Look back at the most unforgettable moments from his murder trials.
1. Ted Bundy Escapes from Jail, Pre-Trial. Twice.
While not a part of the murder trial that convicted him, Bundy's crafty elusiveness of the law in Colorado served as his Florida trial's preamble, helping turn him into a folk hero before the case had even begun.
First, there was his escape in June 1977 from a courthouse in Aspen. Bundy was facing murder charges and—representing himself—asked the judge that he be allowed to use the local law library for research. He jumped from the second-floor window there and fled on foot.
Aspen came to a halt as the community fixated on his recapture. School was cancelled. Ammunition and guns sales were halted. Business owners began selling Ted Bundy T-shirts.
2. 'I'll Plead Not Guilty Right Now!’
Bundy's Florida apprehension set off a media frenzy, which the killer seemed to feed on. As he was read his indictment at the Leon County Sheriff's Office, he spoke directly to the cameras that had gathered for the occasion.
KOA-TV, a Colorado affiliate, descended on Tallahassee that day to talk to those who'd gotten to know Bundy in Florida, including a young co-ed who'd gone on a dinner date with the serial sexual murderer and described him as "friendly.
3. Bundy Puts Himself on the Stand
As his own attorney, Bundy often subjected the court to a surreal spectacle of third-person self-reference, calling himself "Mr. Bundy" throughout his double murder trial in Miami.
When he put himself on the stand, his confidence and nonchalance captivated audiences nationwide. Dressed in a khaki blazer and a Seattle Mariners sweatshirt, Bundy calmly grinned through a lengthy cross-examination.
John Henry Browne—one of several attorneys Bundy briefly worked with—described the killer's willingness to take the stand as a fatally narcissistic miscalculation in his book, The Devil's Defender.
"Ted believed he could lie his way out of anything and could charm the judge," writes Browne. "He was wrong."
4. Looks That Kill, and a Killer Wedding
Serial killers often draw a disproportionate amount of romantic attention, given how poorly suited they are as potential mates. The phenomenon even has a name: hybristophilia.
But even within the context of that bizarre phenomenon, Ted Bundy was an outlier. Scores of female admirers crowded his trial, done up as they understood Bundy to prefer his victims: in hoop earrings, with long hair parted down the middle.
One of those fans, Carole Boone, struck up a romantic relationship with him, saying he had a "playful, silly" side. Their nickname for one another, Boone said, was "Bubbles."
The Bundy-as-romantic-antihero storyline reached its apex at Bundy's second murder trial, in Orlando. There, Bundy called Boone to the stand and proposed marriage.
She said yes, and they were wedded on the spot. (Boone had arranged a notary public to be present in the courtroom.) Against prison rules, they conceived a child, Rose Bundy, during one of her visitations to Death Row.
5. With Some Regret, A Judge Sends Bundy to the Electric Chair
After Bundy was convicted for the sorority killings, Judge Edward Cowart followed the jury's recommendation and imposed a death sentence. Then, remarking on Bundy's considerable intelligence, the judge expressed befuddlement at why the killer would've chosen the path he had.
"Take care of yourself, young man," Cowart said. "I say that to you sincerely—take care of yourself. It is a tragedy for this court to see such a total waste, I think, of humanity that I've experienced in this court. You're a bright young man. You would have made a good lawyer and I would have loved to have you practice in front of me— but you went another way, partner."
