Ted Bundy, Research Paper Example

Abstract

This paper discusses Theodore Robert Bundy (Ted Bundy) a serial killer who conducted a range of homicides between 1973 and 1978.  He confessed to carrying out 30 murders although the range was never fully determined and figures have been reported to be as high as 100 victims.  The paper will be split into three distinct parts: (i) The background, introduction and life of the criminal (ii) The crimes that the murder was convicted of and (iii) two theories applicable to why Ted Bundy carried out these crimes.  The theories under review are: (i) Agnews General Strain Theory  (ii) arousal theory and (iii) neutralization theory.

Introduction and Background

Ted Bundy came from rather a disturbing parental background.  It was unclear exactly who his parents were until a later date. He grew up with his sister, who later it was found was really his Mother.  Louise the mother later confessed to being seduced by a war veteran who it was believed to be Bundy’s father.  She also reported having an abusive father.  So in this sense this was a family with a psycological history of problems.  Ted Bundy was described as having a shy and introvert character during his high school years, generally not socially integrating well with people.  Bundy described himself as an entity that had an obsession with sex and violence from an early age; he searched out literature that depicted violent sexual activities and became stimulated by such materials.  During his juvenile years he gained conviction for theft and shoplifting.

Bundy was a relatively intelligent individual attending two Universities in Washington State. During this time he had a number of relationships before splitting with one student and returning East ton Vermont where it is alleged he discovered the truth about his parentage by visiting a local records office.  In addition to attending Washington Universities he attended law school at the University of Utah  in Salt Lake City. Bundy graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Psychology. He never completed his law studies in Utah.

The Murder History

It was never actually clear where the reign of terror started.  It is widely held that Bundy started killing from his early teens and he was linked to the murder of Anne Marie Burr who disappeared from her home in Tacoma during 1961 never to be seen again.  The killing spree went on across the entire United States with his preferred victims being brunette Caucasians.  His murders were particularly brutal and covered acts of : Sodomy, biting, rape, strangulation, slashing, bludgeoning, necrophilia, decapitation, dismemberment. He was known for taking trophies of his victims which included heads, pictures and skulls.  Bundy adopted various methods of killing his victims but there some pattern .. ” Methods were various. However, for the murders before his first arrest his method was generally the same. He would cruise in his car looking for a suitable victim. The car had the front passenger seat removed especially for this purpose. He had a variety of ruses to lure the victim to his car. This included impersonating a police officer; and feigning a broken leg or arm and asking for assistance with something. Bundy would then beat each girl with an iron bar or other similar heavy weapon. He would then drive the victim to a lonely place, where he could rape her and kill her.” (Barbeault, 2009)

The Police place Bundy on record as accountable for 40 murders but in reality nobody really knows the true number as not all cases have been resolved and the number potentially could be as high as 40.  It was on July 23rd 1980 that Bundy was convicted of two murders and later a third conviction relative to the case of 12 year old Kimberly Leach.  Bundy was sentenced to die in the Electric Chair in the State of Florida.  Bundy confessed to every murder prior to his death and he was finally executed ion Jan 24th 1989 after going through 10 years of appeals.  He ended up confessing to 40 murders but reality suggests the figure could have been much higher.  “One of Bundy’s most famous quotes regarding his crimes can be found in Dr. James Dobson’s book, Life on the Edge: “We serial killers are your sons, we are your husbands, we are everywhere. And there will be more of your children dead tomorrow.” (Lohr, 2002)

One of the statements made by Bundy upon his capture in Florida is indicative of the mind of a cold a brutal killer ” “I deserve, certainly, the most extreme punishment society has, and I think society deserves to be protected from me and from others like me.”  (Anon, 2009)

Theories Under Review

Agnews General Strain Theory: In 1992 Robert Agnew proposed ” the General Strain Theory”,  this had a particular reference to adolescent behaviour ” Agnew’s strain theory focuses primarily on negative relationships with others, in that a person is not treated in a way that he or she expects or wants to be treated. He argues that people are pressured into criminal or deviant acts by negative affective states, such as anger, which results in negative relationships. Such a negative affect leads to pressure which then leads to illegitimate ways to attain a goal.”  (DeMelo, 1999). Bundy had a criminal record for juvenile delinquency including shoplifting and theft. He demonstrated anti-social tendencies from an early age.  He was also angry and particularly about his upbringing and parentage.  The relationship with his sister ( the mother) was played out in the anger with the relationships of his girlfriends.  It might be argued that equally he was a borderline schizophrenic demontrating a “Jeckyll and Hyde character”. Nevertheless the murders were premeditated and carried out in a devisive and brutal manner of a cold and calculated killer.

Arousal Theory: Bundys early crimes fit into the arousal pattern of behaviour.  The shoplifting and theft – the attraction of the thrill and getting away with petty crime.  Hence it might be argued that Bundy sought early gratification from crime.  The brain is stimulated by this response and to achieve higher levels of stimulation you progress to more heinous crimes.  In this case the stimulation of sex and violence and achieving a blood lust. Bundy  himself compared his feelings as “vampire tendencies”.  The point to where he moved into mutilation, collecting anatomical trophies illustrates a shift into insanity.  The key here is that Bundy was very aware of what he was doing and the murders were pre-meditated and as such not the act of insanity. Hence the death penalty.  However, from a normal behavioural viewpoint the acts of a serial killer are not the acts of a sane person.  His convictions of necrophilia, having sex with dead victims, are a case in point.  Hardly the act of someone you would describe as sane.

Neutralisation Theory: Developed by the Psychologists Sykes and Matza. ” Their contention is that delinquent youth are almost as likely as their more conformist counterparts to feel guilt and shame over behaviours that violate the basic norms of our society, BUT THEY FIND A WAY TO JUSTIFY IT. They and their friends develop rationalizations (another word would be justifications) that neutralize their potential guilt BEFORE THEY BREAK THE LAW. What’s more, those rationalizations fall into several typical patterns, which Sykes and Matza call “techniques of neutralization.” (Aronson, 2007).  His willingness to blame pornography for his downfall citing that as the prime cause for motivating his life of crime.  The concept of most of his victims were white Caucasian brunettes and stating that this class of female was particularly selected because they deserved it.  The concept of rationalizing future behaviour based upon some random justification of murdering a specific sect of people.  Holmes and DeBurger classified Serial Killers as being one of four types :

1. The Visionary Type : visions or voices guide the actions
2. Mission Oriented Type : The right to remove a sect from society
3. Hedonistic Type : Pleasure gained from killing
4. Power/Control type:  Control of victims with sexual satisfaction

Bundy really falling into categories 3 and 4. 

Works Cited

Anon. (2009). Stage Direct. Retrieved 12 4, 2009, from Mass Murderers : Ted Blundy: http://www.stagedirect.com/massmurder/killers_bundy.shtml

Aronson, E. (2007). The Social Animal. In E. Aronson, The Social Animal (p. 431). Santa Cruz CA: WH Freeman.

Barbeault, M. (2009, 04 22). Murders Database UK. Retrieved 12 4, 2009, from Murders Database UK: http://www.murdersdatabase.co.uk/

DeMelo, D. M. (1999, 12 14). Criminological Theory on the Web. Retrieved 12 4, 2009, from Criminological Theory on the Web: http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/200/Diane_Demelo/diane.pdf

Lohr, D. (2002, 6 10). Ted Bundy: The Poster Boy of Serial Killers. Retrieved 12 4, 2009, from Crime Magazine: http://www.crimemagazine.com/ted_bundy.htm