The crimes committed by offenders are relative to their psychological and social behavior. It has been observed through the study conducted by Samenow, (2014) that a number of criminals do not have a stable mental state. Correspondingly, the case of Ted Bundy is similar to psychotic serial, who do not need any particular reason or motive to commit crimes. Ted Bundy is considered one of the most dangerous serial killers in the history of The United States of America. According to the study conducted by Ramsland, (2013), there was no clear evidence found that directs towards the real motive behind the crimes committed by Ted Bundy. He has been accused of kidnapping, raping, and murdering numerous women for no reason. Therefore, the researcher has chosen the case of Ted Bundy and incorporated a brief analysis regarding his crimes and criminal behavior. Moreover, this paper is based on three sections; crimes, offenders, and analysis, with each section explaining his criminal behavior.
Crimes
Theodore Robert Bundy, commonly known as Ted Bundy (from 1946 to 1989) is considered America’s most dangerous serial killer. Ted has been accused of kidnapping, raping, killing, and burglar acts. Moreover, he was also referred to as a necrophile who seeks pleasure in killing people, specifically young women. After he was accused and caught for the murders, he never confessed it in front of the court. However, nearly a decade later, Ted Bundy confessed that he had murdered thirty young women in seven states between the periods of four years (from 1974 to 1978). However, according to a study conducted by Browne, (2016), it has been assumed that crimes committed by Ted can be higher than thirty. The real number of victims is still not found to this date.
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The first crime committed by Ted, as told by him, was in 1974. He abducted Lynda Ann Healy, who was 21 years old at that time. She belonged to a campus of the University of Washington. Lynda was also known for giving weekday ski reports on the radio. She was abducted by Ted and strangled to death. According to the reports of the Rule, (2012), Healy’s roommate Jill Hodges picked her up from the campus at 5 p.m They both went to the grocery and returned at 8:30 p.m She then went out with some of her friends. One of her friends said during the investigation that before going to her room, Healy came to her room to talk. She said, “I was in my room studying late, probably until about almost 2 A.M. and she came in about 11:30 P.M. into my room and spoke with me then. And she seemed to be really in a pretty happy mood and then she said she was going to bed and that was about 12 A.M.”
Moreover, Healy’s alarm went off at 5:30 A.M as usual. Healy used to wake up early in the morning for her radio show. However, after hearing the alarm, Barbara Little, her roommate went into her room and found Healey missing. It was noted that both the portions of the room, i.e. Barbara’s and Healey’s, were separated by only a thin partition; Barbara heard no voice or disturbance. Later on, Healey’s employer, called her house to ask why she had not been to work that day. In addition to this, there were some unusual clues found by Healy’s roommates in her room. For instance, the back door of the house was always kept locked, but the night Healy went missing, it was open. Healy was only seen at dinner, which she had planned with her family.
When the police came for the investigation, they were astonished to observe the condition of Healy’s room. They reported, “The room was very neat. There were no signs of foul play in the rooms except some blood on the pillow and head area of the sheets of Lynda’s bed.” The most surprising part of the room was its tidiness. It is an evident fact that when a person is abducted from his/her room, there may be signs of a struggle; whereas Healy’s room was clean. However, police found stains of blood on Healy’s pillow and bed sheet. The nightgown covered in blood, was among some of the strangest things found in Healy’s room. It was found in her closet and the clothes she was wearing the other night were missing. It was assumed that whoever abducted Healy, had changed her clothes. Healy’s body was later found in 1975 on Taylor Mountain. However, before the execution, when Bundy was asked to explain the murder of Lynda Ann Healy, he evasively replied that he could not.
Offender
Ted Bundy was born on 24th November 1946, to Eleanor Louise Cowell at the Elizabeth Lund Home, in Burlington, Vermont. However, the mental state of Ted Bundy is considered to be disturbed from a very early age. According to the study conducted by Seltzer, (2013), it was assumed that the mental health of the offender has been linked to his father. Although, the identity of Ted Bundy’s father was never found with any grade of certainty. Moreover, when police observed his birth certificate, the paternity was assigned to a salesman and Air Force veteran named Lloyd Marshall. Nevertheless, upon observing the violent and disturbing behavior of Ted Bundy, family members, and officials assumed that Bundy was raised by Samuel Cowell, the father of Louise. The police found no material evidence which could refute or back this claim.
Moreover, Bundy lived in Philadelphia for the first three years of his life, the home of his maternal grandparents, Eleanor and Samuel Cowell. His grandparents raised him as their son in order to avoid social stigma. According to the reports of Ramsland, (2013), it has been found that friends and other family members along with young Ted were told that his grandparents were his parents. In addition to this, they were also told that his mother was his older sister. The reports of Ted Bundy suggest that Ted remembers his past from many different angles. Therefore, a true story from Bundy’s mind cannot be extracted. Later on, Ted Bundy discovered the truth, but as mentioned previously, he had varied recollections of the circumstances.
According to a study conducted by Rule, (2012), it was found that Bundy told about his cousin to one of his girlfriends, who showed his birth certificate to him. On the other hand, he told Hugh Aynesworth and Stephen Michaud, his biographers that the certificate was discovered by himself. However, “True Crime Writer” Ann Rule, who was also his biographer, personally knew Bundy. She believed that until 1969, Bundy did not find out about his parents. She further stated that Ted may have located his original birth certificate and complete records in Vermont. Moreover, in an interview, Bundy expressed his anger towards his mother and showed a lifelong resentment for never talking to him and not letting him know about his real father. It has been suspected that Bundy’s disturbed mental condition is closely linked with his upbringing.
The disturbed mental health of Ted Bundy has also been suspected in other instances as well. For example, according to the reports of Rule (2012), Bundy praised his grandparents and it has also been stated that in some interviews, Bundy said great things about them. He told his biographer Ann Rule that he identifies and recognizes his grandparents with respect and care. On the other hand, he told his attorneys that his grandfather, Samuel Cowell was a bigot and a bully, who is also a racist. In 1987, he told his family members that his grandfather hated Italians, Jews, Catholics, and especially blacks. Furthermore, he told that his grandfather, Samuel Cowell used to beat his grandmother and their dog. In addition to this, he told in an interview that his grandfather threw her mother’s younger sister through stairs, just because she overslept.
The disturbing childhood of Ted Bundy is responsible for his violent behavior. However, it was also assumed that Ted could lie about his childhood and make stories to cover up his crimes. The degree of crimes committed by Ted Bundy has been classified as extremely violent and dangerous. His state of mind was simultaneously working to make different stories about his past. It has been suspected that maybe he was covering his crimes or trying to provide a logical reason for his violent behavior.
Analysis
The degree of crimes and disturbed behavior of Ted Bundy directs the attention towards two basic theories in criminology; biological determinism and social process theories. On one hand, it can be assumed that the crimes committed by Bundy are due to biological and psychological reasons. While on the other hand, his behavior can also be linked with social process theories. According to biological determinism, criminals are born, not made. Therefore, if the story of Ted Bundy regarding his violent grandparents is true, there exists a possibility that it may have also influenced the behavior of Ted Bundy.
According to a study conducted by Rafter, (2017), it has been stated that criminals have been passed a certain criminological behavior from their families or forefathers. If Ted Bundy’s father or grandfather was violent, then this theory can be applied to Ted’s criminal behavior. On the other hand, social process theories state that the criminological behavior of people is due to their social interactions. However, this interaction can be with family, friends, or even society. Similarly, Ted’s behavior corresponds to the violent behavior of his grandfather. In addition to this, Bundy has been observed living a very different childhood. First, the truth about his father, the mental condition of his grandmother, and then the disturbed mental health of his grandfather led Bundy to become the most dangerous criminal in The United States of America.
References
- Browne, J. (2016). Devil's Defender: My Odyssey Through American Criminal Justice from Ted Bundy to the Kandahar Massacre. Chicago Review Press.
- Rafter, N. H. (2017). HJ Eysenck in Fagin’s kitchen: The return to biological theory in 20th-century criminology. In Biosocial Theories of Crime (pp. 131-150). Routledge.
- Ramsland, K. (2013). The many sides of Ted Bundy. The Forensic Examiner, 22(3), 18-26.
- Rule, A. (2012). The stranger beside me. Planet Ann Rule.
- Samenow, S. E. (2014). Inside the criminal mind. Broadway Books.
- Seltzer, M. (2013). Serial killers: Death and life in America's wound culture. Routledge.
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