Ted Bundy is perhaps the word most infamous serial killer confessing to over 30 homicides between 1974 and 1978. The true number of victims is possibly higher. He’s often portrayed as a psychopath but several events from his life are rarely mentioned in the media. Bundy’s psych evaluation cites several reasons for his activities.

  1. His mother slept with a stranger at a young age and had Bundy at an orphanage. He grew up thinking she was his sister. When he and his cousin were fighting as kids his cousin showed him is birth certificate, Bundy ran away crying.

  2. His first girlfriend was wealthy with rich parents. Bundy was made to feel inferior. They had to use her car as his wasn’t “good enough”. As a teenager this left an impression.

  3. A later girlfriend pressured him into having kids as she was “getting old”. She came off birth control and because he didn’t want kids yet they had to break up.

  4. His first love, Liz, cheated on him with another man who she brought home, got drunk and slept with. In Bundy ‘s psych evaluation, Bundy apparently stared blankly ahead and after explaining this said “this was the last straw”. The doctor said “what I saw in front of me was an incredibly hurt man”.

These points are overlooked by documentaries especially point 4. After this Bundy went on to develop personality disorders and the trauma caused him to dissociate (blank out when experiencing stress).

I’m a scientist, and it’s clear to see that through early life trauma, Bundy developed psychological disorders which cause him to go on to do what he did. None of this is justification. Far from it, but combine the wrong genes with the wrong start in life and this may be what happens.