Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy

1. Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy Profiling Psychopathology Dr. Kelley Kline FSU-PC

2. I. Ted Bundy-Early years • Theodore Robert Cowell was born on November 24, 1946 in a home for unwed mothers in Vermont. • After Bundy’s birth, his mother & he returned to her family’s home in Philadelphia, to live with his grandparents. • Bundy’s mother portrayed herself as his older sister, & his grandparents portrayed themselves as his actual parents. • Bundy’s grandfather was a violent & hostile person which strained the family. • When Ted was 4 years-old, Bundy’s mother tired of her father’s abuse & took her son with her to Tacoma, Washington.

3. Early years-childhood • A year following their move to Washington, Bundy’s mother married Johnnie Culpepper Bundy, who adopted Ted & gave him his last name. • Four other children were born in Bundy’s family & Ted watched & cared for his siblings. • Unfortunately, Bundy’s adoptive father’s attempts to “bond” with his son were unsuccessful. Ted only connected with his Grandfather who he respected & admired. • Ted later reported that he was special & his family didn’t see that.

4. Ted-childhood & adolescence • Personality– Ted was a shy & introverted child who was frequently teased & picked on by bullies. He found these experiences to be deeply humiliating. • Academically- Ted did well in school throughout his life. In high school his peers perceived Bundy to be popular, well mannered, & a snazzy dresser. • Interestingly, Ted didn’t date in high school. Rather his interests focused on skiing & politics. In fact, it was in high school that Ted's interest in politics began to bloom.

5. Ted Bundy-College years • Ted went to the University of Puget Sound & the University of Washington for college. He was perceived as charming, intelligent, & polite, but didn’t spend much time with others. He felt uncomfortable around other people. • Ted paid for college by taking entry-level jobs such as bus boy & shoe salesman. He didn’t stay in any 1 job long, & was generally thought of as unreliable. • A relationship with a woman would change his life. Ted met the girl of his dreams (a beautiful & intelligent woman from a wealthy family who wore her long brown hair parted in the center). While Ted was completely taken with this woman, the intensity of feelings was not returned. After she graduated, she ended their relationship seeing Ted as unambitious & lacking direction.

6. Ted-learns his mother’s secret! In 1969, Ted learned that his “sister” was actually his mother & that his “parents” were actually his grandparents. This was devastating to Ted who felt betrayed by the lie he had been living. • Ted became dominant & outgoing. He took psychology courses at the University of Washington & became an honors student. • While studying at UW, Bundy met Elizabeth Kendall, a divorced single mother who worked as a secretary. • Ted also became involved in local politics, and sent out law school applications. He worked on a campaign to re-elect the Washington governor & formed a strong relationship with the Republican party.

7. Ted’s Revenge • Ted found the opportunity to “get-even” with his ex-girlfriend while on a business trip to California for the Washington Republican party. • Ted met with his ex and found that she was amazed by his transformation. He was confident & mature, with a real direction. • Ted met with his ex several times afterwards. During these “business” trips, Ted began seeing his ex romantically again & it was she who fell in love with him this time. • After several romantic experiences, Ted became cold & indifferent with his ex. In February 1974, after almost a year of serious dating, Ted ended all contact with her without an explanation or reason. • His plan to reject her the way she had rejected him worked. She never heard from him again.

8. Bundy’s First Murder • Lynda Ann Healy, a 21-year-old college student at UW, came from an upper-middle class family. She majored in psychology and worked for a local radio station in the mornings. • She also was pretty and had long brown hair, which she parted in the center. • On January 31, 1974, Lynda went out with friends to a local tavern & then home to bed.

9. Lynda Healy • The next morning when Lynda’s 5:30 AM alarm clock began buzzing, but Lynda wasn’t there to turn it off, her roommate thought Lynda had already left for work. • That evening, when Lynda failed to show up for her parents for dinner, her family called the police. • Police noted that Lynda's bed was made. This in itself was odd, because she never made it before. One of the pillowcases and the top sheet were missing.

10. Lynda Healy’s crime scene • Blood stains– Small bloodstains of the same blood type as Lynda’s was found on the pillowcase & bottom sheet. • Blood was also found on her nightgown, that was carefully hung in the closet & one of her outfit’s was missing. • Other anomalies-Police also noticed that one of the doors to the house was unlocked, when the girls were always careful about locking it. • No fingerprints, hair, or fiber evidence was collected at the scene. Police later argued surmised the intruder had gotten into the house, removed Lynda’s nightgown, hung it up in the closet, dressed her in one of her outfits, made up the bed, & wrapped the body in the top sheet & carried her out of the house.

11. Killing Spree • Several more female students suddenly vanished in the spring & summer months followed Healy’s disappearance, • Interestingly, all the women were Caucasian, slender, single, wore slacks, & had long brown hair that was parted in the middle. • Police canvassed the college grounds asking for unusual activity. Several students noticed a man wearing a cast on either his arm or leg who seemed to be struggling with carrying books & asking young women for assistance. • Other individuals reported a man in the campus parking lot who had a cast & asked girls for their assistance in getting his car started. This activity occurred in an area where two of the women had last been seen before disappearing.

12. Washington Murders • Police found the remains of two of the victims in August, 1974 in Washington's Lake Sammamish State Park. The victims were Janice Ott & Denise Naslund, both reported missing July 14th, were later found in a park. • The bodies were badly decomposed, & police made identifications from a few strands of hair, five thigh bones, a couple of skulls, & a jaw bone. • Janice Ott was last seen in the park, when she was approached by a handsome young guy, who wore a cast & was asking for help loading his boat onto his car. Their conversation was heard by others, who said the man called himself Ted.

13. Washington Murders contd. • Denise Naslund, the other victim, was spending time with her boyfriend & friends in the park. She went to the restroom & vanished. • Using the same ruse, Bundy lored Naslund into his clutches, by asking while wearing a cast.

14. Utah Murders • Melissa Smith (Utah’s police chief’s daughter), a 17 year-old, disappeared on October 18, 1974. Nine days later, her body was found. She had been strangled, sodomized, & raped. • Laura Aime, 17 years-old, disappeared on Halloween, & was found in the Wasatch Mountains lying dead by a river on Thanksgiving Day. • Aime’s head and face had been badly beaten by a crowbar & she had been raped & sodomized. It was suspected that Aime’s body had been dumped in the mountains, but that she was killed in another location due to the lack of blood found at the scene.

15. Utah & Washington join forces to find the “same” killer • The similarities with the Washington State murders caught the attention of local police in Utah, who were frantically searching for the man responsible for the grisly crimes. • Utah police consulted with Washington State investigators, who believed the murders were the work of the same killer. • Eyewitness accounts of a man in the cast seen near the areas where many of the women had disappeared, came up with a composite of the killer who called himself "Ted.“ • A close friend of Elizabeth Kendall (Ted’s girlfriend) read about Melissa Smith's murder & saw the composite of the suspected killer. She knew it was Ted & told Elizabeth about it.

16. Ted’s girlfriend calls the police. • Kendall made an anonymous call to the Seattle Police Department in August 1974 & mentioned that her boyfriend "might be involved" in the recent murder cases. • She called the police later that fall as well & gave more detailed information that might help the investigation. • Elizabeth also sent in photos of Ted to the police. Unfortunately, witnesses couldn’t make a positive ID, so Ted Bundy was removed from the suspect list.

17. A new lead…. • Carol DaRonch, 18-years-old, was approached on November 8th, 1974, by an attractive man at a book store at a Utah mall. • The man told Carol that her car had been burglarized & that he would go with her to see what items had been stolen. • DaRonch, thought Bundy was a security guard for the mall & went with him. She didn’t notice anything unusual about her car. However, the man, identified himself as Officer Roseland, & insisted he drive her to the police station. • The “officer” wanted to fill out a report for DaRonch. Bundy led DaRonch to a VW bug. Noticing the car didn’t have any police ID on it, she asked him for his badge ID. He showed her a gold badge & escorted her into the car.

18. DaRonch gets away!!!! • Bundy drove in the opposite direction of the police station & DaRonch knew something was wrong. • Bundy tried to put handcuffs on DaRonch. She screamed & he pulled out a handgun & threatened to kill her if she didn’t stop screaming. • Bundy stopped the car and DaRonch fell out. Bundy pushed her up against the car & was about to hit her with a crowbar, when she kicked him in the groin & ran. • DaRonch was able to get the attention of another car & jumped in with the couple driving it. Taken to the police station, she immediately provided a statement of the attacker. Luckily, Bundy bled on DaRonch’s coat, provided evidence of his blood type (O).

19. Florida • Bundy was arrested in Utah, but escaped from the police and fled to Tallahassee, Florida. • Bundy continued his killing spree, killing two young women in the Chi Omega Sorority house. He bludgeoned the women to death before fleeing the scene. • Bundy’s last murder was Kimberly Leach, a 12 year-old girl. Bundy drove around in a stolen car, before he was finally picked up. • Bundy killed between 35 to 50 young women. He usually bludgeoned his victims with a crow bar either killing them or knocking them out. Following this he would commit gross sexual acts (anal sex) with the unconscious women & then strangle them.

20. Bundy’s execution • On July 23, 1979, Bundy was convicted of the Chi Omega murders largely because his teeth matched the bite marks left on Lisa Levy's buttocks. • Bundy was electrocuted in 1989.

21. John Wayne Gacy • Childhood– had a protective mother & a harsh alcoholic for a father who frequently beat John & his siblings. • John had a blow to the head as a child & apart from being a petty thief, he had an uneventful childhood. • He later attended business school & got married. He managed a fried chicken business in Waterloo, where he became a respected community member. • Then at aged 26, Gacy was arrested for sexually assaulting a young boy. The trial disclosed that he had forced the handcuffed boy to have sex with him. He then paid his victim to keep quiet about the incident. But the youth testified against him anyway.

22. Gacy’s revenge • Gacy hired a young guy to beat up the boy who testified against him. News of this led Gacy’s wife to leave him. • Gacy was sentenced and served his time, being the model prisoner. His good behavior didn’t go unoticed, & Gacy received early parole. • After getting out of prison, Gacy met & remarried another woman. He started a construction business, which he ran from his house, & got involved in local politics. • It was so important to Gacy that he be perceived positively by local society, that he dressed up as a clown to entertain children at social functions.

23. Gacy’s taste for young boys & murder!!! • Although Gacy appeared to be getting his act together in society, his sexual interest in young boys was still thriving. • In 1975, while still married, one of his teenage employees vanished. • Shortly after Gacy’s young employee had vanished, his wife noticed an unpleasant odor in their house. A year later Gacy & his second wife separated. • Alone, Gacy went hunting for young gay males he could lure to his house for sex. He was charming, had money, and power in society so the boys were thrilled at the prospect.

24. Gacy sexual-capades • Gacy lured young males to his home, handcuffed them, & sodomized them repeatedly. He would keep them a few days to a week, before strangling them. • For Gacy “Home is where the boys are!!” He buried the boys’ bodies in the crawl spaces under the house & elsewhere.

25. Gacy’s luck runs out! • In March 1978, a 27 year-old named Jeffrey Rignall accepted an invitation to smoke pot in Gacy's Oldmobile. • Gacy clapped a chloroform-soaked rag over Rignall’s face & took him to his house. • Rignall woke up as he was being sodomized. Gacy then raped him repeatedly & flogged him with a whip. Gacy chloroformed him again and left him in a park.

26. Gacy gets caught. • Rignall spotted Gacy’s vehical, copied down the license plate number & gave it to police. Gacy was arrested, but released for lack of evidence. • The police came back to search Gacy’s house, due to an odor that neighbors complained about. Police found 15 bodies in a crawl space. After removing the floor, a total of 28 bodies were found. In all Gacy murdered 33 males.

27. Gacy executed by lethal injection. • Gacy went to trial in March 1980 and pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. • Nobody bought his insanity plea, and he was found guilty and sentenced to die in the electric chair. • Gacy was actually executed by lethal injection May 10th, 1994.