Ted Bundy was one of the most notorious serial killers in the United States during the 1970s. He kidnapped young and attractive females, repeatedly raped them and proceeded to murder many of his victims. Bundy raped around 100 women and killed at least 30 victims across 7 different states. He went to trial twice, where he participated as his own lawyer and was declared not guilty by the court. Finally, he was arrested again in 1988 and sentenced the death penalty by the electric chair. He confessed of even more murders and robberies while in prison, until the date of his death: January 24, 1989. 30 years later, marking the anniversary of his death, Netflix is streaming a season long show called, “Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes” which contains actual footage of his trials, interviews and audio recordings.
The Netflix original show consists of four episodes, each about an hour long. The episodes are driven by interviews with people who came in contact with Bundy, whether it be the man who gave Bundy a device to record his perspective about his crimes, or friends he had during his life. The first episode delves into Bundy’s upbringing and how it was normal, despite a few years of bullying. Then, it slowly goes into the first murder he committed, the second, and so on. The second episode focuses on the victim who escaped the killer, the third episode shows how Bundy acted as his own attorney and essentially proved himself to be innocent. The final episode wraps up his journey and details the final crime that ultimately gave him the death sentence he deserved. Overall, the show is thrilling and will give you chills. I found it fascinating that someone who seemed so normal was capable of committing such horrendous crimes. The psychological aspect of the show is equally fascinating; Bundy was categorized to be a clinical psychopath who had antisocial personality disorder, yet due to being extremely intelligent and witty he passed a majority of his psychological exams and presented himself as an outgoing and extroverted young man. Now 30 years later he is still one of the most talked about serial killers and his brain and behavior is still being studied by psychologists worldwide.
The obvious disclaimer is that this Netflix special is not for everyone. The pictures can be rather graphic, the description of his crimes can be disturbing and simply hearing the actual voice of one of the most despicable murderers can be troubling. However, there are many people, myself included, that are genuinely interested in criminology and learning about the reasons behind why serial killers do what they do. There is no definite reason behind Bundy’s actions, but there are speculations about how his brain was wired as well as the persona he put on to the public. There is so much we don’t know about the human brain, and that fact within itself can be extremely terrifying.