Ted Bundy

American serial killer (1946–1989)

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Lived 1946–1989, aged 43United States

United States Historical Figures

Wikipedia
71 languages
Cross-language footprint
Era
1946–1989
Aged 43
Known for
Crazy, Not Insane
2020

Summary

Updated 2026-08-31

The attention comes from the scale, the method, and the mask: a law student who killed dozens of young women across five states in the 1970s, using manufactured trust to isolate and murder them.

Biography

About

Theodore Robert Bundy was born November 24, 1946. His first confirmed murder occurred in February 1974 in Washington; over the next four years his crimes spread to Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, and Florida. He lured victims by feigning injury or posing as authority, then bludgeoned, restrained, and killed them in remote locations. He returned to the bodies repeatedly until decomposition made it impossible. Arrested in Utah in 1975 for kidnapping, he escaped custody twice in Colorado and murdered three more people in Florida before recapture in 1978. Biographer Ann Rule called him "a sadistic…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Ted Bundy

Ted Bundy

said1989

The ultimate possession was, in fact, the taking of the life. And then … the physical possession of the remains.

— Quoted in Michaud, Stephen; Aynesworth, Hugh (1989) Ted Bundy: Conversations with a Killer New York: Signet. pg. 124–26

Ted Bundy

saidSep 1981

I have known people who ... radiate vulnerability .... Their facial expressions say 'I am afraid of you.' These people invite abuse ...

— In a 1977 letter to girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer, quoted in Kendall, Elizabeth (September 1981). The Phantom Prince: My Life With Ted

Ted Bundy

said10 Feb 1980

Tell the jury they were wrong.

— After being sentenced to death for the murder of Kimberly Leach. (February 10, 1980). video

Ted Bundy

said1980

I'm not gonna be in this room when that jury walks in. I'm not going through this and you knew that, your honor. You know how far you can push me..... You wanna make a circus?

— During an angry outburst after he learns of the judge's choices for the jury for the Kimberly Leach trial. (1980) video

Ted Bundy

said27 Jul 1978