The Bundy Murders: A Comprehensive History

267 Pages·2009·2.49 MB·English

by  Kevin M. Sullivan

The Bundy
Murders
This page intentionally left blank
The Bundy
Murders
A Comprehensive History
K M. S
EVIN ULLIVAN
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina, and London
LIBRARYOFCONGRESSCATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATIONDATA
Sullivan, Kevin M., 1955–
The Bundy murders : a comprehensive history / Kevin M.
Sullivan.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7864-4426-7
softcover : 50# alkaline paper
1. Bundy, Ted. 2. Criminals—United States—Biography.
3. Serial murderers—United States—Biography. I. Title.
HV6248.B773S85 2009
364.152'32092—dc22 [B] 2009028713
British Library cataloguing data are available
©2009 Kevin M. Sullivan. All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying
or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.
On the cover: Hand and blood spatter ©2009 Shutterstock; icepick
from Bundy’s murder kit (courtesy Salt Lake County Sheriff’s
Office, and King County Archives); Bundy mug shot (courtesy King
County Archives)
Manufactured in the United States of America
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
For my granddaughter,
Isabella Grace Steele
A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS
The process of writing a book can be long, sometimes tedious, always
time-consuming, and can provide many opportunities for bouts of frustra-
tion and joy along the way. It is also unspeakably satisfying and greatly
rewarding, once the task is completed. When you’re writing a work of
nonfiction, and many of the participants of the story are still living, you will
be indebted to many souls for their assistance along the way. Some made
major contributors, while others may have simply pointed me in the direc-
tion I needed to go. Regardless, I was, and I remain, extremely grateful to all
with whom I crossed paths.
I would like to thank specifically the investigators who so willingly gave
of their time to help me understand what it was like to hunt the killer they
came to know as Theodore Robert Bundy, and what had to occur to bring
him to justice. I found them to be unique individuals, extremely dedicated
to their chosen field, and true treasure-troves of knowledge. Without ques-
tion, their contribution to this book is substantial.
Through two face-to-face interviews and numerous phone calls, Jerry
Thompson was receptive to my questions and always happy to give additional
clarification when asked. He provided me with copies of numerous records
from his personal files pertaining to the case, including material on the mur-
der of Melissa Smith and copies of Bundy’s gasoline charges throughout Utah
and Colorado. While all of these files are now part of the public record in
Utah, locating them can sometimes be next to impossible. His help, there-
fore, was invaluable beyond words.
I would also like to thank Dr. Robert D. Keppel, whose knowledge of
and dealings with Theodore Bundy are both extensive and well documented.
He always found the time in his busy academic and professional schedule to
answer my questions, and while some of our conversations were lengthy, at
no time did he rush me or try to hurry off the phone; except, of course, on
the one occasion when I caught him only moments before he was about to
step up to the podium to give a lecture. (I could hear the anxious crowd in
vi
Acknowledgments vii
the background!) On the contrary, he was more like a professor endeavoring
to impart knowledge to his student, and I was more than willing to play the
part of the latter.
When I first received the return phone call from Michael Fisher, for-
merly chief investigator for the Pitkin County District Attorney in Aspen,
Colorado, in the Bundy case, it was like I had known him for years. Mike was
friendly and listened patiently to and answered all of my questions; questions
he’d obviously been asked before. Not only was I able to contact him when-
ever necessary, but Mike, at my request, typed out many of his personal expe-
riences with Bundy, including an extensive behind-the-scenes look at his
personal investigation into the case, and e-mailed them all to me. For such
an effort, I am eternally grateful.
When I decided to write this book, I felt strongly that it should be writ-
ten sequentially, beginning in Washington State, Bundy’s adopted home, and
where he first spiraled into murder. Therefore my last stop, both in a liter-
ary and a physical sense, would be Florida. Hence, my meeting with Don
Patchen, though last, can in no way be considered least.
Don Patchen was a detective for the Tallahassee Police Department when
the murders occurred at the Chi Omega sorority house, and soon he was
made lead detective in the case. When I sat down with him in his home in
Tallahassee in late June 2008, over a plate of delicious chocolate chip cook-
ies freshly baked by his wife, he told me first-hand what it was like dealing
with a Theodore Bundy who was clearly in decline, after his arrest in Pen-
sacola in mid–February 1978. And then, as if to transport me back through
time, he lifted from beside the table a large clear plastic storage tub contain-
ing his original notes, papers, and various files from the case. He gave me
unfettered access to this material, and allowed me to copy material which
would clearly be beneficial to my research. Again, he bore the traits of all of
the above-mentioned investigators with whom I had the pleasure of work-
ing. They are all men of integrity, whose chief concern was that I tell the story
both accurately and honestly; something that I promised them I would do.
I would also like to thank Dr. Al Carlisle, the Utah clinical psychologist
who evaluated Theodore Bundy after the killer’s conviction in the Carol
DaRonch case. Having spent many hours with his subject, he came to know
Bundy quite well. My initial contact with him was by phone (he and I were
unable to align our schedules during my August 2006 trip to Utah for a face-
to-face meeting), and I found him to be exactly as he’d been described by a
mutual friend. He was friendly, had a great a sense of humor, and was will-
ing to help me in any way possible. That help came in the form of telephone
calls, questions I fired off to him in e-mails which he promptly answered, and
the permission he gave me to reprint private correspondence he had con-
ducted with others concerning Theodore Robert Bundy. I am indebted to Dr.
viii Acknowledgments
Carlisle for his very kind assistance in helping me discover that which lurked
behind the eyes of the sociopath known as Theodore Bundy.
Now, collectively, I would like to thank these individuals from the fol-
lowing states. Some made major contributions. Washington State: Detective
Robert D. Keppel, King County Police Department, retired; Mrs. Beverly Burr
(mother of Ann Marie Burr); Jamie Spain, University of Puget Sound; Brenda
Cooke, The Seattle Weekly; Stephanie Clark, The News Tribune library; Jodie
Gripp, Tacoma Public Library; Janette Gomes, King County Archives; Cap-
tain Kevin Higgins, Central Washington State College Campus Police; The
Tacoma Historical Society; the staff of the Seattle Public Library; Tim Clancy;
Duane Covey; Ross Davis; Stuart Elway; Danny Lazarus.
Utah: Detective Jerry Thompson, Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office,
retired; Detective Ira Beal, Bountiful Police Department, retired; Dr. Al
Carlisle, clinical psychologist; Ana Daraban, The Salt Lake Tribune; Becky
Hodges, The Salt Lake Tribune; David Yocom, Deputy Salt Lake County pros-
ecutor, retired; Robert Stott, assistant county prosecutor, Salt Lake County;
the staff in the research department, of the J. Willard Marriott Library, Uni-
versity of Utah; Amanda Solomon, evidence custodian, Brigham Young Uni-
versity Police; Ed Midgley, court reporter, Third District Court, Salt Lake
City, Utah; Sally Koch, deputy county clerk, Third District Court, Salt Lake
City, Utah; Lieutenant Paul S. Jaroscak, public information officer, Salt Lake
County Sheriff’s Office.
Colorado: Michael J. Fisher, chief investigator, Pitkin County District
Attorney’s Office, retired; Beth Bascom, chief investigator, Pitkin County
District Attorney’s Office.
Idaho: Russell T. Reneau, chief investigator, Idaho Attorney General’s
Office, retired; Randall Everitt, former criminal investigator, Idaho Attorney
General’s Office;RobertCooper,Idaho Attorney General’s Office; Ellen Mey-
ers, records custodian, Pocatello Police Department.
Florida: Detective Donald Patchen, Tallahassee Police Department,
retired; Rick Courtemanche, assistant city attorney, Tallahassee; records
department, Lake City Police Department; Officer David McCranie, media
representative, Tallahassee Police Department; Holly G. Sinco, Adam Wat-
son, and R. Boyd Murphree, archivists, State Archives of Florida.
I would also like to thank the following individuals: William Hagmaier,
former FBI agent and close confidant of Theodore Bundy for the last several
years of his life; Curt Crawford, FBI; Dr. Ronald M. Holmes; James Massie,
who initially introduced me to Jerry Thompson, and was an important link
to the story of the Bundy murders; the staff of the Louisville Free Public
Library; and Dr. James Holmberg, the Filson Club Historical Society.
T C
ABLE OF ONTENTS
Acknowledgments vi
Preface 1
1. A Time of Terror 13
2. Birth, Boyhood, and Beyond 47
3. Metamorphosis 73
4. Nightmare in Utah 85
5. A Lethal Colorado Winter 119
6. Springtime Doesn’t Always Mean New Life 132
7. Out of the Shadows 143
8. So You’re the One! 155
9. Cat and Mouse 165
10. Conviction 173
11. Escape to Tallahassee 187
12. Lake City 208
13. “Going west at someone else’s expense” 219
14. A Very Public End 232
Afterword 243
Chapter Notes 247
Bibliography 251
Index 253
ix