Ted Bundy is perhaps the most infamous serial killer in the world, with a record of murdering over 36 women in the late 1970s. However, his sentencing was a consequence of three of those murders: 12-year-old Kimberly Leach and two other college students. As he was minutes away from the execution, seated on the wooden chair that was meant for electrocution, he uttered, “Jim and Fred, I’d like you to give my love to my family and friends.” He was addressing his lawyer Jim Coleman and methodist Minister Fred Lawrence.
LA Times reported that 42 people witnessed the execution in person, including his prosecutors. The event was almost deemed to be of national importance as an additional 500 people gathered closer to the location and cheered in support of the punishment. Ted Bundy’s trial was televised and followed closely by the general public.
When the electrocution was scheduled, none of his family members visited Bundy before the procedure, not even his mother, Louise. However, he had a brief conversation with her over the telephone. Ted Bundy was allegedly conceived in Philadelphia and was then raised by Louise and a man she married later on, Johnnie Bundy, a hospital cook in Washington. When asked about the crimes her son had committed, she said she only knew one Ted, with the other being a stranger to her.
What was Ted Bundy’s last meal?
Among the popular details of Bundy’s execution is the mystery of what he had eaten as his final meal. When on death row, criminals are generally asked for their food requests, which reveal intimate details about their preferences. However, Ted Bundy managed to maintain the mystery he is known for, even in this case, by not making any particular food requests before the execution.
By default, the standard meal of steak, eggs, hash browns, and toast was what was given to him. But Bundy left the food untouched. The kind of composure and charm that Ted Bundy showed off during his trial and through the course of the sentencing made him quite an enigmatic personality among those following the case closely, which was most of the population at the time.
What happened after the execution?
The execution, despite all the noise that was made about it, wasn’t the end of Ted Bundy’s story. Scientists preserved his brain and conducted a series of experiments that they believed could provide some material explanation for what it is that turns regular, upstanding citizens into brutal murderers. While his sociopathy and narcissism were quite evident throughout the trial, suspicions of a multiple personality disorder were raised.
His mental state during the trial then was quite ambiguous, considering the vagueness of his last words. Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes is one of the most famous representations of the notorious killer, featuring interviews with Bundy from when he was on death row. The documentary is currently streaming on Netflix.
