Ted Bundy

Case overview

Ted Bundy (born Theodore Robert Cowell; November 24, 1946 – January 24, 1989), known as Ted Bundy, was an American serial killer. He murdered numerous young women across the United States between 1974 and 1978. He twice escaped from prison before his final apprehension in February 1978. He was sentenced to death and executed in 1989.

Timeline

• 11/24/46 — Born as Theodore Robert Cowell in a home for unwed mothers in Burlington, Vermont.
• 05/19/51 — Bundy’s mother, Louise, married Johnnie Bundy and her son took his step-father’s last name.
• Spring 1965 — Graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Tacoma, Washington.
• Fall 1965 — Enrolled at the University of Puget Sound and attended the school until the Spring of 1966.
• 06/23/65 — Murders Lonnie Trumbull and seriously injures roommate Lisa Wick in their Seattle apartment.
• Fall 1966 to Spring 1969 — Attended the University of Washington.
• 1967 to 1968 — Courted Stephanie Brooks.
• Fall 1968 — Brooks broke off relationship with Bundy.
• Early 1969 — Visited his birth town of Burlington, Vermont, and learned for certain that he was illegitimate.
• Fall 1969 — Re-entered University of Washington and met Liz Kendall.
• Spring 1973 — Graduated from the University of Washington.
• 11/25/73 — Abducted Kathy Devine from a Seattle street corner.
• 12/06/73 — Devine’s body was found near Olympia, Washington.
• 01/05/74 — Attacked Joni Lenz in her Seattle apartment.
• 02/01/74 — Abducted Lynda Ann Healy from her basement bedroom in Seattle.
• 03/12/74 — Abducted Donna Manson from the campus of Evergreen College.
• 04/17/74 — Abducted Susan Rancourt from the Central Washington St. campus.
• 05/06/74 — Abducted Kathy Parks from the campus at Oregon St.
• 06/01/74 — Abducted Brenda Ball from Burien, Washington.
• 06/11/74 — Abducted Georgeann Hawkins from an alley near her University of Washington fraternity house.
• 06/17/74 — Brenda Baker’s body was found in Millersylvania St. Park.
• 07/14/74 — Separate incidents: Janice Ott and Denise Naslund abducted from Lake Sammamish St. Park.
• 09/02/74 — A Jane Doe was abducted from Boise, Idaho.
• Fall 1974 — Entered the University of Utah Law School.
• 09/07/74 — Body parts of Ott, Naslund, and Hawkins were recovered about two miles from Lake Sammamish St. Park.
• 10/02/74 — Abducted Nancy Wilcox.
• 10/18/74 — Abducted Melissa Smith.
• 10/27/74 — Smith’s body was found in Summitt Park near Salt Lake City, Utah.
• 10/31/74 — Abducted Laura Aimee.
• 11/08/74 — Botched abduction of Carol DeRonch but abducted Debby Kent later that day from school in Bountiful.
• Thanksgiving 1974 — Aimee’s body was found.
• 01/12/75 — Abducted Caryn Campbell from a hotel in Aspen, Colorado.
• 02/18/75 — Campbell’s body was found near the motel she disappeared from.
• 03/03/75 — Skulls of Healy, Ball, Parks, and Rancourt were found near Taylor Mountain in Washington.
• 03/15/75 — Abducted Julie Cunningham from Vail, Colorado.
• 04/06/75 — Abducted Melanie Cooley from her school in Nederland, Colorado.
• 04/23/75 — Cooley was found dead twenty miles from Nederland.
• 05/06/75 — Abducted Lynette Culver from her school playground in Pocatello, Idaho.
• 06/28/75 — Abducted Susan Curtis from the campus of BYU while attending a youth conference.
• 07/01/75 — Abducted Shelley Robertson from Golden, Colorado.
• 07/04/75 — Abducted Nancy Baird from Layton, Utah.
• 08/16/75 — Arrested for possession of burglary tools during a traffic stop in Salt Lake City.
• February 1976 — Abducted Debbie Smith in Utah.
• 03/01/76 — Found guilty of aggravated kidnapping in the DeRonch attack.
• 04/01/76 — Smith’s body was found at Salt Lake International Airport.
• 06/30/76 — Sentenced to 1–15 years in prison.
• 06/07/77 — Escaped from Pitkin Co. Law Library in Colorado while preparing for trial in the Campbell murder.
• 06/13/77 — Apprehended in Aspen, Colorado.
• 12/30/77 — Escaped from Garfield County Jail in Colorado and fled to Tallahassee, Florida.
• 01/14/78 — Entered the Chi Omega sorority house in Tallahassee, killing Lisa Levy and Margaret Bowman.
• 01/14/78 — Also attacked Cheryl Thomas in her house nearby, seriously injuring her.
• 02/09/78 — Abducted Kimberly Ann Leach from her school in Lake City, Florida.
• 02/15/78 — Arrested while driving a stolen VW in Pensacola, Florida.
• 04/12/79 — Leach’s body was found in Suwanee St. Park in Florida.
• 07/27/78 — Indicted for the murders of Levy and Bowman.
• 07/31/78 — Indicted for the Leach murder.
• 07/07/79 — Leach and Bowman murder trial began.
• 07/23/79 — Found guilty of the murders of Levy and Bowman.
• 07/31/79 — Sentenced to death for the murders of Levy and Bowman.
• 01/07/80 — Trial began for the Leach murder.
• 02/06/80 — Found guilty of Leach murder.
• 02/09/80 — Sentenced to death for Leach murder.
• 07/02/86 — Obtained a stay of execution only fifteen minutes before scheduled to die.
• 11/18/86 — Obtained a stay of execution only seven hours before scheduled to die.
• 11/17/89 — Final death warrant was issued.
• 01/24/89 — Executed in the electric chair at 7:16 AM.

Background

Bundy was born at the Elizabeth Lund Home For Unwed Mothers in Burlington, Vermont, to Eleanor Louise Cowell. His birth certificate listed a "Lloyd Marshall" (b. 1916). Louise Cowell later told of being seduced by a war veteran named "Jack Worthington". Family members did not believe that story and expressed suspicion about Louise’s violent, abusive father, Samuel Cowell.

To avoid social stigma, Bundy’s maternal grandparents Samuel and Eleanor Cowell claimed him as their son, and in taking their last name he became Theodore Robert Cowell. He grew up believing his mother was his older sister. Biographers Stephen Michaud and Hugh Aynesworth wrote that he learned Louise was actually his mother while he was in high school. True crime writer Ann Rule, who knew Bundy personally, stated that around 1969 he learned the truth about his parentage.

For the first few years of his life, Bundy and his mother lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1950 they moved to Tacoma, Washington, to live with relatives. In 1951, Louise Cowell met Johnnie Culpepper Bundy at an adult singles night held at Tacoma’s First Methodist Church. In May 1951, the couple were married, and Johnny Bundy adopted Ted, legally changing his last name to "Bundy".

Bundy babysat other children. He grew up in Tacoma, Washington, and was a good student at Woodrow Wilson High School. He was active in a local Methodist church, serving as vice-president of the Methodist Youth Fellowship, and was involved with a local troop of the Boy Scouts of America. He was shy and introverted and described a sense of social difficulty.

In early prison interviews, Bundy described a part of himself he called "the entity." He looked through libraries for detective magazines and books on crime, focusing on sources that described sexual violence and featured pictures of dead bodies and violent sexuality. Before he was out of high school, he stole skis and equipment and forged ski-lift tickets. He was arrested twice as a juvenile, and the records were later expunged.

He graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1965. He was awarded a scholarship by the University of Puget Sound, then transferred to the University of Washington in Seattle. While a university student, he worked as a grocery bagger and shelf-stocker at a Seattle Safeway store on Queen Anne Hill and had other odd jobs, including a night-shift volunteer role at Seattle’s Suicide Hot Line. There he met and worked alongside Ann Rule.

He met and began a relationship with fellow university student "Stephanie Brooks" (a pseudonym) in 1967. After Brooks’ 1968 graduation she returned to California and ended the relationship. Rule described Bundy’s decision to visit his birthplace and uncover the truth of his parentage, after which Bundy became more focused and dominant.

In 1968 he managed the Seattle office of Nelson Rockefeller’s Presidential campaign and attended the 1968 Republican convention in Miami, Florida. He re-enrolled at the University of Washington with a major in psychology. In 1969 he started dating Elizabeth Kloepfer, a divorced secretary with a daughter, and they dated for more than six years until he went to prison for kidnapping in 1976. He graduated in 1972 with a degree in psychology.

He later worked for the state Republican Party and had a relationship with Gov. Daniel J. Evans during campaigns that involved tape recording speeches and reporting back to Evans. A minor scandal followed when Democrats found out about Bundy, who had been posing as a college student. In the fall of 1973 he enrolled in the law school at the University of Utah but did poorly, skipping classes and dropping out in the spring of 1974.

He began dating Kloepfer and also courted Brooks, with neither woman aware of the other. After a breakup with Brooks shortly after New Year 1974, he began a murderous rampage in Washington state.

The offence

Kidnapping and attempted kidnapping

On November 7, 1974, Carol DeRonch, 18, was approached in a Utah shopping mall by Bundy, who told her someone was trying to break into her automobile. He showed her a badge and asked her to accompany him to her car and then, eventually, to the station to make a complaint. When reaching the car, she looked in and determined nothing was missing.

Bundy then drove her in his Volkswagen, pulled over, and forcibly placed a pair of handcuffs on her wrist. Carol DeRonch screamed, fought her way outside the vehicle, and eventually got away.

Nine months later, Bundy was arrested fleeing police and handcuffs were found in his car. He was convicted of Aggravated Kidnapping after waiving a jury trial and received a 1–15 year sentence.

On November 8, 1974, Bundy botched kidnapping of Carol DeRonch but abducted Debby Kent later that day from school in Bountiful.

On February 9, 1978, Bundy abducted Kimberly Ann Leach from her school in Lake City, Florida.

Chi Omega sorority attacks (fatal and non-fatal victims)

During the early morning hours of Sunday, January 15, 1978, Bundy entered the Chi Omega sorority house and attacked four women residing there. Lisa Levy and Margaret Bowman were killed, while Kathy Kleiner and Karen Chandler sustained serious injuries.

Within about an hour of the Chi Omega attacks, Bundy entered another home nearby and attacked Cheryl Thomas, who was seriously injured. All five women were university students.

Lisa Levy and Margaret Bowman were strangled after receiving severe beatings with a length of a tree branch used as a club. Margaret Bowman’s skull was crushed and literally laid open. Bundy also bit Lisa Levy with sufficient intensity to be identified as human bite marks.

Bundy was identified by a resident returning home to the sorority house as he was leaving with a club in his hand.

Blunt-force and sexual assaults; rape

The record described repeated use of blunt weapons against victims, including bludgeoning repeatedly with a blunt weapon. It also described that victims were sexually assaulted and that Bundy engaged in rape.

Investigation

FBI involvement began with a fugitive investigation after Bundy escaped from a Colorado courthouse where he was on trial for murder. The FBI initiated a fugitive investigation when he escaped and he was later recaptured but escaped again in December 1977 from the Garfield County Jail in Colorado. He was placed on the FBI’s "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives" list.

Bundy was arrested in February 1978 in Florida for a stolen car violation using an alias.

In Utah, Carol DeRonch’s case led investigators to connect Bundy’s vehicle and handcuffs. In the Chi Omega case, forensic dental experts testified that indentations on Lisa Levy’s body were left by the unique teeth of Bundy. Bite mark testimony was described as critical evidence.

In the Kimberly Leach case, evidence included semen stains in the crotch of her panties and fibers found in Bundy’s van that matched Leach’s clothing. Two Lake City Holiday Inn employees and a handwriting expert established that Bundy registered at the Lake City Holiday Inn the day before her disappearance under another name. A school crossing guard identified Bundy as leading a young girl to a van on the morning of the disappearance.

Bundy was arrested a month later in Pensacola, after being stopped while driving a stolen VW. A positive fingerprint identification by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement occurred early the next day, and he was transported to Tallahassee and charged with the Tallahassee and Lake City murders.

Arrest and custody events

Bundy escaped while in custody after his aggravated kidnapping conviction and was recaptured six days later. He escaped a second time and fled to Tallahassee, Florida, staying at a rooming house near the Florida State University campus.

He escaped from the Pitkin Co. Law Library in Colorado on June 7, 1977 while preparing for trial in the Campbell murder, and he was apprehended in Aspen, Colorado on June 13, 1977.

He escaped from Garfield County Jail in Colorado on December 30, 1977 and fled to Tallahassee, Florida.

Bundy was arrested on August 16, 1975 in Salt Lake City for failure to stop for a police officer. A search of his car revealed items including a ski mask, crowbar, handcuffs, trash bags, an icepick, and other items thought by police to be burglary tools.

Trial

Chi Omega murder trial (Levy and Bowman)

The Chi Omega murder trial began in June 1979. Dade County Circuit Court Judge Edward D. Cowart presided. Bundy had five court-appointed lawyers but insisted on acting as his own attorney and cross-examined witnesses, including the police officer who had discovered Margaret Bowman’s body. Assistant State Attorney Larry Simpson prosecuted the case.

Two pieces of evidence were described as crucial: Nita Neary identified Bundy as he left the house, and a bite mark on Lisa Levy’s body was linked to Bundy’s teeth through plaster casts and forensics expert analysis. Police took plaster casts of Bundy’s teeth and a forensics expert matched them to photographs of Levy’s wound.

Bundy was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, three counts of attempted first-degree murder, and two counts of burglary. For the two first-degree murder counts, the trial judge imposed sentences of death.

After confirming the sentence, Judge Cowart stated:

"It is ordered that you be put to death by a current of electricity, that current be passed through your body until you are dead. Take care of yourself, young man. I say that to you sincerely; take care of yourself, please. It is an utter tragedy for this court to see such a total waste of humanity as I've experienced in this courtroom. You're a bright young man. You'd have made a good lawyer, and I would have loved to have you practice in front of me, but you went another way, partner. Take care of yourself. I don't feel any animosity toward you. I want you to know that. Once again, take care of yourself."

Bundy’s sentencing took place one week after the verdict on July 30, before the same jury.

Kimberly Leach murder trial

Bundy was tried for the Kimberly Leach murder in 1980. He again was convicted on all counts and was sentenced to death. The record described that the sentence relied in part on fibers found in his van that matched Leach’s clothing and an eyewitness who saw him leading Leach away from the school.

During the Kimberly Leach trial, Bundy married former coworker Carole Ann Boone in the courtroom while questioning her on the stand. Following conjugal visits between Bundy and his new wife, Boone gave birth to a daughter in October 1982. In 1986 Boone moved back to Washington and never returned to Florida; her whereabouts and those of Bundy’s daughter were unknown.

Sentencing

For the Chi Omega murders of Lisa Levy and Margaret Bowman, the trial judge imposed sentences of death. For the Kimberly Leach murder, Bundy was again sentenced to death.

Bundy was executed after his death sentences were confirmed through appeals, stays of execution, and the issuance of a final death warrant.

Appeals

Bundy filed appeals through the Florida Supreme Court and other courts. The record listed citations including:

• State v. Bundy, 589 P.2d 760 (Utah 1978) (Direct Appeal).
• Bundy v. State, 455 So.2d 330 (Fla. 1984) (Sorority House Direct Appeal).
• Bundy v. State, 471 So.2d 9 (Fla. 1985) (Leach Direct Appeal).
• Bundy v. Florida, 107 S.Ct. 295 (1986) (Cert. Denied).
• Bundy v. State, 490 So.2d 1257 (Fla. 1986) (Stay).
• Bundy v. State, 497 So.2d 1209 (Fla. 1986) (State Habeas).
• Bundy v. Dugger, 850 F.2d 1402 (11th Cir. 1988) (Habeas).
• Bundy v. Dugger, 109 S.Ct. 849 (1989) (Cert. Denied).

The timeline also described stays:

• July 2, 1986: a stay of execution was obtained only fifteen minutes before he was scheduled to die.
• November 18, 1986: another stay of execution was obtained only seven hours before scheduled to die.

Outcome

Bundy was executed in Florida by electrocution in the electric chair.

At 7:06 a.m. local time on January 24, 1989, Ted Bundy was executed in the electric chair at Florida State Prison in Starke, Florida. His last words were, "I'd like you to give my love to my family and friends." He was pronounced dead at 7:16 a.m. by more than 2,000 volts applied across his body for less than two minutes.

Aftermath

Survivors’ accounts

A survivor, Susan Denton, recalled the January 1978 attacks at the Chi Omega sorority house and stated she had been working for 14 years to make Florida’s victim rights laws more sensitive to crime victims.

Prison interviews and investigative interviews

While awaiting execution, Bundy was housed in the cell next to Ottis Toole, the murderer of Adam Walsh. FBI profiler Robert K. Ressler met with Bundy there but found him uncooperative and manipulative.

Special Agent William Hagmaier visited Bundy during his death row period. Bundy confessed many details of the murders to Hagmaier and called him his best friend. Later, Bundy contacted Bob Keppel and Green River Task Force detective Dave Reichert to interview him; the detectives later stated the interviews provided little actual help in the investigation.

Bundy confessed to eight official unsolved murders in Washington State for which he was the prime suspect. He stated that there were five bodies left on Taylor Mountain instead of four as originally thought. He confessed in detail to the murder of Georgeann Hawkins, describing how he lured her to his car, clubbed her with a tire iron he had stashed under his car, drove away with her, and later raped and strangled her.

Quotes and recorded statements

Bundy was quoted in a televised interview and in connection with statements about pornography and execution. The record included a quote attributed to Bundy during the television interview:

"You are going to kill me, and that will protect society from me. But out there are many, many more people who are addicted to pornography, and you are doing nothing about that."

The record also included these statements attributed to Bundy in other contexts:

"I'd like you to give my love to my family and friends."

People and victims

Victims listed by name and place (as presented)

The record included a “Ted Bundy Victims List” with locations by state.

WASHINGTON

• Lonnie Trumbull; Seattle (6/23/66)
• Kathy Devine; Seattle (11/25/73)
• Lynda Ann Healy; University of Washington (2/1/74)
• Donna Manson; Evergreen St. College, Olympia (3/12/74)
• Susan Rancourt; Central Washington St. College, Ellensburg (4/17/74)
• Brenda Baker; Seattle (5/25/74)
• Brenda Ball; Burien (6/1/74)
• Georgeann Hawkins; University of Washington (6/11/74)
• Janice Ott; Lake Sammamish St. Park (7/14/74)
• Denise Naslund; Lake Sammamish St. Park (7/14/74)

OREGON

• Kathy Parks; Oregon St. (5/6/74)

UTAH

• Nancy Wilcox; (10/2/74)
• Melissa Smith; Midvale (10/18/74)
• Laura Aimee; Lehi (10/31/74)
• Debbie Kent; Bountiful (11/8/74)
• Susan Curtis; Brigham Young University (6/28/75)
• Nancy Baird; Layton (7/4/75)

COLORADO

• Caryn Campbell; Aspen (1/12/75)
• Julie Cunningham; Vail (3/15/75)
• Denise Oliverson; Grand Junction (4/6/75)
• Melanie Cooley; Nederland (4/15/75)
• Shelley Robertson; Golden (7/1/75)

IDAHO

• Lynette Culver; Pocatello (5/6/75)
• Jane Doe; Boise (9/21/74)

FLORIDA

• Lisa Levy; Tallahassee (1/15/78)
• Margaret Bowman; Tallahassee (1/15/74)
• Kimberly Ann Leach; Lake City (2/9/78)

Victims’ descriptions (as presented)

The record listed a chronological list of known victims, including ages, survival status, and some methods of attack.

• 01/04/74 — Joni Lenz (pseudonym) (18, survived). University of Washington first-year student; bludgeoned in her bed and impaled with a speculum as she slept.
• 02/01/74 — Lynda Ann Healy (21). Bludgeoned while asleep and abducted from the house she shared with other University of Washington co-eds.
• 03/12/74 — Donna Gail Manson (19). Abducted while walking to a jazz concert on the Evergreen State College campus, Olympia, Washington. Bundy confessed to her murder, but her body was never found.
• 04/17/74 — Susan Elaine Rancourt (18). Disappeared as she walked across Ellensburg’s Central Washington State College campus at night.
• 05/06/74 — Roberta Kathleen “Kathy” Parks (22). Vanished from Oregon State University in Corvallis.
• 06/01/74 — Brenda Carol Ball (22). Disappeared from the Flame Tavern in Burien, Washington.
• 06/11/74 — Georgeann Hawkins (18). Disappeared from behind her sorority house, Kappa Alpha Theta, at the University of Washington.
• 07/14/74 — Janice Ann Ott (23) and Denise Marie Naslund (19). Abducted several hours apart from Lake Sammamish State Park in Issaquah, Washington.
• 10/02/74 — Nancy Wilcox (16). Disappeared in Holladay, Utah. Her body was never found.
• 10/18/74 — Melissa Smith (17). Vanished from Midvale, Utah, after leaving a pizza parlor.
• 10/31/74 — Laura Aime (17). Disappeared from a Halloween party at Lehi, Utah.
• 11/08/74 — Carol DaRonch (survived). Escaped from Bundy by jumping out from his car in Murray, Utah.
• 11/08/74 — Debra “Debi” Kent (17). Vanished from the parking lot of a school in Bountiful, Utah.
• 02/09/78 — Kimberly Leach (12), kidnapped from her junior high school in Lake City, Florida; raped, murdered, and discarded in Suwannee River State Park in Florida.
• 01/15/78 — Lisa Levy (20), Margaret Bowman (21), Karen Chandler (survived), Kathy Kleiner Deshields (survived). The Chi Omega killings, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida.
• 01/15/78 — Cheryl Thomas (survived). Bludgeoned in her bed eight blocks away from the Chi Omega Sorority house.

Additional named person referenced as implicated in a different case

The record described Bundy as a suspect in the murder of Carol Valenzuela, who disappeared from Vancouver, Washington, on August 2, 1974. Her remains were discovered two months later south of Olympia, Washington, along with those of an unidentified female.

Other details

Attempted kidnapping conviction (DeRonch attack)

Bundy waived a jury trial in the DeRonch attack and was convicted of aggravated kidnapping, receiving a 1–15 year sentence. He escaped while in custody and was recaptured six days later.

Execution details

The record described the execution as carried out in the electric chair. At 7:06 a.m. local time on January 24, 1989, multiple victims’ events were later recalled by others; Bundy was pronounced dead at 7:16 a.m.

Psychiatric evaluation excerpt (deposition testimony)

A deposition attributed to Dr. Emanuel Tanay included statements made in a deposition context with Polly Nelson, about Bundy’s mental state and behavior in 1979. Bundy’s mood was described as cheerful and jovial, with witty but not flippant communication, while meaningful communication was said not to have been established. Tanay described Bundy as showing a lifelong personality disorder, described as an impulse-ridden individual prone to acting out and involved with immediate gratification, and described as a typical psychopathic type of personality.

The deposition included the quote attributed to Bundy:

"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it."

It also included extensive questioning and answers about competence and behavior, including Tanay’s opinions that Bundy was unable to assist counsel and dismissed the seriousness of charges.

Quoted statements attributed to Ted Bundy

The record included multiple verbatim quotations attributed to Ted Bundy. Examples included:

"It is not an easy matter to isolate things. I mean, incidents which themselves could cause pressure or stress, be unpleasant to one degree or another or have a disorienting effect. You have to see it in its unique effect on the unique individual. There are no broad generalizations or predictions you can make. You just can't predict behavior like that. Society wants to believe it can identify evil people ... it's not practical ... If someone does something antisocial and deviant, that is a manifestation of something that is going on inside. Once they do something, then they can be labeled. Predictions can't be made until that point is reached."

"I think that you could say that the influence of the person's family history was positive. But not positive enough -- not enduring, perhaps not strong enough to overcome the urges or compulsions that resulted ... in this instance, the influence of the family and the environment in which this person grew up were positive, but not so positive as to prepare this individual ... "

"You take the individual we are talking about ... and then you subject him to stress. Stress happens to come randomly, but its effect on the personality is not random; it's specific. That results in a certain amount of chaos, confusion, and frustration. That person begins to seek out a target for his frustrations. The continued nature of this stress this person was under -- the nature of the flaw or weakness in his personality, together with other elements in the environment that offer him a logical target for his frustrations or escapes from reality -- yields the situation we're discussing ... There is no trigger, it is truly more sophisticated than that."

"I hate to use labels that are psychological or psychiatric because there are no stereotypes, and when you start to use those labels, you stop looking at the facts."

"This condition is not immediately seen by the individual or identified as a serious problem. It sort of manifests itself in an interest concerning sexual behavior, as sexual images ... But this interest, for some unknown reason, becomes geared toward matters of a sexual nature that involves violence. I cannot emphasize enough the gradual development of this. It is not short term ... This is on a different level than this individual would deal with women every day, and not in the context of sexual condition, because that is over here someplace, like collecting stamps. He doesn't retain the taste of glue, so to speak, all day long. But in a broader, more abstract way, it begins to preoccupy him."

"He has no hatred for women; there is nothing in his background that happened that would indicate he has been abused by any females ... there is some kind of weakness that gives rise to this individual's interest in the kind of sexual activity involving violence that would gradually begin to absorb some of his fantasy ... he was not imagining himself actually doing these things, but he found gratification from reading about others so engaged. Eventually the interest would become so demanding toward new material that it could only be catered to by what he could find in the dirty book stores."

"But basically I was a normal person. I wasn't some guy hanging out at bars or a bum. I wasn't a pervert in the sense that people look at somebody and say, 'I know there is something wrong with him, you can just tell.' I was essentially a normal person," Bundy told Dobson.

"I deserve the most extreme punishment society has," he said.

"But I don't want to die, I kid you not."

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