Ted Bundy & his public image as defined by law enforcement & whether or not he was intelligent & articulate or not

The letters and documents I reference in published materials are in original form unless I state that I edited out names of people who are not public figures.  A few have commented that they think I make Bundy sound more articulate than he was and more intelligent than he was.  I think that is based on the misconception of Bundy put forward by authorities that he was of lesser intelligence and never finished anything he started.  It is not the truth.

Bundy was not of mediocre intelligence or he would not have escaped detection as long as he did.  Further, the FBI and the DOJ/Justice and Planning of WA State thought enough of him in 1973 to hire him to the tune of thousands of dollars to complete a study on recidivism, which he DID complete and filed a report on, contrary to what officials would have you believe.  That report was many pages long and outlined not only problems but ways in which certain problems could be addressed and it also discussed a computer program very much in theory like the one eventually developed in HITS and VICAP.  Additionally, WA State contends they only “went along” with Bundy as a Green River consultant but it was more than that….they actively asked for  Bundy’s help with the Green River killer and even brought materials to him, discussing the case at length with him – where victims were found, in which order they were found, asking for his input on it.  I personally think it was a smart thing to do as Bundy had insider knowledge being a serial killer who was active a long time much like Ridgeway – but why hide the fact that they felt he may be able to help?   However, they did go beyond what I consider to be police tactics when they asked Bundy his opinion on suspects they were developing in Green River killings – even naming the person by name to him.

They didn’t have to do that – it wasn’t professional to discuss potential suspects with him [and they did — going into details about the suspect and his life even though he was innocent]. Since when do cops discuss cases with serial killers or criminals under investigation or prosecution for serious crimes such as murder?  I hope this isn’t a normal occurrence.   The WA State officials did do this – and more than just the Green River killing –  at least two other cases were discussed with Bundy which were going through the courts at the time and which had nothing to do with the Green River killer or Bundy’s crimes.  These were discussed in letters arising from the Attorney General office.  All people are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty and to discuss crimes currently being looked at with a serial killer on death row naming the person[s] who were being charged to me seems like an incredible violation of civil rights and justice for those individuals let alone violations of professional conduct.

So why make Bundy out as not articulate and not intelligent to the public?  If you are going to teach a profile at universities to future criminal justice professionals it should be as accurate as possible but in Bundy’s case what has been taught if mirroring what is public information isn’t accurate at all.   The evidence stated publicly as found in WA isn’t accurate to behind the scenes documents, the handling of the case as stated publicly isn’t accurate to the detective notes and witness statements of the time period, and neither is the full disclosure of Bundy’s relationships with government officials and law enforcement officials accurate to the full extent of what it really was.

Perhaps downplaying Bundy’s intelligence and ability to work with concepts such as in the recidivism study or his work on the crime commission, or perhaps downplaying his relationships with high ranking officials seems purposeful to those at the time; but it served to mask the reality of who he was at the time and that the officials had actually trusted Bundy as a colleague before he was caught as a serial killer and they trusted him enough that they gave him responsibility for sensitive projects and information….After all, Bundy was close to elected officials.  He was also Assistant Director of the Crime Commission and studied white collar crime and also rape – writing and completing a study on rape in King County [and yes, despite claims it was never done it was completed and not only do I have the original report but also the witness statement that was in the files from a superior who also corroborated that Bundy had written it].  That rape paper detailed how women were not believed, how acquaintance rape was often very difficult to prove and prosecute and just how few cases of rape in the King County area were ever prosecuted at all.  Bundy was doing his homework while he was active as a serial killer and I suspect also while he was evolving as a serial rapist- embedding into the very professions that would one day prosecute and pursue him and ingratiating himself into their friendships.  It was a betrayal of those people in those professions who had trusted him and considered him a friend.  But it is an equal betrayal of those people in the justice system who were betrayed by him to cover up evidence and to deny the victims left behind who were silenced by death their own justice from what happened.  The evidence that was thrown away from Issaquah and Taylor Mountain could have been evidence of unknown victims – the skeletal remains “lost” or “destroyed” from Issaquah and Taylor Mountain are voices that are silenced forever – and for what?

So, if Bundy was really that inarticulate and that unintelligent then why did the authorities in WA State trust him with the recidivism study and the rape paper?  Why did he serve on the Crime Commission at all if he wasn’t articulate?  There are certain things you can fake and certain things you cannot and Bundy’s ability to rub elbows with high ranking officials and to execute on projects such as the rape paper and the recidivism study was because he had innate intelligence.  Does that make his crimes less?  No.  Does that make his serial killing less impactful?  Does that make him less of a criminal if he’s intelligent and articulate?   No, it makes him infinitely more dangerous.   Trying to lessen his innate intelligence while glorifying the law enforcement position during that time period really does nothing at all towards understanding this case and Bundy’s serial killing efforts that spanned a much longer time than just beginning in 1974.  He was difficult to catch because he was working behind the scenes with law enforcement, elected officials and the justice system.  He didn’t learn how to avoid being caught by reading detective magazines.  He learned by working among them.  He was much more dangerous, deceptive and inherently evil than the public story about him.  By dumbing him down as a criminal they only negated the tremendous harm and destruction he did to those who had trusted him at all levels of society.

In a series of real time crimes, rapidly evolving as Bundy’s were, it is human nature to make mistakes and fail to see a larger picture.  That is true of the public as well as the police.  It doesn’t reflect on them if he fooled them – he fooled a lot of people – he was a psychopath.  He fooled his victims.   He manipulated me constantly and I lived – but I was damaged forever as a result.

It is part of the process of how these types of deviant personas work.  However, covering it up for whatever the reason the authorities had at the time is intentional action and deliberate.  Those actions are not acceptable under color of law.  They are not in keeping with the responsibilities of law enforcement as a whole and they do not reflect the values of serving the public.  They leave the public with the opinion that Bundy was stupid and he wasn’t; that the cops were always on top of things back then and they weren’t; and that the public did not catch Bundy when per the records it was the public who identified him and the public who spoke out about him and the public who did what the law enforcement community had asked of them.