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Ted Bundy

Critical Beginnings, Political Connections, Violence In Paradise, On The Move, Beginning Of The End

Born November 24, 1946 (Burlington, Vermont)

Died January 24, 1989 (Starke, Florida)

Serial murderer

Ted Bundy did not fit the stereotype of a murderer yet he was responsible for one of the most gruesome and notorious killing sprees in American history. Bundy was handsome and charming and lured dozens of unsuspecting women to their deaths. The sheer volume of those killed (suspected to be over one hundred) along with the random nature in which his victims were chosen made his case infamous.

The Ted Bundy case changed the way law enforcement handled homicide investigations. The case introduced the computer as an instrument of serial murder detection. It was used to organize large volumes of information as Bundy's crimes spread over several state lines. By the time he was apprehended, two dozen police agencies in four states were searching for Bundy. Despite the increased sophistication of information, many of the agencies were still largely unaware that they were pursuing the same individual.

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

For More Information

Books

Dobson, James C. Life on the Edge. Nashville, TN: Word Pub., 2000.

Garraty, John A., and Mark C. Carnes, eds. American National Biography. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Michaud, Stephen G., and Hugh Aynesworth. The Only Living Witness. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1983.

Michaud, Stephen G., and Hugh Aynesworth. Ted Bundy: Conversations With a Killer. Irving, TX: Authorlink Press, 2000.

Rule, Ann. The Stranger Beside Me. New York: Norton, 2000.

Web Site

"Ted Bundy." BBC News Online. http://www.bbc.co.uk/crime/caseclosed/tedbundy1.shtml (accessed on August 15, 2004).

Additional topics

Law Library - American Law and Legal InformationCrime and Criminal Law