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Florida. State Attorney's Office, 2nd Judicial Circuit.
Title, Dates:
Felony case file: Theodore Robert Bundy, 1975-1980.
Amount:
19 cubic ft.
Medium Included:
Organization/Arrangement:
Unarranged.
Restrictions:
***RESTRICTED***Boxes 19-21 are RESTRICTED BOXES: Box 19 contains medical records exempt per s. 945.10(1), F.S.; Box 20 contains master audio tapes; Box 21 contains confidential/exempt records separated from other boxes per s. 119.071, F.S. and redacted copies have been placed in original record locations where possible.
Terms Governing Use:
Biographical/Historical:
Theodore Robert "Ted" Bundy was one of the most infamous serial killers in United States history. Between 1974 and 1978, Bundy raped, assaulted, and murdered young women in the Pacific northwest, Utah, Colorado, and Florida. Bundy eventually confessed to over 30 murders, although the actual number of victims remains unknown. Some law enforcement officers estimate Bundy may have murdered 37 women, while other estimates have ranged much higher. Typically, Bundy would rape then murder his victims by bludgeoning or by strangulation.
Ted Bundy was born in Burlington, Vermont on November 24, 1946, at the Elizabeth Lund Home for Unwed Mothers. Bundy's mother was Louise Cowell. The identity of his father is a mystery. Bundy's grandparents claimed him as their son, giving him their last name.
In 1950, Bundy and his mother moved to live with relatives in Tacoma, Washington. In 1951, Louise met Johnny Culpepper Bundy, a Navy veteran and cook at a local Veterans Administration hospital. In May, 1951, Johnny and Louise were married and soon thereafter Johnny Bundy adopted Ted, legally changing his last name to "Bundy." Johnny Bundy tried to include Ted in various father-son activities, but the boy remained emotionally detached from his stepfather. As a juvenile, Bundy was a compulsive thief and shoplifter. Bundy stole skis and equipment and forged ski-lift tickets. He was arrested twice as a juvenile, though these records were later expunged.
In 1965, Bundy graduated from high school and was awarded a scholarship by the University of Puget Sound. After two semesters at UPS, he transferred to Seattle's University of Washington. He began a relationship with fellow college student Stephanie Brooks (a pseudonym). She eventually ended the relationship and separated from him.
While in prison in Florida, Bundy implied that his first actual murder was sometime during the 1972-73 time frame. His earliest known and confirmed murders were committed in 1974, when he was 27. His first known victims were at the University of Washington. He also attacked and murdered female students from The Evergreen State College, Central Washington State College, and Oregon State University. He then abducted two victims from Lake Sammamish State Park in Issaquah, Washington.
That autumn, Bundy moved to Utah to attend law school. While in Utah, he abducted and murdered several young women in Utah during October 1974. In 1975, Bundy shifted his crimes to Colorado and then Idaho. On August 16, 1975, Bundy was arrested in Salt Lake City for failure to stop for a police officer. A search of his car revealed a crowbar, handcuffs, ski mask, and other items that were thought by the police to be burglary tools. Detectives in Utah were able to link Bundy to several of the Utah crimes. Following a week-long trial, Bundy was convicted of kidnapping on March 1, 1976 and was sentenced to 15 years in Utah State Prison.
Bundy was then extradited by Colorado authorities to stand trial in Colorado for murder. On June 7, 1977, Bundy escaped from the Pitkin County courthouse in Aspen. After six days he was recaptured and then taken to the Glenwood Springs, Colorado jail. On the night of December 30, 1977, Bundy escaped a second time and eventually was able to board a flight to Chicago. Bundy traveled from Chicago to Ann Arbor, Michigan, by train. He then stole a car in Ann Arbor and drove to Atlanta, Georgia.
Bundy boarded a bus for Tallahassee, Florida, where he arrived on January 8, 1978. In Tallahassee, he used the alias of "Chris Hagen" to rent a room at a boarding house. Bundy then committed numerous petty crimes including auto theft, shoplifting, and purse snatching. On January 15, 1978, Bundy entered the Chi Omega sorority house at Florida State University in the early morning hours and killed two women, Lisa Levy and Margaret Bowman. Levy and Bowman were attacked and strangled, and Levy was also sexually assaulted. Two other Chi Omegas, Karen Chandler and Kathy Kleiner, were also attacked in their sleep and severely injured. Bundy then broke into a home on Dunwoody Street a few blocks away, attacking and severely injuring Cheryl Thomas, who also was a Florida State University student.
On February 8, 1978, Bundy stole a van from FSU and drove to Jacksonville, Florida, where he attempted to lure 14-year-old Lisa Parmenter until her brother intervened and Bundy retreated to Lake City, Florida. The next morning, he abducted, raped, and murdered 12-year-old Kimberly Leach. By February 12, Bundy had returned to Tallahassee, where he ditched the van and stole a Volkswagen Beetle before fleeing westward across the Florida Panhandle.
In the early morning of February 15, 1978, a Pensacola police officer stopped Bundy. When the officer called in a check of the license plate, the vehicle came up as stolen. Bundy was arrested and taken to jail. He gave a false name, but the Florida Department of Law Enforcement was able to make a positive identification early the next day. Bundy was taken to Tallahassee and charged with the Tallahassee and Lake City murders. The trial for the Chi Omega murders was moved from Tallahassee to Miami, Florida.
In June of 1979, the trial for the Chi Omega murders started with Dade County Circuit Court Judge Edward D. Cowart presiding. Bundy insisted on acting as his own attorney, despite having several court-appointed attorneys. There were two crucial pieces of evidence. Nita Neary, a Chi-Omega member, saw Bundy as he left the sorority house and was able to identify him in court. Secondly, Bundy bit one of his victims and left bite marks. A forensics expert was able to match plaster casts of Bundy's teeth to the photographs of the bite marks. Bundy was convicted on all counts and sentenced to death.
In 1980, Bundy was tried for the Kimberly Leach murder. He was again convicted on all counts and sent to Raiford Prison. On January 24, 1989, Ted Bundy was executed in the electric chair.
Summary:
This series contains the State Attorney's Office felony case file documenting the multiple murder investigation and prosecution of Theodore Robert "Ted" Bundy. The files include trial records, transcripts, motions, investigative notes, law enforcement agency crime reports and investigative records, witness depositions, transcripts of statements given to law enforcement by Ted Bundy, and newspaper clippings regarding the case.
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Folder listing available. 0
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Electronic Records Access:
Subject Access Fields:
Bundy, Ted.
Criminals Florida Criminal investigation Crime Florida
Tallahassee (Fla.) Lake City (Fla.) Pensacola (Fla.)
for detailed listing.