17 Little-Known Disturbing Facts About Serial Killer Ted Bundy

Self-described as “the most heartless son of a bitch you’ll ever meet,” Theodore Robert Bundy, better known as Ted Bundy, is one of America’s most notorious serial killers. Bundy was a law student when his murderous crime spree began in the 1970s, one that included acts of sexual assault, necrophilia, and decapitation.

Countless documentaries cover Bundy’s crimes, his subsequent arrest, and the decade he spent on Death Row, yet many facts of the case are still widely unknown. We’ll reveal 17 lesser-known disturbing case facts in this blog.

1. Ted Bundy was born Theodore Cowell to a teenage mother. He grew up believing Eleanor Louise Cowell was his sister until she moved out of her parent’s home to escape a domineering father. Eleanor changed her surname to Nelson and later met and married Johnnie Bundy, who adopted Ted.
2. Johnnie loved Ted with all his might. Growing up, the pair never got along, as Ted looked down upon him because he was not rich or prominent in the community. That did not stop Johnnie from supporting Ted growing up and during and after his trial and conviction.
3. Ted used a light-colored VW Beetle during his attacks, from which he had removed the inside door handle, preventing escape. That vehicle now sits in the Alcatraz Crime Museum. During one of his jail escapes, Bundy stole another VW Beetle, this one orange in color, from a man named Rick Garzaniti. Rick sold the vehicle for $1,300 a few months after authorities returned it to him, although he first told reporters he believed Kimberly Leach had been in the vehicle
4. Ted introduced himself by this name during many of his crimes, although had several aliases. Among the names Bundy was known to use include Rolf Miller, Richard Burton, Kenneth Misner, and Chris Hagen.
5. Ted had an obsession with pornography and later attributed it to his violent sexual acts and murders.
6. Ted Bundy admitted that he revisited his killing sites where victims' bodies remained to perform sexual acts on them. Bundy performed acts of necrophilia on bodies until animals destroyed the bodies to a condition rendering sexual acts impossible. He admitted this fact to authors to Hugh Aynesworth and Stephen Michaud who revealed the information in the documentary Confessions of a Killer.
7. Hours before his January 1989 execution, Bundy confessed to the murders of 30 women in seven states and promised to reveal more names if he was spared death. The state continued forward with the execution under the belief the number of victims could be 100 or more women.
8. Ted claimed that he could not develop friendships naturally. “I didn't know what made people want to be friends. I didn't know what underlay social interactions,” Ted said.
9. Diane Edwards, most commonly known by the pseudonym Stephanie Brooks, was the love of Bundy's life and possibly the motivation for his murders, or at least the heartbreak of losing her. Bundy and Edwards met at The University of Washington where he had transferred his studies. All of Bundy’s victims resembled Edwards in appearance and hair color.
10. Ted Bundy admitted to killing 30 young women in seven states, although one of those victims was still a child. Bundy sexually assaulted and murdered 12-year-old Kimberly Leach in Florida during his second escape from prison.
11. Biting victims allowed Bundy to feel the power and control over them while pleasuring his sadomasochist personality. Inflicting pain on his victims sexually gratified Ted, whose forceful bite barks often left bruised teeth impressions on his victim’s skin. His need for dominance and control ultimately helped convict him of murder after forensics matched a bite mark left on one of his victims to an impression of his teeth.
12. After his arrest, Bundy aided detectives in catching The Green River Killer. Bundy provided information about the killer's potential motives and strategies. Detective suspect Bundy reflected on his own crimes and intentions when he provided these details about ‘the killer.’
13. Bundt worked alongside author Ann Rule on the Seattle Crime Prevention Advisory Committee manning a suicide prevention hotline. He went on to help author a brochure designed to help women avoid becoming the victim of rape.
14. Further adding to the list of good deeds Bundy performed: he saved a drowning child. A 3-year-old boy fell into Green Lake. Bundy noticed and immediately jumped in the water to save his life.
15. While incarcerated and on trial, Bundy asked his then-girlfriend, Carol Boone, to marry him. She said yes. Bundy would go on to father a child with Boone while incarcerated.
16. Bundy used a variety of tools and weapons to aid in his vicious crimes. A crowbar was the most notable murder weapon found in his murder kit. Once victims were inside his car, Bundy bludgeoned them to death with the crowbar (or another murder weapon.)
17. He confidently lured women to his car where he proceeded to commit gruesome acts leading to their murders but when the time come to pay for his actions, Bundy felt that death was wrong and attempted to convince the state to keep him alive. For the first time since the name Ted Bundy came to media attention, he showed raw emotion, fear, and panic as he faced his own death, unable to control the situation or his impending doom, much like his victims. He cried and read his Bible in the hours preceding his execution in Florida’s “Old Sparky” electric chair.