1989: Ted Bundy, psycho killer

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It was 20 years today that Ted Bundy, the signature sexual psychopath in a golden age of serial killers,* rode the lightning in Florida’s Starke Prison.

Executed Today is pleased to mark the occasion with a conversation with Louisville crime writer Kevin M. Sullivan, author of a forthcoming2009 book on Ted Bundy … and a man who knows how the world looks from inside Bundy’s ski mask.

Ted Bundy is obviously one of the most iconic, written-about serial killers in history. Why a book about Ted Bundy? What’s the untold story that you set out to uncover?

The desire, or drive, if you will, to write an article about Ted Bundy and then create a 120,000 plus word book about the murders, was born out of my crossing paths with his infamous murder kit. Had Jerry Thompson [a key detective on the Bundy case -ed.] left Bundy’s stuff in Utah that May of 2005, well, it would have been an enjoyable meeting with the former detective, but I’m certain it would have all ended quietly there. Indeed, I doubt if I’d even considered writing an article for Snitch [a now-defunct crime magazine -ed.], much less a book about the killings. But it was having all that stuff in my hands, and in my home, and then being given one of the Glad bags from Ted’s VW that made it very real (or surreal) to me, and from this, a hunger to find out more about the crimes led me forward.


Ted Bundy’s gear, right where you want it — image courtesy of Kevin M. Sullivan. (Check the 1975 police photo for confirmation.)

Believe me, in a thousand years, I never would have expected such a thing to ever come my way. I can’t think of anything more odd or surreal.

ET: You mentioned that you think you’ve been able to answer some longstanding questions about Bundy’s career. Can you give us some hints? What don’t people know about Ted Bundy that they ought to know?

I must admit, when I first decided to write a book about the crimes, I wasn’t sure what I’d find, so the first thing I had to do was read every book ever written about Bundy, which took the better portion of three or four months.

From this I took a trip to Utah to again meet with Thompson and check out the sites pertaining to Bundy and the murders in that state. Next came the acquisition of case files from the various states and the tracking down of those detectives who participated in the hunt for the elusive killer.

Now, no one could have been more surprised than me to begin discovering what I was discovering about some of these murders. But as I kept hunting down the right people and the right documents, I was able to confirm these “finds” at every turn. And while I cannot reveal everything here, It’s all in the book in great detail. Indeed, you could say that my book is not a biography in the truest sense, but rather an in-depth look at Bundy and the murders from a vantage point that is quite unique. I wish I could delve further into these things now , but I must wait until it’s published.

The Bundy story has a magnetic villain and a host of victims … was there a hero? Was there a lesson?

The real heroes in this story are the detectives who worked day and night for years to bring Ted Bundy to justice. And if there’s a lesson to be learned from all of this, it is this: It doesn’t matter how handsome or articulate a person might be, or how nicely they smile at you, for behind it all, there could reside the most diabolical person you’ll ever meet! We need to remember this.

But how can you act on that lesson without living in a continual state of terror? Bundy strikes me as so far outside our normal experience, even the normal experience of criminality, that I’m inclined to wonder how much can be generalized from him.

Actually, (and I might say, thank God here!) people as “successful” as Ted Bundy don’t come our way very often. I mean, the guy was a rising star in the Republican Party in Washington, had influential friends, a law student, and certainly appeared to be going places in life. Some were even quite envious of his ascension in life. However, it was all a well-placed mask that he wore to cover his true feelings and intentions. On the outside he was perfect, but on the inside a monster. He just didn’t fit the mold we’re used to when we think of a terrible killer, does he?

Now, there are those among us — sociopaths — who can kill or do all manner of terrible things in life and maintain the nicest smile upon their faces, but again, just beneath the surface ticks the heart of a monster, or predator, or what ever you might want to call them. Having said that, I’m not a suspicious person by nature, and so I personally judge people by their outward appearance until shown otherwise. Still, it’s difficult (if not impossible) to see the “real” individual behind the person they present to us on a daily basis.

You worked with case detectives in researching your book. How did the Ted Bundy case affect the way law enforcement has subsequently investigated serial killers? If they had it to do over again, what’s the thing you think they’d have done differently?

They all agree that today, DNA would play a part of the investigation that wasn’t available then. However, in the early portion of the murders, Bundy made few if any mistakes, as he had done his homework so as to avoid detection. As such, even this wouldn’t be a panacea when it came to a very mobile killer like Bundy who understood the very real limitations sometimes surrounding homicide investigations.

I can’t help but ask about these detectives as human beings, too. Clearly they’re in a position to deal with the heart of darkness in the human soul day in and day out and still lead normal lives … is a Ted Bundy the kind of killer that haunts or scars investigators years later, or is this something most can set aside as all in a day’s work?

They are, first of all, very nice people. And you can’t be around them (either in person, or through numerous phone calls or emails) for very long before you understand how dedicated they are (or were) in their careers as police officers. They are honorable people, with a clear sense of duty, and without such people, we, as a society, would be in dire circumstances indeed.

Even before Bundy came along, these men were veteran investigators who had seen many bad things in life, so they carried a toughness which allowed them to deal with the situations they came up against in a professional manner. That said, I remember Jerry Thompson telling me how he looked at Ted one day and thought how much he reminded him of a monster, or a vampire of sorts. And my book contains a number of exchanges between the two men (including a chilling telephone call) which demonstrate why he felt this way

How about for you, as a writer — was there a frightening, creepy, traumatic moment in your research that really shook you? Was there an emotional toll for you?

Absolutely. But the degree of “shock”, if you will, depends (at least for me) on what I know as I first delve into each murder. In the Bundy cases I had a general knowledge of how Bundy killed, so there wasn’t a great deal that caught me by surprise, as it were. Even so, as a writer, you tend to get to know the victims very well through the case files, their family members or friends, and so on. Hence, I’ll continue to carry with me many of the details of their lives and deaths for the remainder of my life. And so, lasting changes are a part of what we do.

However, I did a story a few years back about a 16 year old girl who was horribly murdered here in Kentucky, and this case did cause me to wake up in the night in a cold sweat. Perhaps it was because I have a daughter that was, at the time, only a few years younger than this girl, and that some of what transpired did catch me off guard, so to speak, as I began uncovering just what had happened to this very nice kid.

Watch for Kevin M. Sullivan’s forthcoming The Bundy Murders: A Comprehensive History from McFarland in summer or fall of 2009.

* In fact, the term “serial killer” was coined in the 1970’s by FBI profiler Robert Ressler, as an improvement on the sometimes inaccurate category of “stranger killer”.

Additional Bundy resources from the enormous comment thread:

On this day..

Possibly related executions:

8,544 thoughts on “1989: Ted Bundy, psycho killer”

  1. Hi Topelius,

    Actually, that’s a very good question!

    Well, when Dobson did that interview, I was still in the ministry, and by that time, I had visited many a bad or unsavory individual behind bars. At that time, my only concern was finding out where they stood with God (as if I had to ask, LOL!), and to bring them – if possible- to a saving knowledge of Christ, and what the New Testament said about obtaining salvation. Of course, I would have looked at Bundy as an exceedingly vile individual, but he would never have known what I was thinking, as I had what is known as an excellent poker-face. In other words, I was very good at separating my feelings about certain things so as to help that person; and believe me, ministers often hear some really terrible confessions. So, this is how I would have functioned at that time. But make no mistake about it: I was a believer in the death penalty then, and I believe in it now. So even if I would have “fought” to see Bundy come to Christ, I knew he deserved to be put to death for his crimes, and there was no question in my mind about this.

    Now, however, as a writer, I probably would have wanted to conduct an interview with the mad killer, just as other writers have done. As far as “kicking his ass”, well, I knew the state of Florida was going to perform a major ass kicking, LOL!

    See ya

  2. Hi Kevin,

    This might be a childish question, but if you somehow had a chance to do a 45-minute Dobson-like interview with Bundy, what would you say to him/ask him? Or would you just kick his ass, lol.

    Best regards.

  3. Thank you, Vidor. I too have grown weary hearing the “I encountered Ted” tales. Have a good time in Snowmass, and take plenty of pictures.

  4. Unless someone has really good evidence we should be highly skeptical of all “I encountered Ted Bundy” tales.

    As for Dr. Loftus’ book, I don’t know why some people can’t see that link. I suggest they try their own searches: enter

    elizabeth loftus ted bundy

    on Google Books and her book “Witness for the Defense” pops up as the first result; follow that link and it takes you to the beginning of Chapter 4, the one about Ted. Google Books has what appears to be most of the chapter, including the entire story of her testimony at the DaRonch trial and her horrified reaction after Ted was arrested in Florida and fingered for the Florida murders.

  5. sorry for my 3rd post but for some reason i have not been able to post my computer is playng up so i am seizing the moment while i can. Bart I don’t think either Denise or Jabice wanted to run off and get married and have lots of babies with Bundy when they first met him. However, many of Bundys victims had argued with their husbands/boyfriends before. Bundy picked the vulnersble. With Denise he may have saw she was uset and gained her trust very quickly. Professionally Bundy had to gain confidence and trust quickly so he was a pro. Perhaps he offered a sympathetic word and they felt they could trust him. He was also oportunistic maybe on the walk to his car Janice had mentioned she had run out of water or lotion or forgot her book to study just in passing. Bundy may have offered to take her to get it. Being well bought up she may have said no its out of your way I cant ask you to do that. But helping with the boat they would call it quits. The girls defences would be down quickly. What I find intersting is she had her dog with her. Surely she would not have gone with Bundy with her dog?Could the car park have quitened down that much he could have knocked her unconscious quick? Or had she lost her dog while she was in the bathroom and he offered to help look. Maybe saying he saw it going towards the car park and he offered to drive her around looking. Who Konws?

  7. I guess if this way Bundy maybe he had been stalking her, maybe he liked the accent. Maybe some of his victims were Canadian or European and were travelling. The unknown hitch hikers may not have been American. There was no mobile phones in the 70s and people teavelling across America may have only called home once a week so may have been harder to find where they went missing from. This is all just a theory but Ted did kill hitch hikers and depends how much of a conversation he had before they were knocked unconscious as to where they originated from.

  8. hi all just a little note about a famous MP we had in the UK called Mo Mowlam when she was younger she was studying in Florida and a man broke into her appartment she screamed and scared him off she was blonde and attractive and thought she was being stalked. A few weeks later the chi omega attacks happened a few miles away and she swore it was Bundy who she saw in the kitchen.

  10. I’ve found a few, about 7, pages archived of the old Crime and Justice ezboard site thread on Ted Bundy – the 2004 links work to reach the same pages, the 2003 links don’t:
    http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://pub165.ezboard.com/bcrimeandjustice13552

    The path is: Serial Killers and Mass Murderers/Bundy Information.

    APB – Ted Bundy, Need Info ASAP only has a couple of pages of the C&J board’s administrator’s search to tie in a victim called Marilee Burt to Ted Bundy

  11. It worked for me just fine, Vidor and I’m not in the States. Maybe it helps if you aren’t a Bart fan? šŸ™‚

  12. Vidor – no, the link is not working for me at all – even signed in, I see a page that notes ‘no preview available’ and then is followed by a list of amazon.com reviews. I’ve tried it on all browsers and two different OSs.

    Possibly this is because I’m outside the USA?

    I’ve googled on ‘chapters’ and/or ‘excerpts’ from the book, but that doesn’t get me anything either šŸ™ Would you be able to summarise?

  14. So true, Vidor. It just doesn’t add up in my mind.

    Say, when do you go to Colorado? Don’t forget about the pictures you promised to post, LOL!

  15. Denise, just follow the link I posted, which goes directly to the relevant chapter at Google Books.

    *****”someone extremely close to the DaRonch case told me that there was considerable doubt in the prosecutions mind as to whether Bundy even used a gun during the abduction. it just wasnā€™t his style, and a gun was never confiscated.”*****

    That never rang true for me. Besides it not being his style, no gun being found in his kit, and no evidence that he ever owned one, it begs the question of why he’d resort to the crowbar if he had a gun.

  16. Hi Breccia,

    Yes, as to the actual murder (what happened in the car, allowing her to flee and making it a type of game) I believe I have the most detailed info out there today. Who can say about tomorrow, however, LOL!

    Take care,

  17. Denise,

    Again, thanks for the kind words about the book. I can tell you that as a writer, it really means a lot when the readers really “get it” when you’re attempting to make a point about something. It was important for me, as a writer, to make sure people understood what I could clearly see from the record concerning Bundy’s mental free-fall, if you will. He was imploding, and he wasn’t even close to being the same person in Florida as he was in Washington State.

    Take care

  18. As Vidor mentions, the book by Elizabeth Loftus (with mention of her brief involvement in the Bundy trial) is interesting. There’s a great quote from her, I’ll go through my copy and post it tomorrow.

    Not to change the subject, but Kevin’s coverage of the horrors Julie Cunningham faced is terrifying. Things come to light that I don’t believe are in print anywhere else.

  19. Kevin – Your book is ‘sinking in’ now and I realise what a huge difference your perspective of Bundy’s mental deterioration makes. It seemed to me quite reasonable – both knowing people with bipolar illnesses and having experienced its minor relation of ‘rapid cycling’ – that Dr Dorothy Otnow Lewis’s testimony about the patterns of Ted’s failures in college etc were due to bipolar ‘lows’ and his murder sprees either due to highs or an extreme self-medication of his lows.

    You, of course, point out that – quite the opposite – Bundy was having the time of his life in Utah and Colorado. It really fits, and checking out things Ted said to other authors, like M&A or Bob Keppel, I’m now finding that your insight throws these interviews into a totally different light. I *understand* them better because of what you’ve written.

    Plus, I really do think it brings the victims more alive to know, when and where possible, exactly what happened to them. (Well, not exactly, but even Ted’s brief descriptions somehow make it all more horribly real.)

    Again, thanks so much for writing the book!

  20. Vidor, thanks for the heads-up on this book, but I was unable to find an excerpt as such, just reviews. Amazon did, however, allow me to ‘peek’ at two lead-in pages to the Bundy trial (but no more) which I found fascinating.

    As I recall from either the Larsen or Merrill book, Judge Hanson thought Elizabeth Loftus an excellent witness. But his questions to her differentiated between how a person’s memory might be unclear under stress, and clearer without stress, and in Carol DaRonch’s case, there was a lead-in unstressed period in which the judge believed DaRonch was capable of good identification. (In fact, at the line-up, she recognised Bundy’s walk first; later on she was much more certain about his face. I found that interesting because I’m good at picking friends/family out in crowds because I know their walks.)

  21. A slight correction: I do mention in my book that she “believed” he pulled a pistol, but of course, I don’t go into detail.

  22. Without naming names, someone extremely close to the DaRonch case told me that there was considerable doubt in the prosecutions mind as to whether Bundy even used a gun during the abduction. it just wasn’t his style, and a gun was never confiscated. Of course, I include no such story about a gun in my book.

  23. So Bart is still bringing his creepy, obsessive weirdness to this thread, hm? Bummer.

    Anyway, I found an excerpt from a book by Elizabeth Loftus, the memory expert who testified on Ted’s behalf at the DaRonch trial. Except for the end bit, the entire chapter is available at Google Books. Includes excerpts from DaRonch’s police testimony in which she says she had already gotten out of the car b/f Ted whipped out the crowbar. Also contains an anecdote from Loftus about the weird smile Ted gave the prosecutor in court. Very interesting. Go here:

    http://books.google.com/books?id=IXWyHFyMD4MC&pg=PA61&lpg=PA61&dq=elizabeth+loftus+ted+bundy&source=bl&ots=2-N7AFHgiM&sig=TDwsHauyOLqg22Q0yZSIl7M5gx0&hl=en&ei=q8b-S6C1DIa6Neqe_Ts&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CCoQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false

  24. To Denise, to Gray
    Thank you very much – I am amazed I have some “supporters” here. Still, I decided to lie low here as I can educate more from other posters than from myself lol. I shifted my Bundy “thinking aloud” wisdom to SKE – where I am attacking Bundy thread after thread “in cold blood”. So I am doing fine – and here just lurking with no hard feelings to anyone.
    Take care all

  25. Hi!
    Crime & Justice board is long gone but I heard before when the site went into meltdown one of the posters had saved the entire Bundy thread to re-post somewhere. True? Do you have URL? Anybody remember his name or nickname?
    Cheers-
    Larry

  26. I would just like to say that I don’t mind Bart’s enthusiasm or ‘thinking aloud’ on this forum. I deal with a lot of people for whom English is a second or foreign language, and for whom expression is sometimes difficult, and I know it sometimes comes across differently from how it is meant.

  27. JRJ: I’ve thought a lot about whether I saw Bundy that day, and do not remember that I did. I meant only that I wouldn’t have approached anyone with an arm in a sling had I seen such a person. Also, the woman I mentioned who was married to my friend was a close friend of the Bundy’s and my friend told me that they stayed at least once overnight at the Bundy cabin outside of Tacoma. My friend, Mike, said that the “vibes” at that place were some of the weirdest he’d ever experienced. He didn’t rule out that he may have been sensing that strange things had occurred there. I don’t think the place was ever gone over by law enforcement.

  28. Denise,

    First, thank you so much for the kind words! I have mentioned it before, and I will do so now once again: There was never a day while I was writing that book, that I didn’t have the reader in mind. That is, I was always striving to include everything that I believed the reader would find interesting, and I don’t mean the “new” stuff on some of the murders (as that goes without saying), but the things that other writers may not have covered at all, or perhaps not in-depth. One example would be how the steam rising from the outdoor pool at the Wildwood Inn played a part in concealing Bundy from those in or near the pool, while he approached Caryn Campbell on the second floor during her abduction. Anyway, thanks for your words.

    In my view, all the investigators were different people in their personalities, and I liked and appreciated them equally. Of course (and I say this in the book) they are all extremely dedicated individuals, and as I got to “know” them, and learned of their commitment as police officers (not just in the Bundy case, but overall) I found myself having a deep respect for each of them and what they had accomplished with their lives.

    I will ask Mike Fisher about the Aime file, and Bundy’s reaction. When I get the answer, I’ll post it here.

    The attack on Denise Oliverson was very risky, and as you know, I cover that in the book. Apparently, Bundy didn’t care how risky it might be, and sadly, he proved once again that he could pull off a day light abduction without any problems.

    Take care,

    Kevin

  29. For Ted Montgomery – I notice you mentioned much earlier that you know Bob Keppel well. Bob Keppel is my personal hero in all this and I’ve read several of his other books too. I think that *because* he’s written down what he’s discovered over the years, that police forces everywhere must benefit. He seems to me a man of great integrity, and solid moral values.

    Anyway, apart from the difficulty of finding a contact address, except perhaps via the publishers (various email addresses on the internet may or may not be extant) and some diffidence about making a ‘cold’ approach anyway, do tell him next time you see him, if you can, that he has a huge Aussie fan of about the same age as himself.

    Ultimately, it’s the investigators who are the true heroes, and I have so much respect for all who were so involved in the Bundy cases over such a wide area. I wish someone would write biographies of them, as their lives are so much more interesting than those of the killers they’re forced to hunt, and forced to face those terrible crime scenes.

  30. Kevin – To my amazement, your book arrived in its Amazon package yesterday, and I stayed up all night reading it! It is a very, very valuable addition to the ‘Bundy canon.’ As others have commented, more of the jigsaw pieces slot into place…I will re-read it shortly at a slower pace. I think you have a really interesting ‘take’ on chronicling Bundy’s deterioration.

    I’m always amused at how different Bundy writers seem to have their favourite investigators…

    So, I have a few questions:

    I think I’ve read that most ‘organised’ killers become ‘disorganised’ at the end of their killing spectrum. But I’m also wondering how much Bundy’s institutionalisation via prison in Colorado and Utah played a part in his Florida downfall too? (Polly Nelson comments that Bundy was really rattled by a late appeals court appearance: the chaos of traffic and people moving around, etc.)

    Secondly: the attack on Denise Oliverson seems to have been very risky. Somewhere else, I’ve read that her cycle was found on the towpath beside the river. Would Bundy have just thrown it there, do you think?

    Next: I’m pretty sure it’s Larsen’s book – apropros whether Bundy knew Laura Aime prior to her murder or not – which quotes Mike Fisher as saying something like ‘Something about that murder really bothered Ted. When he got the discovery documents from the prosecution, he tore into the Aime file first before anything else.’ Is it something you could ask Mike Fisher about? I also wonder if this fits in with Bundy’s later declaration to Bob Keppel that ‘there are some murders the killer just can’t talk about.’

    I don’t remember if you cover much of Bundy burning Donna Manson’s skull in Liz’s fireplace, but I wonder why he would to that anyway rather than just dump it?

    Again, thank you for this very valuable book. You certainly put the hard yards into the research! As always, there are more questions and ‘wanting more’ but I don’t suppose anyone will ever be able to fill in *all* the gaps, though you have done a sterling job on them. I also realise from some of your comments and those by other writers that they couldn’t include everything or left out some things because there was just too much material, and I so wish (!) someone would one day put together a book of all that extraneous material. It might not mean much single item by single item, but put together it might fill in more gaps…

  31. gray did you really see Bundy at Lake S, or were you speaking metaphorically?

  32. To Gray:

    Thank you very much. I appreciate your kind words.
    Anyway I should

  33. marteen,
    he liked classical music.
    i also read somewhere that
    he liked mozart

  34. To Bart:

    I was at Lake Sammamish on 7-14-74, playing touch football with some co-workers, a pickup game. We were looking for recruits, but the dude with the arm in a sling was exempt, presumably he didn’t come for that. I knew people who went to high school with Bundy; one of my close friends married a woman who was one of Theodore’s advocates till the bitter end. So I’ve got an angle of my own regarding the Bundy phenomenon. Bart, my man: You’ve got a right to express yourself.

  36. Little bit strange question for people on this forum
    But does anybody know what Ted Bundy’s favorite music was..
    OR maybe he even had a favorite song of artist?

    Thnx

    Greet Maarten

  37. amen fiz i seriously stopped coming to read this b/c of bart… not just the volume of comments but they seem a little “off”

  38. Fiz, please

    I am aware of my (some or many) mistakes made here on this site but you are definitely too harsh with me.
    Is there anything I could do (beside stop posting) to make you at least tolerate me ?
    I personally have no hard feelings towards you and I respect you as a bright and sensitive person, as a female, as a mother (as I can see reading upthread).

    BART

  39. We know we are you are a layman , Bart, so kindly stop giving us the wisdom of your questionable advice. You have ruined this site for me and several others. Don’t you have your own serial killers you could study and leave us in peace?

  40. I respect Kevin as a “Bundy specialist”.
    I am nobody – not criminologist, neither forensic psychiatrist, I didn’t even read all “Bundy books” no to mention reviewing tons of tons of criminal files.
    But I think nobody of us has real insight into Bundy’s mind on that fateful Sunday July 14th at Lake Sam.
    Bundy talked about it in 1980 to M&A in his 3rd person confessions:
    “There were times when he felt almost immune from detection (…) The boldness was probably a result of not being rational (…) Of just being moved by a situation, not really thinking out clearly (….) It is clear that the Sammamish incident was either the result of venting of a great amount of tension, or frustration that he had accumulated over a long period of time.”
    Was Lake Sam a “homicidal boast” or homicidal delusion?
    We can speculate for ages – but Lake Sam events were definitely a turning point in his “career” – “the entity” overwhelmed his rational thinking – then only for a moment.
    Although trying to control his murder fantasies ‘acting-outs’ later, he was approaching the realm of delusion. First step was his total launch into murder in January 1974, the second step – Lake Sam. Viemont High play events were comparable to Lake Sam.
    If Bundy would not have been stopped on August 1975 in Utah – he would probably have ended up as madman attacking the whole junior high class on a picnic in broad daylight- in my eyes, at least.
    I am a layman after all.

  41. In conversations with a killer it mentions that ted bundy was the first to describe his crimes as dispicable?

    Anybody any more info on this statement.

  42. Bart-

    Bundy knew exactly what he was doing at Lake Sam, and sadly, he accomplished his goals. He wanted to abduct two women on that day, and he did so.

    I have a theory as to why he used his real name at Lake Sam, and I say so in my book. And yes, this is the one thing which proved to be so devastating later on, but I don’t believe he did this because he was “under great internal sex murder pressure”. He appeared to be under zero pressure during the Ott abduction (it was hunting as usual for him), and while he was obviously tired by the time he abducted Naslund, he was still able to convince her to leave with him (remember, in Florida, he had so deteriorated, women were repulsed by what they saw when he was hunting them at Sherrod’s, the disco across from Chi Omega). Therefore, your statements: “This guy reall barely knew what he was doing” and “Being deep in his ā€˜predatory modeā€™ seeing so many half naked women on the beach Bundy just went nuts” are unfounded. These statements could somewhat apply to his Florida state of mind, but not how he operated in Washington State.

  43. Kevin, thanks, good spin on the question I raised. I feel certain I’ll enjoy your book! My anticipation is rising by the day…

    Bart, I think you might be onto something there too.

    KYGB, thanks for the tips – I’ll read closely!

    And Breccia, another insight, thanks.

  44. We shouldn’t overrate Bundy planning skills at Lake Sam as he operated under great internal sex murder pressure. During Lake Sam, he ‘crossed the line’, he confessed it to M&A. He was introducing himself with his real name, he exposed his car, he didn’t change his ruse during that Sunday, not to mention changing clothes or hairstyle. This guy reall barely knew what he was doing. Ann Rule told in one interview that was his style, ‘Let’s check it out how far can I go’. In my eyes, it wasn’t the case though. Being deep in his ‘predatory mode’ seeing so many half naked women on the beach Bundy just went nuts.

  45. I apologize for posting right after reading Denise’s comment on 220. I should have read further as KYGB clears up my misstatements.
    I went and grabbed my copy of Kevin’s book and the Lake Sam demurring victim story is there.
    [I’m home with the flu, confusing my stories, so I’ll go the bed now.]

  46. Denise wrote, “…What strikes me again and again about the Lake Sammamish abductions, and no one ever seems to have mentioned it, is the illogic of a man with an arm in a sling asking women to leave the park and go to ā€˜his parentsā€™ house…”

    Denise several of the books on Bundy (not Kevin’s though) mention Ted did NOT originally tell (atleast 1 according the Keppel IIRC) intended victim(s) that they’d be going to “his parents’ house.”
    When the girl and Bundy arrived at the VW, seeing no sailboat and hearing Bundy’s “parents’ house” add-on to his original request, she quickly demurred.
    My feeling is, as with most things Ted did, he rigorously anticipated each turn in his strategy. for example, “If she says this I’ll say this…if she tries to dodge me by going left (metaphorically), I’ll go right.”
    Hey, Ted couldn’t whack them right there in the Lake Sam parking lot, so he shrewdly decided he’d get them to the car. THEN he figured (some % of) young women would go ahead “to his parents’ house.”
    And, yes, 2 did.
    They were ‘in for a penny, in for a pound’ when they reached the VW. Ted planned it that way.

  47. Yeah, Denise, I meant.

    I also misspelled “old”.

    Although “oold” might have been some kind of emphasis I wanted to communicate.

    There really are a lot of Ted stories involving Ted’s near misses with women. Many of the books have found women that Ted tried to assault, but they slipped away. Carol DaRonch is only the most famous escapee, there are others.

  49. (The fact that I can’t spell “begged” properly does not mean I am an idiot)

  50. Janice,

    When you get Kevin’s book, go to pp 37 & 38. It describes an incident that took place that day in Lake Sam. Janice Graham was a 22 year oold woman who was confronted by Ted around 11:30 am. He had his arm in a sling and asked her to help him with his sailboat. When she got to Ted’s VW, no boat, no trailer. She immediately beged off and Ted politely accepted her refusal and apologized for not “giving her enough information”.

    Kevin has a picture on pp 38 of Ted in his VW which is worth the price of the book. I think if this incident would have happened in a lonely spot somewhere, Janice Graham would have met Mr Tire Iron.

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