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How was serial killer Ted Bundy caught? Revisiting his first arrest nearly five decades later
During the mid 1970s, Ted Bundy, an American serial murderer, abducted, raped, and killed about thirty girls and women.
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Ted Bundy was an American serial killer who raped, kidnapped, and murdered approximately 30 girls
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Ted Bundy was first arrested in August 16, 1975
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Ted Bundy was put to death at Florida State Prison on January 24 1989
TRIGGER WARNING: This article contains references to homicide and rape.
Theodore Robert Bundy carried out a violent and widely reported campaign in the 1970s that sparked fear across many US states. Many young ladies and girls were raped and murdered by Theodore. He admitted to thirty killings before his death, capping over a decade of denials.
Estimates of his total victims range from 36 to possibly 100, suggesting a higher number. In 1974, officials produced a suspect profile in an attempt to identify a then-unidentified culprit. Elizabeth Kloepfer, who was Bundy's girlfriend at the time, repeatedly reported her suspicions about the serial killer to the authorities in August, November, and December of 1974.
Despite this, Bundy wasn't officially on the police's radar for these significant offenses until August 16, 1975, when he was initially taken into custody for an inadvertent traffic offense.
In August of 1975, Bundy moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, to attend law school. Trooper Bob Hayward of the Utah Highway Patrol tried to pull Bundy down for a traffic violation in the wee hours of the morning when he was driving down a street.
He turned off the lights in his car and sped through stop signs in an attempt to flee, which raised suspicions. Police searched his Volkswagen after he was eventually stopped and discovered handcuffs, an ice pick, a crowbar, and some dubious-looking clothing. Additionally, they saw that his car's front seat was gone on the passenger side. His first arrest was for burglary.
Detectives had discovered evidence, in the meantime, connecting Bundy to the February 1975 Colorado murder of 23-year-old nurse Caryn Campbell. Bundy was accused of Campbell's murder. He was moved to an Aspen, Colorado, jail from Utah so he could await trial.
He was largely regarded as polite and charming, and he spent years avoiding detection. But he managed to elude punishment more than once, and in 1978 he was apprehended for the last time. Ted Bundy was put to death at Florida State Prison on January 24, 1989, following a trial that resulted in a guilty verdict and three death sentences.
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