By Calvin Gnech, Criminal Lawyer and Legal Practice Director at Gnech and Associates
01 March 2023
In the 1970’s Theodore (Ted) Robert Bundy engaged in a murderous and public campaign causing panic across many USA states. Ultimately, Bundy confessed to 28 murders of young women before his execution, however it is believed to be many more. This is the first of a series of posts about, perhaps the most notorious serial killer in history.
Bundy developed an art of disguise during his offending and often posed as a person who could be trusted such as a police officer or a person suffering injury or disability. Despite the appalling nature of his crimes, Bundy became something of a celebrity, particularly following his escapes from custody. During his trials (the first to be nationally televised) his charm and intelligence drew significant public attention and unbelievably created a cult female fan following.
On this day 47 years ago, 1 March 1976, Bundy was convicted of the attempted kidnapping of Carol DaRonch. This was Bundy’s first conviction. He was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, at least until his first escape from prison. The first escape will be the topic of the further post in this series.
DaRonch was at a shopping mall on 8 November 1974 when Bundy identified himself as a police detective and stopped her. He said that there was an attempted theft of her car, and called her outside to do a police report.
According to DaRonch in “Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes,” Bundy claimed that the police were holding someone at the station and she needed to go with him. He then pulled over, handcuffed her and attempted to hit her with a crowbar, but she escaped. She reported the attempted kidnapping to police. This failed attempt at kidnapping was Bundy’s error that lead to his first arrest and ultimately his execution.
