The Ted Bundy Case Study in Criminal Psychology

Introduction

During his formative years, Ted Bundy was raised as the sole child in a household primarily composed of adults in Vermont. However, his life underwent a transformation when his mother entered into matrimony, subsequently leading to the arrival of four additional siblings reasonably swiftly. Bundy’s academic performance during his years in grade school and high school was relatively unexceptional, with an average grade point of B. McClellan (2008) supports this by mentioning, “… Ted’s academic passage through grade school and high school was essentially unremarkable as a B average student” (p. 21). Individuals who were acquainted with Bundy during his secondary education characterized him as an attractive, intelligent, exceedingly introverted, and emotionally responsive male. During his childhood, Bundy did not exhibit any notable behavioural issues; however, he displayed physical timidity and sexual insecurity.

Ted’s Marriage and School Life

The adult life of Ted Bundy was characterized by a sequence of inconsistencies; he exhibited physical attractiveness and charisma. Bundy refrained from participating in noteworthy social interactions until his confinement on death row in Florida. Therefore, Bundy was a loner who remained unmarried and did not have any offspring. McClellan (2008) affirms that “…Ted remained a loner throughout his life” (p. 22). In 1964, Ted completed his secondary education and subsequently enrolled at the University of Puget Sound (UPS) with a modest academic scholarship (McClellan, 2008). Ted transferred to the University of Washington following an unsuccessful initial year at UPS. Over the subsequent six years, he underwent a series of academic transitions before ultimately graduating in 1974.

Mental Disorder Diagnosis and His Crime Nature

Indeed, it is true that Ted Bundy was diagnosed with a mental disorder. Smithson (2013) confirms this by noting, “…in Bundy’s case – his classification as psychopathic and manic-depressive…” (p. 12). This suggests that he was diagnosed with both manic-depressive and psychopathy disorders. Samuel & Widiger (2006) also noted that according to 80% of the clinicians, Ted was characterized as a prototypical antisocial personality disorder case, though he was never treated since he insisted to be alright. The criminal activities of Ted Bundy were predominantly characterized by acts of sexual assault, homicide, and necrophilia. Stieg (2019) asserts that Ted is believed to have committed the heinous acts of sexual assault and homicide against a minimum of 36 female victims during a four-year period in the 1970s. The perpetrator specifically focused on female individuals of a youthful age demographic; frequently employing deceptive tactics to establish a sense of confidence with his victims before committing their abduction and ensuing homicide.

Bundy’s Crime Organization and Their Behavior

Bundy could be classified as an organized criminal due to his tactics of hiding the truth. McClellan (2008) outlines that “…Bundy took such pains to hide…” (p.29). The quote implies that Ted Bundy never left the corpses of his victims exposed in Utah, Colorado, and Washington. He was keen enough to hide them, thereby impeding the efforts of law enforcement to locate them. Consequently, reports of missing individuals were filed, and law enforcement officials were not cognizant of the homicide occurrences until after a long time. This demonstrates that Bundy had an organized approach toward his criminal activities. When caught, Ted was taken for a mental health checkup; during the examination, he insisted that he was not insane, crazy, or incompetent (Stieg, 2019). He even outlined that his attorney insulted him by saying that he could not stand trial because he was mentally incompetent.

Bundy’s Capacity to Stand Trial and Death

Indeed, Bundy was found capable of withstanding trial even though his attorney Polly Nelson tried to delay his death penalty by stating that he was mentally unstable. Dorothy Lewis was enlisted to examine Ted’s brain (Stieg, 2019). Salzer (2020) clarified that “…mental illness at the time of their crime should not be eligible for the death penalty…” (p.102). Meaning that the law exempts individuals with mental instability from death penalty subjection. But Lavender (2021) continues to mention that, on January 24, 1989, after Bundy’s arrest, trial, and conviction, he was put to death via electric chair at Florida State Prison. This denotes that Bundy was mentally competent to withstand trial; otherwise, he would not have been given the death penalty. In addition to murder and abduction, Ted Bundy was equally accused of rape, and he received the death penalty and was to be electrocuted.

Psychological, Sociological, Biological, and Conflict Theories

Ted Bundy is one of the most notorious serial killers in American history. The above four theories can be used to explain why he committed such heinous acts. The psychological theory suggests that his upbringing and past experiences may have influenced his behaviors. Dunkelberger (2020) expounds that Bundy’s grandfather may have physically and emotionally abused him. Similarly, the sociological theory proposes that societal pressures and norms may have pushed him toward his actions. Ted made a new acquaintance, who he claims was the one who taught him about burglary, theft, alcohol, and shoplifting (McClellan, 2008). Through drugs and wrong ideas, this bad group of friends possibly compelled Bundy into crime.

The biological theory points towards a chemical imbalance or abnormality in the brain as the reason for his deeds. Samuel & Widiger’s (2006) confirmation that Ted’s diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder was determined through a consensus rating of 4.70, with 96% of the sample agreeing on this diagnosis, could align with biological theory.

Conclusion

Finally, the conflict theory suggests that social inequality led Bundy to a life of crime. His illegitimacy caused tension between him and his mother, and he equally faced bully in school (Dunkelberger, 2020). While these theories may never fully explain the motivations behind Bundy’s crimes, they offer valuable insights into the nature of criminal behavior.

References

Dunkelberger, H. L. (2020). The Wicked Problem of Child Abuse. 1-10. Web.

Lavender, J. (2021). Ted Bundy’s brain was cut out after execution and tested in the grisly experiment. The Mirror. Web.

McClellan, J. (2008). Case study: Ted Bundy, an offender-based comparison of murder typologies. Journal of Security Education, 2(1), 19-36. Web.

Salzer, J. (2020). Ending the death penalty for people with severe mental illness (How recent Supreme Court cases interpreting Atkins v. Virginia support a new death penalty prohibition). Journal of Constitutional Law Online, 22(1), 101-127. Web.

Samuel, D. B., & Widiger, T. A. (2006). Clinicians’ judgments of clinical utility: a comparison of the DSM-IV and five-factor models. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 115(2), 298-306. Web.

Smithson, R. (2013). Rhetoric and psychopathy: Linguistic manipulation and deceit in the final interview of Ted Bundy. Diffusion: The UCLan Journal of Undergraduate Research, 6(2), 1-12. Web.

Stieg, C. (2019). What we know about Ted Bundy’s mental health. Refinery29. Web.