The Stranger Beside Me

The book that I read is titled The Stranger Beside Me and it is by New York Times bestselling author, Ann Rule. Rule is not just another author who has done endless research on Ted Bundy, but she actually knew him personally. Ted and Rule worked together at the crisis clinic for almost two years. After their time working together, they remained close friends, regularly meeting up for lunch or writing letters to each other. Rule continued to write him whilst he was in prison and she stood by his side up until his last day. Her novel about Ted is pretty much a biography on him. She mentions a lot of the same stuff that the websites and videos have, but whats so different is reading it from a friend of Ted's point of view. Once Rule began to here the accusation about a mystery man by the name of Ted who drove a light colored VW bug, she was actually the first person to turn Bundy into the police. You might wonder why it took authorities six years after his name was first released to arrest him. The answer is, his name was one of over a thousand names on the list of suspects. Police investigated those who seemed like they would perform criminal acts; they searched people who had a previous criminal record or a dropped rape charge. Even though Rule turned his name in, she never expected that her good friend would do anything to harm others. Rule describes Ted as a warm-hearted, selfless person. Once Rule came to the realization that her dear friend WAS this terrible killer, she was convinced that his reasoning was behind his first love, Stephanie Brooks (who's story is explained in a previous blog post). In her novel, Rule says, "Psychiatrists were more inclined to believe that the killer was a man obsessed by a terrible compulsion, a compulsion that forced him to hunt down and kill the same type of woman, over, and over, and over again, that he could never be able to murder her enough times to find surcease"(Rule 158). Rule strongly believed that the reason he had to kill over and over was because of Stephanie Brooks. When she finally realized who Ted was, after he had confessed, she still claimed that he was a good person who did not deserve to be put to death. She thought that he was simply a man with a lot of pain, and along with this pain a mental disorder. Rule was truly a good friend to Ted and told his story in a way that did not make him seem like a monster, though many claim he was one. She wanted to let everyone know the truth about the worlds most notorious serial killer, Ted Bundy.

So when it comes down to my original question, "How was Ted Bundy such a successful criminal?", the answer can be summarized in one word: confidence. He never second guessed himself about anything he was doing. When he was breaking into Lynda Ann Healey (his first victim)'s house, Ann Rule explained how he had told her that he just walked right in like he owned the place. Ted believed that his attitude affected those around him spiritually. His way of thinking was so out there, that even one of his closest friends had a hard time explaining it. But one thing was for sure, he was confident. When he would lure women away, they weren't afraid of him. Was this because they found him good looking? Maybe so. It's flattering for an attractive guy to seem to interested in you. Of course his attractiveness probably had some what to do with his extremely high self-esteem level, and no matter what, something kept feeding his esteem. Rule states that, "It is interesting to note that through all the trials, through all the years of black headlines that would label Ted a monster, and worse, he would always have at least one woman entranced with him, living for the moments she could visit him in jail, running errands for him, proclaiming his innocence"(Rule 205). He was cocky enough on his own, but this only added to it. You have to be pretty courageous to escape from jail not only once, but twice. And better yet, drive across the country and live there unrecognized for three years before being caught again. He was a manipulative man, tricking not only law enforcement, innocent women, but those around him who knew him best.

Now onto my next question: "Did Ted Bundy deserve death?" I have been back and forth on this question for the entire time I've been studying him, but my final conclusion is yes, he did deserve ultimate punishment. I can see how some feel bad for him because of his horrible home life and his broken heart but that doesn't excuse him. Millions of people have horrible home lives, and almost everyone has their heart broken at least once. Yeah, maybe he did have some mental issue but he never once attempted to get help. Ted had an "all about me" attitude and it is very unattractive. He places blame on everyone but himself. He first blamed his parents, then his grandparents, then pornography, then Stephanie. He even later on blamed the media for making him look bad. He said, "It is sad but true that the media thrives on sensation and they thrive on evil and they thrive on things taken out of context"(Rule 476). He would never even think about admitting that maybe he was a monster and it wasn't just people being mean by calling him that. The main reason I believe that he should have been executed is because of his escapes. Obviously, he is an extremely smart guy if he can escape twice after being put in jail for murder. The authorities couldn't risk having him out on the streets again, putting girls in danger. They got rid of him for good, and I for one think he had it coming.



Rule, Ann. The Stranger Beside Me. New York: Pocket Books, 2009. 1-625. Print.

Fatal Addiction

Ted Bundy's final conversation on Earth was with a psychologist who he interveiwed with the day before his exececution. Ted admits in this interveiw that he knows the things he did were wrong and he had in fact asked God for forgivness. He starts off the interveiw by explaining how he had gotten to be this way and how his addiction to hard-core pornography "fueled the terrible crimes he committed". Ted seems to have nothing to hide. He explains how his first experience with porn was finding magazines in a dump outside his house at the early age of 12-13. After pictures began to get boring he moved on to videos. After that violent videos, and eventually he had become so addicted that to get his "fix" he had to make the deadly transition for fantasy to reality. He studied women and learned how to lure then away. For years, and in different locations, Ted would hunt down women, brutally rape them, and then kill them, dumping the bodies in a remote area. Bundy made it clear towards the end of the interveiw that if it were not for his addiction to pornography, and many other men's addictions to pornography, the killer deep within him would have ceased to emerge.
Although I have already mentioned some things about Ted Bundy's interveiw with psychologist James Dobson in another post, I feel that many important things were said and pureintamicy.org approached it from a different standpoint than I had when I had only watched the video of the interveiw. This article starts off by saying "In that interview, he described the agony of his addiction to pornography." Obviously, from a Christian writer's standpoint Ted was indeed a victim himself which I do partially agree with being a Christian myself. I think that all of us are capable of doing the things Ted did, but most of us are not as vulnerable as to letting things become an addiction and carry out certain urges. I'm sure everyone has been so angry that they could kill someone, but our normal working consciences and steady judgement keeps us from committing certain acts. I do beleive that Ted was mentally ill to some extend and that he did not have an average conscience. Psychologists could have very well learned a lot from Ted if he were kept alive.

"Fatal Addiction." Pure Intimacy. Focus on the Family, n.d. Web. 21 Apr 2010. .

Ted Got What He Deserves

In the first ten minutes of A&E's documentary on Ted Bundy, his cocky attitude is easily felt. When he'd be walked around with handcuffs on he still had a look on his face as if he was completely in control. His confidence finally dwindled away a little when he was on his way to the electric chair. He knew what has coming and he knew that no matter how confident in himself he was, he was about to die and there was nothing he could do about. The scene outside the building he was being executed in was a mad house. People were holding up signs that said things like "Burn Bundy" or "Pay Back Has Arrived". They counted dowwn to the second he was killed by an anonymous officer and when the countdown was through there were fireworks and everyone went crazy. Looking at the smiles on these people's faces you'd think they'd won the lottery.
Personally, I think that they should have left Ted in jail and not killed him. I am against capital punishment but something else that made me mad was that the speaker in the documentary said "Ted Bundy died an easier death than any of his victims". How is it fair punishment that he tortures and rapes women before he kills him yet he dies in a 30 second shock. I guess they killed him because he had escaped twice already. I also found it odd that he was only executed for the murder of Kimberly Leach even though he confessed to multiple others. I do understand why the crowd was so ecstatic though. The death of Ted Bundy could have very well saved many other girl's lives.

"A&E Biography- Ted Bundy- Part 1." YouTube. Web. 15 Apr 2010. .

Ted Gets Caught

In August of 1975, a police officer attempted to arrest Ted for a driving violation. Instead of pulling over, Ted turn his lights off and sped up. The policeman caught up to him and not knowing what else to do, Ted pulled over. The officer was surprised at how calm he acted and how easily he agreed to having his car searched. The officer became suspicious when he saw that the passenger seat had been removed and layed across the back seat. As he continued his search, he found an ice pick, hand cuffs, a crow bar, a ski mask, and what looked to be a hand-made ski mask made out of pantyhose. The police arrested Ted on suspicion of burglary tools. One of the women(Carol DaRonch) that Ted Bundy had kidnapped but not killed picked him out of a line up and he was arrested for attempted kidnapping and burglary. He was found guilty and sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Police also suspected bundy of the Colorado murders so he had to leave the Utah prison and go on trial in Colorado. Montaldo states that "In October 1976 Bundy was charged for the murder of Caryn Campbell." Bundy served as his own lawyer in Colorado which meant he did not have on cuffs or leg irons, and he could move freely around the courthouse and the law library. In June 1977 during a pre-trial hearing he escaped by jumping out of the law library window. He was captured a week later. After being put back in jail, Bundy made his second escape and ran away to Florida. In Florida he lived off of stolen credit cards and had a semi-normal life until his boredom sank in and he began another bloody cycle of murders.


I think it is absolutely ridiculous that someone being arrested for murder was allowed to move about freely in the courthouse. I hope that this rule still doesn't apply today if someone serves as their own lawyer. The fact that he was so unguarded that he could have time to open the window, climb out, and run without anyone able to catch him just astonishes me. I wish the source would have explained how he escaped the second time. It's like that saying, "once a cheater always a cheater". If he tried to escaped once, no-duh he's going to try to escape again. This goes back to how mulipilative and confident he is. I guess it could be turned into a positive for other people. If everybody had Ted Bundy's drive and confidence we could do amazing things. He could have gone on to be anything he wanted, but unfortunetly he let pornography get the best of him and it sent him down a path of destruction and his confidence was used for bad instead of good.


Montaldo, Charles. "Ted Bundy Gets Caught." About.com. New York Times, n.d. Web. 15 Apr 2010. .

Interveiw with Ted

I watched a video I found on YouTube of an interview with Ted the day before he was scheduled to die in the electric chair. Ted started out explaining how well his home life was. He spoke of his wonderful parents, his siblings, and how happy they all were and how great their lives had been. He described his parents as "dedicated and loving". He went on to explain how he first became interested in soft core pornography at the age of 12 or 13. He eventually got into more graphic things as he got older and eventually was watching violent and extreme pornography. He described his obsession with pornography as an addiction and how over time, just watching wasn't enough and to fulfill his needs, he had to start doing the things he was used to watching. One thing that shocked me was when he mentioned that after being in prison for so long, he came in counter with many different criminals and one thing the murders and serial killers all had in common, was that they all had an addiction to pornography. He ends his interveiw with explaining how if it was not for pornography, those women would still be alive and his life would not be ending the next day.

One thing that really bothered me after watching this interveiw is that I almost felt sorry for him. He speaks in such a a convincing way, that he almost makes you forget what all he's done and you see him as a victim of pornography. Also, he was very well spoken. He didn't come across as nervous or awkward but more confident and comfortable with himself. Something that struck me as odd is that he was talking about how great his family life was when many different, reliable, resources tell how it is not. I think that even though he has a sickness, he still loves his family and doesn't want them to blame themselves for what he had become. I don't understand how someone with so much anger and hate can still have love in their heart. Personally, I am against the death penalty. I think Ted should have stayed in a high security prison and should have had to see a mental health doctor. Nobody can committ so many violent crimes and not have some type of disorder. I think that way deep down that Ted wasn't an awful guy, but all of his emotional baggage, probably some underlying personality disorder, and his addiction to violent porography is what led to his downfall.

"Ted Bundy 2". YouTube. Web. 8 Apr 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIKgqTRNjcU.

An Almost Attack

In Rachel Bell's article, entitled "Risky Attacks", she describes one of Ted's first potential victims, and how she got away. In November, 1974 Carol DaRonch, an 18 year old girl of Bundy's type, was alone in a bookstore when she was approached my a very handsome man. The man told her he had seen someone trying to break into her car in the parking lot and asked if she would accompany him to see if anything was stolen. Carol was under the impression that he was a security guard of some type by the way he acted like he was in controll. Carol led him to her car where she explained that nothing was stolen. Instead of letting it go, the man, who identified himself as Officer Roseland, insisted she come down to the police station with him and file a report. Carol was hesitant at first, then agreed to go. When she saw that the man was leaing her to a VW bug, she became nervous and asked him to show some form of ID. He quickly flashed a gold badge in her direction and kept walking. DaRonch chose to assume that he was as undercover cop and that was why he didn't drive a police car. When she willingly got into his car, he began to drive extrememly fast in the oppostie direction of the police station. Carol started screaming and threatening to jump out of the car. The man (Ted) quickly pulled over and tried to hold her down and hand cuff her. Carol wouldn't have it. She screamed louder and jumped out of the car. The man followed her out and pulled out a crow bar and began to beat her with it. Carol shrieked and began violently kicking him in the groin. Eventually she broke free and ran towards the road. She caught the attention of a couple driving by and jumped into their car as soon as they stopped. They drove her straight to the police station as she explained what had happened to her. Bell explains how "she was crying hysterically as she told them a man had tried to kill her." Once they got there the police informed her they did not know of an Officer Roseland in the area, and they didn't have much to go on. All they had was a description and a blood type (O+) which officials would later find out is Ted Bundy's blood type. Carol didn't get the satisfaction of seeing the man who tried to kill her being put in jail until many years later.

Out of all the stories I have read about Ted Bundy so far I think this one scared me the most. The way Ted makes women feel inferior to him and how he makes them think that he is someone of authority is so disturbing. He was so prepared in his attacks and thought of almost everything. For example in this attack he had a name, a fake badge, a story, and a distraction. Carol's main concern was of course the guy who supposibly broke into her car, not the guy trying to help her. I think it's a really good thing that Carol got her story out, because it can teach young girls things to look for when being approached by a stranger. I've always thought of rapist as old gross men, but everyone who knew Ted described him as an extremely attractive and well liked person. You'd think that someone like that could get plenty of women without having to rape them. Another lesson that I'm glad I won't have to learn the hard way, is even if someone has a badge, if they don't have a police car then there is absolutely no reason under any circumstances to get into a car with a man you don't know from Adam. Although Carol did fall for his ploy, she fought back and knew his weak spot. Every girl should be taught how to defend themselves; you never know what situation you may be in someday.


Bell, Rachael. "Risky Attacks". Crime Library. truTV, n.d. Web. 8 Apr 2010. http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/bundy/7.html.