Introduction From a historical point of view the 20th century will be recalled for several things and the people who accomplished them. For instance, during this time period the first man landed walked on the moon, Neal Armstrong. One of those that will not be fast forgotten is Theodore “Ted” Bundy. Bundy, an infamous persona, who over his life span is an extreme example of an individual diagnosed with anti-social disorders. Example after example places hides the true person behind Ted Bundy appearance of having led a charming life. He was a decorated Boy Scott, who moved forward in his academic career to reach honor student status at the University of Washington. He was a bright young man with endless possibilities at his fingertips. To …show more content…
Some scholars have argued that during the developmental years of childhood such impulses are absent. Moreover, it is during the period known as puberty that such process is more prevalent, and therefore manifests itself in behaviors such as attractions to one and other (Freud, 2015). In other words, the argument is that children are not aware of sex or sexual behavior until they have reached the age of puberty. Today, it appears that the argument is still being made that men and women develop desires at and every age, however, such impulses are not acceptable until they reach a certain age bracket. During his final interview, Ted Bundy provided some revealing details about his childhood. He explain that he believed that some of his compulsions were associated with pornography which he had seen in his youth. However, he was able to control his behavior until he had graduated college (Nelson, 1994). This statements inferred that Bundy was able hold back his desires for a number of years. However, some researchers have argued that Bundy’s behavior was triggered after his relationship had ended with his college sweetheart. Bundy never revealed his true motives for his attacks that consisted in savagely raping and latter beating his victims to …show more content…
Secondly, a pattern of repeated lying, conning others for personal gain or pleasure. Third, impulsive, irritable, and aggressive displays such as fighting. Finally, individuals suffering from anti-social personalities lack remorse and are said to have no conscience. They are known to rationalize their actions as fantasies (APA, 2009). Clearly, when one speaks of Ted Bundy the obvious diagnosis would be that he was a true psychopath. His animalistic behavior of stalking and hunting his victims with no regard for their feelings places him at the top of the list. The question is whether or not today would his behavior be justifies as a sexual
Ted Bundy was a brutal serial killer. He was also very charming and handsome to
Bundy himself described violent pornography as an addiction, one that led him to act out criminally merely for the “thrill” of the crime, as opposed to for any kind of instrumental gain. Katz’s article “The Seductions of Crime” describes similar motivators of criminal activity. In the article, Katz notes that John Allen chose to engage in “stickup” crimes merely for the “thrill” of it, despite the fact stickup crime was more dangerous and less rewarding than other kinds of criminal activity (Frank, 1989). Additionally, Katz notes that rational choice was not a significant element in crime, being that burglary and robbery are risky and relatively unrewarding (Frank, 1989). Despite this, Allen was jailed many times, even shot and crippled, and still committed one more robbery (Frank, 1989). Based on this information Katz makes the claim that senseless crimes can exert strong sensual attraction, though crime can make sense still from a materialistic standpoint (Frank, 1989). In the case of Ted Bundy, his crimes ostensibly were senseless and without reward, however, through violent pornography it is clear he was seduced into committing the violence he perpetrated, and that his materialistic reward, though not monetary, was merely the thrill of perpetrating his violent fantasies upon others. In this manner, the “Seductions of
The FBI calculates that there may be up to 500 serial killers at any given time in the United States and many them have drug addictions and or abuse alcohol. Interviews of three well-known serial killers, Ted Bundy, Jeffery Dahmer, and John Wayne Gacy yielded results that they often got drunk before they killed their victims to try and deal with their psychosis. Ted Bundy was an alcoholic and he admitted to journalists that he would drink before murdering his victims. According to some accounts, Bundy killed at least 30 women, but it is believed that he killed nearly three times that number. The most violent of his murders happened after Bundy left a bar in Florida. While at the bar, Bundy approached a girl and was rejected by her. In his intoxicated
Knight, Zelda G. "Sexually Motivated Serial Killers And The Psychology Of Aggression And "Evil" Within A Contemporary Psychoanalytical Perspective." Journal Of Sexual Aggression 13.1 (2007): 21-35. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 1 May 2014.
Freud (1940) was the first to do the link between sexual abuses during the childhood and adult abnormal behavior. As a result of that serial killer uses sex as a way to let out his or her anger and aggression. The sexually acts of the serial killer is not only about sex, but it is about revenge, power, and control. “Serial killers are unconsciously trying to kill off their repressed sexual pain and powerlessness. Every stab into the victim’s flesh is a stab against their own childhood sexual terror and pain, and the rage that accompanies it is a rage against those who tormented and terrorized” (Knight, 2006, p. 1199-1200).
In a study conducted by Hickey, he discovered that out of thirty-four female serial killers, almost one in two had a male accomplice committing murders with them (Holmes et al., 1991). He also revealed that 97% were white and the average age the women started committing murders was thirty-three (Holmes et al., 1991). Women serial killers differ from men in that most women kill for material gain, such as money or insurance benefits, and they usually commit murder with pills or poison. Stephen Holmes, Ronald Holmes, and Eric Hickey developed a typology for female serial killers similar to the one developed by Holmes and Holmes, discussed earlier. They begin with visionary serial killers, who are compelled by some force, such as God, or spirits, to commit murders. The second type is the comfort killer, who usually kills acquaintances and does so for a material gain, money or real estate (Holmes et al., 1991). The third category is hedonistic female serial killers, which is similar to the earlier typology in that the offender connects murder with sexual gratification. This is the least represented category for female offenders, but evidence for this type of killer can be seen in the case of Carol Bundy (Holmes et al., 1991). Bundy allegedly helped her husband kidnap, murder, and decapitate the
He was intelligent, articulate and handsome. During a gruesome killing spree, Ted Bundy slaughtered more than thirty five women within the span of five years, becoming one of the most notorious serial killers in American history. He grew up believing that his grandparents were his parents and his unwed mother to be his older sister. He was not very good at building relationships and had a lot of conflict with his stepfather and enjoyed the terms of violence and sex as a child. Ted shoplifted during his teenage years and enjoyed being above the law. He was generally very shy and gained a lot of popularity and self esteem in high school because of his good looks. It was there that he met his high school girlfriend Stephanie Brooks with whom he become obsessed, but the relationship did not last very long as she did not feel the same way for him so she broke up with him. Depressed by the break up, Ted dropped out of college and returned home with his family where he found out the truth about his biological mother. This left Ted in a state of confusion about his identity and he felt betrayed by the women in his life. He went back to high school where he and Stephanie got back together but right after she agreed to marry him, he broke up with her to seek revenge. After this charade his killing spree began, luring young women with lies, abducting, raping, physically abusing and killing them.
Ted Bundy Ted Bundy's Trail of Terror From the Beginning of Taking Life Until The End of His Life. Serial killers tend to be white heterosexual males in their twenties and thirties. While it is impossible to predict who will become a serial killer, there are traits that appear to be similar in all killers. These behaviors include cruelty to animals, bedwetting, lying, drug and alcohol abuse, and a history of violence. According to Robert Ressler et al., "serial homicide involves the murder of separate victims with time breaks between victims, as minimal as two days to weeks or months.
Ted Bundy was an American born rapist, a necrophile, a serial killer and a kidnapper who assaulted and murdered several young women during the 1970’s. The criminal kept on denying the charges for more than ten years and later confessed to having committed the thirty homicide crimes in seven different states before his execution (Rule, 2009). Bundy’s handsome and charismatic appearance made it possible for him to easily win the confidence of young women who were always his targets. He broke into the dwellings of his victims at night and bludgeoned them as they slept. He also approached young women in public places where he impersonated an authority figure or feigned injury on his victim before empowering and assaulting them in a more secluded area where he left them dead (Rule, 2009).
Throughout history, America has been the home of serial killers, with more than 2,000 throughout history. In this country, America has encountered many different kinds of these sick people. One of the most infamous serial killers throughout American History was Theodore Robert Bundy, also known as Ted Bundy. On November 24, 1946, in Burlington, Vermont, Theodore Robert Bundy was born. When people think of serial killers, they usually see a dirty, insane looking person that would stand out from the average person. In Bundy’s case it was very different. Ted was a very smart individual who had attended 5 different colleges throughout the United States, studying law and eventually getting his degree in psychology at the University of Washington. Bundy was a very handsome and charming man, unlike most other serial killers. Looking helpless and using his good looks, Bundy was able to lure his victims and would knock them unconscious with an object such as a crowbar or a pipe, then would handcuff them inside his car. Once the victims were under his control he would then proceed in kidnapping, raping, sodomizing, and eventually killing them in very harsh ways. Throughout the 70’s, he raped and murdered young women all across the country. Bundy was said to be connected to at least 36 murders, and suspected to have committed one hundred or more.
Could the male serial killer commit these murders for more personal reasons, than just an urge? In some male serial killers there is a non-violent tendency that can prove that they are killing based on a motive rather than the need to kill. Although countless serial killers that have been in the news and are widely known have been killing based on urge, there are a series of men who kill due to the fact that they have no choice. Whether it 's their reputation on the line, a relationship, or a job. They have the motive to kill based on their life and the circumstances. After all the FBI does consider a person who has made three consecutive kills a serial killer. So throughout this essay I will show that there is furthermore to the male serial
Another criminology theory that may apply to help explain the criminal behavior of Ted Bundy is the Psychodynamic theory. This theory is largely based on the findings of Sigmund Freud. The underpinnings of this of the approach are that the unconscious mind affects behavior and emotion. The theory advances the argument that no behavior is without cause and that childhood experiences affect emotions and behavior as adults. Serial killers like Ted Bundy therefore are particularly affected by their unconscious mind. Bundy did not receive proper care as a young boy and the negative impact of his sense of rejection and isolation negatively impacted his adulthood with aggressive tendencies. In short, Bundy’s adult actions under this theory can be viewed as manifesting his anger over his childhood oppression in the form of brutal rapes and
Ted Bundy had antisocial personality disorder which is on axis II of the DSM-IV-TR. He is characterized by the following: failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest, deceitfulness, ...
Theodore Robert Cowell, also known as “Ted Bundy,” brutally murdered and sexually assaulted 30 or possibly more women. He would gain the trust of these women by faking injuries or disguising himself as an authority figure. He would exploit their vulnerability, kidnap them and later slay them to satisfy his sexual desires. Ted’s geographical mobility extended far, he would travel around the country in search for his ideal victim, and managed to escape legal custody on two occasions before being given the death penalty on January 1989.
The biographies of most serial killers reveal significant psychological trauma at an early age, but that is no excuse due to similar biographies of successful people as well. Whenever the case of an infamous serial killer is examined, we invariably search for clues in the childhood that might explain his or her seemingly senseless murders.