Ted Bundy: Criminal History Of An American Serial Killer

Ted Bundy has been made infamous for being a serial killer. He was convicted of killing several women, but the exact number of victims can be much more than originally thought. Ted was one of the first killers to get the attention of the media. For good or bad he will be known throughout history. Ted Bundy is one of the most well-known serial killers of all time. He was a media sensation due to his intelligence and good looks. The looks were able to fool many women and lead them to their death.

No one is exactly sure when the first murder occurred. Ted has told different stories and different locations. Some think that he may have started killing women while he was still a teenager. He was accused of killing an 8-year-old girl but has denied this murder. At the beginning of 1974, Bundy broke into the home of a woman, sexually assaulted her, and beat her. She survived the attack but was left with permanent physical and mental disabilities. He also attacked another woman and carried her off. It is presumed that she was killed. At this time female college student went missing.

There was an average of one girl missing per month. At this time Bundy was living in Seattle and women went missing from here as well as the Portland area. Bundy was pretending to be injured and asking these women for help in order to get them to his car. At this time, he would overpower them. Some of the women got away and soon they had a general description of Bundy and the car that he was driving. Around this time bones started being discovered all over the area. Bundy continued to kill women throughout the states of Idaho, Utah and Colorado.

He killed at least a dozen women in these states. He was arrested in 1975 after a traffic stop. The police found a crowbar, rope, and other items in his car. He was recognized by Carol DeRonch for attempting kidnapping and she was able to identify him. Bundy was arrested and put into jail where he later escaped not once but twice. Bundy then headed to Florida and the crimes he committed here made his infamous. He lived in Tallahassee under the name Chris Hogan. He entered the Chi Omega society house and killed several women and attached others. He bite one woman on the buttocks and later his dental prints would be matched up to these prints he left behind. Bundy then broke into the apartment house of other female students and the attacks continued.

A couple of days later he made his water Jacksonville and killed as a 12-year-old girl named Kimberly Leach. He was stopped by officers a couple of days later and was arrested for having a stolen car. The ID cars of the women from the Chi Omega house were found in his possession and the investigation began. Bundy was an illegitimate child. He never knew his father. In early life, he was raised by his grandparents to hide that shame that his mother was not married. He was told that his grandparents were his real parents and his mother was his older sister. Years later he learned the truth.

He considered himself to be a “bastard” and he had resentment towards his mother for hiding the truth. Psychologists studied this fact and if it leads to his hatred of women and his torture of them. They theorized that he was killing his mother all over again. They also looked at this lie and the resentment it caused him. He had anger and he seemed to be taking it out with every rape and murder. It was also discovered that his grandfather was a bigot and was abusive to his family. This may have had some impact on his crimes. His grandmother suffered from depression and this ran in the family (Biography, 2019). Growing up Bundy preferred to be alone and had trouble in social situations and having empathy for others. He did not know how to make friends and only told people what they wanted to hear.

He was able to blend in with the crowd and he learned how to charm people to get what he wanted for this. Experts say these are traits of a sociopath. He did not care about the emotions of others and only used them for his own gain. He did not develop a caring feeling for others and their suffering meant nothing to him. His goals became the most important things in his life and his desire to fulfill his needs at any cost became the top priority. Ted was able to study others and their interaction, and he learned how to act among the crowd. He was able to adapt his personality to fit into any social situation. He was even able to look different in photos. He was able to use this to exploit even the media and the general public to make it look like he was not possible of committing these actions of violence.

These crimes were some of the first that was documented due to their violent nature. Experts began to study what can make a person murder others and lead to this level of violence. They also wondered how another can have a lack of regard for human life and suffering. He was one of the first documented serial killers that gave interviews and information about his past. Experts wanted to find out why Bundy committed the actions that he did in order to understand them and possibly prevent other murders in the future. The experts wanted to study the sociopath and learn more about their thoughts and behaviors. There was also another perspective on this crime and Ted Bundy. The media in a way romanticized his killer. He was young, attractive, and was charming. There was something about this look that women fell for. They were able to look past the 25 murders that he admitted to and Ted was a favorite of females in the media. The public took notice of Ted and his manners (Jenkins, 2019). Criminologist took a look at the Bundy case and how it become so popular. The media in a way made Ted a romantic figure. They did not focus on the graph natures of his crimes of the heartache he caused these women and their families. They showed off his good looks.

The media also spoke of how Ted went to law school at one time and aspired to be a lawyer. He was active in politics. Bundy has a number of females that wrote to him in prison. He was a media star and for all the wrong reasons. The media could not get enough of Ted Bundy. Since his arrest in the state of Florida, there were 250 reporters that were present at his trial. This was the five trial to be aired on national television. Bundy also put on a good show for the media. He acted as his own attorney and wanted to show that he was in charge. Even though he was a former law student, Bundy was his own worst enemy in this case.

Bundy was convicted for all of the crimes in Florida and the reporters were there every step of the way. The public could not imagine that a horrible killer looked like just a normal person. While Bundy was appealing the murder convictions, he took the time to conduct many different interviews. He wanted to tell his story and the media was willing to listen. He was able to tell the media about his life story and show off his knowledge to the world. Bundy continued to give interviews and he hoped that his insight into the mind of a serial killer would keep him from being put to death.

Ted liked the attention of the media and wanted to be in the public. He wanted to show how smart he would and how great he was. The media continued to follow Bundy during his appeal process. They stayed with him until he was executed in the electric chair in 1982. The crowd outside of the prison was televised and people cheering his death was seen on television. While Bundy was found guilty of murder and the public accepts his guilty Bundy was still made a media star. He was made famous for killing women. The public was interested in this killer. It seems they were interested in Bundy because he did not look like a monster. He looked like an ordinary person and people could not believe that someone so normal looking could commit such evil acts.

Even after his death people are still fascinated by Ted Bundy. He was one of the first serial killers to become a media star and in his own way, he enjoyed all the fame and attention.