Ted Bundy Pt. 2: One of America’s Most Infamous Serial Killers

Hi everyone, it's Katie Ring. I'm back with part two of my deep dive into Ted

Bundy for my brand new show, America's Most Infamous Crimes. If you haven't

listened to part one yet, you can find it by following my new show on your

favorite podcast app. Each week on America's Most Infamous Crimes, I'm going

to investigate a notorious crime. Whether it's unfolding now or etched into

American history, revealing not just what happened, but how it forever changed our

society. Each case will unfold across multiple episodes released every Tuesday

through Thursday. From the first sign that something was wrong, to the moment

the truth came out or didn't. You are about to hear part two of my Ted Bundy

episode right here. For part three, make sure to follow America's Most Infamous

Crimes on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. New episodes will

drop on that feed every Tuesday through Thursday. There's also a link to the new

show in this episode's description that will take you there.

Ted Bundy would lure many of his victims by feigning injury or pretending to

need help. He would play his arm in a fakesling, ask women for help

carrying something into his car, and the moment she got close enough, she would be

gone. No scream, no chance to run, just gone.

Everyone calls him the charming killer next door, but charm was just one weapon.

Bundy studied the criminal justice system and used this knowledge as well as his charm to

manipulate everyone around him. Friends, girlfriends, even the police, and for years it worked.

Even after the woman who loved him, tipped off the police twice.

Every crime tells a story about the people involved,

the system that tried to stop it, and the nation that couldn't look away.

Some cases are so shocking, so deeply woven into who we are that decades later

were still asking, how did this happen? I'm Katie Ring, and this is America's

Most Infamous Crimes. Every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday all take you deep into cases that

have a lasting imprint on society, and still honest today. I want to thank you for being part

of the Crime House community. Please rate review and follow America's Most Infamous Crimes wherever

you get your podcasts, and to get all episodes at once, add free, subscribe to Crime House

Bless on Apple Podcasts. Before I get started, please be advised that this episode contains

descriptions of physical and sexual assault, and murder, so please listen with care.

This is the second of three episodes on Ted Bundy, one of the most notorious serial killers of

all time. Today, I'll talk about the beginning of his horrifying murder spree, how he got away with

it, and how it all started to fall apart. On this show, we spend a lot of time focused on details,

because details can change how you understand a case, and in travel, details change how you

understand a place. For travel that gets the details right, visit gocolette.com slash podcast,

and use offer code travel26 to get $200 off select Colette Explorations tours. Colette's small group

explorations tours are designed with that same focus on details. You're led by experts and locals

who know the destination inside and out, and groups stay small, with an average of just 19 travelers,

so the experience feels more personal. You might take part in a century's old tea ceremony in

Japan, guided by the meaning and tradition behind every step, or explore Southern Africa on expert

led safaris that spend multiple days on game drives, giving you time to truly understand the

landscape and wildlife. With Colette, you get immersive travel bill on thoughtful planning,

local expertise, and more than a century of experience behind it. For travel that gets the

details right, visit gocolette.com slash podcast, and use offer code travel26 to get $200 off

select Colette Explorations tours. These days, I'm really focused on quality over quantity. I'm

raising my standards, especially when it comes to my closet. If it's not well made and versatile,

I just don't bother. That's why I love quints. Their fabrics feel elevated. The cuts are thoughtful,

and the pricing is surprisingly reasonable. They make wardrobe staples in 100% European linen,

silk, and organic cotton poplin. Their cotton cashmere sweaters are light, soft, and perfect for

layering this season, and their spring colors, gorgeous. Everything is designed to make getting

dressed effortless. These are pieces built to last, soft gauze that isn't flimsy, linen that holds

its shape, and stitching that really stands up over time. That cotton cashmere sweater I grabbed has

become my daily go-to. Light, locks, and exactly what I want. Stop waiting to build the wardrobe

you actually want. Right now, go to quints.com slash crime house pod for free shipping and 365

day returns. That's a full year to wear it and love it, and you will. Now available in Canada, too.

Don't keep settling for clothes that don't last. Go to cuince.com slash crime house pod for

free shipping and 365 day returns. Quints.com slash crime house pod.

In the early hours of February 1st, 1974, 27-year-old Ted Bundy claimed his first confirmed

murder victim, 21-year-old Linda Ann Healey. Just like when Ted had gone after Karen Sparks about

a month earlier, Linda's housemates had no idea she had been attacked. At 5.30am, her alarm went

off and woke up her housemate. Another girl named Karen. After a half hour, it was still beeping so

Karen got up to tell Linda to shut it off. But when Karen cracked open Linda's door, the room was

empty. However, she didn't think anything was wrong. She just assumed Linda had left already since

she worked for the campus radio station and made early morning weather forecasts. So Karen turned

off the alarm and started to head back upstairs. On her way out, she noticed that Linda's bed was

made, which was odd since she didn't usually bother making it. Even weirder, the bed was made

up in a strange way. Something about it didn't sit right with Karen, but she shrugged it off.

30 minutes later, someone from the campus radio station called the house,

wondering why Linda wasn't at work. Karen realized that something wasn't right. There wouldn't be

any other reason for Linda to leave the house that early. For the rest of the day, she called around

to see if anyone knew where Linda was. But no one had heard from her. So Karen called Linda's

family and they reported her missing to the police. Thankfully, it's not actually true that you're

required to wait 24 hours before you report someone missing. So officers were able to get to Linda's

house right away. They searched Linda's room and found trace blood stains on her pillows,

along with a huge red spot on the night-gown hanging in the closet. But even though it had been a

few weeks since Karen's barks was attacked, the investigators didn't immediately suspect foul play.

Although you don't have to wait 24 hours to report a missing person, sometimes police won't

take the report seriously for 24 hours. This is what happened with Linda. The police figured that

college students like Linda could sometimes go off the grid for days at a time. And they figured

that was the case here and that the blood stains could have been from a massive nosebleed.

They thought that maybe Linda had left to go find a hospital in the middle of the night without

telling anyone. It sounded like a stretch but they really didn't think Linda was in danger and

they figured she'd come home soon. Meanwhile, Ted Bundy was already planning his next murder.

Over the following weeks, he became so obsessed with his violent fantasies that he barely went to

his law classes. He still saved some energy for his girlfriend Elizabeth and her young daughter,

but that was about all he had patients for. His bloodlust was too overpowering.

Just like last time, Ted waited about a month before seeking out another victim,

but he knew he couldn't go back to the same neighborhood where he had attacked Karen Sparks

and Linda Healy. Thanks to his time on the Seattle Crime Commission, he knew that if he kept

killing in the same area, there were more risks of being caught, so for his next attack,

he went further from home. On March 12, 1974, he drove down to Evergreen State College in Olympia

about an hour south of Seattle. Once he got there, Ted lurked in the shadows outside of the school's

concert hall until a young woman named Donna Manson passed by. She looked a lot like his other

victims, young, white and pretty, with dark hair parted down the middle. Ted abducted her without

anyone noticing and murdered her in the nearby wilderness. It didn't take long for people to

realize that Donna was missing, but like Linda Healy, the police didn't suspect foul play at first.

Donna was a regular hitchhiker and had a reputation for being a free spirit, so the authorities

assumed she'd taken off without notice. With Ted nowhere close to even being on anyone's radar,

he went out again about a month later on April 17th. This time, he abducted a young woman named

Susan Rancourt, outside of the library at Central Washington State College, about 100 miles south

of Seattle. Thankfully, her case was actually taken seriously this time. When Susan disappeared,

her laundry was running and none of her things were missing, so it was pretty clear that she wasn't

planning on going anywhere for long, but unfortunately the authorities didn't have much to go on.

Ted's strategy to strike across different police jurisdictions had worked. Nobody had realized

that the female college students were disappearing across the Pacific Northwest, which left Ted free

to continue his killing spree. On May 6th, 1974, about a month after murdering Susan Rancourt,

Ted drove south to Oregon State University and murdered 22-year-old Roberta Parks.

And again, it took a while for foul play to be seriously considered. Before Roberta went missing,

her father had a heart attack, so when Roberta was suddenly gone, her friends figured she'd

gone home to be with him while he recovered. It was another twisted stroke of luck for Ted,

and his urge to kill was only getting stronger, but at the same time, the respectable image he

presented started to crumble. Until this point, Ted had managed to maintain his relationship with

Elizabeth, even as other parts of his life fell by the wayside. And on June 1st, 1974,

Ted was scheduled to attend the baptism of her now eight-year-old daughter. The day before the

baptism, he spent the afternoon and evening with Elizabeth's family, and as always, he acted like

a supportive boyfriend. But Elizabeth noticed him getting antsy as time went on. They didn't get

home until around 10 pm, and according to Elizabeth, Ted was desperate to head back out on his own.

Elizabeth assumed he was going out for one of his strange walks, or maybe too indulge in his

urge to steal random stuff. All she hoped was that he didn't stay out too late since they had

an early morning, but Ted had other plans.

The All New 2026 Toyota RAV4 is here, and it builds on everything drivers know and love about

Toyota. With a redesigned look and modern tech that makes life behind the wheel easier than ever,

the 26 RAV4 comes standard as a hybrid, providing smooth, efficient performance for both

city streets and longer journeys, while the available all-wheel drive keeps you in command when

conditions are unpredictable. The new RAV4 is designed around the way people actually use their SUV,

from daily errands to weekend adventures. While the GR Sport model, coming soon,

both Sinette combined 320 horsepower in a plug-in hybrid drivetrain with a GR-tuned

suspension for an even more responsive, exciting drive. No matter which RAV4 you choose,

you'll enjoy the reliability Toyota is known for, coupled with the inspiring performance that's

unique to Toyota. Shop more and find details at toyota.com. The All New RAV4 from Toyota,

let's go places. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance.

What if comparing car insurance rates was as easy as putting on your favorite podcast? With Progressive,

it is. Just visit the Progressive website to quote with all the coverages you want. You'll see

Progressive's direct rate, then their tool will provide options from other companies so you can

compare. All you need to do is choose the rate and coverage you like. Quote today at Progressive.com

to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive casualty insurance

company and affiliates. Comparison rates not available in all states or situations.

Price is very based on how you buy. Just a few hours before his girlfriend's

daughter was getting baptized, Ted Bundy met 22-year-old Brenda Ball outside of a bar called the

Flame Tavern in Seattle. She was lasting in the parking lot catching a ride from a brown-haired

man with his arm in a sling, which was in line with Ted's M.O. He wasn't actually injured,

of course. He liked to wear a sling or cast when he hunted for victims to make himself seem

less threatening. Later on, Ted would claim that he took Brenda back to his place and that the two

of them had consensual sex. But that wasn't what he was really interested in. He ended up killing

her in her sleep and then spent the rest of the morning cleaning up and dumping the body.

He was so busy that he was late to the baptism and Elizabeth was furious with him. As Ted's

personal life was unraveling, so was his seemingly perfect crime spree. The police were finally

realizing that all the women who had gone missing weren't coming home and that their disappearances

might be linked to one person. In June of 1974, the authorities in Seattle learned about some

disturbing reports from students at Central Washington State College, where Ted had killed his

third victim, Susan Rancourt. Back in April, five days before Susan's disappearance,

multiple students had told the campus police that they had weird encounters with a guy wearing a sling,

who we can safely assume was Ted Bundy. As one young woman had passed by the campus library,

she'd spotted Ted hunched over a pile of dropped books with his sling on. She offered to help him

carry the stack and he brought her to a secluded parking lot where he'd parked his Volkswagen Beetle.

The student was wary of him but Ted pressured her to help him load the books into his car.

Thankfully, she was able to rush out of there afterwards and Ted didn't chase after her.

The young woman had reported the encounter to the campus police into second student described

a similar experience. Once the local authorities put all of the pieces together, they realized they

needed to spread the word and they reached out to police departments across the region.

Although it took a while to reach their counterparts in Seattle, it paved the way for a coordinated

investigation into their recent disappearances on college campuses. So far, the only thing that

connected the victims was their physical appearances. The attacker didn't leave any identifying

evidence at the crime scenes and almost always took his victims to a second location where he presumably

murdered them. So there were no bodies to examine either. And by the time they realized this,

Ted had claimed another victim. A University of Washington student named George Jan Hawkins,

who disappeared shortly after visiting her boyfriend on June 11th, 1974.

To the police, the culprit was clearly a meticulous killer who targeted young women at random,

making him the hardest kind of criminal to catch. Since January of 1974, he'd claimed

of victim every single month. By the beginning of July, six young women were already dead.

And the seventh Karen Sparks had been beaten to the edge of her life.

Ted had covered his tracks well, and now that his rampage had begun, he wasn't going to stop.

However, the spotless persona that served as the perfect alibi was starting to crumble.

No one noticed it more than his long-term girlfriend Elizabeth Clepher.

Throughout their five-year relationship, she'd supported Ted as he went back to school and tried

to make something of himself. In return, he acted like a perfect boyfriend and an ideal father figure

to her young daughter. That was all starting to change, though. Ted was less dependable than he

used to be. He was acting moody and irritable, and on top of that, their sex life had taken a dark turn.

Towards the beginning of the year, around the time of Ted's first murder, he'd started pushing

Elizabeth to perform more extreme acts in bed, starting with things like tying her up with

nylon stockings, which she agreed to. But one night, Ted also started choking her, which they

had not discussed beforehand, and she ended up kicking him out of bed. By mid-July, it had been

a little over a month since Ted's last kill. Until this point, he'd committed his crimes under

the cover of night, abducting his victims when nobody was there to see it. But now, Ted was

ready to take things a step further. On July 14th, 1974, he decided to strike in the middle of

that afternoon, and in a massive crowd. That day, he drove down to Lake Samamish, a 500-acre

waterfront state park about 15 miles from Seattle. He wore a bright white tennis shirt with a

fakesling around his arm, and it seemed like he wasn't really thinking about blending into the

crowd of beachgoers. Ted walked up and down the shoreline looking for victims. For his plan to

work, he needed to convince someone to get into his tan-volked wagon beetle. So, Ted came up with

a cover story that he needed help picking up a sailboat at his parents' place nearby. He tried

a few times without any luck, but eventually he managed to win over 23-year-old Janice Ott.

She was a free-spirited girl with a Bohemian vibe, and agreed to help Ted if he gave her a ride

on the boat. But of course, there was no boat, and after getting into Ted's car, Janice was never

seen again, and it turns out that one victim wasn't enough to satisfy his or his.

Ryan Reynolds here from Mid-Mobile, the message for everyone paying Big Wireless way too much.

Please, for the love of everything goodness world stop. With Mid, you can get premium wireless

for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpay no judgments, but that's weird.

Okay, one judgment. Anyway, give it a try at midmobile.com slash switch.

Up front payment of $45 for three month plan, equivalent to $15 per month required,

introrate for three months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra,

see full turns at midmobile.com.

Why have I asked my age back guy I found on Angie.com to change my grandpa's trachea tube?

I was so amazed at how we replaced our air ducts. I knew I could trust him to change pop-pops tube.

I think we should call it doctor.

Angie, the one you trust to find the ones you trust.

Find pros for all your home projects at Angie.com.

Are you ready to dive into the unknown? Join me, Peyton Moreland on Into the Dark,

the true crime podcast from Ono Media with a hint of horror and mystery.

Each week, I dive into a different case, breaking down the facts and pondering the age-old question.

Why do people do what they do? Now, sometimes the answer isn't so clear and that's why I'll also

explore conspiracy theories, hauntings and all things spooky. From the green river killer to the

moth man incident, we will unravel all of the questions that keep us up at night.

So don't miss out, subscribe now on your favorite podcast platform.

New episodes drop every Wednesday. Into the dark, where true crime meets the eerie unknown.

After kidnapping Janus Ott, Ted came back to the lake later that day.

And he successfully used the same sailboat story on 19-year-old Denise Nazland.

The double murder appeared to satisfy Ted's lust for violence for now.

After killing Janus and Denise, he took Elizabeth out to dinner and stayed over at her place.

He seemed tired, but other than that, he acted like he was back to normal.

But the inner peace Ted had gotten from these latest murders.

Didn't last long. Janus and Denise's friends quickly noticed that they were missing.

And thankfully, the police connected their disappearances all to the area's elusive serial killer.

Investigators were able to trap down the women Ted had failed to lure into the lake,

and they were able to describe him and his Volkswagen beetle to the police.

Ted was even arrogant enough to use his real first name to introduce himself.

By the next morning, the story was all over the news, along with a composite sketch of Ted's face.

Some people who knew him had their suspicions.

One of his former professors called the authorities and described Ted as weird,

but this professor wasn't the only one who realized there was something off about him.

Elizabeth had also connected the dots.

She couldn't bring herself to fully believe that Ted was a serial killer.

Not the man she trusted with her heart and her child was capable of this level of evil,

but she also couldn't deny how closely he matched the description of the man at the lake

or the fact that they drove the same car and even had the same name.

After agonizing over what to do, she decided to make an anonymous call to the Seattle PD,

encouraging them to look into Ted Bundy.

It was enough to place Ted on a list of 100 potential suspects,

but considering his spotless reputation and lack of criminal record,

he was basically at the bottom of it.

The police's general lack of interest in him made Elizabeth feel like maybe she was being paranoid,

and for the time being she let it go.

Ted had no idea Elizabeth had called the authorities,

but he'd seen all the reports about his crimes at the lake.

He decided to get out of town for a while and transfer to the University of Utah's

law school in Salt Lake City for the fall semester of 1974.

It was a calculated move.

Elizabeth had family there and even though she didn't move to Utah with him,

it made sense that he'd go there.

He had been talking about it as a possibility for a while and the decision didn't come as a surprise.

So when he left Seattle on September 2nd in 1974,

Elizabeth didn't necessarily find it suspicious.

After the murders at the lake, Ted knew he couldn't risk killing again in Washington,

but once he got settled in Salt Lake City,

he felt like it was safe to go back out on the hunt.

Between the start of October and the first week of November 1974,

Ted murdered four more young women.

They were even younger and more vulnerable than his previous victims.

One was just 16 years old while the other three were 17.

Ted also tried to claim a fifth victim,

an 18-year-old girl named Carol DeRanche.

However, he failed to handcuff her properly and she managed to escape by jumping out of his moving car.

Carol was able to give the police a description of the man who attacked her,

and as word got around, the authorities realized that the killer from the Pacific Northwest

was now in Utah. Unfortunately, they didn't have many leads to follow,

but thankfully, the investigation back in Washington was making real progress.

Two weeks earlier on October 27th, a group of hunters had stumbled upon the bodies of Janis Aught

and Denise Nazland in the wilderness area near Lake Samamish,

and the evidence was chilling.

It suggested that the killer kept the women alive in the woods for several days

while he sexually assaulted them and continued to do it even after they were dead.

He also routinely cleaned them up and put makeup on them.

It was like the murderer had treated the victims more like dolls than people.

When these reports hit the news, they understandably terrified a lot of people.

And when Ted's girlfriend Elizabeth read the stories, she was no exception.

Her suspicions about him came roaring back.

In late October, Elizabeth called her local police and then again in November.

This time, she gave her name and explained her relationship to Ted,

but just like before, nothing came of it.

Detectives were receiving hundreds of tips every day and officers were putting in hundreds of

hours per week, just fielding phone calls from distressed parents and curious journalists.

And at this point, they needed to prioritize suspects who seemed more likely to commit violent crime.

Despite her suspicions, Elizabeth was comforted by the fact that the police weren't interested in Ted.

So she once again set aside her fears about him and they spent a happy Christmas together.

But their happiness wouldn't last much longer.

By the end of the next year, Elizabeth's fairytale romance with Ted Bunny would come to a terrifying end.

Like we did yesterday, at the end of the episodes, we're going to be taking any questions you

may have. So let's get into it.

How could someone so close to Ted Bundy not fully believe he was capable of murder?

In hindsight, I think it's easy to chalk up Ted Bundy and a lot of other serial killers to

just these evil people, but they never really exposed that part of themselves to their long-term

partners or families. That side of them is really reserved for their victims.

And I watched an interview with Elizabeth, his ex.

And she said that Ted was a total gentleman. He was smart, charming, charismatic, and he was a great

father figure to her daughter. Her parents loved him. So there were no other signs that he was

this person except for maybe the stealing at night, but she again didn't think that was

stealing would be a serial killer. That's the next level. But imagine if someone today told you

that your boyfriend was a serial killer. Like the first thing is you're there's no way.

There's no way my judgment would be off on someone like that. And I think that's why a lot of

people also victim blame because it feels safer to think how did that person not realize that the

partner they were with was a serial killer. Because you want to think I would realize. So I think for

you know, you see this amazing guy and separating that fact is very hard. It completely turns your

world upside down. Despite that, she did actually report Ted twice. The first time her co-workers

showed the sketch to her after the lakes of Mammish incident. And she again was totally thrown off,

but thought that she needed to do something. So she called the police anonymously. The second time

was someone came to her and said that the killings are picking up in Utah. And this was right after

Ted had moved to Utah. And so she's like, there's no way that this is just a coincidence. So again,

she called the police. And this time the police actually did show Ted's picture in like a stack of

pictures. And one of the witnesses picked his picture out and said, uh, no, this guy is too old.

And so the police couldn't really do anything after that because the witness didn't identify him.

And I think that gave her a sense of comfort that, okay, like, you know, maybe I was just crazy. Like,

how could I think this guy that I love so much would do this? It's just me losing my mind.

What made Ted Bundy's method so especially disturbing? And why did they reveal something even darker

about who he really was? I think one of the most disturbing things about Ted in general is how normal

he looked and how some people consider him attractive, which I personally don't get. But what made

his tactics even more disturbing was that he took advantage of people's good nature. And a lot of

the women he, you know, he would pretend like he was wearing a sling or he needed help putting

something into his car. And a lot of women are taught to be polite and to be helpful in that way.

And so that's just really disturbing. And I resent him for that because I'm a person who would love

to help people. But now I always advise women in self-defense that men don't usually ask for help

from women and children they don't know. And if they do, there's usually an ulterior motive. So your

want to help or be polite is not more important than your safety. So it's always better to be

safe than sorry. He also acted like a person of authority and took advantage of women that way.

We talked about the case of Carol DeRanche earlier and we didn't go into all the details. But in that,

he actually pretended he was a police officer and told her that someone was breaking into her car

in the parking lot, which why would he know which car is hers? So that's kind of the first red flag.

And he told her that she needed to get in the car with him and he needed to take her to the police

station. And he attempted to handcuff her and she immediately was like, there's something wrong

with this and was able to escape. That's also the importance of listening to your gut and being

like something's wrong right away and be wary even of authority figures and people who are

faking injuries and asking for help. What advice would you give to someone who feels uneasy about

their partner? I think the best advice for women in general is to always trust your gut. Women have

a very good intuition and that's one of our best advantages in these kinds of situations.

And a lot of people will have a gut feeling, but they'll explain it away. No, I know this guy.

No, he loves me. No, he's such a good father. No, my parents love him so much. There's no way.

Even though you may have had that original gut feeling that something is off. So I always say,

listen to that initial feeling and even if these other rationalizations come in,

if you ever have that feeling, I don't usually say to snoop on a partner. But if you get a feeling

like that, I highly recommend looking into your partner because your intuition is very strong

and it's usually trying to scream at you that something's wrong if you're getting that feeling.

Thank you so much for joining me for this episode. If you're watching on YouTube,

make sure to subscribe below. If you're listening on audio, please rate review and follow

America's most infamous crimes. And to get all of the episodes at once, add free

subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts. Make sure to come back tomorrow for our final

episode on Ted Bundy. Thank you for listening to part two of my deep dive into Ted Bundy.

For part three, follow America's most infamous crimes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever

you listen. New episodes will drop there every Tuesday through Thursday. There's also a link to

the new show in this episode's description that will take you there. Jackson Hewitt will do your

taxes for $149 or less, no matter how complicated. So if you're a delivery driver,

slash handyman, slash wedding DJ, you pay only $149 or less. We're talking to you, waitress.

Check please. Slash pet sitter, slash influencer, just $149 or less. Won't your refund to work

as hard as you? Hurry, don't wait. File with Jackson Hewitt today. Let it a time offer for new

clients on federal returns, participating locations only turns at Jackson Hewitt.com slash $149.

Thanks for listening to today's episode. Not sure what to listen to next.

Check out America's most infamous crimes hosted by Katie Ring.

From serial killers to unsolved mysteries and game-changing investigations,

each week Katie takes on a notorious criminal case in American history. Listen to and follow America's

most infamous crimes now, wherever you listen to podcasts.