CRIME STORIES: TED BUNDY: BENEATH THE MASK (TV)
Summary
One in this series of programs exploring true crimes and criminals.
In this episode, host Richard Belzer profiles infamous serial killer Ted Bundy, known for his shocking murders but also for his deceptively charming demeanor and multiple daring escapes. In January 1978, an intruder attacked several members of the Chi Omega sorority house at Florida State University, murdering two, Margaret Bowman and Lisa Levy, and seriously injuring several others. One month later, using Chi Omega eyewitness Nita Neary's testimony, Florida police captured Theodore "Ted" Bundy, a handsome "ladies' man" who had gained access to the campus with a fake ID. Born in 1946, Bundy displayed "aberrant fantasies" from a young age, but became a strong academic student and went on to work at the Crisis Center in Seattle where he developed a talent for handling suicidal callers. His then-co-worker, famed true-crime author Ann Rule, describes Bundy's fascination with detective magazines and police procedure; Bundy put those skills to use as a number of dark-haired young women – who resembled his first serious girlfriend – began to vanish and eventually turned up dead.
Witnesses described an amiable man who introduced himself as "Ted"; Bundy's then-girlfriend soon contacted police, having realized how much he resembled the cops' profile of this mysterious killer. Bundy moved on to law school at the University of Utah, where several more women also began to vanish. Bundy's sole surviving victim, Carol DaRonch, explains how he convinced her to get into his car by impersonating a police officer, and describing how she narrowly escaped his vehicle once she realized his sinister intentions. Physical evidence, including a "burglar kit" in his position, soon began linking Bundy to the many disappearances and murders. DaRonch confidently identified him in court, explaining that his cold eyes remained the same despite his ability to change his outward appearance. He was found guilty of her kidnapping and attempted murder in 1976 and extradited to Colorado the following year. He managed to escape from the courthouse library in June 1977 and was captured after six days. He again escaped prison through a ceiling tunnel in December 1977, after which he headed to Tallahassee and committed the shocking Chi Omega massacre.
Bundy, apparently stressed by the pressure of being a wanted escapee, began to "get sloppy," then killing his youngest victim, 12-year-old Kimberly Leach. When he was recaptured in February, he gave a "near-confession" to police and chose to represent himself in court, meaning that he was allowed to question his own would-be victims. The June 1979 trial attracted intense media attention, and Bundy seemed to enjoy the fame and experience of hearing witnesses, including policeman Ray Crew, vividly describe the mayhem at the sorority house. Neary's testimony was permitted despite the fact that she had previously been hypnotized, and the physical evidence, including matching hairs and bite marks, sealed Bundy's fate after two weeks of testimony. The jury took six hours to find Bundy guilty, and he was sentenced to the electric chair three times, for Bowman, Levy and Leach's murders. He attempted to plead insanity and gave highly publicized interviews in which he described the murders in the third person. Despite his confession of at least 30 more killings, he did not succeed in delaying his execution, which was carried out on Jan. 24, 1989. Rule, who wrote "The Stranger Beside Me" (1980) about her one-time friendship with Bundy, explains that she still receives many letters from women who also encountered – and were briefly fooled by the charms of – the infamous serial killer. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: Court TV
- DATE: 10:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:45:46
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:66068
- GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Public affairs/Documentaries; Biography; Crime and criminals; Serial murders
- SERIES RUN: Court TV/TruTV - TV series, 1998-2010
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Vincent Kralyevich … Executive Producer
- Lynne Kirby … Executive Producer
- Robyn Hutt … Senior Producer
- Resa Matthews … Producer, Director, Writer
- Chris Courtney … Associate Producer
- Nessa Pearlson … Associate Producer, Field Producer
- Richard Belzer … Host
- Gene Galusha … Narrator
- George Small … Music by
- Sarah Larson … Music by
- Ann Rule … Interviewee
- Carol DaRonch … Interviewee
- Ray Crew … Interviewee
- Margaret Bowman
- Ted Bundy
- Kimberly Leach
- Lisa Levy
- Nita Neary