Ted Bundy
Anna Young dives into the history and background of the serial killer Ted Bundy. She covers his home life, his crimes, and how he was caught in this new true crime column.
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Ted BUndy
Ted BUndy
By Anna Young
Trigger Warning: rape, necrophilia, murder
Theodore Bundy was an American serial killer, rapist and necrophiliac. Bundy killed around 30 women and was executed by Florida's electric chair on Jan. 24, 1989. His crimes shocked all of America, causing some people to celebrate his death.
Bundy was born on Nov. 24, 1946. An All That's Interesting article explained that He was an illegitimate child. His mother, Louise, was embarrassed by him. Bundy eventually lived with his grandparents to hide the fact that he was an illegitimate child. He was also told that his mother was his sister. Bundy and his mother moved to Tacoma, Washington. Eleanor, Bundy’s mother, eventually married his stepfather, Johnnie. From many people's perspectives, Bundy grew up in a satisfied, working-class family. At an early age, he showed a strange interest in macabre. At the age of 3 years old, he became interested in knives.
Bundy was so smart that he had an IQ of 136. According to Biography editors, Bundy was shy but smart and excelled in school. However, he did not do well with his peers. When Bundy was a teenager, his darker side began to come out. Bundy started looking into people's windows and had thoughts of stealing. In 1972, Bundy graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in psychology. He was accepted into law school but never ended up getting his degree. When Bundy was still a student at the University of Washington, he fell in love with a wealthy woman from California. He took interest in her because she had everything he ever wanted: wealth, class, and interest. Eventually, they broke up and this devastated Bundy. Most of Bundy’s later victims resemble his college girlfriend, who also had long, dark hair.
During the 1970s, Bundy went on a killing spree. Bundy assaulted many young women and girls. People magazine claimed that all of these girls had similar appearances. They were pretty, petite, had long dark hair and had delicate features that caught Bundy’s attention. Bundy would lead his victims to his car and pretend he was hurt and ask his victims for help. Bundy would eventually kill these women that were so kind to help him. When Bundy moved to Utah in 1974, women began to disappear. The following year, Bundy got pulled over by the police. Biography.com said that, when the police searched Bundy’s car, they found burglary tools, a crowbar, a face mask, rope, and handcuffs. Bundy was arrested because of these tools and was able to link him to many crimes.
Bundy escaped prison numerous times. In 1977, he jumped out the courthouse library window and was captured eight days later. For his next escape, Bundy climbed out of a hole he made himself in the ceiling of his jail cell. Bundy made his way to Tallahassee, Florida, where he attacked four women from the Chi Omega sorority and ended up killing two. Biography.com said that the authorities connected Bundy to the two murders at Chi Omgea, due to the bite marks on one of the girls’ bodies that were a match to Bundy.
Bundy was executed on Jan. 24, 1989 at the Florida State Prison via the electric chair. Crowds celebrated his death and even set off fireworks. Bundy shocked and outraged all of America and is known as one of America's notorious serial killers.
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