Image Credit: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
By Saul Roth
Ted Bundy was a smart, handsome young man who grew up in the 1960s. His charm and intelligence allowed him to get whatever he wanted from people, even though deep down inside there were signs of what would become his dark side: sadism (the desire for giving pain) as well as other psychological disorders such as killing others without any emotion whatsoever because it’s just “business.”
When asked about his childhood, he said that it was rough. He often walked the streets looking for discarded pornography or open windows through which to spy on unsuspecting women.
Bundy would prey on young and attractive college women. He often used a ruse, such as wearing his arm in a sling, or pretending to have a leg cast after an accident. These techniques made it easy to lure victims into going home with him. Bundy’s modus operandi changed over time but one thing remained constant – he targeted vulnerable groups like blonde female students at prestigious schools.
Bundy would often impersonate authority figures, such as police officers and firefighters to gain victims’ trust before he attacked them.
Bundy would force his victims into the vehicle and then bind them with handcuffs. He’d remove any evidence of what happened by taking out seats or storing them in the trunk, leaving an empty space on the floor where they lay hidden from view while he drove off, or left them there for dead.
He was a twisted, depraved killer who delighted in murdering and sexually assaulting his victims after killing them. He typically strangled or bludgeoned the person then mutilated their bodies.
Police had a suspect in mind from the beginning, but he was ruled out due to his seemingly upstanding character and clean-cut appearance.
By learning how to leave virtually no evidence that could be traced by the still rudimentary forensics techniques of the 1970s, he was able avoid detection for even longer.
After being on the run for so many years, Bundy was finally arrested in 1975. He had fled from a Utah patrol car. Once apprehended. belongings were discovered with masks as well as other nefarious items but nothing definitively linking him to any crimes at this point.
When Bundy escaped from custody a second time, he had been transferred to Colorado and recaptured within the week. However this did not stop him from making yet another successful escape attempt on December 30th 1977, in which he resumed his killing spree, this time in the state of Florida.
Bundy is considered one of America’s most notorious criminals and executioners, who confessed to 30 murders; but the actual number remains unknown. He was apprehended again for a traffic violation on February 15 1978 before being sentenced to death on December 19th 1977 at the age of 48. Bundy was executed by electric chair on January 24, 1989.
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