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Zac Efron Is Lucky He Didn't Have to Get Into Ted Bundy's Mind | E! Red Carpet & Award Shows

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Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes | Netflix Official Site

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A twisted mind. A legacy of murder. Now the motivations behind Ted Bundy's crimes become terrifyingly clear. Watch trailers & learn more.

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Having been immersed in the minds of serial killers lately, I ponder things we can learn. I once wrote an article about the many different impressions people had of the infamous Ted Bundy, to demonstrate how chameleonic he was. I included more than two-dozen people who'd had close or extended contact with him, from family to friends to investigators and psychologists. I offer a selection below.

The ability to fluidly present many sides is an intriguing form of flexible intelligence, but it crumbles under scrutiny. Still, it's a skill worth studying.

Reporter Barbara Grossman nicely sums up what I call the Bundy Effect: "Sometimes I come away from an interview with Ted thinking I've got great stuff. But then the more you listen to what he says, the more you wonder what he's saying."

The late Ann Rule, who wrote The Stranger beside Me about her experience with Bundy, recalled that he was a compassionate counselor at the Seattle Crisis Clinic. "I can picture him today...see him hunched over the phone, talking steadily, reassuringly - see him look up at me, shrug, and grin... He was never brusque, never hurried."

Yet another clinic coworker said Bundy had coldly lectured desperate callers about getting control over their emotions. He'd lacked rather than exuded compassion and sometimes abruptly hung up.

Then there's his mother:

"Ted Bundy does not go around killing women and little children!" Louise Bundy told the News Tribune after her son was convicted. "Our never-ending faith in Ted - our faith that he is innocent - has never wavered. And it never will." She said that Ted had been "the best son in the world" - thoughtful, responsible, and fond of his siblings."

A campaign co-worker thought of him as "Kennedy-like," while a Mormon missionary who baptized him in 1975 said, "I wouldn't hesitate to line him up with my sister."

Liz Kendall (her pseudonym) wrote The Phantom Prince to describe her extended relationship with him. "I knew when I first looked at him...that he was a cut above the rest of the crowd. The way he moved projected confidence. He seemed to be in control of his world."

Bundy asked Stephen Michaud to write a book (with his "help") that would prove his innocence. Michaud found Bundy to be complex and elusive, not to mention an outright liar. "He turned the interviews into a game of chutes and ladders, with disingenuous pleas of faulty memory and long silences preventing me from pinning him down."

It was difficult to distinguish Bundy's seemingly honest quest for self-knowledge from his need to manage impressions. "He is his own abstraction," Michaud wrote, "a lethal absurdity masquerading as a man. Nevertheless, there were times at the prison when I was enveloped in the charisma of his madness."

Detective Robert Keppel investigated Bundy's homicides in the Pacific Northwest. When Bundy offered Keppel assistance with the Green River Killer investigation, Keppel traveled with Sheriff Dave Reichert to Florida to meet with him. As Bundy was led in, in chains, Keppel extended his hand and experienced Bundy's palm wet with anxiety. "He was almost feral in our presence, like an animal just out of his cave."

Bundy sought to prove his worth as a "scientific specimen" to Supervisory Special Agent William Hagmaier, from the FBI's budding Behavioral Science Unit. Yet he played mind games, leading Hagmaier to observe that "Bundy had an uncanny ability to compartmentalize."

Attorney Mike Minerva had the task of defending Bundy for the Chi Omega homicides. To his frustration, Bundy would constantly say one thing but do another. Minerva noted in his file, "Mr. Bundy was not capable of making decisions... I believe he has a basic defect in his reasoning process."

Dr. Emil Spillman, a medical hypnotist helping with jury selection, said, "This guy is so self destructive it's unbelievable."

Defense attorney Polly Nelson recalled that when Bundy first called her, he sounded insecure. She felt immediately protective. Mentally, she assigned him a role that came with expectations of gratitude and humility, so he startled her with his many demands.

When she finally met him, Nelson searched for a sign that she, a smart woman, would have spotted Bundy, the killer. "But I saw nothing... This dangerous man was not detectable by sight or sound. But... it was not because Ted exuded charm - he was too obviously disingenuous to be truly charming. It was not because Ted was such a 'diabolical genius' that he could fool you - believe me, he was not that smart. The real reason you could look at Ted Bundy straight in the face - even with full knowledge of what he had done - and not see a single sign of his guilt, was that he truly believed he was not guilty."

Forensic psychiatrist Art Norman noticed Bundy's elasticity. "I have never encountered an individual who could move from one relationship to the next so easily," he told Ann Rule, "being seemingly deeply involved with someone, and then dropping them completely and moving on."

Criminal expert Dr. Emanuel Tanay evaluated Bundy for competency to stand trial. "Throughout the interview," he wrote, "Bundy related to me as if it was a social visit. [He] disregarded whatever contributions I could make to save his life."

The prosecution's expert, Dr. Hervey Cleckley, said that Bundy was just a clever psychopath.

Dorothy O. Lewis, a psychiatrist from the New York University Medical Center, diagnosed Bundy as bipolar, then considered him a possible case of multiple personality. (He resisted this.)

The guards who led Bundy to the death chamber watched the arrogant killer grow feeble. "He was weak-kneed, if not wobbly," said a witness. "He looked old, tired and gaunt." They had to drag him the final steps.

Ann Rule stated that "Ted was never as handsome, brilliant, or charismatic as crime folklore has deemed him... A virtual nonentity before he was suspected of a series of horrific crimes, he somehow became all of those things as the media embraced him. I don't think even Ted knew what he was really like."

Bundy became whatever he thought he needed to be. He convinced many smart people. He's not the only one like this. As we see how Bundy shifted for various contexts, it's evident that a sophisticated evaluation of chameleonic flexibility would be a useful tool for dealing with predatory psychopaths, in any context.

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Having been immersed in the minds of serial killers lately, I ponder things we can learn. I once wrote an article about the many different impressions people had of the infamous Ted Bundy, to demonstrate how chameleonic he was. I included more than two-dozen people who'd had close or extended contact with him, from family to friends to investigators and psychologists.

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Ted asked his attorney which state used an electric chair as a death penalty and his attorney responded with Florida. He went to Florida on January 15th,1978. Then he was found in a sorority house. He murdered 2 women by the name of Margret Bowlin and Lisa Levi. On Lisa Levi he left a bite mark, he did this to casually get caught. He then stole a van off campus and drove off. A police officer stopped him and inspected his car, there were 21 credit cards found and 3 different stolen Id's. He was then taken to the police office and was questioned. He said he wouldn't say anything until he would get a 2 hour phone call with Elizabeth. In the book, "The Stranger Beside Me" it quotes what Ted Bundy told Elizabeth on the phone call, "im sorry for what you are about to see on tv, im sick, i love murder" (The stranger [Page #303]). On july 24th, 1979 he was sentenced to death. On January 24th,1989 he was killed in the electric chair.

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On August 16th, 1975 Ted was found by a police officer who turned his lights on and chased after him. This made Ted scared so he drove off as fast as he could. He was stopped by the police officer eventually and was taken to the police office. In the book "The Stranger Beside Me" it says, "The police officers found ski masks,rope, handcuffs, and womens underwear" (The Stranger [Page #276]). They couldn't hold anything against him so they released him. On August 25th, they brought him back to the police office because of his weapons. But then was released once again.

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On April 6th,1975 Ted was found smoking marijuana in his car searching for new victims. He later on tried entering a sorority party and a man stopped him. He asked who he was and Ted stood there startled. This is because he had never been stopped like that before. This man told Ted he had to leave and this made Ted very mad. After he left he saw a 12 year old girl Linnete Colver who was hitchhiking. He then took her to his hotel room and drowned her in his bathtub.

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Ted soon had murders in colorado,oregon,washington, and salt lake city. This is what he wanted. Police later tracked down where all the murders were happening and the only name that kept coming up was Ted Bundy. They were on a search to find him. In the book, "The Stranger Beside Me", it quoted, "Slowly but surely Ted was expanding his horizon" (The stranger [Page #234]).

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Ted moved to Salt Lake city while Elizabeth was still staying in Washington. He was not faithful to her at all and cheated on her with at least 4 other women. She started to suspect Ted a lot more and thought he might've been the "Ted" that was murdering young women. She reported him to the police but they didn't think much of it so then Elizabeth thought she was overreacting. Then, she started to put together the nights of the murders and how Ted was acting that particular night towards her. She claimed he was acting "normal" so then she convinced herself it wasn't him.

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On july 14th,1974 Ted started to become more risky with his murders. He went to the Sammamish State park located in Washington. In the book, "The stranger Beside me", it quotes, "This was unusual of Ted because he was going to strike in broad daylight" (The Stranger [Page #202]). The park was a place where many tourists actually went. The first victims name in this area was Janice Ann Opt. He asked many women if they wanted to go sailboating and they all said no. Until, he encountered Janice and she said yes. He took her down an alley way and ended up killing her. He went back an hour after and saw a women who you can tell has been drinking, her name was Danice Nasslend. He talked to her and then later on walked away from the park from her and she was never seen again.

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After the evidence was found and seen, many people became scared. He started thriving for the attention and how everyone became so worried about him. He liked the feeling of people fearing him. Ted started to plan out his murders a lot more so he couldn't be caught just yet. The seattle area was not the only area that was cautious it was the whole nation.

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(13) The first piece of evidence found from his killings. 

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(13) The first piece of evidence found from his killings. 

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Goerganne Hawkins was walking out of the library located on the Univerity of Washington's campus. She realized she had seen a disabled man in crutches not too far from her sight. Little did she know this was Ted Bundy. He dropped his briefcase asking for help from Georganne and she offered to help. When she bent down to help him, he hit her head several time with his crutches until she was unconcious. This caused her earrings and shoes to fall off, which was later used as evidence. After, he killed her and she was never seen again. In addition, in the book "The Stranger Beside Me", it says, "This was the first time he had left evidence, it is like he wanted to be found" (The stranger [Page #183]).

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(12) Where was Elizabeth during all these murders? 

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(12) Where was Elizabeth during all these murders? 

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Elizabeth was still in fact with Ted. He would come home to her some night and sometimes he wouldn't. She started accusing him of cheating because he would never tell her where he was or what he was doing. One night, Ted explained how he was actually very close to killing Elizabeth but he chose not too because he loved her and wanted her to live.

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Kathleen Clara D'olivo was a very smart young lady. She encountered Ted on the Campus of her college, she thought he was just another student. Ted had a cast on his arm and asked Kathleen for assitance to carry some books to the trunk of her car. Midway, she noticed that this man was very sketchy, she dropped the books and ran the other way before Ted had done anything. She escaped. But this made Ted much more furious. Adding on, in the book "The Stranger Beside Me", it says, "This made him more furious to kill, his innocent nature started to vanish" (The Stranger [Page #136]).

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On January 31st, Linda Ann Heeley was the next victim. She was also a college student and was at a bar when Ted first spotted her. Linda lived with 4 of her friends they were all roomates. She slept in the basement. Her friends usually left the front door open because they couldn't purchase enough keys for everyone in the household. Linda called her boyfriend and went to sleep. Ted came into their house and found linda and beat her head until she was unconcious. After, he changed her out of her night gown and into her other clothes, made her bed, then left with her body. Police then inspected the area and found that the blood was still on the sheets.

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(9) When did Ted Bundy's killings start? 

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(9) When did Ted Bundy's killings start? 

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His killings started in January of 1974. Ted had this routine of looking into girls rooms and living rooms, watching them change, bathe, etc. But one particular night he wanted to take it to the next level. The first victim was an 18 year old college student by the name of Karen Sparks. Karen was sleeping in her room while Ted entered her house. There was a bed frame under Karens bed that Ted used to knock her unconcious. After, he began to rape her. In addition, in the book "The Stranger Beside Me", it quotes, "Karen survived this attack but was sadly left with permanent dissabilities" (The Stranger [Page #101]).

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When Ted returned to finish his law degree he saw Stephanie Brooks yet again. She noticed he was doing a lot better so shr began to try and talk to him. He wanted to talk to her but not for the same reasons. He wanted to lead her on and make her fall head over heels for him so he can leave her and she can feel the pain he did. He was still with elizabeth at the time. But he was commited to Elizabeth truly. He led Stephanie on for so long they were about to get married then he broke up with her and left her broken.

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Ted met another women named Elizabeth Clover and they really hit it off. She had a daughter of her own and was a single mother at the time. Ted thought he had his own little family. Although, his relationship became very serious he lied to Elizabeth by saying his life has always been perfect. Continuing on, in the book "The Stranger Beside Me", it quotes, "He wanted to make his life seem as normal as possible" (The Stranger [Page #67]). He then studied and got a degree in Psychology, which is not ironic at all.

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Ted tried to forget about all the memories he had with stephanie by first traveling to San Franciso, Colorado, and Philedelphia. He did not want to stay in Washington. 2 years later he renrolled back into the University of Washington. He wanted to start a new job so he worked at his local Safway and then quit. He then started a new job being a hotel manager but got fired because he was stealing. He was also working for a city councilmen, he supported a man by the last name of "Art" and when this man was not selected as city councilmen, Ted bundy was crushed and furious.

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Ted met a women at the University of Wahington. She was a little bit older then he was but he claimed this was "the girl of his dreams." Her name was Stephanie Brooks. They were both studying law and had a lot in common. Adding on, in the book "The Stranger Beside me" it says, "Ted was that this was the girl he would eventually marry" (The stranger [Page #42]. In 1968 Stephanie broke up with Ted and this left him heartbroken. He felt extremely rejected and that sparked internal rage which would cause his future killings.

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(4)  What were some examples of his unusal behavior? 

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(4)  What were some examples of his unusal behavior? 

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Ted was bullied throughout his whole elementary/middle school/highschool experience. This made him angry on the inside but he didn't show it on the outside. His anger kept building up slowly and slowly. Ted was not raised in a rich household, he stole from his neighbors, classmates, and others. He did this because he loved snowboarding and wanted the money to be able to go.

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Ted Bundy was raised mostly in Tacoma, Washington. He moved from Philadelphia to Tacoma at the age of 5 years old. His mother than met a man named John Bundy. He was a veteran who served in the military and then became a hospital chef. They got married and had 2 boys and 2 girls. Ted became closest to his younger brother richard. In addition, in the book "The Stranger Beside Me" it says, "As ted was being raised he had an unusual taste in things other kids didn't" (The Stranger [Page #16]). Continuing on, when Ted was 10 years old he found a copy of his birth certificate and found the word "unknown" by his fathers name and that brought out a really angry side to Ted, he wanted to disconnect from his family completely.

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(2) Who were the people who raised this man? Did they have an effect on his thinking? 

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(2) Who were the people who raised this man? Did they have an effect on his thinking? 

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Ted Bundy was born in Burlington, Vermont and raised by a single mother, his father left the picture before he was born. His mother was not in a good place mentally, she then chose to move to her parents home in Philadelphia. Ted was raised thinking his grandparents were actually his parents and his mother was his sister. His grandfather was very abusive and loud, he was known to abuse their family dog. Ted was already surrounded by a toxic household. A picture of his grandparents is shown below.

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(1) The birth of the famous Serial Killer, Ted bundy. 

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(1) The birth of the famous Serial Killer, Ted bundy. 

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Ted bundy was born on November 24th,1946 in Burlington,Vermont, U.S. Continuing on, in the book "The Stranger beside me" it quotes, "He looked as if he was an average college student, he was born on November 24th,1946" (The stranger [Page #1] ). Ted Bundy was not raised with a father figure in his home. Which then upstarted his troubled mindset from a young age. A picture of the young Ted Bundy is shown below.

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The stranger beside me. Ann Rule, 1980.