Serial killings are uncommon occurrences. In fact, serial homicides constitute only one percent of all serial murders in the United States. However, the history of serial murder crimes in the US and the considerably high number of victims have increased the need to study known serial killers. These individuals and their crimes act as significant law enforcement resources, helping the authorities investigate similar crimes. Furthermore, analyzing past serial killing events provides the law enforcement authorities with factual information to use the criminal justice system to imprison culprits.
Several theories explain an offender’s decision to commit a crime like sexual assault, murder, and necrophilia. Most theorists like Matza and Sykes believe they’re an outcome of the criminals’ ability to neutralize or rationalize their behaviors, using the five neutralization techniques. These include denying responsibility, denying injury, denying the victim’s existence, appealing to higher authorities, and condemning the condemners.
In this article, we’re looking at the example of Ted Bundy and his world-famous trial. It’s an in-depth analysis of an American serial killer who confessed to and was charged with the murder, kidnapping, and sexual assault of 28 female victims in the United States.
Read on to learn about some of the Ted Bundy trial’s significant factors and how he managed to get away with his crimes for a long time.
The Charges Against Ted Bundy
November 14th, 1974, was the first time the press revealed Ted Bundy’s crimes in a news article. The published piece of writing identified a 17-year-old missing person, Debra Kent, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Another news of a missing girl followed when Melissa Smith’s body found in Summit Park, Utah. Two other cases involving the murders of two more teenage girls Laura Amie and Sandra Jean Weaver were filed simultaneously.
All the victims’ autopsies revealed sexual assault and a massive brain hemorrhage before their death. As a result, the police flagged these cases as potentially linked to one culprit. After a year’s investigation by the Bountiful Police Department and Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office, the law enforcement confirmed that Theodore Bundy was responsible was all the sexual assaults and murders happening in Utah.
On October 2nd, 1975, Ted Bundy faced criminal charges for Carol DaRonch’s attempted kidnapping and homicide, Debra Kent’s disappearance, and the murder of three girls in Salt Lake City, and several others in the Seattle region.
His First Escape
One of the many reasons why Ted Bundy’s trial is notorious throughout history is his famous two-time prison escape. He was a potential danger to the public due to being armed the first time he escaped. As a result, the police announced a $100,000 cash reward to catch him at the earliest.
On June 7th, 1977, Ted Bundy escaped from custody at the Pitkin County Courthouse to flee from Aspen, Colorado, during his trial. He jumped about 30 feet from the courthouse’s library steps while the Pitkin County police department held him for the charges on the conviction of aggravated kidnapping.
He was most likely to be proved guilty for the violation of Section 1073, Title 18, United States Code. Since he was defending his own case, the authorities provided him with unrestricted access to the library.
His Second Escape
A few months after his first escape in June, Ted Bundy managed to flee from the Garfield County Jail at Glenwood Springs, Colorado, the second time around in December 1977. During this time, he faced a first-degree murder charge of Caryn Sue Campbell and was awaiting the final trial stage.
Bundy managed to lose 30 pounds of weight through his navigation techniques within a few days and escaped from his solitary cell by squeezing through a ceiling hole and inching through its crawlspace.
This time, Ted Bundy simply exited the jailer apartment through the exit doors used by the county’s staff without being noticed by anyone.
The Role of Media in the Court Room
The press and media’s presence in the courtroom during the Ted Bundy trial played a massive role in his global notoriety. The Florida Supreme court signed the authorization, allowing media to use cameras and other recording equipment in courtrooms during trials across the state. It was a significant step that worked in Ted Bundy’s favor in numerous ways.
Despite opposing the idea of his trial’s publicity, Ted Bundy promptly adapted to it. In fact, he developed intelligent ways to use the media to manipulate the audience in the best possible way. By using his charm, smartness, and rhetoric during his trials, Ted Bundy convinced many viewers to support him despite being guilty.
The media portrayed the Ted Bundy trial as one of the most high-profile cases in the United States. A vast majority wanted to see justice unfold in the courtroom. It eventually became a national event of interest and continued to gain popularity until the morning of Bundy’s execution and the detective’s final signal that he was dead.
The Trial and Conviction
Ted Bundy went for his final trial for the Chi Omega murders in Florida in 1979. It was the first-ever televised trial, which lasted for one month. The entire nation followed this trial religiously and saw how dental evidence and his survivor’s testimony linked him to all his previous attacks.
The Chi Omega murder trial was his last straw before the final verdict in Florida’s courtroom. Ted Bundy used the media as an attempt to turn the judgment in his favor. He served as his own attorney due to his legal qualifications, proposed marriage to appeal to the masses, and put himself on the stand to plead “not guilty”.
In other words, Bund used his display of intelligence and several different tactics to keep the judges and the jury on their toes while pleading “not guilty” throughout the trial. However, despite his arguments, the Florida court found him guilty of first-degree murder of all victims from the Cho Omega attack and the attempted murder of Karen Chandler, Cheryl Thomas, and Kathy Kleiner.
The court sentenced Ted Bundy to death by an electric chair, after which he confessed all his crimes in his tape interviews.
Well-known cases like the Ted Bundy trial have influenced many homicide and sex crimes in countries like the USA and Mexico. The recent murder of a Tijuana prostitute by a former Rutgers basketball player, Logan Kelley, is an evident crime example, potentially aggravated by psychology similar to Ted Bundy.
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About the Author
The author is an award-winning investigative journalist of a renowned magazine in New York. She’s also a contributing writer and journalist professor in the United States. She specializes in analyzing and investigating serial murder crimes and their occurrences globally.
