I actually wrote a paper about Bundy in college. He was completely deranged and a pure sociopath, but nonetheless very interesting. There have been several books written about him, but none better than "The Only Living Witness" by Hugh Aynesworth & Stephen Michaud. A second excellent source was "The Stranger Beside Me," written by Ann Rule. She actually knew Bundy personally and worked with him while he attended college. In addition, she was a crime writer and was actually investigating the killings in Seattle for which Bundy admitted to right before his execution.

Until shortly before his execution, Bundy steadfastly denied involvement in the nearly 36 murders for which he was a suspect. The greatness of the Aynesworth & Michaud book is that Bundy approached them because he wanted to talk. They soon learned that Bundy was manipulating them and was not going to offer anything of substantive value regarding the accusations against him. He wanted to talk, but without confessing. So out of desperation, Aynesworth & Michaud suggested that Bundy speculate in the third person what he thought the killer might have done. Bundy recounted many of the murders and gave detailed accounts of the crime scene, exchanges with the victim, and other details that only the killer could have known. They also discovered that Bundy had a severe case of arrested development, so he was very child-like in his behavior. This third person account gave Bundy the vehicle to confess but without legally implicating himself.

The most frightening aspect of Bundy - to me - was that he didn't fit the stereotype of what a killer should look like. In addition, he was smart enough to manipulate his own behavior to conform to social norms. He was a law student, had worked in several Republican political campaigns, dressed neatly, and spoke like an educated person. He also knew how to take advantage of situations and, more importantly, of people. Some of his victim were lured while helping Bundy, who would wear a fake arm or leg cast. Sometimes he posed as a police officer or fire fighter. He almost always approached his victim with a ruse to get them to come away willingly with him.

In other words, he didn't appear to be a deranged killer such as the Hillside Strangler or Charles Manson. But behind the seemingly outward mask Bundy displayed, he was a violent, sadistic, and unmerciful killer.

The public was fascinated with Bundy because of the aforementioned traits. He had some ardent supporters who believed that it was impossible for the Ted Bundy that they knew to be involved in kidnapping, rape, and murder. Bundy became a national name in 1978 when he successfully escape prison for the second time while awaiting to be on trial for murder in Colorado. Bundy was finally caught after being on the run in Florida for nearly three weeks. His recapture was after killing three women in a Florida State dorm, one young girl, and assaulting several other females. His trial for these horrific murders was televised to a national audience. Viewers watched as the dapper accused defendant also (often) acted as his own attorney.


The other part of the Bundy story I have always found fascinating was the work of the investigators. Bob Keppel, Mike Fischer, and Jerry Thompson hunted Bundy. Keep in mind that these crimes occured in the early-to-late 1970s. Computers were barely in use, so Bundy had a huge advantage in eluding the police because law enforcement was nowhere near organized as they are today. That's not a knock against the police back then. Bundy saw the holes in the crime investigation system and fully exploited them. He traveled anonymously to different states, altered his appearance, and approached potential victims in different ways to throw the police off track. I believe that Bundy confessed to murders in six states, but investigators have suspected there may more victims in additional states.