Ted Bundy is one of the most infamous serial killers in American history. During the ’70s, he murdered dozens of women, the majority in the western states and Florida. But on November 8, 1974, one young woman got away from him, and she helped bring him to justice.
Carol DaRonch was 18 years old when she was at a shopping mall in Murray, Utah. Bundy walked up to her pretending to be a police officer. He told her someone had tried to break into her car and asked her to come with him to the Murray Police Department to sign a complaint. DaRonch got into his Volkswagen, then Bundy locked one handcuff on her left wrist, but she fought back as he threatened her with a handgun and a crowbar.
DaRonch jumped out and waved down a passing car. In that car were Wilbur and Mary Walsh, an elderly couple who rescued her and drove her to the police station, where she described Bundy and his car.
Almost a year later, on August 16, 1975, Utah Highway Patrol trooper Bob Hayward saw a Volkswagen Beetle parked outside a house where two young women lived.
As Hayward turned on his headlights to check the car, Bundy took off. After a chase, Bundy pulled over. Inside his car, Hayward found handcuffs, a ski mask, and pantyhose with holes cut in them.
Bundy was arrested and was later put into a police lineup, and though he tried to change his appearance, DaRonch was able to identify him in the lineup as the man who attacked her.
In 1976, Bundy was found guilty and was sentenced to between one and 15 years in a Utah state prison.
This was not the end of the story; Bundy was sent to Colorado to face a murder charge. In 1977, he escaped twice. First, he jumped out of a courthouse window; later, he crawled through the ceiling of his jail cell. After the second escape, he made his way to Florida, where he killed three more people: Margaret Bowman, Lisa Levy, and 12-year-old Kimberly Leach.
Bundy was arrested for the last time in February 1978. He was sentenced to death and was executed in Florida’s electric chair on January 24, 1989.
“If there’s ever been anyone on Florida’s death row that deserved the electric chair, Ted Bundy was that individual,” Florida governor Bob Martinez said following Bundy’s execution.
Ask us! What questions do you have about content, strategy, pop culture, lifestyle, wellness, history or more? We may use your question in an upcoming article!
Like MediaFeed’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was syndicated by MediaFeed.co
