User:373077CH/Ted Bundy

The Victims of Ted Bundy
From the years of 1974 to 1978, Theodore Robert Bundy (Ted Bundy) was on a killing spree that led to several murders. More than 30 people have been killed throughout Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, and Florida by him and there have been speculations that there may be more. It is true that Ted Bundy is well known for his crimes, but the same cannot be said for his victims. There are still some mysteries surrounding some of the murders that have been committed, and the reason is that he has only admitted to 28 of the murders and to where the bodies of the victims are buried.

Reason
Ted Bundy targeted women as his victims in order to commit his crimes. The serial killer has been classified as a power/control serial killer. It is the primary objective of such a killer to exert his control over his victims in order to accomplish his goals. Despite the fact that Bundy enjoyed torturing his victims and found it to be sexually stimulating, killing them was his most satisfying and ultimate means of demonstrating his control and dominance over them and proving to them that he was in control over them. As Bundy was a patient individual, he would usually kill his victims slowly to prolong his own sadistic enjoyment.

February- November 1974:

 * Lynda Ann Healey


 * Donna Gail Manson
 * Susan Elaine Rancourt


 * Roberta Kathleen Parks
 * Brenda Carol Ball & Georgann Hawkins
 * Janice Ann Ott & Denise Marie Naslund

Victims in Utah, Colorado & Idaho

 * Nancy Wilcox
 * Rhonda Stapley (Survivor)
 * Melissa Ann Smith & Laira Ann Aime
 * Carol DaRonch (Survivor) & Debi Kent
 * Caryn Eileen Campbell
 * Julie Cunningham
 * Denise Lynn Oliverson
 * Lynette Culver
 * Susan Curtis

Victims in Florida

 * Margaret Elizabeth Bowman & Lisa Levy
 * Karen Chandler (Survivor) & Kathy Kleiner (Survivor)
 * Cheryl Thomas (Survivor)

The Start of it All
Known to be one of Ted Bundy's first victims,  Karen Sparks  is believed to have been Ted Bundy's first victim. An 18-year-old student and dancer who attended the University of Washington and studied political science. During her time in Seattle, she lived in the university district of the city, and this is where the attack took place when she was living in that district. It was on January 4, 1974, that Karen was attacked. During an interview, Karen explained that the events that led to her life being saved were merely a coincidence. In her belief, her killer was scared off by her roommate's habit of talking in their sleep, and that is why she was able to keep him from killing her. As a result, it took her roommate 18-20 hours to find them, laying in their own pool of blood. Due to the severity of her injuries, she was in a coma for 10 days, and when she awoke up, she was in a state of utter confusion, with no recollection of what had happened. The injuries that she sustained during the attack have left her with permanent brain damage, a 50% loss of hearing, and a 40% loss of vision as a result of its effects.

The Survivor Stories
Rhonda Stapley: Attended the University of Utah and studied pharmacy there. She was also a Mormon virgin at the time. In October 1974, a stranger named Ted offered her a ride to campus and she accepted the offer. As she explained in an interview, she was waiting for her bus after she had undergone dental surgery on October 11, 1974, when she said that she was waiting for her bus. During the course of her ride, she mentioned to me that throughout the ride she noticed things around her that were off, but he looked like a college kid, so she didn't pay attention to them because of his looks. He drove her to a secluded forest, and she suffered through three hours of violence. After Bundy thought that she was dead and saw something in the woods and left the car. Rhonda crawled out of the car and tripped into a fast-moving mountain stream and saved her life. She got out and walked 10 miles home. She returned to an empty dorm and vowed to near tell anyone about what happened that night.

Carol DaRonch: This event took place on November 8, 1974, when a teenager at the time was almost abducted from her local shopping mall in Murray Utah, when she was almost abducted by Ted Bundy disguised as a police officer. In the interview she had said that Bundy, told her someone was breaking into her car. They then got to her car, and she noticed everything was there and accounted for. Then Bundy told her that the suspect was being held at the police station and asked if she would go with him to file a complaint. She was suspicious about the officer when Carol smelled alcohol coming from the officer. So, she asked to see some identification, Bundy pulled out a police badge and she left with him. He took her to an elementary school and tried to handcuff her but failed to do so, he then pulled a gun on her, she fought and manage to escape the car and as for help. A year later Bundy was arrested for traffic violations, invading an officer, and for strange items found in his car that was used in crimes that popped up. After this the police called Carol in to pick Ted from a line-up, which she did. That was Ted's first conviction, he was found guilty in 1976 and the judge sentenced him for 15 years in Utah state prison.

Karen Chandler & Kathy Kleiner: The incident took place around 3 a.m. on January 15, 1978. In the sorority house of Chi Omega, these women were sleeping in room 8 of the house. Ted Bundy had just recently escaped from prison two weeks earlier. It wasn't until he got to the sorority house that he noticed that the lock on the back door of the building was broken and he was able to get in, with a heavy piece of firewood in his hand. He came to room 8 after he had killed two of the sisters of the sorority. In an interview Kathy talked about how she heard a noise that woke her up. Her recollections go on to describe how she saw a dark figure lifting a club to her and swinging it at her with such ferocity that she was attacked. As a result of the attack, Kathy, her roommate, was woken up during the attack. Which then Bundy moved to her and began attacking her with his club. As he was attacking kathy a light shined through the room, from a car pulling into a parking lot next door. It was at this point that Bundy fled the scene, fearing that he was being pursued by someone. Silence filled the room as the girls lay in bed. When Kathy began screaming for help, her jaw was completely shattered on one side, which prevented her from screaming for help. Kathy Kleiner's jaw was broken in three places while Karen Chandler sustained a broken jaw, concussion, and skull fractures, a broken arm and broken fingers. Later on in another interview Kathy described how unrecognizable from the surgery's she had went through. It took the women a week each to recover from all their injuries.