The home of Theodore Robert Cowell aka Ted Bundy

Many people believe that Ted Bundy lived at a home tucked away up emigration canyon, because that’s just it, it’s believable. Why wouldn't someone who does such appalling, unimaginable things want to stay away from the general public, stay private? It makes perfect sense. Ted Bundy moved to Salt Lake City a month after receiving a second acceptance letter in August 1974 from the University of Utah Law School. Ted moved to the real home that he resided during his time in Utah. 565 First Ave. Salt Lake City. He lived there in a second floor room apartment from September 1974 to October 1975. The home looks like a typical family home. A home you would like to start a family in, a home you would never imagine a serial killer would live in, the perfect cover. The move came at the perfect time as he was a suspect in several crimes in Seattle. But he wouldn't stop there.

On October 2^nd 1974 he took 16-year old Nancy Wilcox from Holladay as his first known victim in Salt Lake City. He dragged her into a wooded area where he raped and strangled her. However, Ted claims the strangling was an accident caused by trying to keep her silent. Her remains were never found. On October 18^th Melissa Smith, a 17-year old daughter of a police chef, disappeared after leaving a pizza parlor. Her body was found in a mountainous area nine days later. On October 31^st in Lehi, Laura Ann Aime, also 17, disappeared after leaving a cafe. Her body was found by hikers 9 miles in American Fork Canyon on Thanksgiving Day. Both Smith and Aime were beaten, raped, sodomized and strangled with nylon stockings. Years later Ted confessed his postmortem rituals with their remains including shampooing their hair and applying makeup. On November 8^th in Murray, Ted approached 18- year old Carol DaRonch at a mall. He identified himself as Officer Roseland of the Murray police department, he had told Carol that someone had attempted to break into her car; he asked to drive Carol to the police station to submit a statement. When he drove down a different road Carol brought it to his attention. He immediately pulled over and proceeded to handcuff her but he fastened both handcuffs on the same wrist and she was able to escape.  Later that same evening Debra Kent disappeared after leaving a theater. On June 28^th Susan Curtis vanished from the BYU campus, this murder became Ted’s last confession before he was executed. These are only a few of the victims he had confessed to, many of the bodies were never recovered.

Ted was arrested August 1975 by a Utah highway patrol officer after he failed to pull over for a routine traffic stop. The front passenger seat in his famous Volkswagen was missing. Other items found in his car included two masks, a crowbar, handcuffs, trash bags, rope, an ice pick and other items used for burglary. But there was nothing sufficient to hold him and he was released. Ted later said that officers missed a collection of Polaroid photographs of his victims hidden in his utility room which they searched. Ted was put under 24-hour surveillance when released. In September, Ted sold his car and police impounded and searched the vehicle, they found hairs matching samples obtained by Caryn, Mellissa and Carol’s body. On October 2^nd Ted was put in a line up before DaRonch who immediately identified him. He was freed on $15,000 bail by his parents. On February 23^rd Ted stood trial, he was later found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in Utah state prison. He was transferred to Aspen Colorado in January 1977 where he escaped prison twice and moved to Florida. Ted claimed more victims in Florida before being caught a final time in Pensacola. He was sentenced to death by electrocution. Days before his execution Ted underwent a series of interviews, during his confessions he had said that he had decapitated the heads of 12 of his victims with a hacksaw and kept 4 of them in his Utah apartment which were later found. He also confessed to bringing some of his victims back to his apartment where he would reenact scenarios depicted on the covers of detective magazines. Ted only confessed to 30 homicides, 8 of which are from Utah, but the estimate runs as high as 100 or more across several states. When FBI agents told Ted that they suspected he had killed 36 people Ted said “add one digit to that and you will have it”. Ted died on the electric chair at 7:16am on January 24^th 1989.

Further secrets have died with Ted; we will never truly know the whole story of Ted Bundy- The Serial Killer. But what he did confess to was horrific. The apartment that he lived at during his stay in Utah will forever be stained with the sick and twisted things he has done there, with the secrets he had been living with each and every day and the memories that weighed on him of what he had done. Today this house in which Ted Bundy had stayed is now a duplex where people currently live. Do they know what happened there? Do they know its gruesome history?

Lindsey

Resources- Wikipedia