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Ted Bundy biography

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Quick Facts

  • NAME: Ted Bundy
  • OCCUPATION: Murderer, Serial Killer
  • BIRTH DATE: November 24, 1946
  • DEATH DATE: January 24, 1989
  • PLACE OF BIRTH: Burlington, Vermont
  • PLACE OF DEATH: Starke, Florida
  • Originally: Theodore Robert Cowell

Best Known For

American serial killer and rapist Ted Bundy was one of the most notorious criminals of the late 20th century.


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He was arrested for possession of these tools and the police began to link him to much more sinister crimes.

In 1975, Bundy was arrested in the kidnapping of Carol DaRonch, one of the few women to escape his clutches. He was convicted and received a one-to-fifteen-year jail sentence in that case. Two years later, Bundy was indicted on murder charges for the death of a young Colorado woman. He decided to act as his own lawyer in this case. During a trip to the courthouse library,

Bundy jumped out a window and made his first escape. He was captured eight days later.

Final Crimes

In December 1977, Bundy escaped from custody again. He climbed out of a hole he made in the ceiling of his cell and even dropped more than 30 pounds to fit through the small opening. Authorities did not discover that Bundy was missing for 15 hours, giving the serial killer a big head start on the police. He eventually made his way to Tallahassee, Florida.

There, on the night of January 14, 1978, Bundy broke into the Chi Omega sorority house at Florida State University. He attacked four of the young female residents, killing two of them. On February 9, Bundy kidnapped and murdered a twelve-year-old girl named Kimberly Leach. These crimes marked the end of his murderous rampage as he was soon pulled over by the police that February.

In July 1979, Bundy was convicted for the two Chi Omega murders. The most damming evidence came from his own viciousness. The bite marks on one of the bodies was a definitive match for Bundy. He was given the death penalty twice for those crimes. Bundy received another death sentence the following year in the murder of Kimberly Leach.

Last Years

Bundy fought for his life, spending years appealing his death sentence. An infamous national figure since his Florida trials, he remained a source of fascination for many. Actor Mark Harmon even played Bundy in the 1986 television movie The Deliberate Stranger. Bundy tried to take his case as high as the U.S. Supreme Court, but he was turned down. Bundy even offered information on some of unsolved murders to avoid Florida's electric chair, but he could not delay justice forever.

On January 24, 1989, Bundy met his fate at the Florida State Prison. He was put to death around 7 a.m. that morning in an electric chair sometimes known as "Old Sparky." Outside the prison, crowds cheered and even set off fireworks after Bundy's execution. In the end, he had admitted to thirty-six killings, but experts believe that the final tally may be closer to one hundred.

Death did not stop the public's interest with Ted Bundy. His life has been the subject of countless books and documentaries, trying to shed some light on this brutal killer's crimes.

© 2013 A+E Networks. All rights reserved.

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