Ted Bundy was a convicted American serial killer who targeted and attacked numerous young women in the Seventies and possibly earlier. After more than a decade of denials, in January 1989, he confessed to 30 murders committed between 1974 and 1978, but many believe the actual number is closer to 100. Bundy was executed by electric chair at Florida State Prison just days after his confession – however, some are still trying to understand the mind of this wicked killer.
Journalist Stephen Michaud managed to get a glimpse into it, capturing more than 100 hours of interviews before Bundy’s execution.
Consequently “Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes” was put together and screened on Netflix in January this year.
During the series, Sandi Holt, a childhood friend of Bundy, who grew up with him in Tacoma, Washington, gave an insight into his childhood.
She claimed: “There was a distinct difference between the haves and have-nots in the neighbourhood and Ted’s family were in the have-not group.
“But they could have not been more Beaver Cleaver if they tried.
“His mum worked as a secretary and Mr Bundy was a good dad.
“His mum and dad took him to church every Sunday, they were involved in cub scouts and sent the kids to church camps, they were very, very involved.”
Ms Holt went on to reveal how she knew Bundy was different from the other children.
She added: “He was just different.
“He had a big problem for a long time, he had a horrible speech impediment – so he was teased a lot.
“He just didn’t fit in – even at boy scouts – he just couldn’t get the hang of doing the things other kids were doing.
“He couldn’t tie the knots, or shoot the guns, or win the races, and he had a temper.
“He liked to scare people.”
It was also previously revealed how a changing point in Bundy’s life made him seek revenge.
He admitted that breaking up with his first girlfriend – Diane Edwards – when she left University, affected him greatly.
He said: “Throughout the summer [of 1968], Diane and I corresponded less and less.
“And then she stopped writing and I started to get fearful about what she was up to.
“I had this overwhelming feeling of rejection that stemmed not just from her, but everything.
“The tail-end of that summer is really a blank – it was a nightmare for me.
“In there somewhere became a desire to have some sort of revenge on Diane – I don’t know what the hell I did.”
Last week, new film “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile” premiered on Sky Cinema in the UK and Netflix in the US, in addition to airing at cinemas.
Directed by the Joe Berlinger – the same man behind the “Confession Tapes” – the film stars Zac Efron and is told from the perspective of Bundy’s former girlfriend – Elizabeth Kloepfer.