Ted Bundy: Unlikely Serial Killer

Americans were shocked in the 1970s when authorities began reporting a string of disappearances of young women from Washington, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Florida and Oregon. The man behind these crimes was Theodore (Ted) Bundy. Many people still consider him to be one of the most notorious serial killers of all time and was once one of the FBI’s most wanted. He was officially tied to 36 murders, however he is believed to have committed more than one hundred. The Ted Bundy murders shocked everyone because of his outwardly sociable appearance, politeness, and political aspirations. He was intelligent, good looking, and charismatic. Many of his victims did not fear him or question him because of how charming he was. He was one of those criminals that just “didn’t seem like bad guy”.
Ted Bundy was born in 1946 to Elanor Cowell, a twenty-two year old unmarried woman. Since this was a scandal for her extremely religious family, Elanor gave birth at a home for unwed mothers and the baby was raised as the adopted sons of his grandparents. His mother was to be his sister. After a few years, his mother moved with Ted to Tacoma, Washington where she married Johnnie Bundy and had more children. They seemed to have a happy family home in a working class neighborhood. Around the age of three, Ted began to show a fascination for knives, which those around him just attributed to a sense of curiosity. Other than this, there were no other outward signs that Ted had any psychological issues. He did well in school, had friends, and had a good relationship with his family. Later as a teenager, his dark tendencies emerged. He reportedly liked to peer into other people’s windows and often was caught stealing. By his own admission, he had become “socially retarded”, having no regard for what others thought of him.
Bundy later went on to study at the