It’s been 30 years since Ted Bundy was executed by electrocution. Over five years, he mercilessly and viciously killed innocent women across the U.S., striking terror in communities from the Northwest corridor to Florida.
One of the most prolific serial killers in American history, Bundy is returning to the national consciousness three decades after he was executed, and we reflect on the 30 lives, and possibly many more, he violently stole.
The following is a timeline of Bundy’s confirmed brutal crimes, his two escapes from police custody, and how he was brought to justice in Florida:
February 1974
Bundy abducted Lynda Ann Healy, 21, from the University District of Seattle, where the main campus of the University of Washington is located. She was known in the community for giving the weekday ski report on the radio. He abducted and strangled her.
March 1974
Bundy kidnapped and murdered Donna Gail Manson, 19, a student at Evergreen State College in Olympia. Her body was never recovered.
April 1974
Bundy abducted and killed Susan Elaine Rancourt, 18, a student at Central Washington University in Ellensburg.
May 1974
Bundy abducted Roberta “Kathy” Parks, 20, from Oregon State University around 11 p.m. He claimed to have raped and killed her at Taylor Mountain, more than 25 miles southeast of Seattle.
June 1, 1974
Bundy abducted Brenda Carol Ball, 22, in the town of Burien, south of Seattle. Her skull was later found at Taylor Mountain.
June 11, 1974
Bundy kidnapped and killed 18-year-old Georgeann Hawkins from the University District of Seattle. In an interview with King County Sheriff's Office Detective Robert Keppel, he claimed to have knocked her unconscious and strangled her.
(MORE: Ted Bundy's DNA Could Help Solve Cold Cases)July 1974
On a beautiful summer day at the popular Lake Sammamish, Bundy abducted Janice Anne Ott, 23, and Denise Naslund, 19. Witnesses described a handsome young man who called himself "Ted." Police were beginning to identify Bundy’s strategy of luring women by wearing his arm in a sling and asking for help.
September 1974
A grouse hunter discovered the remains of Ott, Naslund and Hawkins, one mile east of an old railroad trestle just outside Issaquah, Washington. According to Keppel the site was a “multi-use environment” for Bundy.
(MORE: See Zac Efron's creepy transformation into Ted Bundy for movie role)Oct. 18, 1974
Bundy abducted, raped and strangled Melissa Smith, 17, from Midvale, Utah. Her body was discovered just over a week later.
Oct. 31, 1974
Bundy kidnapped, raped and murdered Laura Ann Aime, 17, from Lehi, Utah. Her remains were found that Thanksgiving Day in a mountainous area.
November 8, 1974
Bundy attempted to abduct Carol DaRonch, 18, at the Fashion Place Mall in Murray, Utah. He posed as a police officer.
At 10:15 p.m. that same day, Debra Jean Kent’s father gave her the keys to the car to pick up her brothers from a roller skating rink. She never got to her parents’ car. She was 17. Bundy claimed in an interview with Salt Lake County Sheriff's Detective Dennis Couch that he left her body in a grave, but her body has never been found.
January 1975
Bundy abducted Caryn Eileen Campbell, 23, from the Wildwood Inn in Snowmass, Colorado. Thirty-six days later, her body was discovered three miles from the inn with evidence of blows to her head.
March 1, 1975
While Bundy was in Salt Lake City, Utah, the remains of Healy, Rancourt, Parks and Ball were found on Taylor Mountain in Washington. Their skeletal remains showed they suffered severe blunt force trauma.
March 15, 1975
Bundy abducted and killed ski instructor Julie Cunningham, 26, from Vail, Colorado. Her body was never found.
April 1975
Bundy killed Denise Lynn Oliverson, 24, from Grand Junction, Colorado. He said he left her body in the Colorado River and it has never been recovered.
May 1975
Bundy kidnapped and drowned Lynette Dawn Culver, 12, in a bathtub, then later said he discarded her body in the Snake River. Her remains have never been found.
June 1975
Bundy kidnapped and killed Susan Curtis, 15, when she was attending the Bountiful Orchard Youth Conference at Brigham Young University. Bundy claimed he buried her body near a highway, but her remains have never been located.
August 16, 1975
At 2:30 a.m., Bundy was arrested for the first time in Granger, Utah, after a chase by high way patrol officer Bob Hayward. Police found masks, gloves, rope, a crowbar and handcuffs in his car. He was released on bail the next day.
October 1975
Bundy was identified in a line-up by Carol DaRonch, whom he tried to abduct in November 1974.
Bundy was arrested and charged with the aggravated kidnapping and attempted criminal assault of DaRonch. He was held in Salt Lake County Jail.
February 1976
Bundy’s trial began. He waived his right to a jury trial. On March 1, he was found guilty of aggravated kidnapping. He was sentenced to a minimum of one to a maximum of 15 years in a Utah state prison.
October 1976
Bundy was charged with Caryn Campbell's murder.
January 1977
Bundy was moved to Aspen, Colorado, to face charges for Campbell’s 1975 murder.
May 1977
Bundy pleaded not guilty to Campbell’s murder.
June 1977
Bundy assisted in his own defense in the case, and was allowed to access the Pitkin County jailhouse law library. He escaped from the second story window of the library, 25 feet above the ground. He was captured five days later, after spending that time in the nearby mountains and back in Aspen. He went back into custody at a facility in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. On June 15, 1977 he was charged with escape, burglary and felony theft.
December 1977
Bundy escaped from his jail cell through a light fixture opening in the ceiling. He stored books and other belongings on his bed below a blanket to appear as if he were in bed sleeping.
January 1978
After flying to Chicago, then taking a train to Ann Arbor, Michigan, and driving a stolen car to Atlanta, Bundy arrived in Tallahassee, Florida, by bus. He signed a rental agreement at a building called “The Oaks.”
Jan. 15, 1978
At 3 a.m., Bundy entered the Chi Omega sorority house near Florida State University and killed Margaret Bowman and Lisa Levy. They were both beaten severely and strangled to death.
Karen Ann Chandler and Kathy Kleiner suffered severe injuries after Bundy bludgeoned them while they slept, but survived.
Shortly after the Chi Omega attacks, Bundy broke into the apartment of Cheryl Thomas, a student at FSU, and attacked her. Her housemates who lived on the other side of the wall, Debbie Ciccarelli and Nancy Young, heard the noise and called Thomas’ apartment, but she didn’t answer. Ciccarelli and Young then called police. Bundy escaped before authorities arrived. Thomas survived the attack.
Feb. 9, 1978
Bundy kidnapped and murdered 12-year-old Kimberly Leach. She was a junior high school student who disappeared in the middle of the school day. Leach was one of Bundy’s youngest victims. It was his last murder.
Feb. 15, 1978
At 1:34 a.m. David Lee, a patrolman with the Pensacola Police Department, noticed a suspicious car loitering and driving erratically. The officer ran the plates and discovered the car was stolen. Bundy refused to give his name and resisted arrest. The officer was able to subdue Bundy after a struggle and arrested him.
Back at the police station, Bundy gave officers a stolen ID and said he was an FSU student named Kenneth.
Feb. 17, 1978
Bundy reveals his true identity to police officers.
April 1978
Kimberly Leach’s body was found near Suwannee River State Park.
July 1978
Bundy was indicted for the murders of Margaret Bowman and Lisa Levy and the attempted murders of Cheryl Thomas, Kathy Kleiner and Karen Chandler.
May 1979
Bundy rejected a plea deal that would have allowed him to avoid the death penalty if he admitted to murdering Bowman, Levy and Leach.
July 24, 1979
Bundy was found guilty of murdering Levy and Bowman and attempted murders of Kleiner, Chandler and Thomas. One week later, he was sentenced to death for the murders.
Feb. 1980
Bundy was found guilty of Leach’s kidnapping and murder and was sentenced to death.
July 1986
After Florida Gov. Bob Graham signed two death warrants for the Chi Omega case, the 11th Circuit Court signed a permanent stay of execution fifteen minutes before Bundy was scheduled to be executed.
Jan. 17, 1989
Gov. Bob Martinez signed the second death warrant in the Leach case.
(MORE: 1/23/1989: Ted Bundy Set to Be Executed)Jan. 21, 1989
Over the next several days, Bundy confessed to various law enforcement agents. Bundy told FBI Special Agent Bill Hagmaier he killed 30 people in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, and Florida between 1973 and 1978.
Jan. 24, 1989
Around 7 a.m., he was strapped into the electric chair. He was later pronounced dead.