however, he was disregarded as a suspect because he was a clean-cut law student (Organized Offender Cast Study: Ted Bundy,

Theodore Robert Cowell or well known as infamous serial killer Ted Bundy is one of the most notorious criminals of the 1970s. He has been connected to at least 36 murders, however he has been suspected to have committed one hundred or more. With all these murders comes the idea of why, where does it come from and where did it start, among many other questions. Which leads us to our purpose of this paper, exploring the mind of Ted Bundy. I hope to analyze Ted Bundy’s life and pick apart aspects of them that lead him down this criminal life.