"THE ALL-AMERICAN KILLER: TED BUNDY'S CROSS-COUNTRY MURDER SPREE BEGINS" (Part 1 of 4)

0:03 Calarogu Shark Media. Good morning, I'm Reed Carter. November fifteenth, twenty twenty five. Courts are slowing down for the holiday break, so we're bringing you the classic cases that defined American crime, The trials that changed everything. The killers everyone remembers, and nobody remembers quite like Ted Bundy, Theodore Robert Bundy, law student, Republican campaign volunteer, crisis hotline counselor, handsome, charming, articulate, the kind of man mothers wanted their daughters to marry. He murdered at least thirty young women, probably more than one hundred, raped them, strangled them, bludgeoned them with tire irons, decapitated.

0:52 Some kept severed heads as trophies. Returned to corpses for necrophilia, applied makeup to bodies so they looked alive. January thirty first, nineteen seventy four, Seattle, Washington, Linda Anne Healy, twenty one years old, disappeared from her basement bedroom, blood soaked pillow case left on her bed, night gown hanging in her closet with bloodstains. Linda was gone. Nobody saw anything, nobody heard anything. She was ted Bundy's first confirmed victim in Washington, the beginning of a cross country killing spree that lasted a decade. Bundy had a type college aged women, long dark hair, parted in the middle, physically resembling his ex girlfriend who broke up with him in nineteen sixty eight.

1:37 He wasn't random, he was methodical, targeting women who looked like the one who rejected him. He used disguises, fake arm casts, fake leg casts, crutches, asked women for help loading his sailboat or carrying books to his Volkswagen Beetle. Nice guy, clean cut, polite, women trusted him. Big mistake. Between nineteen seventy four and nineteen seventy eight, Bundy killed across seven states Washington, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, Florida, possibly California, possibly Idaho. Anywhere he traveled, women disappeared, but Bundy made mistakes, got arrested, escaped from custody twice, kept killing, finally captured in Florida after murdering two sorority sisters and a twelve year old girl. January twenty fourth, nineteen eighty nine, Florida State prison ted. Bundy was executed in the electric chair.

2:34 Old Sparky two thousand volts. He was forty two years old. I'm reed Carter. Over the next four days, we're covering Ted Bundy, the law student serial killer, how he got away with it for so long, the trial where he defended himself and married his girlfriend in court, and his final confessions before execution. This is celebrity trials. Theodore Robert Bundy born November twenty fourth, nineteen forty six, in Burlington, Vermont. Illegitimate child. His mother, Eleanor Louise Cowell, was twenty two and unmarried. Never revealed who his father was. Different stories over the years, possible rape, possible affair with a sailor, possible affair with her own father. Nobody knows for sure.

3:23 Eleanor moved back to Philadelphia with baby Ted. Her parents, Samuel and Eleanor Cowell, raised him as their son, not their grandson. Told Ted that his mother was his older sister. Family secret, small town shame about unwed mothers. In the nineteen forties, Ted discovered the truth when he was a teenager, found his birth certificate, saw he was illegitimate, that his sister was actually his mother, that his entire childhood was a lie. According to some psychologist. This discovery fueled rage that manifested in violence against women. Maybe or maybe Ted was allays broken. Eleanor moved to Tacoma, Washington in nineteen fifty with four year old Ted met Johnny Bundy, a hospital cook. They married. Johnny adopted Ted, gave him the Bundy name. They had four more children together. By all accounts, Johnny was a good father, but Ted never bonded with him, resented him, saw him as beneath. Eleanor saw him as weak.

4:23 Ted was smart, very smart, gifted student, shy, awkward with girls, but he learned to fake confidence, studied people, copied their mannerisms, became whoever he needed to be to fit in textbook sociopath behavior. No genuine personality, just a collection of masks. His childhood showed warning signs classic serial killer indicators. By age three, Ted's aunt woke up from a nap surrounded by kitchen knives, Little Ted standing over her, smiling. She was terrified. Told the family they dismissed it. Boys will be boys. He tortured animals, mutilated them, enjoyed watching them suffer.

5:08 Another red flag nobody addressed. As a teenager, Ted became a peeping tom, prowled neighborhoods at night, watched women undressed through windows, eventually progressed to breaking into homes. Never took anything, just looked around invasion, control power. But to the outside world, Ted was perfect boy, scout, methodist, good grades, no criminal record, the kind of young man every parent wanted their daughter to date. Ted enrolled at University of Washington, met Stephanie Brooks, a beautiful California girl with long, dark hair, parted in the middle, wealthy family, sophisticated everything Ted wanted to be.

5:53 He fell completely in love. She was less interested, saw Ted as immature, directionless, nice enough, but not serious relationship material. Stephanie broke up with Ted, told him he had no prospects, no future. She wanted someone more ambitious, someone from her social class. Ted was devastated, humiliated, enraged That breakup changed everything. Every woman Ted killed after nineteen seventy four looked like Stephanie Brooks, long dark hair, center part college, aged pretty. He was murdering Stephanie over and over and over. But first Ted needed to become the man. Stephanie rejected the man with prospects and ambition, so he reinvented himself. He transferred to University of Utah, earned his degree in psychology, applied to law school, got accepted. Meanwhile, he volunteered for the Republican Party, worked on Governor Dan Evans's campaign, met important people, made connections, became respected. He also volunteered at Seattle Crisis Clinic, answered soon suicide prevention hotline calls. One of his co workers was Anne Rule, who later became a famous true crime writer. She wrote a book about Ted called The Stranger Beside Me described him as kind, compassionate, and empathetic, a man who saved lives. While Anne Rule thought Ted was saving lives, he was planning to take them.

7:21 Ted reconnected with Stephanie Brooks showed her how much he changed law student, successful, confident, ambitious, everything she wanted. Stephanie was impressed. They started dating again, but Ted wasn't interested in a real relationship. He was interested in revenge. Proof he could get her back once he had her. Once she was invested, he dumped her, called her on the phone, told her it was over, hung up, never spoke to her again. Stephanie was confused, devastated, didn't understand what happened. Ted had gotten his revenge, proved he could make her love him and then discard her the way she discarded him.

8:02 That should have been enough, but it wasn't. January nineteen seventy four, Ted Bundy started killing. Make it make sense. A man transforms himself to win back his ex girlfriend, gets his revenge, then murders thirty women who look like her. Not enough to reject her, had to destroy surrogates for the rest of his life. January fourth, nineteen seventy four, Seattle, Washington, Joni Lentz, eighteen years old University of Washington student, asleep in her basement bedroom. Someone broke in through the window, beat her with a metal rod from her bed frame, sexually assaulted her with the same rod, left her for dead.

8:52 Joni survived, barely, found by her roommate the next morning, skull fractured, permanent brain damage, no memory of the attack, couldn't identify her attacker. Police had no leads, treated it as isolated incident, random burglary gone wrong. But it wasn't random. It was Ted Bundy's first known attack, testing his methods, learning what worked what didn't. Jony survived, so he'd have to refine his approach. January thirty first, nineteen seventy four, Linda Ann Heey twenty one, disappeared from her basement bedroom near the University of Washington campus, last seen by roommates at nine p m. By morning gone, Her bed was made, but the pillowcase was missing. Found later in her closet soaked with blood. Her nightgown also bloodstained. Linda was a radio announcer. When she didn't show up for her five thirty a m. Shift, coworkers called her house. Roommates found her bedroom empty. Police searched, found nothing, no body, no suspect, no witnesses. Linda Ann Healey simply vanished. Between March and July nineteen seventy four, six more women disappeared from Washington and Oregon. Donna Gale Manson nineteen, Susan Rancourt eighteen, ROBERTA.

10:11 Parks twenty two, Brenda Ball twenty two, Georgian Hawkins eighteen, all college students, all with long, dark hair parted in the middle. All disappeared without a trace. George Anne Hawkins's case was particularly chilling. June eleventh, nineteen seventy four, University of Washington campus, George Anne left her boyfriend's dorm at midnight to walk fifty feet to her sorority house. Her boyfriend watched her go fifty feet well lit alley. George Anne never arrived. A witness saw a man with his arm in a sling struggling to carry a briefcase. The man asked George Anne for help. She went with him, was never seen alive again. That was Ted's method, fake injury, helpless, nice guy. Women felt sorry for him, wanted to help.

11:04 By the time they realized the injury was fake, they were at his car. He'd pull out a crowbar, knock them unconscious, throw them in his Volkswagen Beetle, drive to a remote location, rape them, kill them, dump the bodies. July fourteenth, nineteen seventy four, Lake Samamish State Park, thirty miles east of Seattle, beautiful summer day. Forty thousand people at the beach, Families, couples, college students. Janis Ott twenty three, arrived around twelve thirty pm. Brought her bike, planning to sunbathe. A young man with his arm in a sling approached her, asked for help loading his sailboat onto his car. Said his name was Ted. Janis agreed. They walked toward the parking lot. Multiple witnesses saw them leave together. Four hours later, Denise Nasland nineteen disappeared from the same park, last seen at four pels walking toward the restroom. Never came back.

12:03 Her boyfriend reported her missing immediately. Two women vanished in broad daylight from a crowded beach. Witnesses saw the man with the sling, heard him introduce himself as Ted, saw him driving a brown Volkswagen Beetle. Police had descriptions, sketches, composite drawings. Thousands of tips came in. Women reported being approached by a man matching the description. He asked them to help with his sailboat. They declined. He moved on found someone who said yes. One witness remembered the man's car had the passenger seat removed, made it easier to load unconscious women into the vehicle. September seventh, nineteen seventy four, grouse hunters found skeletal remains near Lake Sammamish. Two skulls partial skeletons identified through dental records as Janis Ott and Denise Nassland. Third skull found nearby, unidentified for decades, later confirmed as George Enn Hawkins. Ted Bundy killed at least eight women in Washington between January and July nineteen seventy four.

13:04 Possibly more bodies were never found, but Ted new police were closing in too many witnesses, too many tips. The composite sketches looked like him. His Volkswagen Beetle matched descriptions. Time to move. August nineteen seventy four, Ted Bundy moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, enrolled at University of Utah College of Law. Fresh start, new hunting ground, different jurisdiction. The killings continued. October second, nineteen seventy four. Nancy Wilcox, sixteen, disappeared from Holiday, Utah. October eighteenth, Melissa Smith, seventeen, daughter of Midvale police chief, vanished. Her body found nine days later in a canyon. She'd been raped and strangled, skull fractured, beaten so severely her face was unrecognizable. November eighth, nineteen seventy four, Carol de Ranch, eighteen, shopping at Fashion Place Mall in Murray, Utah. A man approached her, identified himself as Officer roseland said someone had tried to break into her car. Asked her to come to the station to file a report. Carol was suspicious but complied. The man led her to a Volkswagen Beetle. Once inside, he tried to handcuff her. Carol fought back, kicked, scratched, bit, managed to escape, ran into traffic, flagged down help. The man drove away. Carol Deranch became the only woman who escaped Ted Bundy and lived to testify against him. Same night,

14:36 November eighth, twenty miles away, Deborah Kent, seventeen, left a high school play at Vumont High School at ten thirty pm to pick up her brother. She never made it to her car, disappeared from the parking lot. Witnesses saw a man in a Volkswagen Beetle. One witness found a handcuff key in the parking lot. Ted escalated attacked two women in one night, one escaped, one didn't. Deborah Kent's body was never found. Between October nineteen seventy four and August nineteen seventy five, at least six women disappeared or were found murdered in Utah, Colorado, and Idaho. All fit Ted's type, all killed using his methods, But Carol Deranch's escape changed everything. She gave police a description, the fake officer, the Volkswagen, the handcuffs. When police showed her a photo line up months later, she immediately identified Theodore Robert Bundy.

15:32 August sixteenth, nineteen seventy five, Ted Bundy was driving through Granger, Utah, at two thirty am. Utah Highway Patrol Officer Bob Hayward tried to pull him over. Ted ran led police on a chase, finally stopped. Officer Heyward searched the Volkswagen, found handcuffs, a crowbar, rope, an ice pick, a ski mask, wire, trash bags, all neatly organized a rape and murder kit. Ted was arrested, claimed he was lost. The items were innocent handcuffs from a dumpster, ski mask for skiing, rope for securing loads, reasonable explanations. Police didn't believe him. Showed Carol Duranch his photo. She identified him immediately. Ted Bundy was charged with aggravated kidnapping and attempted criminal assault. His trial began in February nineteen seventy six. Carol testified, identified Ted as her attacker. Judge found him guilty, sentenced him to one to fifteen years in Utah State Prison. While serving his sentence, Colorado authorities charged him with the murder of Krinn Campbell, a nurse who disappeared from a ski resort in January nineteen seventy five. Her body was found a month later. Beaten, sexually assaulted, strangled. Ted was extradited to Colorado to stand trial. June nineteen seventy seven, while preparing his defense in the Pitkin County Courthouse library, Ted jumped out a second story window escaped free for six

17:03 days before being captured. December thirtieth, nineteen seventy seven, Ted escaped again, this time from Glenwood Springs jail. Sawed through ceiling bars, crawled through an access hatch, dropped into the jailer's apartment, walked out the front door. Nobody noticed. For seventeen hours. Ted Bundy was loose, heading south looking for more victims. We'll be right back with Ted Bundy's journey to Florida and the chi Omega massacre that finally ended his killing spree. January eighth, nineteen seventy eight, Ted Bundy arrived in Tallahassee, Florida, used stolen credit card for food and lodging, rented a room near Florida State University campus, prowled the area watching planning. January fifteenth, nineteen seventy eight, chi Omega Sorority House, three am. Most of the women were asleep, some had just returned from dates. The front door was often left unlocked easy access. Ted Bundy entered through that unlocked door, carried an oak log, went room to room looking for victims. Room four Margaret Bowman, twenty one years old, asleep in her bed. Ted beat her

18:35 with the log, strangled her with pantyhose. She never woke up, died in her sleep. Roommate Lisa Levy, twenty years old, asleep. Ted beat her with the log, strangled her, raped her, bit her left buttock so hard it left a permanent impression. Bit her right nipple nearly off. Room nine, Kathy Kleiner and Karen Chandler, room mates, both sleep. Ted attacked Cathy first beat her with the log, shattered her jaw, smashed her shoulder. She woke screaming. Karen woke to the screaming. Ted hit her with the log, broke her jaw, fractured her skull. Both women survived their screams scared Ted away.

19:18 Four women attacked in fifteen minutes, two dead, two critically injured. Ted fled through the front door disappeared into the night. Nita Neery, another chi Omega sister, returned home at three a m. Saw a man leaving the house, got a good look at his profile, heard the screaming. Called police. Officers arrived within minutes. Found Margaret Bowman dead in her bed, Lisa Levee barely alive, Kathy and Karen conscious but badly injured. The sorority house was a crime scene. Lisa Levey died on the way to the hospital. Twenty years old dance major, loved to perform. Should be forty seven today. Should have had a should have had a family instead, murdered in her sleep by a man who escaped from a Colorado jail two weeks earlier. Margaret Bowman twenty one years old, Art history major, planning to go to law school. Should be forty eight today. Should have become an attorney, should have built a life gone because Ted Bundy had an unlocked door and an oak log. Forty five minutes after leaving chi Omega, Ted attacked again, eight blocks away Cheryl Thomas's apartment. He broke in through the sliding glass door, beat her with a log, fractured her skull, dislocated her shoulder, left her for dead. Cheryl survived permanent hearing loss, equilibrium damaged, could no longer dance. Her career as a dancer was over.

20:50 Three crime scenes in less than two hours, two dead, three permanently injured. Ted Bundy's most violent night, but he made mistakes, left evidence by marks on Lisa Levy's body. Witnesses saw him. Nita Neary gave police a description. Ryl Thomas's neighbor heard the attack and called police immediately. Ted knew he needed to disappear, stole another car, drove west, kept moving. February ninth, nineteen seventy eight, Lake City, Florida, Ted spotted twelve year old Kimberly Leech leaving her middle school. She'd forgotten her purse, went back to get it. Ted approached her in the parking lot. Witnesses saw a man talking to a young girl, saw him lead her toward a white van. Kimberly vanished. Her body was found eight weeks later in an abandoned pig shed partially decomposed, sexually assaulted, strangled.

21:45 Twelve years old loved gymnastics. Wanted to be a veterinarian. Should be fifty seven years old today, should have graduated college, should have had children instead. Murdered by Ted Bundy. February fifth, fefteenth, nineteen seventy eight, Pensacola, Florida. Officer David Lee pulled over a stolen Volkswagen Beetle. The driver gave a fake name, acted nervous when Officer Lee ran the plates, discovered the car was stolen, attempted to arrest the driver. The man fought back, tried to escape. Officer Lee subdued him, handcuffed him, searched him. The man had twenty one stolen credit cards, multiple driver's licenses, different names. Officer Lee asked who he really was. The man finally said, I'm Ted Bundy. Ted Bundy's murder spree was over. Arrested for driving a stolen vehicle.

22:41 All those murders, all that planning caught because he stole a car, your tax dollars at work. That's Day one of our Ted Bundy series. At least thirty confirmed victims across seven states, probably more than one hundred total. Women with names, futures, families who love them. Linda Ann Healey twenty one, Donna Gail Manson nineteen, Susan Rancourt eighteen, ROBERTA Parks twenty two, Brenda Ball twenty two, George An Hawkins eighteen, Janis Ott twenty three, Denise Nasland nineteen, and so many more. Tomorrow the trial Ted Bundy defending himself in court, acting as his own attorney, cross examining witnesses, marrying his girlfriend in front of the judge, the bitemark evidence that convicted him.

23:31 I'm reed, Carter, this is celebrity trials.