Ted Bundy - Serial Killer - 1974-1978

[SeesSeas]

Ted Bundy was executed 30 years ago today. Three of his victims were from St. Petersburg.
FLORIDA
Ted Bundy was executed 30 years ago today. Three of his victims were from St. Petersburg.
Times archives and new interviews provide details on the serial killer’s Florida victims and his execution at Florida State Prison.
January 24, 2019
On Jan. 15, 1978, Ted Bundy slipped through an unlocked side door of Florida State University’s Chi Omega house in the middle of the night and started attacking sleeping women.

He killed two of the sorority sisters: Margaret Bowman and Lisa Levy. Both were from St. Petersburg.
[...]
What some may not remember is that Bundy’s long spree of violence ended in Florida. Some of his last documented crimes occurred here, as well as the trials that eventually led to his execution at the Florida State Prison near Starke.
[...]

 

[mickey2942]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/mashable.com/article/ted-bundy-netflix-response.amp

I haven't viewed the "Bundy Film Festival" on Netflix yet, looks like Bundy has quite a few fans.

 

[cherrymeg]

I tried watching the Netflix documentary I fell asleep barely into the first episode. I noticed that people seem to mention that he is attractive. For a serial killer, rapist, necrophiliac, he's probably one of the better looking ones that we know of. I think he looked like an average white guy, he fit into the college areas he took women from. I don't buy that he was super smart. He was lucky.

 

[Sarahlou]

I think he was smart, but also very lucky that he was around at that time, which made it so much harder for them to find him.
He was a decent looking guy but I find it distasteful when I read comments by women on social media saying they fancy him. I mean..

I found the documentary on Netflix quite interesting though.

 

[cherrymeg]

I think he was smart, but also very lucky that he was around at that time, which made it so much harder for them to find him.
He was a decent looking guy but I find it distasteful when I read comments on social media with women say they fancy him. I mean..

I found the documentary on Netflix quite interesting though.

Hey had a normal IQ. He also made a ton of mistakes like using his real name when trying to lure women into his car. I think many women walked away so he did leave witnesses behind. If anyone thinks he was attractive after finding out he kept having sex with his victims after they were dead, eww... He ruined hitchhiking which is uncool. He did reveal the lengths a person will go to, with casts, crutches, or pretending a VW beetle is what a cop drives to kidnap women. I think post Bundy everyone was cautioned about predators using props. Sometimes they could be kids or a woman.

 

[Sarahlou]

Hey had a normal IQ. He also made a ton of mistakes like using his real name when trying to lure women into his car. I think many women walked away so he did leave witnesses behind. If anyone thinks he was attractive after finding out he kept having sex with his victims after they were dead, eww... He ruined hitchhiking which is uncool. He did reveal the lengths a person will go to, with casts, crutches, or pretending a VW beetle is what a cop drives to kidnap women. I think post Bundy everyone was cautioned about predators using props. Sometimes they could be kids or a woman.

I did think that was a stupid mistake to use his own name. I wondered if he was just so confident/cocky he could get away with it that he didn't think it would matter.
He was also lucky some of the witnesses didn't recognise him when they were showed a photo of him.

 

[cherrymeg]

I did think that was a stupid mistake to use his own name. I wondered if he was just so confident/cocky he could get away with it that he didn't think it would matter.
He was also lucky some of the witnesses didn't recognise him when they were showed a photo of him.

He also escaped from prison and couldn't lay low and not rape and murder women. He was a basic looking guy that could pass from mid 20's to late 30's. I wonder if he would have adapted his behavior to modern technology, if he was killing with cameras everywhere including phones.

 

[ilovepierre]

I think he was smart, but also very lucky that he was around at that time, which made it so much harder for them to find him.
He was a decent looking guy but I find it distasteful when I read comments by women on social media saying they fancy him. I mean..

I found the documentary on Netflix quite interesting though.

BBM.
Thank you!
I was trying to explain to people on FB yesterday that people are romanticizing Bundy and I find it appalling and everyone was like "well he was a good looking guy for his time so he needs to be portrayed as such." Ok, I get that, but there's a difference between that and saying you have the hots for Bundy or young girls posting pictures of Zac Efron and Bundy and then captioning it with "so hot *insert wink emoji or heart eye emoji here*"

 

[ilovepierre]

I did think that was a stupid mistake to use his own name. I wondered if he was just so confident/cocky he could get away with it that he didn't think it would matter.
He was also lucky some of the witnesses didn't recognise him when they were showed a photo of him.

He was extremely arrogant and narcissistic and that was his downfall.
Acting as co-counsel without even being a full fledged lawyer? I mean really.....

 

[YESorNO]

Netflix Scolds Viewers for Obsessing Over Serial Killer Ted Bundy's 'Alleged Hotness'

"Netflix has a message for all of its users: Stop lusting after Ted Bundy.

On Monday, the streaming giant addressed the unexpected response to its new docu-series, Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, which dropped last week.

“I’ve seen a lot of talk about Ted Bundy’s alleged hotness and would like to gently remind everyone that there are literally THOUSANDS of hot men on the service — almost all of whom are not convicted serial murderers,” the official Netflix account tweeted.

The four-part series features interviews with people who investigated, prosecuted and defended Bundy, as well as Bundy himself, in about 100 hours of never-before-heard audio recorded during death row interviews he gave in Florida while awaiting execution. He was executed on Jan. 24, 1989 after confessing to 30 homicides committed, although the real total of murders is unknown....

Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes is streaming now on Netflix."

Netflix Scolds Viewers for Obsessing Over Serial Killer Ted Bundy's 'Alleged Hotness'
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[JenniferTx]

I binge watched all of "The Ted Bundy Tapes" last weekend and I am very disappointed. They said they had over 100 hours worth of recorded tapes and after watching all of the episodes the only thing I learned that I didn't already know about Bundy was that he practiced jumping off his top bunk to the floor in his jail cell to be prepared for the jump he was going to make out of the 2nd story window of the Colorado Courthouse for his first escape.

 

[yabbyyou]

Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes Is Almost as Cruel as It Is Boring
--
Preserving the tired narrative of the smart, good-looking serial killer seems to be the primary concern of Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, directed by Joe Berlinger, which somehow manages to be almost as cruel as it is boring. I lost count of how many times serial killer Ted Bundy was described as “charming,” “handsome,” or “clean cut, good looking, articulate [and] very intelligent,” sometime around the middle of the second episode of Netflix’s four-part documentary.

For four deeply misguided hours, the documentary zips back and forth between Bundy’s crimes, which included the abduction, torture, rape, and murder of at least 30 women and girls in the mid-to-late 1970s, and the extensive interviews he gave to journalist Stephen Michaud while sitting on Florida’s death row in 1980. Though the documentary relentlessly insists that Michaud’s taped interviews are a profound insight into the mind of a notorious serial killer—a serial killer who, in case anyone forgets, is impressively smart and handsome—they are little more than musings of an average man who, given the opportunity to talk about “what it was really like for me,” spins idyllic stories about his childhood, complains about being a victim, and discusses his crimes in the third person.
--
the rest at link above

I liked the vintage film footage but the show itself was mean and almost farcical. The review at the link is about right.

 

[cybervampira]

Video at link.

Ted Bundy's ex-girlfriend tells how they watched news report of his killings | Daily Mail Online

Ted Bundy was a killer who hid in plain sight. That is how one of Bundy's former girlfriends has today described the man with whom she had a relationship at the peak of the spree of violence that would see him become one of America's most notorious serial killers.

Speaking for the first time, after more than 40 years of silence, she did not wish to be named but hoped that by speaking out she might loosen the hold of the memories that have haunted her down through the years.

Now in an exclusive interview with DailyMailTV, she has recalled how she met the good-looking law student when he moved to Salt Lake City, Utah in the summer of 1974 and how he remained in contact, though their relationship had long since cooled, after he was in prison for the 1975 kidnapping of Utah teenager Carol DaRonch.

In an extraordinary glimpse into Bundy's seemingly normal life, she tells of the dinners he would cook for her as they watched the nightly news report on the killings he had committed.



The woman (pictured) now 71, did not wish to be named but told DailyMailTV how she met the good-looking law student when he moved to Salt Lake City, Utah in the summer of 1974

[...]

 

[JerseyGirl]

DNA testing helped police confirm missing Utah teen was killed by Ted Bundy

Renewed interest in notorious serial killer Ted Bundy led police to announce on Monday that DNA testing helped them confirm he also killed a Bountiful teen.

In November 1974, 17-year-old Debra Kent was with her parents at a Viewmont High School play when she left during intermission to pick up her brother at an ice skating rink, a Bountiful Police sergeant said.

"After she left, she never returned," he said.

 

[darre]

I think I'm right in saying that Ted Bundy took and completed a degree in Psychology between 1969 - 1972. If the girls started going missing in the Seattle area 1974 onwards why was he reported to police by his Psychology professor? TB wouldn't have seen this man for 2yrs, what did the professor know about Bundy? Was Bundy taking Psychology to understand his own mind? Did he let slip deliberately or accidentally details of his violent urges to his Psychology teacher(s)?

 

[Yukarin]

Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes Is Almost as Cruel as It Is Boring
--
Preserving the tired narrative of the smart, good-looking serial killer seems to be the primary concern of Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, directed by Joe Berlinger, which somehow manages to be almost as cruel as it is boring. I lost count of how many times serial killer Ted Bundy was described as “charming,” “handsome,” or “clean cut, good looking, articulate [and] very intelligent,” sometime around the middle of the second episode of Netflix’s four-part documentary.

For four deeply misguided hours, the documentary zips back and forth between Bundy’s crimes, which included the abduction, torture, rape, and murder of at least 30 women and girls in the mid-to-late 1970s, and the extensive interviews he gave to journalist Stephen Michaud while sitting on Florida’s death row in 1980. Though the documentary relentlessly insists that Michaud’s taped interviews are a profound insight into the mind of a notorious serial killer—a serial killer who, in case anyone forgets, is impressively smart and handsome—they are little more than musings of an average man who, given the opportunity to talk about “what it was really like for me,” spins idyllic stories about his childhood, complains about being a victim, and discusses his crimes in the third person.
--
the rest at link above

I liked the vintage film footage but the show itself was mean and almost farcical. The review at the link is about right.

Late to the party, but I agree that in addition to not being able to sit through the entire thing I found it a bore at best ( although I'm sure it's more informative to the people with no prior knowledge of the case ) and very problematic at its worst, and I think the problematic aspects are well illustrated in both the post right above this one and just how much physical- and e-ink respectively have been dedicated to his intelligence, IQ or however way one wants to put it. When serial killers get portrayed as super villains the discussion becomes incredibly redundant with ludicrously far-fetched theories and arm chair character studies merely building up hype for all the successive movies, TV-series and book deals scored by retired cops looking to move to a bigger house; all of which is built on the rather tasteless exploitation of the lives tragically left short.

If you ask me, he was an extraordinarily resourceful man for someone so obviously psychologically impaired; but when you take into consideration how many fantastic jailbreaks or ivy league criminals there's been in history, or just in America alone ( what's the difference between the men bereft of empathy who deprive their fellow humans of their wellbeing through indirect violence by economical means or with direct violent, other than the psychosexual pathology of course. Bundy sits next to the war criminals and political hucksters in history ) the only thing special about him is just the perfect storm of the place and time in the culture in which his pathos had taken place. He was an alcoholic, crash and burn sexual sadist who's mistakes escalated as did his crimes until the inevitable happened, much like was the case with other serial killers of the time from Gacy to Dahmer and so on. How is he a pop culture icon while someone arguably far more fascinating like Israel Keyes is a fringe name left only for the enthusiasts and LE? Time and place, and now the media legend is in a feedback loop of people going about how hot he is or what a criminal mastermind he must've been, having gone to college and all that.

 

[cherrymeg]

Late to the party, but I agree that in addition to not being able to sit through the entire thing I found it a bore at best ( although I'm sure it's more informative to the people with no prior knowledge of the case ) and very problematic at its worst, and I think the problematic aspects are well illustrated in both the post right above this one and just how much physical- and e-ink respectively have been dedicated to his intelligence, IQ or however way one wants to put it. When serial killers get portrayed as super villains the discussion becomes incredibly redundant with ludicrously far-fetched theories and arm chair character studies merely building up hype for all the successive movies, TV-series and book deals scored by retired cops looking to move to a bigger house; all of which is built on the rather tasteless exploitation of the lives tragically left short.

If you ask me, he was an extraordinarily resourceful man for someone so obviously psychologically impaired; but when you take into consideration how many fantastic jailbreaks or ivy league criminals there's been in history, or just in America alone ( what's the difference between the men bereft of empathy who deprive their fellow humans of their wellbeing through indirect violence by economical means or with direct violent, other than the psychosexual pathology of course. Bundy sits next to the war criminals and political hucksters in history ) the only thing special about him is just the perfect storm of the place and time in the culture in which his pathos had taken place. He was an alcoholic, crash and burn sexual sadist who's mistakes escalated as did his crimes until the inevitable happened, much like was the case with other serial killers of the time from Gacy to Dahmer and so on. How is he a pop culture icon while someone arguably far more fascinating like Israel Keyes is a fringe name left only for the enthusiasts and LE? Time and place, and now the media legend is in a feedback loop of people going about how hot he is or what a criminal mastermind he must've been, having gone to college and all that.

Ted Bundy wasn't super smart or clever. He was intelligent enough, but being a clean cut white male was his main asset. He was able to escape because he didn't look like a criminal. I believe the judge in Florida remarked on how he wished he'd have met Bundy as an attorney in his courtroom instead of as a defendant. Defending himself escaping from jails weren't smart decisions. His appearance was how he was able to stalk colleges without raising an eyebrow. That I think is why he is singled out in some ways. He wasn't going after prostitutes or women that would be considered living a high risk lifestyle, he was killing educated young women in places they should have felt safe. Even if he gave off a bad vibe women often want to be polite or we feel bad saying "no" to a man with a cast on. If he had been deranged looking, had bad hygiene, or was older, unkempt women might have felt more comfortable following their instincts. Even if people focus on his supposedly good looks (I don't see it) it's about realizing that monsters don't always look like monsters and that made him a new kind a scary.

 

[Yukarin]

Ted Bundy wasn't super smart or clever. He was intelligent enough, but being a clean cut white male was his main asset. He was able to escape because he didn't look like a criminal. I believe the judge in Florida remarked on how he wished he'd have met Bundy as an attorney in his courtroom instead of as a defendant. Defending himself escaping from jails weren't smart decisions. His appearance was how he was able to stalk colleges without raising an eyebrow. That I think is why he is singled out in some ways. He wasn't going after prostitutes or women that would be considered living a high risk lifestyle, he was killing educated young women in places they should have felt safe. Even if he gave off a bad vibe women often want to be polite or we feel bad saying "no" to a man with a cast on. If he had been deranged looking, had bad hygiene, or was older, unkempt women might have felt more comfortable following their instincts. Even if people focus on his supposedly good looks (I don't see it) it's about realizing that monsters don't always look like monsters and that made him a new kind a scary.

You're absolutely right. I think bulk of the impact does come from what a shock in the system of the largely out of touch and sleepy middle class America it was that one of them could've done what he did, and that he targeted their own too for that matter. One actually relatively similar case to this in effect around the same timeframe was Gacy's, who appeared as respectable as anyone with his past criminal record having been buried in another state. Both men quite elaborate in the way they went about it, but slowly lost touch with reality kept accelerating both their crimes and drinking.

I suppose the thing that I take offense to here is when someone like Ted is being portrayed as a comic book super villain who's amorality ( and usually a warped genius by implication ) is now subject to the prodding of peoples fantasies decades after the fact. I think good reads here The Only Living Witness that highlights just how much he did mess up in his frenzy that led the LE to him, and then the book Ted Bundy: Conversations With A Killer that makes it pretty evident just what a self-obsessed bore he was, and not particularly different from the others like him. His myth is just now perpetuated to absurdity by Youtube, podcasts and the general public paying attention to him for the first time in decades. For illustration of this check out the comments of videos like the appropriately clickbait titled "America's most EVIL(sic) serial killer - Ted Bundy." Yikes.

 

[cherrymeg]

You're absolutely right. I think bulk of the impact does come from what a shock in the system of the largely out of touch and sleepy middle class America it was that one of them could've done what he did, and that he targeted their own too for that matter. One actually relatively similar case to this in effect around the same timeframe was Gacy's, who appeared as respectable as anyone with his past criminal record having been buried in another state. Both men quite elaborate in the way they went about it, but slowly lost touch with reality kept accelerating both their crimes and drinking.

I suppose the thing that I take offense to here is when someone like Ted is being portrayed as a comic book super villain who's amorality ( and usually a warped genius by implication ) is now subject to the prodding of peoples fantasies decades after the fact. I think good reads here The Only Living Witness that highlights just how much he did mess up in his frenzy that led the LE to him, and then the book Ted Bundy: Conversations With A Killer that makes it pretty evident just what a self-obsessed bore he was, and not particularly different from the others like him. His myth is just now perpetuated to absurdity by Youtube, podcasts and the general public paying attention to him for the first time in decades. For illustration of this check out the comments of videos like the appropriately clickbait titled "America's most EVIL(sic) serial killer - Ted Bundy." Yikes.

I usually like Ann Rule's books. The Stranger Beside Me wasn't my favorite. It pushed the myth. It's possible as person that knew him, Rule wanted to believe he was criminal mastermind, almost a Byronic hero of sorts. If he isn't a sexy man, oozing charm, with the mind of a genius, than why didn't she see it? Most people you meet aren't serial killers and assuming a pleasant man you work with, or your mailman is one wouldn't be very healthy lol. I don't like it when he is glorified either. He wasn't special. His interviews just show a shell of a person who is trying to play a part or get a reaction but really he is dull. He also kind of ruined hitchhiking.
Making him try to seem glamorous it's like yeah if killing women and than having sex with their corpses is your idea of glamour... sure. His more wholesome victims attracted attention that many missing and murdered women don't get. The cast ruse is something that always stuck with me. It made me realize looking weak or harmless doesn't mean someone is.

 

[Yukarin]

I usually like Ann Rule's books. The Stranger Beside Me wasn't my favorite. It pushed the myth. It's possible as person that knew him, Rule wanted to believe he was criminal mastermind, almost a Byronic hero of sorts. If he isn't a sexy man, oozing charm, with the mind of a genius, than why didn't she see it? Most people you meet aren't serial killers and assuming a pleasant man you work with, or your mailman is one wouldn't be very healthy lol. I don't like it when he is glorified either. He wasn't special. His interviews just show a shell of a person who is trying to play a part or get a reaction but really he is dull. He also kind of ruined hitchhiking.
Making him try to seem glamorous it's like yeah if killing women and than having sex with their corpses is your idea of glamour... sure. His more wholesome victims attracted attention that many missing and murdered women don't get. The cast ruse is something that always stuck with me. It made me realize looking weak or harmless doesn't mean someone is.

I won’t attest to the quality of the book for sure now since it has been a few years, but Stranger Beside Me is one of the classic true crime books I was surprised I just couldn’t finish, and at the same time it put me off of Ann Rule forever despite the near classic status in the field. I suppose I made it about half way through and the intense focus on anecdotal experiences put me off or something.

And you’re not alone in the hitchhiking thing, because in the country where I’m from ( Finland ) it came down practically to a halt after a couple of cases such as the Liftarimurhat – Wikipedia after which for example my mom stopped hitchhiking for good. Now it seems to be coming back in Europe with the backpacking fad taking over ( which is great )