Over the years I’ve only come across a few pictures from Bundy’s crime scenes, for the simple fact that there’s not many of them. This is because he usually left little to no trace of himself behind, and there were no bodies recovered until they were completely decomposed (well, until the end in 1978). I came across a website last night on TikTok (as silly as that sounds), and it contained a bunch of pictures I’ve never seen before, I was pretty amazed. So, here they are. I also went through my own collection and found some additional crime-scene related pictures and included those as well. Because, why not? If anyone has more, please feel free out reach out to me. I will give you credit.
Edit: I wanted to thank Tiffany Jean for all of the hard work she does on the Bundy case. Because of her we have information never before accessible, and she is a wonderful educator and TB resource. Thank you for all that you do.
TB’s kill kit.Some more items from Bundy’s kill kit. Photo courtesy of Kevin Sullivan.The outside of Bundy’s VW Beetle. It’s confirmed that at least eighteen of his victims were transported in this vehicle.The inside of Ted’s VW Beetle. Bundy took out the cars passenger seat so that his victims could lie vertically without being seen by others.Another shot of the inside of Bundy’s VW.Bundy’s VW Beetle notes from the ‘Ted Bundy Multiagency Investigative Team Report 1992.’ He bought the infamous tan Bug in the spring of 1973 from a woman named Martha Helms.First confirmed Bundy victim, Karen Sparks-Epley (formerly known as Joni Lenz). Karen Sparks-Epley’s residence where was attacked by Ted Bundy on January 4, 1974. This is a police photograph of 4325 8th Avenue NE, Sparks’ bedroom is circled in white. The house was torn down at some time in 1985. These days the site of the house is now home to the Westwood apartments, which were built in 1985.The window at Karen Sparks apartment Bundy used to break in.The bedroom of Karen Sparks after her assault. Photo courtesy of KIRO-7.The close-up of Sparks bed after her assault. Photo courtesy of Amazon.The bedroom of Karen Sparks after her assault. Photo courtesy of KIRO-7.The doorway of Karen Sparks bedroom after her assault. Photo courtesy of KIRO-7.The floor of Karen Sparks bedroom after her assault. Photo courtesy of KIRO-7.The bedroom of Karen Sparks after her assault.The bedroom of Karen Sparks after her assault.The bedding of Sparks. Photo courtesy of Amazon.A crime scene photo from the assault of Karen Sparks.Lynda Ann Healy, TB’s first confirmed kill. Healy was born on July 3,1952 in Seattle and was abducted on January 31, 1974.Healy’s house as it looked in the 1970’s.Healy’s apartment in 2021.A photo of the trail behind Lynda Ann Healy’s apartment; her house is circled in red. Photo courtesy of OddStops.A King County Detective walking out of the side door of Healy’s apartment. Photo courtesy of Amazon.The entrance of Healy’s apartment, via the side door of the house. Photo courtesy of KIRO-7.The side door of Healy’s apartment. Photo courtesy of KIRO-7.Lynda’s roommates standing around her bed. Photo courtesy of Amazon.The entrance of Healy’s bedroom and the stairs leading outside. Photo courtesy of KIRO-7.Another shot of the entrance of Lynda Healy’s bedroom. Photo courtesy of KIRO-7.One side of Healy’s bedroom. Photo courtesy of KIRO-7.Another shot of Healy’s bedroom. Photo courtesy of KIRO-7.A shot of Healy’s mattress. Photo courtesy of KIRO-7.A close-up of the blood stain on Lynda Ann Healy’s mattress. Photo courtesy of KIRO-7.The blood stain on Lynda Ann Healy’s bedding. Photo courtesy of Amazon.A close-up of the blood stain on Lynda Ann Healy’s bedding. Photo courtesy of Amazon.The blood stain at the crime scene of Healy. Photo courtesy of Amazon.A close-up of the blood stain at the crime scene of Lynda Healy. Photo courtesy of Amazon.Susan Elaine Rancourt.Roberta Kathleen Parks.Brenda Ball’s drivers license. Photo courtesy of KIRO-7.The following is borrowed from Dr. Robert Keppel’s true crime classic ‘The Riverman: Ted Bundy and I Hunt for the Green River Killer:’ ‘The final tally of remains for Taylor Mountain paled in comparison to Issaquah: three crania, three mandibles, two small pieces of a skull, one tooth, and a small blond hair mass. Not one other remnant of a human skeleton was discovered. The remains of four women were identified from the sparse skeletal remains we had recovered: Susan Rancourt, who disappeared April 17, 1974, from the library at Central Washington State College; Kathy Parks, last seen May 5, 1974, at Oregon State University, over 260 miles from Taylor Mountain; Brenda Ball, who was last seen May 31, 1974, at the Flame Tavern in Seattle; and Lynda Healy, who was reported missing from her basement bedroom at the University of Washington on January 31, 1974.’ Powerline Road on Taylor Mountain. Photo courtesy of KIRO-7.Another shot of the Taylor Mountain burial site. Photo courtesy of KIRO-7.An aerial shot of Taylor Mountain. Photo courtesy of KIRO-7.The skull of Brenda Ball at the Taylor Mountain burial site. Photo courtesy of KIRO-7.Another shot of the skull of Brenda Ball at the Taylor Mountain burial site. Photo courtesy of KIRO-7.Another shot of the skull of Brenda Ball at the Taylor Mountain burial site. Photo courtesy of KIRO-7.A close-up shot of the skull of Brenda Ball. Photo courtesy of the KIRO-7.A shot of Lynda Ann Healy’s mandible with teeth taken from about 15 feet away. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives.A shot of Lynda Ann Healy’s mandible taken from roughly four feet away. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives/Tiffany Jean.Susan Rancourt’s beautiful blonde hair. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives/Tiffany Jean.Susan Rancourt’s skull. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives/Tiffany Jean.Kathy Parks’ skull. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives/Tiffany Jean.One of the skulls recovered from Taylor Mountain. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives/Tiffany Jean.LE pointing out something at the Taylor Mountain burial site. Photo courtesy of Oxygen.A member of law enforcement pointing something out at the Taylor Mountain burial site.Members of law enforcement at the Taylor Mountain burial site. Photo courtesy of KIRO-7.A green, military-style type coat, item #K-35. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives/Tiffany Jean.Dense underbrush at the Taylor Mountain burial site. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives/Tiffany Jean.A shot from the Taylor Mountain burial site. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives/Tiffany Jean.A shot from the Taylor Mountain burial site. Photo courtesy of MSNBC.A shot from the Taylor Mountain burial site. Photo courtesy of MSNBC.A shot from the Taylor Mountain burial site. Photo courtesy of MSNBC.The tattered remains of a sloppily made, lean-to shelter found at Taylor Mountain. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives/Tiffany Jean.Clockwise from the top left: Parks mandible, Parks mandible, Parks skull, Healy mandible, Ball skull, Ball skull, Ball skull, Ball skull, Healy mandible center. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives/Tiffany Jean.Clockwise from top left: Parks skull and mandible, Parks skull and mandible, Rancourt skull, Parks skull, Parks skull, Parks skull, Parks skull, Parks skull, Parks skull at center. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives/Tiffany Jean.Another group of bones found at Taylor Mountain. Photo courtesy of KIRO-7. I believe these are all bones in Susan Rancourts skull.Brenda Ball’s skull. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives/Tiffany Jean.Susan Rancourt’s skull. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives/Tiffany Jean. Kathy Parks’ skull. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives/Tiffany Jean.Janice Ott.Denise Naslund.TB’s Issaquah burial site as it looks today.The entryway to Ted’s Issaquah burial site as it looks today.The Issaquah dirt road and grassy area in September 1974. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives/Tiffany Jean.Denise Naslunds hair at the Issaquah burial site. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives.Another shot of Denise Naslunds hair at the Issaquah burial site. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives.A rib cage at the Issaquah burial site. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives.Another shot of the rib cage at the Issaquah burial site. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives.Denise Naslunds skull from the Issaquah burial site. It was found by two hunters on a hillside just east of Issaquah, less than ten miles from Lake Sammamish where she was abducted. Photo courtesy of KIRO-7.A picture from the Issaquah burial site. Photo courtesy of Oxygen.A mapping of where the different bones were found at the Issaquah burial site.Ted at the Issaquah burial site; he was there with Liz that day.Georgann Hawkins.A snapshot taken at the Issaquah burial site on February 15, 1989. Investigators were looking for the remains of Georgann Hawkins, after Bundy confessed to her murder during his death row confessions. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives.Another picture taken at the Issaquah burial site on February 15, 1989.A picture of the possible burial site of Georgann Hawkins taken in February 1989.The ESAR map Keppel brought with him to the Florida State Prison for his final interview with Bundy. Photo courtesy of the King County Archives/Tiffany Jean.Susan Curtis.Joe Ruden from the Carbon County Search and Rescue team uses a metal detector to search for the burial site of Susan Curtis, who disappeared from the BYU campus in Utah in the summer of 1975. Bundy confessed to killing Curtis during his death row confessions and that he buried her about ten miles south east of Price, UT. Jim Simone from the Carbon County Search and Rescue team sets out in search for the remains of Sue Curtis. Debra Kent.Deb Kent’s patella. Photo courtesy of Tiffany Jean. Right before he was put to death in January 1989, Bundy finally confessed to killing Deb Kent. He said that he brought her back to his apartment and after ‘keeping her for a while’ murdered her. He then put her body in his car and drove 105 miles away to Fairview Canyon, where he buried her remains about 3 feet deep, under some heavy rocks. After searching the Canyon, law enforcement found a patella (kneecap), and it is likely that her other bones were scavenged and spread around by wildlife over time. Although the ME’s office determined that the bone was human, they weren’t able to test it beyond that until 2015, when a cold-case detective stumbled across Kent’s DNA that had never been entered into the NamUs database. At that point, he reached out to Mrs. Kent, who held onto the only piece of her daughter she had left and asked if he could take the bone for genetic testing. Although she gave the detective the patella, Mrs. Kent told him that she didn’t want to know the results. In her mind, it belonged to Debra and didn’t want to be told otherwise. Thankfully her fears were put to rest five months later, when the results came back that the bone belonged to Debra.Melissa Smith.Where the remains of Melissa Smith were found, on Kilby Road in Park City, Utah.Investigators at the scene where the remains of Laura Ann Aime were found. Caryn Campbell. Photo courtesy of KIRO-7.A shot of the remains of Caryn Campbell in the snow. Photo courtesy of Vanessa West.The skull of Caryn Campbell. Photo courtesy of Vanessa West.Thank you to my friend Samantha Shore for letting me know the identity of this victim.Vince Lahey holding a crowbar over Campbells autopsy photo. Photo courtesy of Erin Banks.Caryn Campbell, Bundy’s MO. Photo courtesy of Erin Banks.An article about the discovery of Caryn Campbell’s remains, published by The Daily Sentinel on February 19, 1975.A photo of Bundy’s shoe print in the snow after his second escape on December 30, 1977. Photo courtesy of The Coloradoan.Margaret Bowman, a victim of Bundy’s 1978 Florida rampage.Lisa Levy, a victim of Bundy’s 1978 Florida rampage.Kathy Kleiner testifying at Bundy’s trial.Kathy Kleiner, today.Karen Ann Chandler testifying at Bundy’s trial.Karen Chandler, today.The crime scene of Chi Omega victim, Margaret Bowman. Photo courtesy of Vanessa West.Margaret Bowman, who was murdered while defenseless in her bed. Photo courtesy of Vanessa West.Chi Omega victim, Margaret Bowman. Photo courtesy of Vanessa West.Chi Omega victim, Margaret Bowman. Photo courtesy of Vanessa West.Chi Omega victim, Margaret Bowman. Photo courtesy of Vanessa West.Chi Omega victim, Margaret Bowman. Photo courtesy of Vanessa West.A photo of Chi Omega victim, Lisa Levy. Photo courtesy of Vanessa West.A bite mark on Chi Omega victim, Lisa Levy. Photo courtesy of Vanessa West.Another shot of Bundy’s bite mark on Lisa Levy’s buttock. Photo courtesy of Vanessa West.The layout of the rooms at the Chi Omega sororiety house.The Chi Omega House right after the murders took place in 1978. Twenty year old Lisa Levy and twenty-one year old Margaret Bowman were brutally murdered in their beds by Bundy. He also viciously attacked and left for dead Karen Ann Chandler and Kathy Kleiner, but thankfully both women survived. Photo courtesy of Oxygen.Another shot of the Chi Omega House right after the murders. Photo courtesy of Oxygen.Another shot of the Chi Omega House right after the murders. I love the old LE vehicle parked out front. Photo courtesy of Oxygen.The unlocked door of the Chi Omega House that Bundy snuck into. Photo courtesy of Oxygen.An area outside of the Chi Omega house. Photo courtesy of Oxygen.A shot of the logs outside of the Chi Omega house Bundy used to attack the four sleeping co-eds. Photo courtesy of Oxygen.Another shot of the logs outside the Chi Omega house. Photo courtesy of Oxygen.One of the beds in the Chi Omega house. Photo courtesy of Oxygen.Another one of the beds from the Chi Omega house. Photo courtesy of Oxygen.Another bed from the Chi Omega house. Photo courtesy of Oxygen.Another one of the beds from the Chi Omega house. Photo courtesy of Oxygen.Another bed at Chi Oh.Another bed at Chi Oh.A picture of one of the bedrooms in the Chi Omega house after Bundy’s murders. A picture of a hallway at the Chi Omega house after Bundy’s murders. A photo related to Bundy’s January 1978 Tallahassee crime scene. Photo courtesy of Oxygen.Cheryl Thomas. Bundy used the same log to attack Thomas that he used in the Chi Omega assaults. Photo courtesy of Oxygen.A photo of the house on Dunwoody Street Cheryl Thomas shared with friends from FSU. Photo courtesy of Oxygen.Another shot of the house that Cheryl Thomas shared with friends from FSU. Photo courtesy of OddStops.An aerial shot of where Cheryl Thomas lived and was attacked, located at 431 Dunwoody Street in Tallahassee; the house has since been torn down. Photo courtesy of Oxygen.What the area on Dunwoody Street looks like in 2023.The door at the residence of Cheryl Thomas in Tallahassee. Photo courtesy of Oxygen.The open window in Cheryl Thomas’s kitchen that Bundy climbed into. Photo courtesy of Oxygen.The fly screen on Thomas’ window that Bundy knocked loose when he climbed into her kitchen the night of her assault. Photo courtesy of Rob Dielenberg.The flower pot that Bundy knocked over when he broke into Cheryl Thomas’ apartment. Photo courtesy of Rob Dielenberg.The window in Thomas’s kitchen that Bundy crawled through.The back door at Cheryl Thomas’s apartment. Law enforcement took chunks out of the doors of both sides of the house; the perpetrator left his fingerprints behind on both. Photo courtesy of Oxygen. The crime scene of Cheryl Thomas. Photo courtesy of Oxygen. Pantyhose found in Cheryl Thomas’ apartment. According to court documents, a knotted pair of pantyhose was found in her bedroom with holes cut into the nylon to create a mask. Photo courtesy of Oxygen.The lath that Thomas used to prop her bedroom window open. Photo courtesy of Rob Dielenberg.The pantyhose mask found in Cheryl Thomas’ apartment. An expert holding up the pantyhose mask found in Cheryl Thomas’ apartment at Bundy’s Chi Omega trial. Kimberly Dianne Leach.The white van Bundy stole from FSU. It’s the vehicle he used to abduct Kim Leach with.The inside of the van Bundy stole from FSU.Another shot of the inside of the van Bundy stole from FSU.Another shot of the inside of the van Bundy stole from FSU.The hog shed Bundy used to dispose of Leach’s body.A screen shot from Leach’s crime scene. This was all could find, I apologize for the poor quality.The first three rows of butts were found discarded on the ground in Suwannee River State Park, and the single column on the right were the ones ground discarded in the FSU van. Photo courtesy of Rob Dielenberg. Bundy’s final mug shot from February 1978 after he was arrested in Jacksonville. The bruise on his face occurred after he got into a brief tussle with the arresting officer, who hit him in the cheek with his gun.Former Leon County Sheriff Ken Katsaris looking at pictures related to the Bundy case. A dentist taking a mold of Bundys teeth. Photo courtesy of Oxygen.Another shot of a dentist taking a old of Bundys teeth. Photo courtesy of Oxygen.Molds of Bundy’s teeth. Photo courtesy of Oxygen.Molds of Bundy’s teeth. Photo courtesy of Oxygen.Bundy’s teeth. Photo courtesy of Vanessa West.Bundy’s gross teeth.Bundy’s bite mark. Photo courtesy of Vanessa West.A photo of Ted arriving at the Medical Examiners office after his execution.A B&W of Bundy after his execution.Bundy after his execution.A picture of Bundy, post-mortem. Photo courtesy of the Florida state Department of Corrections.Bundy after his execution.The top of Bundy’s head after his execution.
This is the initial police report regarding Nancy’s disappearance completed by Officer D.R. Anderson on July 4, 1975. I already wrote about her but I’m going to go back and edit my piece; I am constantly updating my articles when I stumble across new information and boy did I find a great new source.
I’ve been spending a good chunk of my time writing about the unconfirmed victims so in this installment of ‘All Things Bundy,’ I’m going over his confirmed kills.
Karen Sparks-Epley (eighteen). January 4, 1974. Survived, Seattle, WA.
Also referred to as ‘Joni Lenz,’ Sparks was brutally assaulted by Ted Bundy while asleep in her basement apartment in the University District of Seattle. She was his first known victim. Thankfully Bundy didn’t kill her, however she was badly beaten with a metal rod, sexually assaulted, and left unconscious for hours before her roommates discovered her later that night. Ted left her with a number of serious long-term injuries she still struggles with to this day.
Karen Sparks.Karen Sparks.Karen Sparks.Karen Sparks in the Amazon documentary, ‘Falling for a Killer.’
Lynda Ann Healy (twenty-one). February 1, 1974. Murdered, Seattle, WA.
On January 31st, 1974, Healy borrowed a friend’s car to go shopping for a family dinner she was preparing the next night and returned with her groceries at roughly 8:30 PM. Shortly after, Lynda and her roommates went drinking at a popular bar called Dante’s Tavern located at 5300 Roosevelt Way NE. The establishment was a five-minute walk from her apartment but the friends didn’t stay out long because Lynda needed to be up at 5:30 AM to be at her job giving the ski report for a local radio station. A number of sources report that Bundy used to go to Dante’s often and it is hypothesized that he first saw Lynda there then followed her home. In the early morning hours of February 1, 1974, he broke into Healy’s basement room, beat her, took off her bloody nightgown (making sure to neatly hang it up in her closet), dressed her then carried her off into the night. It is theorized that Ted only took clothes to make it appear as if Lynda left on her own but obviously, we’ll most likely never know the truth. Her body found in March 1975 on Taylor Mountain, near Issaquah outside of Seattle.
Lynda Healy, in the middle holding her little sister.Lynda Ann Healy (middle) with her siblings.Lynda Ann Healy.Lynda Ann Healy.
Donna Gail Manson (nineteen). March 12, 1974. Murdered, Olympia, WA.
On the day of her abduction, Donna planned on going to a folk dancing class at the College Activities Building at Evergreen State College (where she attended). Later that same night, she made plans to go to a jazz concert at the Daniel J. Evans Library (also on campus), which was scheduled to start at 8 PM. Donna departed her dormitory just after 7 PM and set out for the dance class, which was just a two-minute walk away. Despite how close the College Activities Building was to her dorm, no one recalls seeing her at either the dancing class or the jazz recital, making it highly unlikely that she ever made it that far. Manson was never seen alive again. After confessing to her murder, Bundy said he burned her skull in Liz Kendall’s fireplace.
Donna Gail Manson.Donna Gail Manson.Donna Gail Manson.Donna Manson.
Susan Elaine Rancourt (eighteen). April 17, 1974. Murdered, Ellensburg, WA.
Shortly before 8 PM the evening she disappeared from her college campus at Central Washington University, Susan Rancourt put some clothes in a washing machine in Barto Hall (her dorm building). She then went to a meeting about becoming a Residential Advisor at Munson Hall. When it ended at 10 PM Sue left to walk back to her dorm to switch out her laundry but was never seen alive again. She had plans later that night to watch a movie with a friend but never showed up. Rancourt’s skull was later found near Taylor Mountain, where Bundy placed several bodies during his reign of terror.
Susan Elaine Rancourt.Susan Elaine Rancourt.Sue Rancourt.The Susan Rancourt Memorial Garden at CWU. Photo taken in April 2022.
Roberta Kathleen Parks (twenty). April 17, 1974. Corvallis, OR.
A student at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Parks was abducted from her college campus, which is over a four-and-a-half-hour drive for Bundy (who was living at the Rogers Rooming House on 12th Ave NE in Seattle at the time). Shortly before 11:00 PM the night she disappeared, Parks encountered Bundy in the Memorial Union Commons cafeteria at OSU. During Teds interviews with journalists Hugh Aynesworth and Stephen Michaud, he ‘confessed’ in the third person that Kathy may have encountered her killer while in the cafeteria. Bundy then said he was able to convince her to leave with him and as soon as the opportunity presented itself, he immediately overpowered her. He most likely bound and gagged Parks during the 250-mile trip back to Seattle, where then killed her and left her body on Taylor Mountain.
Roberta Parks, second from the left.Roberta ‘Kathy’ Parks.Kathy Parks.One of the more frequently used pictures of Kathy Parks.
Brenda Carol Ball (twenty-two). June 1, 1974. Murdered, Burien, WA.
In the wee hours of June 1st, 1974, Brenda Ball seemingly vanished into thin air after seeing a band play at The Flame Tavern located at 12803 Ambaum Boulevard in Burien, WA. She arrived at the bar alone and stayed until closing. As the act was wrapping up their set at the end of the night Brenda asked one of the members she knew for a ride home back to her house, but he was heading in the opposite direction so he couldn’t help out. There are two conflicting reports about how she could have left the bar that night: one is that she left by herself and was planning on hitchhiking home, and the other claims that she left with an unidentified man wearing an arm sling. Despite law enforcement being hesitant to officially say her disappearance was related to the other missing girls in Seattle; her skull was the first discovered on Taylor Mountain in March of 1975.
Brenda Ball’s senior picture from the 1970 Mount Rainier High School yearbook.A barefoot Brenda Ball.Brenda Carol Ball.Brenda Ball.
Georgeann Hawkins (eighteen). June 11, 1974. Murdered, Seattle, WA.
A student at the University of Washington, Georgann Hawkins disappeared from an alley behind her sorority house in June 1974. The night before she vanished, Hawkins went to a party, where she had a few mixed cocktails. Because she had a Spanish final coming up that she needed to study she didn’t stay long; she did mention to a sorority sister that she was planning on swinging by the Beta Theta Pi House to pick up some Spanish notes from her boyfriend. Hawkins arrived at the frat at approximately 12:30 AM on June 11 and stayed for approximately thirty minutes. After getting the notes and saying goodnight to her beau, Georgann left the fraternity house for her sorority house, Kappa Alpha Theta. Before he was executed, Ted told law enforcement that he approached her in an alley on her way home, feigning injury with a hurt leg (using his crutches as a ruse) while dropping his briefcase. Bundy asked Hawkins for help carrying the prop to his VW Bug, which was waiting in a parking lot roughly 160 yards north of the alley. She agreed and as she bent over to put the briefcase in his vehicle, Ted grabbed a conveniently placed crowbar and knocked her out with a single blow to the head. He then pushed George into his car and drove off into the night. Bundy claimed that while driving she regained consciousness and started to incoherently babble about her upcoming final, thinking he was her Spanish tutor. He again knocked her out with his crowbar. Once at his intended location, Ted took her unconscious body out of his car and strangled her with an old piece of rope. According to him, the parts of Georgann’s body he had not buried were recovered in Issaquah with the bodies of Janice Ott and Denise Naslund. He confessed to murdering Hawkins shortly before his 1989 execution.
Georgeann and her pom poms, from her time at Lakes High School, in Lakewood, WA.A photo of George from the 1973 Washington State Daffodil festival.A b&w photo of Georgeann Hawkins.Georgann Hawkins.
Janice Ann Blackburn-Ott (twenty-three). July 14, 1974. Murdered, Issaquah, WA.
At the time she was murdered, Janice Ott worked as a probation case worker at the King County Youth Service Center in Seattle, WA. In December of 1973, she married Jim Ott, who at the time of her death was in California for graduate school. After her car was broken into while living in Seattle, she moved in with a roommate to 75 Front Street in Issaquah (she felt the smaller community would be safer). The morning she disappeared, Janice spent a few hours at doing laundry and having a cup of coffee with a friend. After her errands and chores were completed, she rewarded herself with a trip to Lake Sammamish. Ott was abducted by Bundy at around 12.30 PM, and just a mere three and a half hours later he returned to the same park and abducted Denise Naslund.
Janice Ott and her younger sister standing outside her VW Bug.Janice Ott.Janice and Jim Ott.Janice Ott.
Denise Marie Naslund (eighteen). July 14, 1974. Murdered, Issaquah, WA.
On a beautiful, picture-perfect sunny day, Naslund disappeared from a very busy Lake Sammamish State Park (that day was Rainier Beer’s annual picnic, there were over 40,000 people there). She was there with her boyfriend and another couple, and after telling them she was going to the restroom Denise was never seen alive again. Naslund lived with her mother in Seattle and was studying to become a computer programmer. Eleanor Rose said her daughter had the kind of helpful nature that would easily place her in danger. Denise’s remains were found on a hillside near Issaquah roughly two months later in September 1974, only two miles away from Lake Sammamish. Bundy confessed to her murder shortly before his execution.
Denise Marie Naslund.Denise Marie Naslund.Denise Naslund.
Nancy Wilcox (sixteen). October 2, 1974. Murdered, Holladay, UT.
The first of Teds confirmed Utah victims, Wilcox went missing after she went on a walk to buy a pack of gum (it’s also speculated that from there she was on her way to her high school to visit her boyfriend). She left the house in a huff after getting into a fight with her dad about her bf’s pick-up truck leaking oil on the family’s driveway. Both Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox said that because of this law enforcement initially considered her to be a runaway even though they knew their daughter would never voluntarily leave home and had no troubles whatsoever in her personal life. Nancy left all of her personal belongings behind including some expensive jewelry that held deep sentimental value to her. Before he was executed Bundy confessed to sexually assaulting and strangling her, then burying her body about 200 miles away near Capitol Reef National Park. Sadly, her body has never been found.
Nancy Wilcox.Nancy Wilcox.Nancy Wilcox.
Melissa Smith (seventeen). October 26, 1974. Murdered, Midvale, UT.
Bundy abducted Smith shortly after she left a pizza parlor on West Center Street in Midvale at around 9.30 PM on October 26, 1974. One unconfirmed report suggests that he may have been asking women in the area to help him with a car issue. Melissa was the daughter of Midvale Police Chief Louis Smith, and her murder took place just sixteen days after Nancy Wilcox vanished from the nearby city of Holladay (and five days before Laura Aime). On the night she disappeared, Smith was supposed to sleep over at a girlfriend’s house, but those plans fell through after she didn’t answer the phone. After realizing she had been stood up, she decided to leave the pizzeria and walk back to her house on Fern Drive. At some point during her walk, it’s speculated that Bundy grabbed Melissa off the street and killed her. She never made it home.
Melissa Smith.Melissa Smith.Melissa Smith.
Laura Aime (seventeen). October 31, 1974. Murdered, Lehi, UT.
Shortly before she disappeared Aime dropped out of high school, left home (she frequently couch surfed at various friends’ homes), and worked a few menial part-time jobs. Surprisingly she still remained in contact with her family and according to her parents, they were just beginning to accept her ‘nomadic lifestyle.’ So, when she first disappeared no one really seemed overly concerned. Thanks to my newspapers.com subscription it didn’t take long for me to realize there were no news articles mentioning Laura Aime’s disappearance at first, and her name only began to appear in ink after two hikers discovered her remains in American Fork Canyon. Additionally, when her body was first discovered, law enforcement first speculated it belonged to Deborah Kent.
Laura Ann Aime, photo courtesy of ThisInterestsMe.Laura Ann Aime, photo courtesy of ThisInterestsMe.Laura Ann Aime.Laura Ann Aime.
Carol DaRonch (eighteen). November 8, 1974. Survived, Murray, UT.
The evening she was abducted Carol DaRonch parked her maroon 1974 Camaro on the southern side of The Fashion Place Mall in Murray, UT. As she was window shopping outside Walden Books, DaRonch was approached by Bundy, who was posing as a police officer. He said that her car had been broken into and asked her to drive down ‘to the station’ with him to file a report with him. However as they were on their way he attempted to subdue and handcuff her but was unsuccessful: she was able to fend him off and escape. Of the encounter, DaRonch said that she ‘thought he was kind of creepy … I thought he was a lot older than he was.’ She also commented that she could smell alcohol on his breath.
Carol DaRonch.Carol DaRonch.Carol DaRonch.DaRonch as she looks today.
Debra Jean Kent (seventeen). November 8, 1974. Murdered, Bountiful, UT.
After Bundy was unsuccessful in his attempts to kidnap Carol DaRonch he quickly realized he was going to need a new victim. So, he made the twenty-two minute drive away to Viewmont High School, where he successfully abducted Debbie Kent. Kent was watching a play with her family but left the school at approximately 10:30 PM to pick up her brother from the nearby Rustic Roller Rink. She never made it to the rink and was most likely abducted in the parking lot. According to an eyewitness, there was loud screaming coming from the area at roughly the time that Debra was last seen, and another person saw a light-colored VW Beetle speeding away from the school. After the Kent’s realized their daughter hadn’t even made it out of the parking lot, they found a handcuff key on the ground by their car. Bundy confessed to killing Deb and burying her body in the same area as Nancy Wilcox.
Debra Kent.Debra Kent.Debra Kent.
Caryn Campbell (twenty-three). January 12, 1975. Murdered, Estes Park, CO.
Bundy abducted the twenty-three-year-old nurse from the Wildwood Inn in Snowmass Village. While staying at the inn with her fiancé and his children, Campbell went missing after going upstairs to her room to retrieve a magazine. Although we will never know for certain how exactly Ted managed to abduct the attractive young woman, it is highly likely he feigned an injury and asked her to help him carry something back to his vehicle. After he lured her away from the hotel to a darkened parking lot, he hit her over the head then quickly snuck her into his Bug. Roughly five weeks after Campbell disappeared her body was found less than three miles away from the Wildwood Inn. Someone driving by her remains noticed a large number of birds flying over the area. Using dental records, police determined that the remains belonged to Caryn. The postmortem examination revealed that her skull had sustained three heavy blows. Before Ted’s run in with Ol’ Sparky, he confessed to Campbells murder.
The day before Bundy was executed Campbell’s father Robert did an interview with the Free Press saying that ‘you never really forgive someone for something like that,’ Robert Campbell said. ‘You just try to put it behind you. … The thing I’d like to have back, I can’t have.’ … ‘I’m not a vindictive person, but certainly you can’t go around killing people. I suppose I approve of his execution reluctantly, but I don’t think executing Bundy will be a deterrent. People will keep killing.’Caryn Campbell.Caryn Campbell.
Julie Cunningham (twenty-six). March 15, 1975. Murdered, Vail, CO.
Cunningham disappeared early in the evening on March 15, 1975 after leaving her Apollo Park apartment in Vail to go a nearby bar to meet up with a friend. Bundy told law enforcement that he pretended to be an injured skier on crutches that needed help carrying a pair of ski boots to his car. According to Ted, the pair walked over half a mile together before they finally reached his vehicle. Once there, Bundy knocked her unconscious, put her in his car then drove to a remote area roughly eighty miles west of Vail and sexually assaulted her. When finished, he strangled her to death and left her remains in a shallow grave near Rifle, CO. Julie’s body has never been recovered.
Denise Oliverson (twenty-four). April 6, 1975. Murdered, Grand Junction, CO.
On April 6, 1975, Denise Oliverson set out on a bike ride to her parents house but was never seen alive again. The next day, a search party found her bicycle and shoes under the Fifth Street Bridge by some railroad tracks. Just days before he was executed in January 1989, Bundy told law enforcement he abducted Oliverson then disposed of her body in a river about five miles West of Grand Junction. Her remains have never been found.
Denise Oliverson.Denise Oliverson.Denise Oliverson on her wedding day.
Lynette Dawn Culver (twelve). May 6, 1975. Murdered, Pocatello, ID.
Although the details surrounding Culvers murder seem to vary between sources, it’s strongly speculated she was last seen at Alameda Junior High School. It’s worth mentioning, this was a two-and-a-half-hour drive from where Bundy was living at the time in Salt Lake City to Pocatello, Idaho. Some places say that she left campus during her lunch period, where others claim, Lynette was last seen getting on a bus. When considering her healthy and happy relationship with family and friends as well as and her stellar academic performance, she most likely was taken against her will. In his death row interviews, Bundy confessed to killing Lynette then dumping her body in the Snake River. He also said he raped and drowned the twelve-year-old child in a hotel room after abducting her. Law enforcement didn’t fully accept his confession despite providing some convincing details.
Lynette Dawn Culver. Lynette Dawn Culver. Lynette Dawn Culver.Lynette Dawn Culver.
Susan Curtis (fifteen). June 27, 1975. Murdered, Provo, UT.
At the time she was murdered, Susan was a freshman at Woods Cross High School. She had a history of running away from home for days at a time but never was gone for very long. Susan was originally from Bountiful, Utah but at the time of her disappearance was attending a youth conference at Brigham Young University in Provo. A natural athlete, Curtis had ridden her bicycle 50 miles from Bountiful to Provo to attend the conference. She vanished on the first evening of the conference after a formal banquet: she left her friends to make the quarter mile walk back to her dormitory to brush her teeth but was never seen or heard from again. As Bundy walked down to the hall to be executed Curtis was his last death row confession. Since her body has not been recovered, she is still regarded as a missing person.
Susan Curtis.Susan Curtis.Susan Curtis.Susan Curtis.Susan Curtis.
Margaret Bowman (twenty-one). January 15, 1978. Murdered, Tallahassee, FL.
In the early morning hours of January 15, 1978, a group of young women residing at the Chi Omega house at Tallahassee’s Florida State University were asleep in their beds when evil crept in… Margaret Bowman was born in Honolulu and moved to Florida in 1973 after her father retired from the US Air Force. Bowman was one of four women Bundy attacked when he broke into the sorority house at around 3 AM on January 15, 1978. He beat her with a piece of firewood as well as a telescope and strangled her to death with her own tights. Despite the violent nature of the crime, the initial investigation failed to produce any evidence of sexual assault or struggle. The severity of the beating was so extreme that part of Bowman’s brain was visible.
A picture of Margaret Bowman from high school. I hate that it has ‘RIP’ on it but I couldn’t find another copy.Margaret Bowman.Margaret Bowman.Margaret Bowman.
Lisa Janet Levy (twenty). January 15, 1978. Murdered, Tallahassee, FL.
Lisa was born in St Petersburg, FL and attended Dixie Hollins High School, where she played flute in the band for two years. At FSU, she majored in fashion merchandising and worked at the Colony Shop near campus. When law enforcement got to the crime scene Levy’s was the first sister that officers found dead. Medical Pathologists discovered that she had been beaten on the head with a log, sexually assaulted with a hair spray bottle then strangled. Additionally, they found bite marks on her buttocks and one of her nipples had been so savagely bitten that it was almost completely severed from the rest of her breast.
Levy.Lisa Levy.Levy.Lisa Levy and her boyfriend.Lisa Levy and her boyfriend.
Kathy Kleiner-Rubin (twenty). January 15, 1978. Survived, Tallahassee, FL.
Kathy Kleiner-Rubin and Karen Chandler shared a room at the Chi Omega sorority house. That night she was attacked Kathy went to bed first, with Chandler following shortly after. After Bundy attacked and murdered Lisa Levy, he went into the room next door and brutally assaulted Kleiner-Rubin and Chandler. In an interview, Kathy said that was awoken that morning by the sound of her bedroom door opening. The assailant then tripped over a chest that was in-between the girls twin beds. Ted then assaulted her with a piece of firewood, which left her with a broken jaw, concussion, skull fracture, broken arm and finger. Miraculously, she survived her injuries and testified against Bundy in his death penalty trial.
Kathy Kleiner-Rubin at Bundy’s trial.Kathy Kleiner-Rubin.Kathy Kleiner-Rubin as she looks today.Kathy Kleiner-Rubin as she looks today.
Karen Chandler (twenty-two). January 15, 1978. Survived, Tallahassee, FL.
As I said earlier, Karen Chandler was Kathy Kleiner-Rubin’s roommate in the Chi Omega house. After Bundy was done brutally assaulting Kathy he moved onto Chandler. Bundy knocked out four of her teeth and beat her so severely that he broke her jaw and right arm. Somehow Chandler survived. She took the rest of the academic quarter off but later returned to the Chi Omega house at FSU.
Karen Chandler.Karen Chandler.Karen Chandler.Karen Chandler.Karen Chandler as she looks today.
Cheryl Thomas (twenty-one). January 15, 1978. Survived, Tallahassee, FL.
After Bundy was finished with his atrocities at the Chi Omega sorority house, he wandered a few blocks over and climbed into an open kitchen window in Cheryl Thomas’ apartment. He attacked her and Thomas barely escaped with her life: her jaw was broken in two places, her shoulder dislocated, and she had five skull fractures, which left her permanently deaf in her left ear. In 1978 Thomas was a student at FSU and a member of the school’s dance team. The night she was attacked was alone in her apartment but thanks to some attentive neighbors who heard the assault her life was saved.
Cheryl Thomas.Cheryl Thomas.Cheryl Thomas.Cheryl Thomas.A more recent picture of Thomas.
Kimberly Dianne Leach (twelve). February 9, 1978. Murdered, Lake City, FL.
In 1978, Kim Leach was a 12-year-old seventh grader at Lake City Junior High School, where she was a straight-A student and the runner-up Valentine Queen. Leach was one of Bundy’s youngest and his last victim. On the morning of February 9, 1978, Kimberly arrived at Lake City Junior high School on time. Just before 9 AM, she left her first period class to go and pick up her purse that she had accidentally left behind in her homeroom. After she recovered the purse, she headed back towards her classroom in the pouring rain but never arrived. That afternoon, Kimberly’s parents became concerned when their daughter didn’t come home after school. They called everybody they knew, but nobody could account for Kimberly. Their concern escalated to fear when they learned she had been at her first period class but then never returned. They immediately called law enforcement to report their daughter missing. A search party quickly formed and concentrated on Suwannee River State Park for weeks. Kims remains were eventually found on April 7, 1978, in an abandoned hog pen with a small metal lead-to. She was nude other than for a pullover jumper, her clothes were piled up beside her body. She was in an advanced state of decomposition, but she was identified thanks to dental records. Leach had suffered homicidal violence about the neck region.
Kim Leach.Kim Leach.Kim Leach.
Miscellaneous: there is no consensus as to when or where Bundy began killing. He told different people varying stories to and refused to give the specifics of his earlier crimes, even as he shared in graphic detail to dozens of later murders in the days before he was his executed. He told one of his attorneys Polly Nelson that he attempted his first kidnapping in 1969 in Ocean City, NJ, however, did not kill anyone until sometime in 1971 in Seattle. He told Portland forensic psychologist Dr. Art Norman that he murdered two women in Atlantic City while visiting family in Philadelphia in 1969. Bundy hinted to former homicide detective Dr. Robert Keppel that he committed a murder in Seattle in 1972 and another murder in 1973 that involved a hitchhiker near Tumwater, but he refused to elaborate. Rule and Keppel both believed that he might have started killing as a teenager. Bundy’s earliest documented homicides were committed in 1974, when he was 27 years old. By his own admission, he had by then mastered the necessary skills to leave minimal incriminating forensic evidence at crime scenes.
On September 2, 1974, Bundy drove through Boise while moving from Seattle to Salt Lake City and during that trip, he picked up a still unknown hitchhiker and killed her. Ted returned the next day to photograph and dismember the corpse then left her remains in the Snake River. Reports from Gonzaga University’s student newspaper ‘The Gonzaga Bulletin’ claim that Bundy stopped by a campus dorm for a party in the 1970’s and drove a female student to Pullman. She miraculously survived.
Bundy confessed to detectives from Idaho, Utah, and Colorado that he had committed numerous additional homicides, including several that were unknown to the police. He explained that when he was in Utah he could bring his victims back to his apartment, ‘where he could reenact scenarios depicted on the covers of detective magazines.’ A new ulterior strategy quickly became apparent: he withheld many details, hoping to parlay the incomplete information into yet another stay of execution. ‘There are other buried remains in Colorado,’ he admitted, but refused to elaborate. The new strategy (which was referred to as ‘Ted’s bones-for-time scheme’) served only to deepen the resolve of authorities to see Bundy executed on schedule and yielded little new detailed information. In cases where he did give details, nothing was found. Colorado detective Matt Lindvall interpreted this as a conflict between his desire to postpone his execution by divulging information and his need to remain in ‘total possession, and the only person who knew his victims true resting places.’
in Oregon, 2 (both unidentified)
in Idaho, 2 (1 unidentified)
in California, 1 (unidentified)
After being sentenced to death, Bundy spent eleven years on death row at Florida State Prison in Starke, before he was executed by electric chair on January 24, 1989.
Shelley Kay Robertson was born on July 24, 1951 to Elmer and RobertaRobertson of Arvada, Colorado. The couple had four children: three boys (Mark, Gary, and Rick) and Shelley; they divorced at some point and Mr. Robertson remarried. Elmer was the owner of Silver State Printers and it seemed to be a bit of a family affair: per Steve Winn’s book, ‘Ted Bundy: The Killer Next Door,’ both Shelley and her brother Gary helped out with the business (she was a bookkeeper and binder). Shelley attended Arvada High School, and after graduating in 1969 she spent a year on a missionary trip in Biloxi, Mississippi run through the United Church of Christ. Her faith was important to her and she was an active member of the Church of Christ. Roberta encouraged her only daughter to travel and experience the world, often telling her that ‘you can always come back to your hometown.’ After returning from Biloxi, Shelley enrolled in Red Rocks Community College as a Spanish major; she even went to Barra de Navidad (a fishing village in Mexico) for a semester with her class (after the school trip she returned once to visit on her own). At one point in her short life she spent a year in Alaska with a friend (Susan), where they processed fish in Clam Gulch. Mrs. Robertson said that growing up, Shelley dreamed that one day a white horse would come into her life and she would name him Brownie. It was a story she knew well, and one day her daughters dream somehow came true (although it was a neighbor’s horse). This sweet encounter hinted at the future that she would eventually get her own horse: a sweet little gray mare named Bonnie she rode around bareback. Shelley was 5’8” tall, weighed 150 pounds, and had brown eyes with long brown hair she wore parted down the middle. At the time of her disappearance she was attending a Transactional Analysis group.
Shelley had an apartment in Denver and a boyfriend named Ron, who seemed to have been in the process of going to California right before she disappeared (I couldn’t find the reason or the length of his visit), which upset her (one of her brothers said she was crying and upset at one point right before she disappeared). It’s speculated that the day before she vanished Shelley had gotten into a fight with him where she got out of his red Karman Gia and thumbed a ride home. Robertson was a frequent hitchhiker and thought nothing of catching a ride states away ‘for fun.’ Shelley was last seen dressed in bell-bottom jeans, a T-shirt with the name of a rock band on the front (most likely either Yes or ‘Emerson, Lake & Palmer’) and hiking boots by friends near a local watering hole called ‘Tony’s Bar’ on June 29th. Per a document provided by the Pitkin County Sheriff’s, Shelley was last seen at 34th and Sheridan Streets in Denver hitchhiking to work. Additionally, according to her brother Gary, missing from her wardrobe were a pair of blue denim cutoffs, a blouse, a brown and white striped dress, and ‘Earth” sandals. On Tuesday, July 1, 1975 Robertson never showed up for work at Mr. Robertson’s printing press in Golden. The same day, she was seen by a policeman that noticed her at a service station with a bushy haired bearded man in a beat up old red Chevrolet pick up truck (from around 1952-57). It was the last time she was seen alive but it’s reported she made a phone call later that night.
Days then weeks passed with no word from Shelley. On August 21, 1975 two students conducting Amex testing for gas content from the ‘Colorado School of Mines’ came across the body of Shelley Robertson in a mine in Berthoud Pass, Colorado near the Winter Park Resort. About 500 feet in they smelled something unusual: humandecomposition. Using their flashlights, they strained to see what was down the narrow tunnel, seeing something large and white. Upon further inspection they realized they were looking at a foot and “bare buttocks” and that “we’ve got body, lets get out of here.” They notified law enforcement and the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s returned on August 23 to find the naked, decomposing remains of Shelley Robertson discarded in the mine. Her body was ‘badly molded’ and bound with duct tape. Although it was determined she had been struck on the front side of the head, the top rear of the head, and the right side of her chest too much time had passed and because of the advanced levels of decomp forensic experts were unable to pinpoint the exact cause of death. Found at the scene were two torn pieces of furnace tape (one on the body and one discarded nearby) as well as discarded beer can and a plastic wrapper from a package of ham. Leads quickly ran dry.
Law enforcement looked into multiple suspects aside from Bundy, including Warren Leslie Forrest, OttisToole, “a chronic sex offender that lived nearby,” a man in Shelley’s Transactional Analysis group that claimed he was alive during the Civil War, a “quietfriend” of hers that oddly enough drove a VW Bug, and a mystery man named JakeTeppler. Forrest and Toole were both quickly ruled out as Forrest was already in jail at that point (he was incarcerated since 1974) and the latter was placed in Jacksonville, FL at the time (after drifting and hitchhiking throughout the Southern part of the US). According to Steve Winn, Teppler was a graduate of Tufts University and a resident of the nearby Snowmass Village in CO as well as a former employee of a “condominium complex.’ According to a former part time coworker (who worked a 9-5 job as a music therapist), Teppler was ‘very sick, the kind of person who would go in the corner and jack off.” He seemed to be a bit of a nomad, and wandered the area going through jobs quickly as he was unable to keep them (remind you of anyone?). Looking into Teppler I couldn’t find anything related to a criminal record.
At the time Shelley was murdered Bundy was attending law school at the ‘University of Utah’ and was living at 565 1st Avenue North in Salt Lake City. Per my ‘handy dandy TB job chart,’ in June and July 1975 Ted was employed as the night manager in charge of Bailiff Hall at the University (he was terminated after showing up for work drunk). It also said that Bundy worked as a PT security guard for the school in July and August but due to budget cuts he lost that position as well. When researching this piece I kept seeing in multiple sources that ‘crumpled up credit card receipts found in his VW’ placed Bundy in Golden either a few days before Shelley disappeared or the day of (sources have reported both), but the ‘TB Multiagency Report 1992’ puts him in Salt Lake City during that time frame. I scoured the internet for the receipts but couldn’t find them. I do want to point out that Bundy did own an old pickup truck until about November/December 1975 (he bought it to help transport his belongings to Utah when he started law school).
On June 27, 1975 (just a few days before Shelley was last seen), Bundy abducted and murdered Susan Curtis while she attended a youth conference at Brigham Young University in Salt Lake City. Four days after Robertson was last seen on July 4, 1975, Nancy Perry-Baird was abducted from the gas station where she worked in East Layton, UT and was never seen or heard from again. We know Bundy was quickly approaching the end of his reign of terror: he was pulled over by Utah State Trooper Bob Haywood on August 21, 1975 and was arrested for the possession of burglary tools, which eventually resulted in his arrest for the attempted kidnapping of CarolDaRonch.
At some point when Bundy was incarcerated in Utah (he was transferred to Aspen, Colorado on January 28, 1977 to face charges for the murder of Caryn Campbell), former Cold Creek County Undersheriff Bob Denning traveled to Salt Lake City to interview him about the murder of Shelley Robertson. When the law enforcement officer asked him about her Ted is reported to have answered, ‘I don’t want to talk about that.’ Denning has commented that he is ‘99% sure that Shelley’s killer is Ted Bundy.’ Additionally, I read in multiple sources that Bundy confessed to Shelley’s murder before he was put to death however I can’t find it anywhere in the transcripts of his death row interviews.
A really interesting source I came across was an article by Shelley’s brothers one-time girlfriend, Kristen Iversen. Kristen is a writer as well (at a much more professional level) and in a piece she wrote for ‘The American Scholar” titled ‘When Death Came to Golden,’ she talks about the disappearance of Shelley and shares an intimate account of how the Robertson family adapted to life after she was taken from them. In response to Mrs. Robertson pulling her close after they met and whispering in her ear, ‘you can save this family,’ Kristen commented that: ‘I couldn’t save Mark’s family. I know this now. I couldn’t save Shelley, whose brief life had already been forgotten and erased by the town, by the media, by the nation. I couldn’t save Mark’s father, a blue-collar man who worked hard all his life and had to bear sorrows no man should have to bear. I couldn’t save Mark’s mother, who for years left Shelley’s bedroom untouched.’ That’s why I write about these girls, because they’ve largely been forgotten about. There’s not much out there on these victims; I seem to find the same little pieces of information over and over.
When Bundy was executed in January 1989 Roberta Robertson traveled from Colorado (she lived in the same house she raised her family in) to Florida and stood in a crowd of candle-holders outside the prison, waiting for word that he was officially dead. She told a journalist, “killing Ted Bundy won’t make me feel better and it won’t bring back Shelley. A lot of people seem to want it out of a vengeance. But it gives people a false sense of security. And it’s terribly expensive.” Mrs. Robinson passed away on September 23, 2009 in Lakewood, CO. Almost as tragic as Shelley’s murder, her brother Mark passed away at the age of 24 in a rock-climbing accident in 1979.
Kristen Iversen’s essay about Shelley will be included in an anthology published later this year. Her website is http://www.kristeniversen.com. When it’s released I’ll post a link to my FB page.
Works Cited: David Merrill & Steven Winn. “Ted Bundy: The Killer Next Door.” 1979. Kristen Iversen. The American Scholar: “When Death Came to Golden.” March 5, 2018.
Shelley’s photo from the Arvada High School yearbook in 1967.Shelley’s photo from the Arvada High School yearbook in 1969.Shelley’s activities in the Arvada High School 1969 yearbook.Shelley’s graduation picture.Shelley Robertson.Shelley and her one time love (and my wonderful friend), JD Longwell. Shelley, photo courtesy of Gary Robertson/JD Longwell.A picture of Shelley napping with her guitar. Photo courtesy of JD Longwell.A picture of Shelley holding a really cute dog. Photo courtesy of JD Longwell.Shelley Kay Robertson. Photo courtesy of JD Longwell.A memorial plaque for Shelley and her brother, Mark. Photo courtesy of JD Longwell.Flowers left for Shelley. Photo courtesy of JD Longwell.An article mentioning Shelley published in The Deseret News on October 27, 1975.An article mentioning Robertson from the Greeley Daily Tribune published on October 27, 1975.An article mentioning Robertson from The News Tribune published on October 27, 1975.An article mentioning Robertson from the Logan Herald Journal published on October 27, 1975.An article mentioning Robertson from the Walla Walla Union Bulletin published on November 2, 1975.An article mentioning Robertson from the Tri-City Herald published on November 2, 1975.An article mentioning Robertson from The Albany Democrat-Herald published on November 14, 1975.An article mentioning Robertson from the Centralia Daily Chronicle on March 8, 1976.An article mentioning Shelley Robertson from the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph published on January 18, 1989.An article mentioning Robertson published by The Daily Sentinel on January 18, 1989.The portion of an article mentioning Mrs. Robertson published in The St. Lucie News Tribune on January 25, 1989.An article mentioning Robertson from the Daily Kent Stater on January 26, 1989.A short clipping mentioning Shelley from ‘The Hartford Courant’ after Bundy was executed.An aerial shot of Red Rocks Community College, where Shelley attended school.Berthoud Pass in Colorado.Berthoud Pass in Colorado.The logo for the Colorado School of Mines.Ted’s whereabouts when Shelley was abducted according to the ‘Ted Bundy Multiagency Investigative Team Report 1992.’The ‘Ted Bundy Multiagency Investigative Team Report 1992’ mentioning that Ted purchased gas in Golden, CO on April 4, 1975. A report mentioning police finding the remains of Shelley.Denise Oliverson went missing in Grand Junction on April 8, 1975; Cunningham was murdered On March 15th, 1975.A Facebook comment mentioning Shelley.A map of Bundy’s victims in Colorado; I’m not good at artsy stuff so please excuse my sloppy red arrow. This is Golden, where Shelley was abducted from. Shelley’s ‘myheritage’ page listing her family members.The only gas receipt I could find related to the Bundy case.The 1950 United States Federal Census record for Elmer Robertson. Mr. Robertson’s WW2 draft card.Elmer Robertson’s marriage certificate from his second marriage. His divorce from Shelley’s mom was finalized on December 6, 1971.Shelley’s brother Rick Robertson from the 1961 Arvada High School yearbook.Shelley’s brother Gary Robertson from the 1964 Arvada High School yearbook.Shelley’s brother Mark Robertson from the 1973 Arvada High School yearbook.Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department. Information related to Shelley Robertson’s murder investigation, courtesy of The King County Sheriff’s Department.
Melanie Suzanne Cooley (also called Suzi by family and friends) was born on October 27, 1956 to Bob and Nina Cooley in Boulder, Colorado. The middle child in a family of six, Ms. Cooley was 18 years old when she disappeared close to the high school she attended in Nederland (which is about 50 miles away from Denver) on April 15, 1975. She was a petite girl with dark eyes and long brown hair she wore parted down the middle. Melanie had a younger adopted sister named Michelle that was six when she disappeared, a younger brother named Cris that was about 18 months younger than her, and an older brother named Bob Jr. that was a sophomore at the University of Colorado. She lived with her family in the foothills west of Boulder on Magnolia Drive, her Father Bob was an airline pilot and her Mother Nina was a student at the nearby University of Colorado, studying both English and Anthropology. Interestingly enough, this is the first time I’ve come across any sort of political notation on any possible Bundy victims: in my research I learned that the Cooley family leaned very much to the left and was very politically active, participating in Vietnam War protests as well as civil rights demonstrations and peace marches.
Nina Cooley said Melanie loved animals, even saving the life of a tiny kitten that was so small it needed to be fed with an eyedropper. Like most 18 year old’s, Melanie had a strainedrelationship with her parents, and in her later years had an especially tough time getting along with her Mom. Of this time in their lives, Nina Cooley said: ‘as she grew older it often seemed I could do nothing right for Suzi, as though that girl-child had found me inadequate. I took it personally and how it hurt, lost as I was in my own neediness to be loved, I could not see her great need for separation-from-mother and independence of her unique self, and herneed for the love and guidance of a mature mother.’ Melanie had big dreams and aspirations and didn’t want to be tied down to her small town roots and was skeptical of the more traditional family values in which she was raised. Despite this, Nina Cooley adored her daughter, saying that: ‘she learned fast, was bright and quick, when she wasn’t somewhere faraway. When she was three years old her favorite book was about a baby rabbit eager to be big and wise enough to leave the nest.’ It was reported to law enforcement that the young girl reportedly experimented with drugs on occasion (including marijuana and some ‘harder substances’) and frequently hitchhiked. Friends said she had no qualms with accepting rides from complete strangers and would often hitchhike home from school with other neighborhood kids largely because she didn’t like taking the bus. Mrs. Cooley said that Melanie was ‘somewhat of a willful girl.’ … ‘she wanted what she wanted right then.’ and that ‘for us, a stranger was a friend we hadn’t met yet.’ Melanie either was sexually active at the time of her death or was planning on engaging in sexual activity shortly before she died (Nina said she bought birth control pills in hopes to soon have a boyfriend).
Described as a good student by her teachers, Suzi was a lover of the arts, and was a gifted artist that loved reading, macrame, painting, journaling, creative writing, and poetry; she was also a talented musician that loved playing the guitar. Melanie also had a deep love for photography and even helped take pictures for her high school yearbook; she stayed active by hiking and skiing. She didn’t play any sports but did help keep score for the basketball team. In addition to being active in academics and after school activities, Melanie was employed as a valet driver at the nearby Eldora Ski Resort. Only six weeks away from graduation, she planned on either attending the University of Colorado (which is where her Mother and Brother attended college as well) or traveling. Her Mom said she would say, ‘I want to get a jeep and just drive!’ and that ‘freedom was her watchword, and had been always.’ … ‘She was desperate to learn. But she wanted to learn about life, and so little in school seemed relevant. She saw the absurdity, the burning irony, of being imprisoned in an institution of learningwhile life was going on all around her out there! Her impatience and frustration knew no bounds. So much to learn and so little time, speak the words of her journal, over and again.’ She had a deep appreciation for nature and was fascinated with learning about Native American heritage and culture. One time Suzi went tent camping alone for three days in the mountains and while she was away from her site hiking a bear came by and raided her camp. She was so excited over the situation she immediately went home, got her mother and brought her back to show her what happened. The bear destroyed her set up and left behind giant footprints, even shredding a container filled with beef jerky. Nina Cooley said that her daughter didn’t always like to follow the rules and that teachers and fellow students either ‘loved her or had a tough time getting along with her.’ … ‘She drew people to her or she repelled them. Her first grade teacher feared and disliked her openly, overtly. The teacher of her second grade class adored her, took her to lunch and on special trips, gave her books of poetry. The pattern continued into high school.’ Nina also said that Melanie had no problems speaking her mind and that on occasion it got her in trouble.
After classes were over on Tuesday, April 15, 1975, Melanie left the high school she attended in Nederland, Colorado where she was a senior and was never seen or heard from again. She was last seen by friends hitchhiking nearby campus, and it’s unclear where or when exactly she got picked up; no one saw the vehicle the young girl climbed into that day. She was last seen wearing blue jeans, a blue denim jacket with an embroidered eagle on the back (that she designed herself), a soft peachy-tan blouse with a background made up of small orange flowers and different colored geometric figures, and knee high tan leather boots. On the day of Melanie’s disappearance, Nina Cooley told law enforcement that she was wearing her hair pinned up ‘in a kind of French roll’ and that ‘she looked very pretty.’ When she didn’t come home that afternoon on the bus with her brother or even call her parents tried to report her missing the very next morning. When Nina voiced her concern to her husband he said, ‘oh, you know how she is, all drama!We’ll hear from her.‘ The parents were met with push back from the Boulder County Sheriff’s Department that told them there was nothing they could do until she was missing for at least 48 hours. From there she called Melanie’s two best friends, but neither one of them knew where she was. One girl shared that recently Suzi mentioned a Pink Floyd concert she really wanted to go to but that was the extent of her knowledge.
Two days later on Thursday, April 17 the Cooley’s received a call from the Nederland High School Principal with news that a man came in with a wallet containing Melanie’s’ driver’s license and other personal information in it. He found it near his property and brought it straight to the school, figuring it must have belonged to a student. The Principal called the Cooley’s as a formality to let them know the wallet had been found and let them know he turned it into the Boulder County Sheriff’s Department. Later that day a Boulder County Detective came to speak with the family to get more information and a picture of Melanie to begin search efforts. A few days following that her parents and four sheriff’s deputies combed the area where the wallet had been found, which had previously been a hippie commune and had ‘sheds and outbuildings, piles of old lumber, barrels of trash and rusted auto bodies’ scattered all over it. Mrs. Cooley discovered her daughter’s prescription birth control pills, in a personalized pink case with ‘Suzi’ written on it, discarded in the dirt a few feet away from the side of the road; that wasn’t something Melanie would have been irresponsible or careless about. Something was very wrong.
On Friday, May 2, 1975 the body of Melanie Suzanne Cooley was discovered fully clothed and frozen by a maintenance worker on Twin Spruce Road near Coal Creek Canyon about 20 miles away from where she was last seen. Of the discovery, Jefferson County Sheriff Brad Leach said: ‘she had been bludgeoned, perhaps with a stone. Her hands were tied in front with a yellow nylon cord; many, many feet of it, wrapped around and around. She died from a blow to the head and strangulation. Her face had been beaten repeatedly with a rock … One contact lens was missing. The body was in pretty bad shape. What with freezing and thawing, and the wild things, two weeks lying there.’ … ‘Her body, fully clothed, was found by the driver of a bulldozer on a little mountain track up Coal Creek called Twin Spruce Road, a few miles from where the billfold and pill case were recovered. The body was frozen.‘ It was far worse than anything the Cooley family could have dreamed of. Of her big sisters death, little Michelle said: ‘Suzi always said she wanted to be free. And now she’s free!‘ Despite that innocent statement the young child quickly developed nightmares about her siblings death and struggled with them for many years.
Author Ann Rule briefly discussed Melanie in her true crime bestseller ‘The Stranger Beside Me’: ‘a filthy pillow case, perhaps used as a garrote, perhaps as a blindfold, was still twisted around her neck,’ which I think suggests the killer was some sort of transient or camping enthusiast (why else use something as obscure as a pillow case?). Cooley’s remains were identified by a report card law enforcement found in her pocket as well as through dental records and a small (less than a quarter inch long), very particular brown birthmark in the shape of a shoe found on her thigh. Mr. and Mrs. Cooley also positively identified her based on the clothing she was wearing. The young girl was believed to have been deceased anywhere from ten days to two weeks before her body was discovered. Because her remains were at an advanced level of decomposition after being exposed to the elements for so long it was impossible to tell if she had been sexually assaulted. In my research on this case I couldn’t find evidence or mention of it anywhere.
It’s suspected Melanie may have been a victim of Ted Bundy’s, however the only real, semi-compelling evidence is gas receipts that put him close to the scene in Golden, Colorado at some point in the month before Melanie vanished (about 50 minutes away). After killing women in Utah during October and November of 1974, Bundy migrated east in early 1975 to Colorado, killing nurse Caryn Eileen Campbell in January, the first of three confirmed women he killed there. Cooley possessed a lot of the same physical traits that Ted’s other victims did: she was attractive and slim, with long brown hair she wore parted down the middle. Like other Bundy killings surrounding an academic setting (Debbie Kent, Lynette Culver, and Kim Leach), it’s strongly speculated that the killer may have abducted Melanie as she was leaving school, as Ted moved around comfortably in a both high school and college settings (Florida State University, Evergreen State College, Central Washington, Oregon State and Brigham Young University). I do want to point out that Cooley was found fully clothed where Bundy typically left his victims in either a nude or semi-nude state.
Melanie was murdered 9 days after Denise Lynne Oliverson, who was abducted and killed on April 6, 1975 from nearby Grand Junction. Only a few months after Cooley was murdered twenty four year old Shelley Kay Robertson from Golden, Colorado was reported missing after she didn’t show up to work. Robertson was last seen alive in the company of a ‘wild haired man driving an old pickup truck’ by a police officer on July 1, 1975. Seven weeks after she disappeared, Shelley’s body was found in a mine shaft near Georgetown. Ted did drive a VW Beetle as we all know but his brother did have a pick up truck (who I know lived in Tacoma which is a 20 hour drive away but still).
Regarding what Bundy was doing in April of 1975 I can’t find any record of him working anywhere. In August 1974, Ted was accepted to law school for a second time at the University of Utah and moved to Salt Lake City on September 2nd, 1974; he was a student there in April 1975 when Cooley was murdered. Shortly after Melanie’s remains were found in June 1975 he was employed as a night manager in charge of Bailiff Hall at The University of Utah (he was fired for showing up drunk) and in July and August of 1975 he worked as a part-time security guard at the school; his position was terminated due to budget cuts.
Another serial killer investigated (but eventually cleared) of Melanie Cooley’s death was Vincent Groves, who was convicted of strangling at least seven women in Denver, Colorado between March 1979 and July 1988. On July 25, 1988 an investigation into the murder of an Aurora prostitute helped link Vincent Groves to the deaths of 17 sex workers metro-wide; he was arrested on September 1, 1988. He was convicted of the strangulation death of Diane Mancera, whose body was found dumped at the Surrey Ridge exit off of I-25 in July 1988. Groves began to have health problems in the early 90’s and he was eventually diagnosed with Hepatitis C and liver failure. He died on October 31, 1996 in a prison hospital near Denver. Shortly before his death, Groves was asked about other murders but he refused to discuss anything. Sixteen years after his death in 2012 his guilt was conclusively proven in four murders (Emma Jenefort, Peggy Cuff, Pamela Montgomery, and Joyce Ramey) with the help of DNA profiling. According to the Denver Police Department based on circumstantial evidence and a number of testimonies, Groves could have been responsible for more than 20 murders (however at this time his total victim count remains unknown).
Like confirmed Colorado victims Melissa Smith and Laura Aime, Cooley was a small-town girl taken close to her hometown community. Also like both girls, Melanie’s remains were found largely intact in an open, remote area. About the region of Colorado where Melanie lived and was abducted from, Redditor ‘annaflixion’ said: ‘I lived in Rollinsville and went to school in Nederland in the 80’s. It was a . . . weird place. Like all of Colorado, it’s a place where stark opposites live together in uneasy harmony. There are indeed a lot of hippies and granola types, people who collect crystals and want to live in harmony with nature. Then there are the right-wingers whose homes are almost compounds, where they are suspicious of strangers and that sort of thing. A lot of people just wanted to live kind of ‘off the grid.’ Everyone smokes marijuana. No one ever, ever tells the police anything. You could beat your kids or your wife; no one would dream of telling the police. That was the down side of the ‘live and let live’ style up there. I don’t know, it’s been a long, long time since I was there, but honestly I found it insular, though there were nice people, too. I think it would be surprising if she happened to run into Ted Bundy, but it’s possible. Girls especially tended to be very trusting, as I recall. They were pretty sheltered. And holy shit, getting anywhere was impossible, so yeah, hitchhiking would have been the thing. Even my school bus didn’t actually drop me off anywhere near my house. I had like a three mile hike home every day.’ (I just wanted to add, Rollinsville is about 5 or so miles away from Nederland High School). I do want to point out that there are two glaring differences between Smith/Aime’s murders compared to Cooley’s: both girls were sexually assaulted and Bundy accepted responsibility for killing them.
Redditor ‘DepartmentWide419’ commented: ‘I live here and this case fascinates me.’ … ‘Nederland high school is near Eldora. There is essentially a single highway that runs through Ned, the 119. It runs from Boulder (and beyond, but for our purposes, Boulder canyon) to black hawk. It runs through downtown Nederland. The high school is off of another road, Eldora Ave, that heads to a very remote town, Eldora. The only reason a non-local would go down this road is to go to the ski resort, Eldora. In the off season, a non-local would have no reason to go down this road. It contains the high school about .6 miles down the road, a dozen or so houses, and the 4th of July trail, which is fairly popular but could be inaccessible due to snow in April. She may have walked out to the 119 to hitch a ride. But I doubt Ted Bundy would be down Eldora Ave.’ … ‘The 119 is very popular with sightseers and tourists. Bikers, bicyclists and RV-ers are common. But April is a little early. A roving serial killer may have simply heard it is a nice joy ride and been passing through.’ … ‘In terms of small town values, small town values here are smoking marijuana, being sexually active and ‘getting in a jeep to just drive.’ Those are pretty much the pastimes here. Others include skiing, drinking, shooting guns and foraging. We have a couple nice music venues and a pretty famous recording studio. The dead and a bunch of other bands recorded albums just out of town here, so it is remote, but it’s not like her interests were in some way rebellious for the culture here.’ …
‘I’m unsure where is meant by the ‘foothills west of Boulder’ but twin spruce is not exactly in that direction. So she would have been hitching a ride in the wrong direction on the 119 to be brought to twin spruce if she in fact lived west of Boulder, and was trying to go home. Or someone turned around or lied to her about where they were going. Maybe something like, ‘oh yeah I can bring you down to Boulder on Magnolia Road’ but they cut down to coal creek instead. Either way, she would have known she wasn’t going home within 15 minutes. These are also windy roads. Turns are taken at 20 mph in many places. So it seems like a difficult place to kidnap someone from unless you had doors that didn’t open from the inside. Because your captive could literally just jump out of the car. A smaller sedan needs to take roads like magnolia at 15 mph in many places. I have to take those roads at 10 mph in an AWD SUV with studded tires in a lot of places. It’s just too bumpy and curvy. Especially in April before the roads have been resurfaced, they are a mess. A country girl who is familiar with the area could easily pop out and run into the forest and find their way to a trail from magnolia to Nederland. Unless the doors were locked from the inside or there were two people.’ … ‘I think it’s most likely it was a local or a transient with enough time on their hands to learn the back roads and how they all connect. You can take magnolia for instance, cut over to coal creek and then turn on to twin spruce. But it would be a difficult sequence for a non-local to know. Probably more than one person, and someone who lives here.’ … ‘Bikers have a strong hold here and have since the 60’s. Lots of outlaw types and lots of speed. Pretty much anything could have happened to her, but I find Ted Bundy less likely than creepy yokels hopped up on speed or other drugs. LSD is easy to find. All drugs are. A couple of weirdos on a bender seem way more likely. They would have had a reason to be in Ned, maybe leaving a local establishment and heading home to Gilpin/coal creek area. They could see her, find her attractive. They could name nearby places to make her comfortable, maybe offer to smoke a joint over by twin sisters, or the reservoir or other beauty spot on her way home. She says yes. It gets weird. They don’t let her leave. They panic, realize they can’t let her go. Rope could easily already be in the car. A lot of people carry it here. Either kill her on the spot, or bring her home to kill her. (Who has a pillowcase in their car, unless they are homeless? Why would a young girl get in a car with a homeless dude?).’
When digging for information on the unconfirmed victims I sometimes have to get creative in my attempts to find interesting and engaging information. In a YouTube comment on the only (very short) video I found on Melanie Cooley, a childhood friend named Renee Wilson said: ‘I knew her. She was my neighbor, babysitter and friend. I loved her. I was so heartbroken when it all happened and didn’t know who Ted Bundy was. I was 8 at the time and I still feel the emotions.’ … ‘She was very beautiful inside and out. She was kind, giving and fun to be around. I idolized her. I was and still am heartbroken.’ … ‘I am always amazed by the interest in Melanie. She deserves to be remembered. Yes, I do believe Bundy did it. There are things that I know that others do not. She was so sweet and fun.’
There’s another very obvious part of this story that is very frequent in Bundy victims: the hitchhiking aspect. Brenda Ball, the unknown Idaho hitchhiker, Laura Aime… just like Melanie these girls were frequently known to hitchhike (well, I’m assuming the frequent part about the poor Idaho victim). Melanie’s cause of death was a combination of strangulation and blunt force trauma, which is a very frequent Bundy method of murder. Now, when she was found her hands were bound together with a nylon rope, and I feel it’s important that while none of Bundy’s other (confirmed) victims were left this way we do know that he sometimes did use handcuffs to help subdue his victims. He may never have used a nylon in a binding sense however Ted did confess to using one to strangle at least one of his victims.
Bob Cooley passed away on March 31, 2011 in Boulder. On November 20, 2012, Melanie’s Mother Nina published a memoir titled ‘Dream Path: Search for Meaning, Search for Truth.’ It’s description reads: ‘Cooley, now retired and widowed, lived in Texas and Colorado before moving to California with her husband. Desperate for answers to Life’s mysteries following the violent death of her teenaged daughter, she began recording dreams, became a psychotherapist using dreamwork where appropriate. She currently facilitates a small circle of devoted dreamers.’
Regarding Bundy as a suspect of her daughters murder, she said: ‘Ted Bundy, the notorious serial killer, was to be executed in Florida. At least two books and countless brief accounts of Bundy’s biographical information and his trail of terror have been published. As Bundy had been a suspect in my daughter’s murder, it was known that he was in the vicinity when she disappeared, a reporter from the local newspaper came up to my house for an interview. A reporter with a Seattle newspaper called, ‘People Magazine’ too, wanting to do a story. I declined, seeing no need of that kind of publicity. Because Bundy was a suspect in numerous crimes in many places, a large group of journalists, detectives, and other law enforcement personnel traveled to Florida and waited in line to interview him before his execution. By the time the Boulder representative, number thirteen, gained access, Bundy was ready to admit anything and everything, and did so with abandon. They learned nothing of value.’ Law enforcement eventually came forward saying the evidence against Ted was inconclusive and Melanie’s case is considered cold to this day; Bundy denied any involvement with her murder. Personally… I’m not sure about this one. If Ted really did go after ‘slim, long haired brunettes that wore their hair long and parted down the middle’ and Melanie was wearing her hair up in a ‘French roll’ the day she was abducted it would have made her look drastically different from one of his typical victims. But, if he stalked her before abducting her (as he was known to do) then he would have known her hair was indeed not short. This particular ‘what if’ situation reminds me of yet another unconfirmed Bundy victim Sotria Kritsonis, who got her long, dark hair cut short right before supposedly accepting a ride to school from him (he allegedly let her go after realizing she had gotten her hair cut off). I think there’s a semi-decent chance that Cooley was a victim of Ted, however without DNA or any other forensic confirmation we will probably never know for sure.
Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to please contact the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office at 303.271.0211.
Melanie Suzanne Cooley in her 1970 Nederland High School yearbook photo.Melanie Cooley. Melanie Cooley. Melanie Cooley. Melanie Cooley. Melanie Cooley. A missing poster for Melanie Cooley. TB’s whereabouts on April 15, 1975 according to the ‘Ted Bundy Multiagency Investigative Team Report 1992.’An article about Melanie Cooley. An article about Cooley published by The Fort Collins Coloradoan on May 4, 1975.An article about Cooley published by The Greeley Daily Tribune on May 9, 1975. An article mentioning Melanie Cooley from the Greeley Daily Tribune on October 27, 1975.An article mentioning Melanie Cooley from the Logan Herald Journal on October 27, 1975.Part one of an article about Ted that mentions Melanie Cooley published in the Daily Sentinel on November 1, 1975.Part two of an article about Ted that mentions Melanie Cooley that was published in the Daily Sentinel on November 1, 1975.An article mentioning Melanie Cooley from the Walla Walla Union Bulletin on November 2, 1975.An article mentioning Melanie Cooley from the Logan Herald Journal on March 8, 1976.An article mentioning Melanie Cooley from the Centralia Daily Chronicle on March 8, 1976.An article mentioning Melanie Cooley from the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph on January 18, 1989.An article mentioning Melanie Cooley published in The Daily Sentinel on January 18, 1989.A short clipping about some unconfirmed Bundy victims from ‘The Hartford Courant’ that mentions Melanie Cooley.Nina Cooley in an interview before Bundy’s 1989 execution.Bob Cooley, Melanie’s father. He enjoyed sailing, playing with his dog on the beach, jewelling, and helping his mentor/friend teach his woodworking class. Described as a strong and gentle man and world traveler, he died on March 31, 2011. One of the only pictures I could find of Shelley Kay Robertson, another unconfirmed Bundy victim. After graduating from Arvada High School, she spent a year with the United Church of Christ at a mission in Biloxi, Mississippi. She returned to Colorado and studied Spanish at Red Rocks Community College. Nina Cooley’s book ‘Dream Path: Search for Meaning, Search for Truth.’A ‘French roll’ hairstyle.Serial Killer Vincent Groves. A map of Bundy’s other Colorado victims.
