Ted's Childhood
The story of Ted Bundy is one which causes us to ponder on the depths of evil that a human being can reach, the levels of horror that a person can inflict one another. Born as Theodore Robert Cowell to an unwed mother, Eleanor Louise Cowell, he was initially brought up to believe that his grandparents were, in fact, his biological mother and father and that his mother was his sister. He eventually uncovered the truth and maintained a lifelong resentment toward his mother.
He adored and respected his abusive grandfather who had a habit of turning to violence towards his wife or dog. From an early age, Bundy displayed disturbing behaviors. One such occasion was when his aunt awoke to find herself surrounded by kitchen knives, with Ted looking over with a smile. Members of his family recalled Ted’s behavior changes with the flick of a switch, going from a sweet young boy to one on a rampage.
As he grew older
On the insistence or relatives, Louise moved to Washington with her son to stay with cousins, there she met and married Johnny Culpepper Bundy, a hospital cook, with Johnny adopting Ted as his own son, treating him as his own. However, their relationship was fractious, due to Ted’s superior intelligence. Bundy began his youth with theft, stealing whatever items he needs, he also enjoyed spying on women and began occupying his mind fully with sex. A withdrawn and socially awkward individual, he felt inadequate and inferior to others, he, however, had an uncanny ability to mask his feelings and adopt a charade of charm and grace in public.
The flipping of a switch
Upon enrolling into the University of Washington Bundy met the girl of his dreams, Stephanie Brooks. Brooks, a girl of beauty and much higher social standing symbolized status and position in society, things which Bundy desperately craved. Bundy thrived to impress his new love, whilst at the same time felt unworthy of her. When Stephanie ended the relationship due to his lack of ambition, Bundy’s inner monster began to unravel. He started to tune into the evil desires of his mind, he left the university, and took up a series of minimum wage jobs.
A change for the better?
In Autumn of 1969 he met Elizabeth Kloeffer, the woman who would maintain an important role in Ted’s life for several years to come. He accepted her daughter and appeared to desire a normal family life. In the next few years, Bundy had changed into an academically successful man and was accepted into law school. He again caught the attention of Brooks, he maintained a charade of having genuine feelings for her, whilst inwardly intending to make her suffer the pain he once did. He proposed to her and she promptly accepted. Soon, he dropped the pretense and dumped her. In the years to come, Bundy became more and more fixated on spying on unsuspecting women as well as viewing violent pornography. The fantasy of abducting and raping a woman became stronger and stronger with each passing day.
The monster is growing
Finally giving into his depraved desires, using his well-crafted peeping skills, Bundy entered the apartment of a woman named Karen Sparks and committed his first known serious crime in January 1974. He knocked her unconscious with a metal frame and then sexually assaulted her. Fortunately, she survived but was left with permanent disabilities. This attack was the catalyst for Bundy’s heinous crimes to come, he now had an insatiable lust for blood.
Bundy employed various methods to lure unsuspecting victims and he often preyed on their emotions and kindness. He approached many girls with his arm in a sling and needing their assistance in taking some items to his car. The victims taken in by his good looks and charm believed him and upon reaching his car, the girl was promptly knocked unconscious, and taken to an unknown location where Bundy could carry out his unfathomable desires.
His worst offenses
Hitchhikers were also very easy prey for Ted as they left little trace of evidence. Soon, Bundy went from city to city trawling around for new victims to satisfy his bloodlust. He left inhabitants wrought with fear, and discomfort at the thought of a serial killer living in their midst. Bundy took great pleasure in this and reveled in the attention that his crimes were generating.
Ted Bundy, a monster of unimaginable intensity not only terrorized his victims whilst alive, but also he often desecrated and defiled their corpses through acts of necrophilia. As soon as Bundy had committed his first murder, he didn’t wish to stop and resulted in unspeakable horrors. The majority of his victims seemed to resemble his Stephanie Brooks, there was a high probability that through his heinous crimes, he was seeking vengeance from the woman he was once infatuated with. Most of his victims were just girls who had simply wanted to help a man in need and paid for this charitable deed with their life.
Ted’s confidence soon grew to new heights and he became audacious. He took to the beach in July 1974, wearing a tennis outfit and his arm in a sling, he approached many girls asking for their help in putting his sailboat in his car, most denied him. The unlucky few that accepted met a gruesome end.
Bundy put on a mask for the public eye, in front of the people he was a polite and delightful man however his mask of charm was quickly disappearing and his long-term partner, Elizabeth began realizing something wasn’t right when she noticed several unusual items in his possession such as a meat cleaver.
Finally apprehended
Bundy’s reign of terror did ultimately end, the detectives of the areas in which Bundy committed the crimes started comparing notes, the girls seemed to fit a pattern, all seemed to have long hair parted in the middle and be very young University students. In time, the true extent of Bundy’s crimes would be revealed and the madman would be apprehended.