November 24, 1946 – January 24, 1989

In the Beginning After his birth in 1946, Bundy was led to believe that his mother was his sister and his grandparents were his parents. Some think that he was led to believe this because there was an incest relationship between his mother and grandfather. This was the only known trauma in his young life. His mother had his last name changed several times for various reasons throughout his childhood.

Beginning (continued) Reportedly, Bundy was confused about whether his mother, Eleanor, was really his mother or his sister. She continued to claim him as nothing but a sibling, but he called her both a mother and a sister. Although Bundy didn’t have great relationships with everyone in his family, there were no reports of any kind of abuse or serious problems during his childhood.

As a young adult.. He was suspected of several burglaries, but he was not convicted of any crimes. He seemed normal overall, but by this time he had become socially retarded. He went to the University of Washington where he met Stephanie Brooks who he fell deeply in love with. Stephanie eventually broke up with him leaving Bundy devastated. He even dropped out of college.

Young Adult (Continued) After this, he found his birth certificate and discovered that the woman who had raised him was in fact his mother. After trying and failing to get Stephanie back, he returned to the University of Washington and excelled in his studies. He graduated from Washington with a degree in Psychology.

As an Adult Ted Bundy was considered a very handsome, cultured, charming young man. He used these traits to aid him in convincing women to come with him when he wanted to abduct them.

Murders He began killing women in 1973 at a very fast rate. It is unknown what set him off. All of his victims were young women. The youngest was only twelve years old. He Was not only a serial killer but a serial rapist. He had sex with the women both before and after he mutilated and killed them.

Victims in Washington Kathy Devine-15 years old. Found clothes with a slit cut out of her jeans at the crotch. Joni Lenze- 18 years old. Survived his attack with brain damage and organ trauma mainly due to being jabbed with a surgical tool up her vagina. Lynda Ann Healy-Abducted from her basement. Her case was never fully investigated. Donna Manson-19 years old. She was abducted while walking on her college campus.

Victims in Washington (continued) Georgean Hawkins- 18 years old. Walking from one building to another on the University of Washington campus. She vanished somewhere in the 90 feet she had to walk. Brenda Baker- 15 year old runaway. Her exact cause of death was never determined. Janice Ott-Last seen talking to a man who said he needed her help with his boat. Denise Naslund- Was last seen at the beach with her boyfriend. She went to the bathroom and never came back.

Victims in Washington (continued) Susan Rancourt-Last seen on her college campus in Washington. Kathy Parks-Last seen on her college campus. Wasn’t reported missing for several weeks after being abducted. Brenda Ball-Last seen in a tavern in Washington. She traveled a lot and wasn’t reported missing for three weeks after her disappearance.

Victims in Utah Nancy Wilcox- 16 year old cheerleader. Melissa Smith-17 years old. Last seen trying to hitch a ride. She was found nude and strangled with twigs and dirt shoved into her vagina. Her makeup had been touched up after she was killed. Laurie Aimee-17 years old. She disappeared on Halloween and wasn’t reported missing for four days. She had been beaten beyond recognition. Bundy washed her hair before dumping the body. Debbie Kent- 17 years old. Was kidnapped in the parking lot of her school while she was leaving a school play.

Victims in Utah (continued) Caryn Campbell- 23 years old. Was last seen by her boyfriend. She went to their hotel room to get something and never made it back to the lobby to meet him. Julie Cunningham-Disappeared during her walk to a local cabin. Her body was never found. Shelley Robertson- 24 years old. She was found thrown in the entrance of an old mine. Nancy Baird-Disappeared from the same gas station that Robertson was last seen at. This happened only three days later. Debbie Smith-Found dead at the Salt Lake City airport.

Victims in Utah (continued) Denise Oliverson- Disappeared after leaving her parent’s house to go on a bike ride. Melanie Cooley-18 years old. She was found choked with her hands bound. Lynette Culver-Only 13 years old. She was kidnapped from her school playground, and her body was never found. Susan Curtis- 15 years old. She was abducted while attending a youth conference at Brigham Young University.

Investigation The police had collected many clues. They used a program on their computer to narrow the suspects down to only twenty-five people. They were paying very close attention to these people and were interviewing them one by one. Ted Bundy was next on the list when a cop happened to see a suspicious car parked on the street at night, which happened to be Bundy’s. Bundy tried to drive away at first, but the police officer caught up to him. When the officer looked inside the car and noticed that there was no passenger seat, he decided to search it. Inside the car, the cop found a satchel of burglary tools, a mask made of panty hose, and ice pick, and handcuffs.

Arrests Bundy was arrested for police evasion. After he was released, cops began to link him to the DeRonch case. DeRonch was a woman who Bundy had previously tried to abduct. She escaped unhurt. He was arrested for possession of burglary tools. The police searched his home and found nothing but maps. Although DeRonch could not identify Bundy as the man who had assaulted her, he was charged and arrested for it.

Time Bundy was sentenced to 1-15 years in jail for aggravated assault. The main purpose of holding him was to give the police time to get evidence together to try him for murder. DeRonch now identified Bundy as her attacker, and several other people linked Bundy to various murders.

Further Investigation Bundy’s girlfriend Liz Kendall was interviewed and gave reports of Bundy’s odd behavior, weird possessions, rough sexual habits, and nocturnal tendencies. His car matched the description of the one used to abduct DeRonch. The clues were piling up. Caryn Campbell’s hair was found in a search of Bundy’s car. All evidence pointed to Bundy, and police were sure of his guilt.

Trial.. almost Bundy awaited the Campbell trial in Jail. When it was almost time for the trial, Bundy fired his lawyer and decided to defend himself. During his loosely supervised trip to the courthouse on June 7, 1977, Bundy leapt from the courthouse window and escaped on foot.

The Great Escape (which lasted all of six days) After leaping from the window, Bundy escaped into the woods. Despite the many search parties and dogs looking for Bundy, he could not be found. He soon became lost in the woods, and he wandered around for a few days not knowing what to do. He then found a car, stole it, and was caught driving crazily down the road.

Back in Jail Bundy was re-arrested for burglary, escape, and theft. It was soon declared by the court that he was not eligible for the death penalty.

A Slightly Better Great Escape Bundy decided to try to escape one more time before his next trial. He spent a lot of time planning this escape, and ended up getting a 17 hour head start before the guards noticed he was gone. He then made his way to Florida where he soon killed six more people, one of which was only twelve years old. Bundy was soon arrested once again. He resisted arrest as best he could, but was eventually restrained and taken in.

Final Days Bundy’s trial began after about a year after his arrest. There was no use in defending him, as there was substantial evidence connecting him to multiple crimes. He was sentenced to death, but despite this, he was tried again for another murder. The murder of Leach. In order to try to prevent his current girlfriend from being questioned during the case, he proposed to her in the middle of the trial. Although she wasn’t questioned, Bundy was still ruled guilty. His final death sentence was issued, and Bundy did everything he could to fight it. He did a series of interviews in his last few days. No one wanted to help him, so on January 24, 1989, Bundy was executed in the electric chair.