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.