Lindsay Truitt
Psychology- 4th period
Theodore Robert Cowell
“Ted Bundy”
Theodore Cowell, born November 24, 1946 in Burlington, Vermont, was one of the
world’s most notorious serial killers, terrorizing the United States from 1974 to 1979. Although
Bundy ultimately confessed to only 28 murders, some believe that he committed well over 100.
It is said that Bundy’s charm and good-looks played a huge role in his ability to attract young
women, eventually leading to their impending rape and murder.
As a child, Bundy was said to be shy and isolated from kids his age, and even his own
siblings. His strained relationship with his step-father offered no comfort, and his shyness often
resulted in bullying from his peers. Despite his early struggles, he did well in high school, and
his good-looks contributed to his rising popularity which in turn increased his self-esteem. In
1967, Bundy became a student at the University of Washington, where he met his first true love,
Stephanie Brooks. Bundy fell deeply in love, and was heart-broken when she ended the
relationship abruptly in 1968 because she believed he had no motivational drive and showed
signs of immaturity. The break-up had a major impact in Bundy’s life, and it is believed that his
future victims were chosen because of their striking resemblance to Stephanie Brooks. Bundy,
determined to prove her wrong, dove into his studies and became an honor student in psychology
and even became an avid Republican campaigner. Bundy entered into a new relationship, which
would last for five years with a woman by the name of Meg Anders; however, he would still
carry on his obsession with Stephanie Brooks. In 1973, he met up with Brooks again and they
rekindled their relationship without either woman knowing about the other. Brooks, who was
amazed at Bundy’s transformation, began to believe it might lead to marriage. However, Bundy
abruptly dumped her as she did him previously in college. Bundy found no comfort in his
revenge; his rage transformed into an array of heinous attacks on women, who all shared
strikingly similar physical traits to those of Brooks.
Joni Lenz, Bundy’s first victims, was one of the few women to survive Bundy’s attacks.
On January 4, 1974, she was brutally raped, and suffered massive permanent damage physically
and psychologically. 21-year-old law student Lynda Ann Healy was not so lucky, and
disappeared on January 31, 1974. Initially, the disappearance did not alarm the police, however,
when seven other women, all physically similar, went missing over the next few months, they
were forced to take action. Several months later, when the bodies of Janice Ott and Denise
Naslund were discovered, eyewitnesses came forward claiming they had seen a man by the name
of “Ted”, who drove a VW Beetle and had his arm in a plaster cast. Moving on to Utah, Bundy
would take another four victims spanning the months of October and November. One victim
turned out to be the daughter of a local police chief, and an all out effort search was put forth.
The Utah police connected the brutal Utah murder and rape was similar to the Washington State
cases, and put forth a composite sketch of “Ted.” Meg Anders recognized the sketch to be
Bundy, and contacted police. However, they did not regard him as a potential subject because of
his charming personality and good-looks. In November of ’74, Bundy attempted to abduct Carol
DaRonch from a shopping centre, but failed, which resulted in corroboration that the sketch was
that of Bundy. Debby Kent was not as fortunate as DaRonch, and was killed the same day that
she had made her escape. In the next two months, no more victims were identified until that of
Caryn Campbell on January 12, 1975. Campbell’s body showed numerous signs of having being
subjected to Bundy’s brutal murders. It was now that police were beginning to realize that Taylor
Mountains in Washington was the preferred dumping site for Bundy’s victims, and after
thorough searches, three additional bodies were discovered, having died from the same blunt
force trauma as the previous. Bundy was apprehended August 16, 1975, after a policeman
recognized his VW Beetle. Furthermore, after searching the contents of the vehicle, handcuffs, a
ski mask, and a crowbar were revealed and Bundy was arrested. He was picked out of a line-up
by Carol DaRonch and a full-scale investigation was launched on Bundy, strengthening the case
considerably. However, Bundy continued to maintain his innocence, despite all the mounting
evidence authorities had against him.
On February 23, 1976, Bundy went on trial in Utah for the aggravated kidnapping of
DaRonch and was found guilty, therefore being sentenced to a one to fifteen year jail sentence in
the Utah State Prison. Colorado investigatiors, unhappy with the sentence, decided to try Bundy
for the murder of Caryn Campbell. It is during this trial that Bundy begins to make plays to
escape. He decides to represent himself; therefore, he gets access to the research his cases in the
library. June 7th, he manages to jump out of a library window, and is not captured until 8 days
later when he attempts to flee and breaks his cover. On December 30, 1977, Bundy managed to
escape a second time, this time by climbing through a suspended ceiling panel in the Garfield
County Jail, where he was residing pending his trial. The escape was not noticed until the next
day, giving him time to take a flight to Chicago before moving on to Tallahassee, Florida. Under
the alias Chris Hagan, Bundy supported himself by theft and eventually struck again at a sorority
house at Florida State University. Four students suffered extreme sexual abuse, two eventually
dying from the attacks, which was escalated even to Bundy’s previous standards. Bundy was
able to slip under the radar and draw no attention from the local police force. February 9, 1978
would be Bundy’s last attack, and last victim. 12-year-old Kimberly Leach was abducted from
her school before being sexually assaulted and then strangled. Bundy was apprehended six days
later after his VW Beetle was stopped for having stolen plates.
June 25, 1979, Bundy’s second trial took place in Florida, for the murders and attacks of
the sorority students from FSU. He again represented himself, and the testimony of one of the
four victims from the sorority house would prove damning to his case. The jury eventually
brought back a guilty verdict and Bundy was sentenced to death by electric chair. Again, Bundy
maintained his innocence. His third trial pertained to the murder of Kimberley Leach, the 12year-old schoolgirl. This time, he decided against self-representation, and his counsel instructed
him to plead not guilty by reason of insanity. The sheer volume of forensic evidence and
eyewitness accounts led the jury to another guilty verdict, producing another sentence of death
by electrocution.
However, Bundy refused to accept his fate, and continued to file appeals over the next
decade to prolong his execution. He confessed to an investigator that he committed numerous
acts of necrophilia and butchery, in hopes that he would be granted a stay in execution. Bundy’s
luck finally ran out on January 24, 1989, and he was executed at 7 a.m., taking the truth of his
actual victim count with him. Bundy’s body was cremated, and ironically, his ashes were
scattered on the same mountain were he dumped his victims’ bodies.
Psychology seemed to play a minor role in Bundy’s murders. It is believed that his
addiction to pornography ignited his desire to carry-out his extreme sexual desires on women.
Also, a forensic psychiatric expert who had the chance of examining Bundy gave him the
diagnosis of maniac-depressive psychosis and connected his murders to his “uncontrollable
maniac rage.”
I feel that Ted Bundy truly is one of the sickest, and most twisted individuals to live, and
that he deserved to die a horrid death like that of his victims. I feel sorrow for his victims and the
families of his victims, and cannot fathom the terror he brought forth to multiple communities. In
one of his many interviews he was quoted saying, “We serial killers are your sons, we are your
husbands, we are everywhere. And there will be more of your children dead tomorrow”- by
saying “we”, Bundy is acknowledging outright that his is a serial killer. However, when it came
to his trials, he continued to maintain his innocence, which led me to believe that he is a coward,
and cannot accept the fate he bestowed upon himself.
Works Cited
"America's Famous Serial Killers!." DirJournal Info Blog. N.p., 07 Sep
2007. Web. 27 Oct 2010. <http://www.dirjournal.com/info/americas famous-serial-killers/>.
Montaldo, Charles. "Ted Bundy-Ted Bundy Gets Caught."
About.com:Crime/Punishment . N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct 2010.
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Theodore Bundy was born November 24, 1946 in Burlington, Vermont to a single mother,
Louise Cowell. Bundy was raised initially by his grandparents, but when his mother married
Johnnie Bundy in 1951, he had the presence of a father figure in his life. During multiple failed
attempts to integrate Bundy into the growing family, he continued to remain isolated and
introverted. His experience with his ex-girlfriend from college is said to have had a major impact
in his life, and it is said that many of his victims were chosen because of their resemblance to
her. He was convicted of 28 murders, however, it is said that he committed well over 100. He
was sentenced to death by electric chair and died January 24, 1989.
Dennis Rader, known as the “BTK Killer”, was born on March 9, 1945 in Kansas. As a child,
Rader lived a remarkably normal childhood, he joined Boy Scouts and even participated in his
youth group at church. In his own admission, he said that he developed fantasies about bondage,
control, and torture while still in grade school. He was known as quiet and polite, and known to
not be a “joiner.” He murdered 10 people in Sedgwick County, one of his victims being an 11year old female. He sent letters to local news outlets describing his letters, and that is how he was
eventually caught. He is serving a life sentence at El Dorado Correctional Facility and is not
scheduled to get out until 2180.
Altemio Sanchez, known as the “Bike Path Killer”, was born on January 19, 1958, in Puerto
Rico. Sanchez murdered at least three women, and is said to have raped at least 14 others.
However, those who knew Sanchez said he was pleasant, congenial, and high-spirited. He
developed his nick name because many of his crimes took place near a secluded bike path. On
May 16, 2007, he pleaded guilty to the three murders, and was sentenced to a 75 year sentence.
William Suff was born August 20, 1950, in Torrance, California. He is commonly known as the
“Riverside Prostitute Killer” or the “Lake Elsinore Killer.” Suff’s criminal record began in 1974,
when he and his wife were convicted of beating their two-month-old daughter to death. He was
sentenced to 70 years in a prison; however, he only served 10 before being released in 1984. Suff
stabbed, strangled, raped and sometimes even mutilated as many as 12 prostitutes beginning in
1986, just two years after he was released on parole. He was condemned to death.
James Swann was known as the “Shotgun Stalker” because of his random drive by shooting in
Washington D.C., was born in 1964. Swann was living in New Jersey before the attacks, and
would drive all the way to D.C. to carry them out in neighborhoods. Swann would slow his car
down next to a random pedestrian, and fire a 20-gauge shotgun at the pedestrian before driving
away. Four people were killed, and five injured in a total of 14 attacks. During trial, Swann was
found not guilty because of insanity, and sent to Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital. Swann claimed he
was killing people because he heard voices in his head, including that of Malcolm X. These
voices told his to commit the killings in Washington because that was, “the civil rights side” of
town.