REVEALED: The sickening number of times Ted Bundy was arrested but GOT AWAY

Ted Bundy, the notorious American serial killer, abductor and rapist, finally came to justice in 1978, ending his horrific litany of crimes which stretched back at least as far as 1973 and if not before. However, he was initially arrested in 1975 and a series of escapes meant that Bunday was free to kill again until that final 1978 arrest. Not only this, but Bundy had been reported to police several times as far back as 1973, during the first waves of his murderous spree in his hometown of Seattle.

This month’s film “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile”, which comes hot on the heels of Netflix’s “Ted Bundy Tapes”, has re-ignited public interest around one of the most infamous and prolific murderers the world has seen. 

Ted Bundy was arrested a total of three times, and each time he came to police attention through his careless driving. 

His initial arrest came in Utah in 1975 when police noticed him driving his Volkswagen Beetle in the early hours of the morning with his lights off, and pulled him over for what they suspected was a minor traffic violation.

He was arrested for disobeying the police’s command to stop but authorities quickly found Bundy’s stashed ski mask, ice pick, handcuffs and torn sheets in the car. 

Ted Bundy

Ted Bundy in pictures from his 1978 trial (Image: Getty)

It led to Bundy’s identification in a line-up by victim Carol DaRonch, who speaks in the Netflix documentary about her experiences, although his initial charges were only for kidnapping.

Bundy opportunistically escaped form jail in Colorado June 1977, where he had been extradited for murder.

He jumped from a window after being given access to a law library, but he was caught days later in another driving fluke when he made a U-turn in a stolen car.

His third and final escape happened in December 1977, which was meticulously planned.

Ted Bundy's FBI wanted poster

Ted Bundy’s FBI wanted poster from 1978 (Image: Getty)

Incredibly, Bundy lost weight in order to be able to wriggle through a hole in the prison wall into a jail warden’s home.

It was during this time when he was on the loose in Florida that Bundy committed one of his most notorious crimes, the mass assault and double murder of female college students at the Chi Omega sorority house at Florida State University. 

He also murdered 12-year-old Kimberley Leach during this period, after he abducted her near her school in a stolen van.

Florida police ran his stolen vehicle’s license plates and arrested him, but did not realise at that point who Bundy was.

Throughout Bundy’s reign of terror, he had been repeatedly reported to police who failed to follow up on the leads.

Girlfriend Elizabeth Koepfer, whose memoirs the new Zac Efron film is based on, repeatedly told police about her suspicions.

Her fears were provoked on numerous occasions, for example when she reached under Bundy’s car seat when she dropped something and discovered a hatchet.

She also noticed Bundy’s pair of crutches, which he used as part of his ruse to fool victims into thinking he needed help.

Ted Bundy; Ann Rule

True crime author Ann Rule, right, wrote about her friendhship with Bundy (Image: Getty)

Although she spoke to police several times, authorities at the time believed that the killer responsible for the spate of abductions and murders was a crazed hardened criminal and dismissed Bundy as he had no previous record.

Added to this, true crime author Ann Rule, who by a twist of fate was friends with Bundy and worked closely alongside him at a suicide prevention hotline, also phoned in her hunch to police.

In her 1980 book “The Stranger Beside Me”, which is widely considered to be the authoritative work on Bundy, she wrote how she was suspicions about Bundy as far back as 1973.

Ms Rule phoned the homicide unit, saying: “I don’t really think this is anything, but it’s bugging me. His name is Ted Bundy. B-U-N-D-Y. Call me back. OK?”

Ted Bundy

Ted Bundy pictured with his defence team at trial (Image: Getty)

One of the key leads police had at the time was that the suspect drove a Volkswagen Beetle that was an unusual bronze colour.

The officer Ms Rule spoke to reported back to her: “Would you believe he drives a 1968 bronze Volkswagen Bug (Beetle)?”

She wrote: “I thought he was teasing me.”

The information was correct, but Ms Rule said: “I forgot about it. I didn’t lend much weight to the fact that Ted had acquired a Volkswagen.”

Then, when Ms Rule saw a composite picture of the suspect, she said: “I saw a resemblance to someone I knew. I put it in the back of my mind, told myself that I too was being caught up in the hysteria of that long, terrible summer.

“The head of the Search and Rescue group for Washington State also teased Ted about his being a ‘look-alike’ for the ‘Ted’ the police were looking for. But nobody meant it seriously.”

She added: “The last time I’d seen him, I knew that he’d lived at 4123 12th Avenue NE, only blocks from so many of the missing girls.”

The police did not recognise Ms Rule’s tip and Bundy went on to rape and kill scores of women.

Although he was convicted on just three murder charges, police were aware that he had committed at least 30 killings, and the true number of his crimes has never definitively been established. 

source: express.co.uk