Verified Document

Ted Bundy Term Paper

Ted Bundy was born Theodore Robert Cowell on November 24, 1946. When he was four years old, Ted's mother moved with her son to Tacoma, Washington and remarried Johnnie Culpepper Bundy. Ted did not get along with his stepfather, although he would frequently babysit for his four half siblings. Throughout his youth, Ted showed signs of poor social skills development and adaptation. As Bell points out, "Ted became increasingly uncomfortable around his stepfather and preferred to be alone. This desire to be by himself increased and possibly led to his later inability to socially interact comfortably with others." His shyness became a defining feature of Ted's early childhood, as he was "self-doubting and uncomfortable in social situations," (Bell). However, Ted seemed to come out of his shell in high school and was even described as being "attractive" (Montaldo) and "popular," (Bell). In spite of being bullied frequently at school, Ted earned good grades and went on to attend college at both the University of Puget Sound and the University of Washington. Bundy remained socially awkward at college, causing him some serious problems with interpersonal and especially intimate relationships. His first serious girlfriend broke up with him in 1968, and "his obsession toward her haunted him for years," (Montaldo). The breakup led to a bout of depression, during which Ted dropped out of school. At the same time, Ted learned a disturbing secret that would further shake his already fragile identity and emotional state. Until this time, Ted believed that his mother was his older sister. His mother had pretended to be his older sister in order to "protect" her son and her own reputation for having had a child out of wedlock. Perpetuating the lie until Ted was in his twenties undoubtedly had an impact on Ted's ability to trust others, his attitudes towards the value of human life,...

However, Bell points out that Bundy's criminal tendencies had begun before he discovered his mother's deception. He was known for petty thievery, and some of his high school and college friends accused Ted of being dishonest (Bell 3). Bundy's criminal behavior was linked to other forms of deviance. For example, Bundy often impersonated police officers. His most common method of attracting young women on college campuses was to garner sympathy from them by wearing a cast on his arm or leg and asking a woman for help.
Ironically, Ted started to hone his social skills around the same time of his emotional breakdown. He became someone who others described as "charming, articulate and intelligent," ("Ted Bundy: Getting Away with Murder for Five Years"). He "changed from a shy and introverted person to a more focused and dominant character," almost overnight, as if something in him "clicked." His newfound personal charisma was also channeled into politics. Bundy considered going to law school after years of studying psychology, and he also "worked on a campaign to re-elect a Washington governor, a position that allowed Ted to form bonds with politically powerful people in the Republican Party," (Bell 3). Ted also channeled his charisma into an area that gave him perceived personal power: seducing and abducting women.

According to the FBI, no one knows for sure when Bundy actually started to kill. Law enforcement only knows for sure that Ted Bundy had started abducting, raping, and murdering women by 1974. His victims were exclusively young and attractive females, and almost always college students. Bundy most likely began his five-year killing spree in Washington, but later moved on to Utah, Colorado, and Florida. Bundy displayed gruesome ritualistic behaviors. For example, he "displayed…

Sources used in this document:
References

Bell, Rachael. "Ted Bundy." Crime Library. Retrieved online: http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/bundy/2.html

FBI (2013). Serial Killers: Ted Bundy's Campaign of Terror. Retrieved online: http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2013/november/serial-killers-part-3-ted-bundys-campaign-of-terror

Montaldo, Charles. "Serial Killer Ted Bundy." About.com. Retrieved online: http://crime.about.com/od/serial/p/tedbundy.htm

"Ted Bundy: Getting Away with Murder for Five Years." Retrieved online: http://www.crimemuseum.org/Ted_Bundy
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Ted Bundy
Words: 2826 Length: 8 Document Type: Research Paper

Ted Bundy: All-American Serial Killer When women began disappearing in and around Seattle, Washington in 1974, nobody suspected Theodore Robert "Ted" Bundy would be behind their disappearances. Bundy was, after all, a student at the University of Washington, a political volunteer, and a suicide hotline operator. Again, no one would suspect him of being involved in the disappearances and murders of various women around Salt Lake City, Utah when he attended

Ted Bundy
Words: 2106 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Ted Bundy: America’s Most Infamous Serial Killer Abstract  While Ted Bundy is neither the most prolific nor the most horrific serial killer in America, he is one of the best known of American serial killers.  This essay explores the reasons for Bundy’s infamy.  It will explore Bundy’s normal guy persona and how that not only helped him gain his victims’ trust, but also helped foster public fascination with Bundy.  Bundy committed crimes

Ted Bundy Describe the Crime
Words: 807 Length: 2 Document Type: Term Paper

"There are at least four (4) different subtypes -- common, alienated, aggressive, and dyssocial. Commons are characterized mostly by their lack of conscience; the alienated by their inability to love or be loved; aggressives by a consistent sadistic streak; and dyssocials by an ability to abide by gang rules, as long as those rules are the wrong rules" (O'Connor, 2005). Bundy clearly falls into the aggressive category. Describe and explain

Ted Bundy -- Serial Killer Ted Bundy:
Words: 983 Length: 3 Document Type: Research Paper

Ted Bundy -- Serial Killer Ted Bundy: Serial Killer Theodore Robert Bundy aka Ted Bundy, was born Theodore Robert Cowell to Louise Cowell on November 24, 1946 in Burlington, Vermont at the Elizabeth Lund Home for Unwed Mothers. After spending eight weeks in the home Louise went to her parents house to raise her son in Philadelphia. Ted Bundy, serial killer grew up believing that his mother was his sister and his

Ted Bundy: A Lost Resource
Words: 2139 Length: 7 Document Type: Term Paper

Meg Anders, who uses the alias of Elizabeth Kendall in her book entitled The Phantom Prince, provides an insider's look at Bundy's nature, the face he showed to the world and the occasional private tears he shed in her presence. Other books, such as True Crime, published by Time Warner, give an overview of the facts that have already appeared in numerous articles in the press. I do not include

Ted Bundy -- Serial Killer
Words: 1197 Length: 3 Document Type: Research Paper

He used various ruses to coax a female into his car, and from there she was likely never seen alive again. On November 7, 1974, he abducted Carol DeRonch, 18, from a shopping center in Utah, and he was able to handcuff her wrists but she managed to get away. On July 14, 1974 he abducted two young women (Janice Ott and Denise Naslund) in Utah, and killed them both.

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now