Serial killers are individuals who kill three or more people to serve their abnormal gratifications, with the killings taking place for more than a month and a period between them. Over the years, some notorious serial killers have graced the US, like Jack the Ripper and Ted Bundy. Although psychological gratification is the major drive for serial killers, most of them have sexual motives. This paper will focus on Ted Bundy, an American serial killer involved in the killings of 36 women in the 1970s. He confessed to 36 murders before he was executed in 1989 using an electric chair. The actual number of his victims is unknown, but it is believed that the number could be higher.
Ted was born by Eleanor Cowell, who was an unmarried woman in 1946; his biological father is unknown. Later in 1951, his Eleanor married Bundy, which resulted in Ted taking his name. However, he disrespected his stepfather, whom he believed to be uneducated. His birth was a shame to his mother, who was a religious person. To hide Ted’s illegitimacy, his grandparents adopted him and made to believe that Eleanor was his sister. He grew up in Washington in a working-class family. At the age of 3 years, he developed a fascination for knives. Generally, he was a very smart but shy kid; he performed very well in school but never coped well with his peers (Ted Bundy, 2020). His dark character emerged when he was a teenager.
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Ted was bright and was a psychology graduate from the University of Washington. He also attended Utah law school before his arrest. He fell for a rich and beautiful girl from California who had everything that Ted desired when he was a student at Washington. She later broke up with him, which devastated him. This was the beginning of his killing spree as he killed women who resembled his ex-girlfriend. In the mid-1970s, Ted had become a confident and socially and politically active individual (Ted Bundy, 2020). He confessed to the killing of 36 females in seven states, although experts think the number could be nearly 100 victims. He often raped all his victims before killing them. In most of the killings, he pretended that he was injured, which helped lure his targets into his car.
After moving to Utah to study law, females began disappearing. He was apprehended after robbery items were found in his car in 1975. He was then apprehended for the abducting Carol DaRonch, who escaped his kidnapping, which resulted in a jail sentence of one-to-15 years. He escaped prison twice but was later apprehended. After his second escape, he killed two females whom he attacked in Florida. Later, he killed a girl who was 12 years old (Ted Bundy, 2020). This marked his end as he was arrested and evidence (bite marks) connected to the two killings in Florida. Ted was convicted for the killings in Florida, which resulted in a death penalty; he lost his appeal. He confessed to the killing of 36 women and was executed using an electric chair in Florida. His body was cremated, where no ceremony took place.
Ted showed many characteristics of a serial killer. He was a male and an intelligent person. He also came from an unstable family where he never knew his father, disrespected his stepfather; he also later learned that his sister was his mother. He also had an addiction to pornography, which made him want to explore his fantasies. This, combined with childhood anger and not being to fit in, greatly affected him. It is also believed that his grandfather was abusive. According to his prison psychiatrist, Ted was greatly affected by his complicated family (Canning, 2019) . Finally, he was seeking revenge after the breakup with his girlfriend. He killed women who resembled her. All these made Ted the serial killer he was.
Ted's criminal behavior was influence by social conflict theory, where he felt disempowered by the power structure. First, he disrespected his stepfather as he was not very educated and was working class. Ted's first girlfriend broke up with him due to a power imbalance, where he lacked the money to fit in her class. This contributed to his killing spree as a form of revenge, killing females who resembled her. His criminal acts were influenced by developmental theory. During his development, he learned that his sister was his biological mother and never knew about his father. He also watched violent pornography, which made him follow explore his fantasies. At a young age, he was unable to fit in, particularly due to his family's complexity. His prison psychiatrist believes that this affected his life significantly.
Ted was a serial killer in the 1970s who was involved in the killing of more than 36 females after kidnapping and raping them. His complicated childhood, family life, and the break up with his university girlfriend may have played a huge part in shaping him into a serial killer. Serial killers are shaped by trauma and their psychological gratification. There is nothing much that can be done to serial killers. It is difficult to shed off their mentality, obsessions, and personality after evolving. The only solution to serial killers is keeping them behind bars, where they cannot hurt anyone.
References
Canning, K. (2019, May 8). Women's Health . Retrieved from Women's Health Website: https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a27407386/ted-bundy-motives/
Ted Bundy, Biography. (2020, April 6). A&E Television Networks . Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/ted-bundy
