One thing I will say about Ted Bundy

metaoblivia wrote: »

I love true crime, but haven't gotten around to watching the Bundy tapes. I just have very little interest in hearing serial killers talk about themselves and tell their story in their own words. If I want an unreliable narration, I'll read a work of fiction. I'm more interested in hearing what forensic psychologists have to say about him.

It's worth a watch M. Although the tapes of him figure large, they're more than well balanced by the thoughts of police, friends, family and other witnesses, including one of his shrinks.

Anyway, I will always remember Bundy not just for his murder victims, but the two women whom he left permanently disabled.

Indeed and the victims we don't know about or are suspected. He himself claimed he became the "Hunter" around '74 and before that he was impulsive and sloppy, but the start of his official murder toll started in 74. Even to the last he would avoid sometimes aggressively any questions about his impulsive earlier crimes, claiming they were too close to home and family.

And of course that he was a necrophiliac who went back to the bodies until they were too decomposed.

I realise documentaries have to have a focus, but they kinda avoided the levels of utter depravity he was capable of so that was brushed over. As were the decapitated heads he kept as souvenirs, even though they showed the skulls of his victims in situ. He also burnt one of his victims heads in his girlfriends fireplace. They should have played more of the extensive tapes they had of her. After the first few murders she repeatedly contacted the authorities to report him as a very strong subject, but she(and others) were ignored. Largely on the basis that he was a church going college educated middle class White nice guy.

Anthonylfc wrote: »

Gary Ridgeway ( The Green River ) serial killer was the most prolific american killer

He still to this day has no remorse , can't feel empathy etc

Funny enough Ted Bundy helped catch him. Detectives on the case interviewed Bundy to ask for his help in figuring out the mindset of a killer like him and Bundy obliged. Quite a few of the tapes in the Netflix documentary are actually Bundy describing what he thought Ridgeway was thinking and how he was operating. One suggestion involved people like him have a draw to the site where they dump their victims and will return to them and take souvenirs and even "beautify" and molest the bodies(which later proved to be the case with Ridgeway). Bundy suggested they stake out the sites where bodies are found before revealing their findings to the media and chances are high they'd catch the killer. In the end Ridgeway was arrested for soliciting prostitutes and while in custody his other crimes came to light.

Life in prison without parole. He took the plea bargain of full confession for life in prison rather than the death penalty. Bundy was offered a similar deal, but turned it down. His arrogance got the better of him. Again. His very first murder trial the same. The evidence against him was almost nonexistent, what evidence there was was being rendered inadmissible. If he'd kept his powder dry and ran out his prison stay for kidnapping, chances are high he would have walked Scott free.

The scary thing about Ridgeway is he was the polar opposite to Bundy in a few ways. Zero charisma, sub normal IQ and he was committing these horrors when detection and forensics had come on in leaps and bounds and he got away with murdering 50 women and has claimed he killed at least 20 more.