Ted on the Loose

Ted Bundy

December 30, 1977: Ted Bundy escapes – for the second time. Theodore Robert Bundy was born on November 24, 1946 as Theodore Robert Cowell at the Elizabeth Lund Home For Unwed Mothers. His paternity remains a mystery. He was raised by his abusive grandparents who pretended to be his parents. By 1950 his mother left her parents’ house and took her young son, who already displayed some emotional problems, with her. She married Johnny Bundy and he adopted the young child.

Stories told to various biographers concerning his youth vary widely. He was arrested twice while in high school. He went on to college where a girlfriend dumped him. Experts claim this was a turning point. He was active in politics and after graduating in 1972, worked on Governor Daniel J. Evans’s reelection campaign. He entered law school, but eventually began to skip classes. By April 1974 he had dropped out completely.

We do not know when or where Ted Bundy began murdering women. He told various tales to a number of people over time. Before his death, he admitted to killing 30 women across seven states in the years between 1974 and 1978. He was stopped for a traffic violation in Utah and in his trunk was found a ski mask and various paraphernalia. He was already a suspect in Washington State, but the Utah police needed more information. They put him under surveillance.  Eventually he was arrested and charged in Utah in 1975 with kidnapping and assault of 18-year-old Carol DaRonch. He was found guilty and sentenced to prison. He was later also charged with his first murder.

He escaped during a change of venue in June 1977 and was recaptured. He escaped again on this day and was able to flee the state. He was arrested in Florida on February 15, 1979, after another string of violent crimes. His notoriety brought him fame and a wife, who may have had his child in October 1982. He was found guilty of murder at one trial and then again for another murder at a second trial. He was sentenced to death in the electric chair. The sentence was  carried out on January 24, 1989. While waiting on death row, he granted interviews to two biographers and details of his crime spree came to light.

“We serial killers are your sons, we are your husbands, we are everywhere. And there will be more of your children dead tomorrow.”

“You feel the last bit of breath leaving their body. You’re looking into their eyes. A person in that situation is God!”

“Murder is not about lust and it’s not about violence. It’s about possession.”

“I don’t feel guilty for anything. I feel sorry for people who feel guilt.” – all from Ted Bundy

Also on this day:

Once in a Blue Moon – In 1982, the only total eclipse of a blue moon in the entire century took place.
Countess Bathory – In 1610, the Blood Countess was stopped.