“Burn, Bundy, Burn!”: The Crimes and Escapes of Serial Killer Ted Bundy
During the 1970s, infamous serial killer Ted Bundy was actively murdering young women. Despite several arrests, Bundy managed to escape and continue his killing spree until he was finally apprehended
Close Call
On November 8th, 1974, Carol DaRonch was approached by serial killer Ted Bundy outside a mall in Murray, Utah. Bundy was dressed as a police officer, and he claimed to have witnessed someone attempting to break into Carol’s car.
He urged Carol to come with him to the Murray Police Department to file a complaint, and 18-year-old Carol complied, climbing into Bundy’s Volkswagen Beetle. After driving away from the mall, Bundy pulled over and attempted to handcuff Carol at gunpoint.
Thinking quickly, Carol jumped from the vehicle and was able to flag down a passing car. The couple took Carol to the police station, where she provided the real police with a description of Bundy and his vehicle.
Carol was very lucky to escape, considering that at the time of her abduction, Bundy’s victim count was already believed to have been in double digits.
Arrest
Almost a year later, on August 16th, 1975, a Utah Highway Patrol officer spotted a Beetle matching the description outside the residence of two young women. The officer pursued Bundy and eventually made a successful stop.
Noticing the handcuffs and ski mask visible in the car, the officer arrested Bundy for evading police and possession of burglary tools. Bundy was put in a police lineup, and Carol was able to positively identify him from the pool of suspects.
His trial in 1976 found him guilty of aggravated kidnapping, and he was sentenced to one to fifteen years in a state prison.
Following his arrest in Utah, Bundy’s vehicle was thoroughly searched. Authorities recovered hair from his car and had it tested. The results were shocking. The hair samples linked Bundy to Caryn Campbell, a 23-year-old woman who had gone missing from a ski resort in early 1975 only to be found murdered near Snowmass, Colorado, a month later.
The Library Escape
This escalated the charges against Bundy from kidnapping to first-degree murder. He was transferred to a prison in Aspen, Colorado, to face charges for the murder of Caryn Campbell.
Bundy decided to represent himself at his trial. As such, he was granted access to the law library in the courthouse building.
Per the judge’s ruling, Bundy was not required to wear any shackles or handcuffs while moving around inside the building; this would be a costly mistake on the part of the judge.