Edward Douglas Cowart was born on February 17, 1925 to William and Helen (nee Douglas) in Plant City, FL. He had an older brother named William that was born in 1920. Judge Cowart served in the Navy from 1942 to 1946 and when he returned married Elizabeth Pearl Royal on July 22, 1946. The couple had two daughters, Susan and Patricia. Cowart worked as a motorcycle officer in the Miami Police Department before returning to school to earn his degrees in law: he got a BA in 1950 from the University of Miami and a JD from Stetson University in 1952.
Cowart worked as a Dade County Circuit Court Judge for 14 years. He was highly respected in the law community and was well-known for his almost Southern hospitality and long drawl. The trial that helped make him famous is that of Ted Bundy, who had a messy, incomplete background in law himself and was originally arrested for a series of murders in the Pacific Northwest on August 16, 1975 in Utah (between at the very least 1974 and 75). The judge imposed a death sentence on the serial killer, and he is frequently remembered for his unusually sympathetic post-sentencing remarks to Bundy:
‘The court finds that both of these killings were indeed heinous, atrocious and cruel. And that they were extremely wicked, shockingly evil, vile and the product of a design to inflict a high degree of pain and utter indifference to human life. This court, independent of, but in agreement with the advisory sentence rendered by the jury does hereby impose the death penalty upon the defendant Theodore Robert Bundy. It is further ordered that on such scheduled date that you’ll be put to death by a current of electricity, sufficient to cause your immediate death, and such current of electricity shall continue to pass through your body until you are dead. Take care of yourself, young man. I say that to you sincerely; take care of yourself. It is an utter tragedy for this court to see such a total waste of humanity, I think, as I’ve experienced in this courtroom. You’re a bright young man. You’d have made a good lawyer and I would have loved to have you practice in front of me, but you went another way, partner. I don’t feel any animosity toward you. I want you to know that. Once again, take care of yourself.’
Cowart replaced Gerald Kogan in the position of Dade County Circuit Court, as he was appointed to the Florida state Supreme Court. About Cowart, Kogan said that he was ‘one of those human beings who was destined to be a judge. He was intelligent, he was compassionate, he was understanding, and when he had to be, he was tough as nails.’
In 1982 then Dade State Attorney and (former) US Attorney General Janet Reno hired Cowart to be her chief assistant, in between his stints on the bench. He stayed in the position until 1984, when he went back to be a judge at the Dade County Circuit Court. Every year he was in that role, Cowart ranked either at or close to the top in the annual Dade Bar poll of judges.
Just after midnight on August 3, 1987 Edward Douglas Cowart died of a massive heart attack at Coral Reef hospital in Miami at the age of 62. He was cremated and the location of ashes is unknown. In his obituary published by The Miami Herald on August 7, 1987, ‘from jail guards to Supreme Court justices, traffic cops to traffic judges,the wept together and swapped favorite stories on Thursday (August 6, 1987) at a memorial service for Dade Circuit Court Judge Edward Cowart.’ The 25 minute long service in the massive Old Cutler Presbyterian Church (which seats 1,500) was standing room only.
What is so upsetting to me is that Bundy outlived the judge, as he wasn’t executed until January 1989 (after a number of unsuccessful appeals to Cowart and the Court of Appeals in attempts to overturn his death sentence or be granted a new trial). Elizabeth Cowart passed away on April 5, 2001 in Danbury, CT. Their daughter Susan passed away on October 4, 2007.
Edward Douglas Cowart World War II Draft Card.Edward Cowart at his Police Academy graduation.A news clipping mentioning Cowart learning a trade published in The Miami News on May 17, 1942.An article from Cowart was a cop published by The Miami News on June 30, 1942.Judge Cowarts wife, then Elizabeth P. Royal, in a group photo from Alma Jackson High School, published in The Miami News on May 28, 1944.Judge Cowarts wedding announcement published in the Fort Myers New Press on July 28, 1946.An article from Cowart was a cop published by The Miami Herald on November 12, 1949.Judge Cowarts picture for his second year of law school from the 1951 Stetson University yearbook.Judge Cowarts law school graduation picture from the 1952 Stetson University yearbook. In 1952 Judge Cowart graduated with his bachelors in law from Stetson University.Judge Cowarts senior year activities at law school from the 1952 Stetson University yearbook.Judge Cowarts name is mentioned under the student register from the Stetson University Bulletin.Cowarts Phi Delta Phi picture in the 1952 Stetson University yearbook. A certificate for Edward Cowart, courtesy of the Carol DaRonch YouTube page.Patricia Cowarts freshman picture from the 1965 Coral Gables High School yearbook.Patricia Cowarts junior picture from the 1967 Coral Gables High School yearbook.A photo of Judge Cowarts daughter, Susan Irene. She was born on June 20, 1952 and passed away on October 4, 2007.Irene Susan Cowarts junior picture from the 1969 Miami Palmetto High School yearbook.Sue Cowarts senior picture from the 1971 Miami Palmetto High School yearbook.A picture of Cowart acting as a prosecutor.A b&w of Judge Cowart on the bench at Bundy’s trial.Judge Cowart examining evidence at Bundy’s trial.Carol DaRonch and Judge Cowart at Bundy’s trial.Judge Cowart at Bundy’s trial.Judge Cowart examining the conditions of Bundy’s cell during his trial.Another shot of Judge Cowart examining the conditions of Bundy’s cell during his trial.Judge Cowart sitting on the bench.Bundy and his lawyers in front of Judge Cowart.A short blurb mentioning Cowart published by The Miami News Journal on June 30, 1951.A short blurb mentioning Cowart published by The Miami News-Press on April 20, 1952.A short blurb about Cowart published by The Daytona Beach Morning Journal on January 7, 1972.An about about Cowart presiding over a case published by The Miami Herald on May 1, 1973.An article about Cowart presiding over a case published by The Miami Herald on November 13, 1973. I noticed he used a lot of similar statements like those he said in the Bundy trial in other situations.An about about Cowart presiding over a case published by The Miami Herald on July 18, 1974.Part one of an article about the death penalty featuring Edward Cowell published by The Daytona Miami Herald Journal on January 7, 1975.Part two of an article about the death penalty featuring Edward Cowell published by The Daytona Miami Herald Journal on January 7, 1975.An article about Bundys trial mentioning Judge Cowart published by The Albany Herald on May 24, 1979.An article about Judge Cowart and the Bundy trial published by The Deseret News on June 13, 1979.An article mentioning Judge Cowart n relation to the Bundy trial published by The Press-Courier on June 26, 1979.An article about Judge Cowart published by The Miami News on April 22, 1982.An article about Bundy’s conviction being upheld that mentions Judge Cowart published by The Daytona Beach Morning Journal on June 22, 1984.An article about Judge Cowart published by The Miami Herald on July 3, 1984.An article about Judge Cowart returning to the bench published by The Miami Herald on July 10, 1984.An article on Cowart published by The Miami Herald on July 4, 1985.An article about one of Bundy’s stay’s of execution published by The Press-Courier on December 21, 1985.An article mentioning Cowart published by The Miami Herald on April 26, 1986.An article about one of Bundy’s stay’s of execution published by The Spokesman-Review on June 24, 1986.Another short blurb about one of Bundy’s stays published by The Catholic Press on June 25, 1986.An article about Bundy’s appeal mentioning Judge Cowart by The Boca Raton News on June 30, 1986.An article mentioning Judge Cowart published by The Ogden-Standard Examinser on April 3, 1987.Judge Hanson’s obituary published by The Palm Beach Post on August 4, 1987.Another one of Judge Cowarts obituaries, published by The Miami Herald on August 7, 1987.Another article about the passing of Judge Cowart published by The Miami Herald on August 12, 1987.The Honorable Edward D. Cowart won the Selig Goldin Honoree post-humorously in 1989.Former US Attorney General, Janet Reno.
Aleca Renee Manning was born on March 13, 1952 in Fairbanks, Alaska and was adopted shortly after by James and Norma Manning. I wasn’t able to find out a lot about her background and childhood but apparently she ‘has a few half-siblings out there.’ Ms. Manning had green eyes, brownhair, was roughly 5’2” tall, weighed 125pounds and was biracial (white and Native American). Aleca was described as ‘friendly, a happy flower child, and probably a bit naive… too trusting.’ Norma Manning worked as a receptionist and bookkeeper for a few different employers in Alaska, Arizona, and Texas. It was reported that she had an incredibly toxic relationship with her husband and after they divorced she took Aleca and moved to Arizona (James eventually moved there too and remarried). After finishing high school, Mr. Manning attended the University of Idaho and the Pacific Coast Banking School in Seattle and got a job in the banking industry; at one time he was the VP/Manager of Valley National Bank in Metha, AZ.
Also referred to as ‘Leca’ and ‘Lisa’ (pronounced ‘uh-Lisa’), in 1970 Aleca graduated from Westwood High School in Mesa, AZ (it’s incorrectly listed as 1971 in multiple sources). Leca was supposedly a bit of a wild child and reportedly struggled with some substance abuse issues. According to a family member, alcoholism ran in the Manning family: ‘her grandmother (who is Norma sister) died of alcoholism living homeless at a YMCA. And when Lisa was young Norma had a very volatile relationship with her husband. They left Alaska either to get away from him or because he died. Aunt Norma told me he was very abusive.’ (I realize this wouldn’t really apply to Aleca since she was adopted but maybe growing up in an environment with lots of alcohol around her trigger a budding problem).
Aleca was last seen on February 17, 1975 at roughly 10:30 PM at the Celebrity Theatre located at 440 North 32nd Street in Phoenix, Arizona. The twenty-two year old went to a Jerry Jeff Walker concert but at some point got separated from her friend group. She failed to come home that night and never showed up for work the following day. It’s hypothesized that she may have indulged in some form of drug use at the concert (no judgment, we were all young once) and I wonder if this made her more vulnerable and easier to abduct or lure away. DeniseNaslund apparently took a few Valiums with alcohol before she was abducted from LakeSammamish in July 1974 and I hope this doesn’t come off the wrong way (I say this as an addict with over 12 years sober) but I hope whatever she took dulled her senses enough that she wasn’t aware of the fact that her life was ending. Aleca was last seen wearing a dark green floor-length coat, a light green blouse with moss green pants, and dark tan shoes.
As of April 2023 no one has been charged in the disappearance of Aleca Manning but foul play is suspected. Leca’s family feels that whoever she left that concert with is most likely who abducted her and that her killer most likely dumped her remains in a desert. What’s interesting is when I was doing research on this case I stumbled upon some comments from a relative of Aleca’s on the website ‘Websleuths’ (user name is Kristine55 andNorma was her great Aunt): ‘Norma Manning is sisters with my father’s mother. Leca (I will use Lisa so I can dictate). She would be very touched to know that people still care. Now that Norma is gone I look from time to time to see if there’s any updates and that’s how I found you all.’ … ‘One more thing I don’t think that Lisa would have run away and never contacted her mom again… There was no reason. The way Norma described the relationship it was these two against the world and that she was a precious wonderful little girl. Lisa was the center of Normas life.’ … ‘Her family thinks that a serial killer got her and that she probably left with him. And there is a possibility but she was taking drugs at night. We have always felt that her body is somewhere in the desert. The only good thing I can say is I know that they were united now I don’t believe this because of religion but because of physics and the fact that everything in life is waves of energy… Matter cannot be destroyed it can only be changed. I feel like they found each other again. I was born in January 1975 and I never met Lisa or if I did I was less than two months old. She still has an effect on my life because I’m still thinking about her. Her and I look eerily similar at the same age. I feel like I’m just checking up to see what’s going on because I’m carrying the torch for aunt Norma. Incidentally, I graduated high school in Tucson Arizona. I wanted to go see Morrissey in concert in Phoenix when I was 17… I was not allowed to go without my stepmother. I don’t think my dad’s forgotten what happened to Lisa either.’
At the time Manning disappeared Ted was living in Salt Lake City and was enrolled in law school for a second time. He was unemployed and still in a long-distance relationship with Liz Kloepfer (although its common knowledge he was routinely unfaithful to her). The drive from his apartment to the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix, Arizona would have been slightly over a twenty-two hour trip for Bundy (or about 1,421 miles one way). If you look at the ‘TB MultiAgency Investigative Team Report 1992,’ it was noted that he took a phone call in SLC the day Manning disappeared (also Caryn Campbell’s body was found 2.8 miles away from The Wildwood Inn in Aspen). In my opinion, it seems unlikely that Bundy killed Aleca (but apparently there are some sort of errors/inaccuracies in the report so who knows).
As we know, Ted didn’t have a problem driving hundreds of miles in one night while hunting for his prey. Another two abductions that fit in Bundy’s mid-1970’s time frame are Cynthia and Jackie Leslie, who vanished in Mesa, AZ on July 31, 1974 (Teri is covering the sisters’ background in Part One so I won’t be redundant here). They were last seen In Mesa walking to a friend’s house shortly after leaving their residence in the Desert Shores Mobile Home Park. We know at the time they disappeared in 1974 Bundy was living at the Rogers Rooming house in Seattle, so if he killed them he would have had to drive to Mesa, then back again to Seattle… one way is over 22 hours, that’s almost an entire days worth of driving just one way with no breaks. In my opinion, that’s a bit of a stretch. Additionally, I drove a newer VW for over three years and that’s a very long trip for a car like that. And Bundy drove a LOT… how long could an old Beetle last with him driving around the country like that?
There really isn’t much out there on whether or not Bundy was active in Arizona (when you search ‘Ted Bundy’ and ‘Arizona’ together you mostly get a lot of news articles on Ted from AZ based newspapers). I’ve never seen it discussed in any TB related literature, and even searching websites like Reddit/YouTube (where people LOVE weird conspiracy type shit like this) relevant information is slim pickings. Oddly enough, one of the only things I found was a really popular BuzzFeed video (with a whopping 4.5 million views) titled ‘Was my Mom Followed by Ted Bundy?,’ where a young man simply going by the name of ‘Chris’ discusses an alleged encounter his Mom had with Ted Bundy in the middle-1970’s in Oak Creek Canyon in Arizona. Unfortunately, Chris doesn’t give much of a time frame beyond it was ‘summer in the mid-70’s’ (I asked for a better idea of when this event took place with no response and searched through the YouTube comments for clarification with no success), which obviously leaves us wide open as far as where Bundy was living at the time and how long his drive to the Canyon would have been. The story goes (I’m only going to briefly summarize this because you can find the transcript in Teri’s article): Chris’s Mother, Aunt, and their friend went to Oak Creek Canyon in Arizona, and while sitting at a pond just hanging out, enjoying the day they noticed a well-dressed man staring at them from across the water. Eventually he got up and started walking over to them ‘with intent,’ so the three friends got in their car and got out of there to not escalate the situation. Surprisingly, the mystery man got in his vehicle and followed them in a ‘yellowish, cream colored VW Beetle.’ Panicked, they finally pulled into a gas station and thankfully the man drove right by them. Fast forward about 15 years: Chris’ Mom (I’m not exactly sure what else to call her) is watching the news and sees that Bundy is about to be put to death in Florida. She sees his face and immediately realizes it was the man that followed her that day in the 1970’s. Oddly enough, her sister was watching the same news broadcast and immediately called to say that she felt it was him that followed them as well.
If this encounter happened on the earlier end of the mid-70’s when he was living in Seattle it would have been over a twenty-one hour drive just one-way (or roughly 1,375 miles). Ted moved into a room at Ernst and Freda Rogers boarding house in September 1969 lived there until September 2, 1974 when he moved from Salt Lake City to attend law school at the University of Utah. Now, if he would have driven to Oak Creek Canyon in Arizona while living in Utah it would have been about a little overan eight and a half hour drive, one way. But let’s not forget, he did abduct Roberta Kathleen Parks from the University of Oregon in Corvallis while living in Seattle, which was almost a five hour drive away (I know that’s still over 3.5 hours closer than Oak Creek Canyon but it helps prove my point that Bundy had no problem driving long distances).
What doesn’t make sense to me about this is I’ve never heard of Bundy going after three victims at once. Shit, it isn’t even confirmed he abducted more than one girl at the same time, even though it’s speculated he may have been involved in the 1969 Jersey Parkway murders where two girlfriends on vacation Memorial Day weekend were killed as well as the brutal assault of two stewardesses from the Capitol Hill area of Seattle in 1966. I mean, I’m not saying it wasn’t Ted, but I’m also not saying it was. About this story my friend Erin Banks points out in her book ‘Ted Bundy: Examining the Unconfirmed SurvivorStories‘ that he ‘had coveralls in the trunk at all times. I have some trouble imagining that Bundy, dressed in a suit and tie, would chase after a group of women.’ Good point Erin.
We know Ted has never officially been linked to Arizona (no unconfirmed victims are from there either) but in my mind it really isn’t that far-fetched that he would have driven states away to commit more crimes against humanity. In fact, the more jurisdictions to help trip up the police the better (law enforcement in the 70’s were notorious for not sharing information with one another). In the only other semi-useful piece of information I could find about this topic, (a Reddit thread titled ‘Ted Bundy was active in Arizona’), user ‘Gothkatt’ begins by breaking down Chris’ BuzzFeed video, pointing out that the incident took place in the mid-70’s, which as we all know aligns up with Bundy’s murder spree (which officially went from 1974 to 1978 even though he was incarcerated for a good chunk of 1976 and almost all of 1977). What’s interesting about this time frame is that there are five unsolved missing female cases in Arizona from 1974-1975. The first case from this period took place on September 20, 1973: law enforcement deemed the disappearance of 14 year old Dorothy Mildred Clitheroe to be ‘fairly unremarkable’ and they strongly speculated that she ran away from home to a different state. I discussed the disappearance of Aleca Manning and Teri covered the two Leslie sisters. The fifth and final individual from that time period vanished on September 10, 1975, which was after Ted was arrested (a 21 year-old named Kristina Ann Perkins). After Perkins disappeared in Fall 1975 there was a two year gap and the next missing woman’s case didn’t occur until 1977.
Oddly enough as I was proofreading this (and almost ready to release it) I stumbled upon a third source of information in the form of a TikTok video: a user by the name of ‘mattyicerants‘ said that in 1969 his Mother drove her VW Beetle from New York to Arizona and took a pit stop at the Grand Canyon. While there she ran into a gentleman (driving a tan colored Bug) and asked if he ‘wouldn’t mind taking her picture;’ ‘Bundy’ agreed (the user couldn’t find the print but claims to have seen it). ‘Mattyicerants’ went on to elaborate that the same year Bundy went through a break up (with DianeEdwards) and because of that heartache he drove ‘all around the country.’ This is easily debunk-able as the ‘TB Multiagency Investigative Team Report 1992’ pinpoints that Ted bought his tan/gold/bronze/tan/cream/off-white/yellow Beetle in spring 1973. Also, in 1969 Ted was in Pennsylvania for roughly the first half of the year and when he went home to Tacoma he was driving a professors car (dropping it off in California then going to Tacoma). I was unable to find what kind of car it was.
Exactly seven years to the day she disappeared, in 1982 Norma Manning had her daughter officially declared dead in the state of Texas. She moved to Myra, TX to be close to her Father and died on July 12, 2008 at the age of 86; she never fully recovered from her daughter’s disappearance. James Manning passed away in August 1971. As of April 2023 the disappearance of Aleca Manning remains unsolved.
Works Cited.Aleca Renee Manning’s 1968 Westwood High School senior picture.Aleca Renee Manning’s 1970 Westwood High School senior picture.Aleca’s senior year activities according to the 1970 Westwood High School yearbook.Aleca Renee Manning.Aleca Renee Manning.Leca Manning.A missing persons poster for Aleca Renee Manning.A gravesite for Aleca despite her remains never being recovered.The Celebrity Theatre in Arizona.Aleca’s father, James Manning. He was apparently married three times and had one son and two daughtersThe obituary for Aleca’s Father, James Manning published by The Lewiston Tribune on August 9, 1971.Aleca’s Mother Norma’s senior yearbook picture from the 1940 Gainesville High School yearbook.The obituary for Aleca’s Mother, Norma Manning.An article about the Jerry Jeff Walker published in The Arizona Republic on February 18, 1975.The Leslie sisters with their Mother. Obviously Teri is covering the girls so I’m not putting an overabundance of information about them here.A photo of Jackie and Cindy Leslie’s Mother holding a picture of her missing daughters.A missing persons poster for the Leslie sisters.Teds whereabouts in 1969 according to the ‘Ted Bundy Multiagency Investigative Team Report 1992.’ The whereabouts of Ted Bundy when Cynthia and Jackie Leslie were abducted on July 31, 1974 according to the ‘Ted Bundy Multiagency Investigative Team Report 1992.’ The whereabouts of Ted Bundy when Aleca Manning was abducted on February 17, 1975 according to the ‘Ted Bundy Multiagency Investigative Team Report 1992.’ A list of Teds vehicles according to the ‘Ted Bundy Multiagency Investigative Team Report 1992.’ Missing women in Arizona from the period Bundy was active according to the Doe Network.Just as a point of reference, the Celebrity Theatre where Aleca was last seen is only about 25 minutes away from where the Leslie sisters were last seen.A possible route Bundy would have taken from his first Utah apartment on 1st Ave N to Oak Creek Canyon in Arizona.Oak Creek Canyon in Arizona.A possible route Bundy would have taken from the Rogers Rooming House in Seattle to Oak Creek Canyon in Arizona.A possible route Bundy may have taken from the Rogers Rooming House to the University of Oregon in Corvallis.A comment on a message board from a family member about Aleca’s disappearance.A comment from a family member (‘Websleuths’ user ‘Kristine55’) about Aleca’s disappearance.A comment from a family member (Websleuths user ‘Kristine55’) about Aleca’s disappearance.A comment from a family member (Websleuths user ‘Kristine55’) about Aleca’s disappearance.A comment from a family member (‘Websleuths’ user ‘Kristine55’) about Aleca’s disappearance.A comment from a family member (‘Websleuths’ user ‘Kristine55’) about Aleca’s disappearance.The thumbnail for the Buzzfeed video I discussed above.A screen grab for the TikTok video I discussed above.
Diane Edwards: They were together from mid-1967 to March 1968; in the summer of 1973 they reconciled and got engaged. Bundy then stopped all contact with her for a few months before eventually completely ending things with her.
Bundy dated Cathy Swindler on and off beginning in April 1968.
He met Elizabeth Kloepfer at The Sandpiper Tavern on September 30, 1969 and they dated on and off until April 1977 when she ended their relationship. Bundy reportedly dated many other women while seeing Liz.
In 1972 he had an affair with Sandy Gwinn (supposedly with Liz’s blessing), a coworker at Harborview Hospital Mental Health Center (where he interned from July to September 1972).
In early 1974 Bundy briefly dated a girl named Adrienne Pandora Toua Miller (her married name is PandoraThompson).
In early 1974 he briefly dated a girl named Ann Swenson (in her book ‘The Phantom Prince’ Liz refers to her as KimAndrews).
In the Summer of 1974 Ted dated Becky Gibbs.
In early 1975 he had a short relationship with Marguerite Maughan. Her father tried to cover up their brief fling after he was appointed to the Utah Supreme Court.
Ted dated Leslie Knudsen from June 1975 to Fall 1975. She told law enforcement he scared her young son Josh on multiple occasions.
In Florida Bundy started corresponding with former co-worker Carole Ann Boone and they started a relationship in March 1978. The couple got married during Bundy’s death penalty trial in Florida in 1980 and they had a daughter in 1982. Boone divorced him in 1986 and returned to Washington state with her son and daughter.
A baby picture of Diane Edwards, courtesy of Erin Banks/CrimePiper.Diane Edwards, courtesy of Erin Banks/CrimePiper.Diane Edwards, courtesy of Erin Banks/CrimePiper.Ted and Diane Edwards, courtesy of Erin Banks/CrimePiper.Former Bundy flame Diane Edwards.Cathy Swindler, courtesy of ‘Ted Bundy: I was Trying to Think Like an Elk.’A yearbook picture of Cathy Swindler, courtesy of Erin Banks/CrimePiper.A yearbook picture of Cathy Swindler, courtesy of Erin Banks/CrimePiper.A yearbook picture of Cathy Swindler.A yearbook photo of Cathy Swindler.A young Liz Kloepfer, photo courtesy of ‘Ted Bundy: I was Trying to Think Like an Elk.’Liz Kloepfer and her daughter Molly.Ted and Liz.Ted and Liz.Ted, Liz, and Molly.Ted, Liz, and Molly riding horses.A more recent picture of Liz and Molly.Sandy Gwinn, photo courtesy of ‘hi: I’m Ted.’Sandy Gwinn, photo courtesy of ‘Ted Bundy: I was Trying to Think Like an Elk.’Pandora Miller in the 1967 East High School yearbook, courtesy of Maria Serban.Pandora Miller in the 1969 East High School yearbook, courtesy of Maria Serban.Pandora Miller in the 1969 East High School yearbook (the International Club members group photo), courtesy of Maria Serban.Adrienne Pandora Toua Miller in the 1969 East High School yearbook, courtesy of Maria Serban.Pandora Miller in the 1969 East High School yearbook (she’s in the first row, far left), courtesy of Maria Serban.Pandora Miller in the 1969 East High School yearbook (FTA group photo), courtesy of Maria Serban.Ann Swenson.Ann Swenson.Former Bundy girlfriend Ann Swenson. They dated briefly in February and March 1975.A handwritten note about Ann Swenson to Pete Hayward, photo courtesy of CrimePiper.Becky Gibbs, courtesy of ‘Ted Bundy: I was Trying to Think Like an Elk.’Becky Gibbs, courtesy of ‘hi: I’m Ted.’Marguerite (Christine) Maughn, photo courtesy of Erin Banks/CrimePiper. She dated Ted casually and lived downstairs from him when he resided in his first Utah apartment at 565 1st Avenue. Her Father is a Utah Supreme Court justice and on February 24, 1976 she testified for the prosecution in the Carol DaRonch kidnapping trial.A yearbook picture of Marguerite Maughn, courtesy of Erin Banks/CrimePiper. Ted met her at a Mormon social church function in Utah. Marguerite Maughn, courtesy of ‘Ted Bundy: I was Trying to Think Like an Elk.’A picture of Marguerite Maugham in 2008, courtesy of Erin Banks/CrimePiper. She was a secretary to John O’Connell, one of Ted’s Seattle Attorneys.A yearbook photo of Leslie Knudson.A yearbook photo of Leslie Knudson.A yearbook photo of Leslie Knudson.Leslie Knudson (Stewart).Leslie Knudson (Stewart).Leslie Knudson.Leslie Knudson.Leslie Knudson.Leslie Knudson.Carole Ann Boone.Carole Ann Boone.A jailhouse photo of Ted, Carole, Jamie (Carole’s son from a previous marriage) and Rosa.A jailhouse photo of Ted, Carole, and Rosa.
The following is a wealth of miscellaneous Bundy-related information including receipts, victim pictures, and other various documents not frequently seen. Courtesy of internetarchives.
In April 2022 when I went to Seattle I arrived very late in the evening, maybe around 11:30 PM or so. I was far too excited to go to bed (despite not sleeping well the night before and flying across the country) so I explored the neighborhood I was staying in and found a 7/11. While Ubering from the Sea-Tac Airport to my Air BnB one of the places we drove past was the Harborview Medical Center and I knew right then and there that I made the right choice in coming (traveling alone across the country is completely out of character for me and I was hoping my husband would talk me out of it).
An interesting tidbit about Bundy’s time at Harborview: he interned there as a mental health counselor from June 1972 to September 1972 with Kathy Swindler (daughter of the former Captain of the Seattle Police Department), who may have introduced him to her good friend Kerry May-Hardy (an unconfirmed TB victim that disappeared from Seattle on June 24, 1972).Wow, that was the longest run-on sentence ever. Additionally during his brief stint there he stole some patient files from Dr. Jim McDermott (who was the losing Democratic primary opponent of Albert Rosellini) with zero repercussions.
Is that the Harborview Medical Center peeking out at me?Harborview Medical Center, April 2022.Harborview Medical Center, April 2022.The shot of Harborview Medical Center I saw as I was coming into Seattle in April 2022.One of the entrances to Harborview Medical Center, April 2022.Harborview Medical Center, April 2022.Harborview Medical Center, April 2022.Bundy was an intern at Harborview from June to September 1972 according to the ‘Ted Bundy Multiagency Investigative Team Report 1992.’Bundy was an intern at Harborview from June to September 1972 according to the ‘Ted Bundy Multiagency Investigative Team Report 1992.’A blurb mentioning Ted’s time at Harborview from ‘Ted Bundy and File 1004 documents from Seattle PD,’ courtesy of internetarchives.A blurb mentioning Ted’s time at Harborview from ‘Ted Bundy and File 1004 documents from Seattle PD,’ courtesy of internetarchives.Photo courtesy of KIRO-7.Harborview Medical Center in its entirety. A post card featuring Harborview Medical Center.Harborview Medical Center.Herb Swindler next to some of Teds confirmed Seattle victims.Kerry May-Hardy was a 22 year old woman who disappeared from Seattle on June 24, 1972. Her remains were discovered at a golf course in September 2010 after a construction crew disturbed her burial site.Albert Dean Rosellini was an American politician who served as the 15th governor of Washington from 1957 to 1965. He was both the first Italian-American and Roman Catholic governor elected west of the Mississippi River. During hi s 40 year political career Rosellini was an activist leader who worked to reform the state’s prisons and mental health facilities, expand the state highway system, create the University of Washington’s medical and dental schools, and build the second floating bridge across Lake Washington. He holds the record as the longest-lived US state governor in American history, having reached the age of 101 years, 262 days when he passed away on October 10, 2011.James Adelbert McDermott is a Psychiatrist and Washington state politician who was the US representative for Washington’s 7th congressional district from 1989 to 2017. He is a member of the Democratic Party and was born in 1936 (making him 86 years old).
In the Bundy community children are usually considered “off-limits,” meaning (the handful of us that do know) about adult Rosa don’t share what they know (I’m loyal to who told me and I’ll never tell a soul) and we blur out her face in any early childhood pictures. After Amazon’s “Falling for a Killer” I had hopes that there’d be a season two featuring Carole Ann and Rosa… little did I know she passed away and Rosa completely dropped out of the public eye (good for her).
Ted met Carole Ann in 1974 in Olympia, WA when they were employed at theWashington State Department of Emergency Services. When the pair first met she was newly divorced, working full time and was raising her teenage son, Jamey/James; additionally one of her uncles had just recently died. Carole’s one time colleagues said she was very maternal, and often acted like a sister/mother figure to the department. Although competent, smart, and good at her job, the young Mother still reportedly had a goofy side and often would engage in office pranks and antics with her work friends (such as starting a rubber-band war or going on a three-hour bender in the middle of the afternoon at the Voodoo Room at the nearby Bailey Motor Inn). Bundy’s brief employment with the DES (he was only there from May 3, 1974 to August 28, 1974) caused quite a commotion with both men and women, as most people employed there found him charming and intriguing. As for Carole Ann, she was immediately dazzled by him: she felt Ted was an introvert and that he carried himself with “a certain dignity.” At the time she was reportedly in a complicated relationship with “a large, unpleasant man” and Ted was still with Liz Kloepfer (although that didn’t seem to stop him from straying); their relationship didn’t turn romantic until Bundy’s Florida’s trials started in 1978. The couple famously wed in January 1980 while Ted was on trial for the murder of Kim Leach. She got pregnant with Rosa while Bundy was on death row and the pair started a very unconventional family (she gave birth in October 1982); that didn’t last long as she divorced him in 1986. About Rosa, Ted said in a letter dated November 16, 1981: “my joy over Rosa remains too sublime for words, and it” …. “that it shall stay that way for as long as I live. I have had four visits with her since her birth and the sense of the miraculous had not worn off. The extraordinary beauty of what Carole and I have created is awesome. I am fascinated with watching her whether she’s asleep, nursing, crying or studying me with those curious blue eyes of her. I’ve become very proficient at changing her diapers, too. (another pen bites the dust. This one isn’t much better) I must add.”
Carole Ann was born on April 12, 1947 in Seattle, and sadly passed away at the age of 70 on January 13, 2018. After Bundy was executed she lived under an assumed name and eventually ran into some considerable health problems (it is speculated she had multiple sclerosis and in later years was confined to a wheelchair). She checked herself into a retirement community/nursing home in Seattle, where no one knew who she was. Carole’s friends there said she “enjoyed knitting and watching soccer,” and that she “she had attitude. She loved nature programs, especially ones about sharks.”
A younger image of Carole Ann Boone, photo courtesy of Erin Banks/CrimePiper.A younger image of Carole Ann Boone, photo courtesy of Erin Banks/CrimePiper.A still from an interview Carole Ann Boone gave when Bundy was on trial in Florida.
Carole Ann Boone.Carole and Ted in Florida State Prison.Carole and Ted in Florida State Prison.Carole, Rosa, and Ted in Florida State Prison. A happy little family…Carole Ann Boone in her later years. Bradley David Anderson, who Carole Ann was married to briefly in the 1970’s (they were wed in 1973).Page one of a letter where Ted talks about Rosa dated November 16, 1981Page two of a letter where Ted talks about Rosa dated November 16, 1981
I was looking into something and came across this ‘Quora” page with the question, ‘have you ever met/seen Ted Bundy?’ Some of the answers were pretty interesting. I included them in screen shots below.
Interesting. I wish she elaborated. The “boys will be boys” comment is terrible. I do find it interesting she said he “pulled the potential victims hair out.” Was this intentional or accidental? It’s an interesting rare male take from a non-law enforcement related eyewitness. I don’t know, I find the “biting girls butts” comment oddly specific… why would he admit to that? Well, Ted did steal a white van from Florida State University. If this is real I bet that was what he was driving. Has anyone noticed that there’s always a LOT of “my Mom met TB in 1970-something walking home from school” type stories. The 20/20 Bundy special said something in their opening along the lines of “if you’re from the Pacific Northwest you probably have a Ted Bundy story.” Who knows if these are legit or not. Unless we get exact information as far as dates, times, and locations we’ll never know either way. Interesting… I never heard of Thomas Spillner and didn’t find anything on him when I googled him (I didn’t dig really hard, btw). He is very active in the prison/jail related message boards on ‘Quora’ and seems pretty well-versed in the topic. It would have been interesting if he elaborated a bit and told more stories. This was a lot to unpack… I often wonder if Ted contracted some sort of illness in prison. He looked horrible in his final years, super skinny and gaunt. Very unhealthy.
Instead of another in-depth deep dive here’s a brief summarization of each girls case along with a few pictures of Bundy’s more frequently discussed unconfirmed victims. I’ve written about multiple other “suspected” victims (like Kathy Kolodziej or RitaCurran) but those I didn’t include in this list as they are “easily debunked” (obviously Bundy didn’t kill Kolodziej as he was in Seattle at the time and she was in school in Cobleskill, NY and William DeRoos killed Rita Curran in Vermont).
Ann Marie Burr, 8, August 31, 1961 (disappeared). Tacoma, WA
Ann Marie Burr was born on December 14, 1952, in Del Morte County, California, to Donald and Beverly Ann (nee Leach) Burr. Eight year old Ann Marie Burr vanished from her bed without a trace on a stormy night in late August 1961. She lived a little over 3 miles away from Ted and contrary to popular belief, he was not her paperboy and his Uncle Jack did not give Ann Marie piano lessons.
Beverly Burr pregnant with Ann.Ann Marie.Ann Marie at her first communion in 1961.
Lisa Wick (20) (survived) & Lonnie Trumbull (20), June 23, 1966. Seattle, WA.
Early in the morning on June 23, 1966, roommates Lonnie Trumbull and Lisa Wick were brutally attacked as they slept in their basement apartment in the Queen Anne Hill region of Seattle. Both victims were originally from Portland, Oregon and were employed with United Airlines as flight attendants; they had only been living in the apartment for a month and (for some reason) had intentions to move into another unit in the complex later that week. Trumbull and Wick had a third roommate (Joyce Bowe), who came home around 9:30 AM to find her roommates brutally beaten. Thankfully Wick was wearing large hair curlers which helped cushion the blows of the assailant that probably saved her life. Sadly Trumbull wasn’t so lucky and she succumbed to her injuries.
Lonnie Trumbull.Lisa Wick.Lisa Wick. and Lonnie Trumbull.Lisa Wick on her wedding day.
Susan Perry (19) & Elizabeth Davis (19), May 39, 1969. Ocean City, New Jersey.
On May 30, 1969, 19 year-old co-eds Susan Davis and Elizabeth Perry were stabbed to death near mile marker 31.9 of the New Jersey Parkway in Somers Point, NJ. The young women visited the Jersey Shore on vacation for Memorial Day since the Tuesday before. Susan had just completed her degree at an all-girls school in Godfrey, Illinois called Monticello Junior College and was set to graduate on May 25 with an associates of arts degree; Elizabeth started after her friend so she still had a ways to go in her studies before she graduated. Around 4:30 AM they left their boarding house to head back to Camp Hill, Pennsylvania in hopes of beating the holiday traffic, and before they hit the road stopped to grab a bite to eat at The Somers Point Diner. No one is really certain what happened after the girls left the restaurant roughly an hour later: A NJ trooper found their light blue 1966 Chevrolet convertible abandoned on the side of the Turnpike around noon that day and had it towed. On June 2 at about 1:30 PM, the bodies of the friends were discovered by a Garden State Parkway maintenance worker named Elwood “Woody” Faunce Jr. who searched the area of the parkway where the convertible was found. Their remains were found hidden under piles of leaves in dense woods roughly 200 yards away from the Parkway and about 150 yards from the abandoned Chevy. Davis was found completely naked and her clothes were found neatly folded in a pile nearby; Perry was fully clothed except her underwear was missing. There’s varying reports on whether or not the girls were sexually assaulted: some sources say that Perry was not raped but no determination could be made for Davis. Others claim that both girls remains were too decomposed to be able to tell, and still others that said there was “some evidence of sexual assault” but didn’t go any further in their explanation. Later news reports claim that neither girl had been sexually assaulted.
Elizabeth Perry and Susan Davis.Susan Davis and Elizabeth Perry.
Kerry May-Hardy, 22, June 24, 1972. Seattle, Washington.
Kerry May-Hardy was born on April 3, 1950 in Seattle, Washington to John and Sheila (most recently Olson) Hardy. She grew up in the Capitol Hill district of Seattle, and attended Lincoln High School in Seattle before she dropped out her senior year. Kerry married James Garvey May on May 15, 1971 at Central Lutheran Church in the Capitol Hill area of Seattle but by the time she disappeared the couple were reportedly separated. The evening before Kerry disappeared in June of 1972 she spent the night at a girlfriends house in the Woodland Park area of Washington and from there (per a note she left behind) was going to a second girlfriends house roughly ten miles away on Beacon Hill. Years into the investigation Seattle cold case detective Mike Clestnski said that at some point it was reported she was last seen alive hitchhiking around the Woodland Park area on June 13, 1972 (a day after what was initially reported). Her remains were discovered at a golf course in September 2010 after her burial site was disturbed. May-Hardy physically fit Bundy’s victim profile, however he was executed in 1989 and never mentioning her name or claimed responsibility for her murder. Additionally Gary Ridgway has reportedly not commented on her case either.
Kerry May-Hardy in her high school yearbook.Kerry May-Hardy in her high school yearbook.Kerry May-Hardy.
Vicki Lynn Hollar, 23, August 20, 1973 (disappeared). Eugene, OR.
Vicki Lynn Hollar was born in Illinois on March 8, 1949, and after graduating from Southern Illinois University she moved to Eugene, OR in June 1973. At 5:00 PM on August 20, 1973 Hollar was last seen getting into her 1965 black Volkswagen Beetle with the running boards removed; she was leaving her job at Bon Marche (she was a seamstress) at 8th Avenue and Washington Street in Eugene, Oregon. Vicki and her supervisor walked out to their vehicles together after work and it’s suspected she may have been on her way to her apartment located in the 6600 block of West 27th Avenue. She had plans to attend a neighborhood party with a friend at 8:00 PM but she never came home. Vicki was never seen or heard from again. Her friends reported that she did have a habit of picking up hitchhikers and all of her possessions and clothes were found at her residence; she also never picked up her last paycheck. Vicki’s parents said that their daughter was a happy girl that was content with her life: she liked her new job and had no reason to just up and leave.
Vicki Hollar from her Southern Illinois University college yearbook, ‘The Obeslisk.’Vicki Lynn Hollar.
Rita Lorraine Jolly, 17, June 29, 1973(disappeared). West Linn, OR.
Rita Lorraine Jolly was born on December 6th, 1955 to Donald and Mary Elizabeth (nee Horner) Jolly of West Linn, Oregon. Jolly left her residence on Horton Road in West Linn, Oregon at 7:15 PM on June 29, 1973 to go for a nightly walk and vanished without a trace. The 17 year-old was last seen between 8:30 and 9:00 PM walking uphill on Sunset Avenue. Like so many other Bundy victims she was slender and had long, dark brown hair and hazel eyes. Jolly walked with a slight limp after a horse she was riding fell over and crushed her leg. Rita’s front teeth may have overlapped slightly and she had a small scar above her right eye just below the eyebrow.
Rita Jolly.Rita Jolly.
Joyce LePage, 21, July 22, 1974 (disappeared). Pullman, WA.
Joyce Margaret LePage was born to Walter and Florence Ethelyn (nee Ham) LePage on December 4, 1949 in Pullman, Washington. Described by her family as an athletic and intelligent student, after graduating from high school she decided to attend Washington State University, which wasn’t a surprise to the LePage’s as they had a history at the school and her grandfather taught there. Despite having an off campus apartment, Joyce enjoyed sneaking into Stevens Hall, a vacant dormitory on WSU’s campus (which was also under construction at the time in the summer): she hung out on the first floor and enjoyed the quiet atmosphere and would study, write letters to her long distance boyfriend, and play the baby grand piano when the stress from the vigorous, quick-paced semester became too much. At 21 years-old, she was last seen on the schools campus on July 22, 1971. Her remains were discovered nine months later in a deep ravine south of Pullman, Washington wrapped in military blankets and a piece of missing (stolen??) carpet from Stevens Hall bound with rope. Multiple suspects have never been cleared.
The LePage family.Joyce LePage.Joyce and friend (James Krumstick) at a school event in 1968.
Brenda Joy Baker, 14, May 25, 1974 (disappeared). Puyallup, WA.
Bespectacled Brenda Joy Baker was born on July 13, 1959, to Benjamin and Margaret (Stephens) Baker in Enumclaw, WA. Fourteen-year-old Baker was attending Tahoma Junior High School when she ran away from home on May 25, 1974; despite her young age, Baker was a frequent hitchhiker. She was last seen near Puyallup, WA on May 2, 1974 trying to thumb a ride “south” to Fort Lewis; her remains were found 31 days later on the outskirts of Millersylvania State Park not far from the Restover Truck Stop. Before she vanished, the young lady told her friends she was “planning to meet a soldier.” Baker had a long history of running away from home, even living in a foster home for an unknown period of time. However, this time the young child’s absence was immediately noticed by her family, and a missing person’s report was filed the same day. On June 17, 1974, Bakers body was found on a small road located on the outskirts of Millersylvania State Park by hikers. The young girl was positively identified as Brenda Joy Baker by Thurston County sheriff’s investigators in part due to a police report filed by her parents with King County Police as well as dental records, clothing, and jewelry (two bracelets, an earring, and a ring) found with the body. Brenda seems to come from a tragic roots, having two brothers who also passed away extremely young: Benjamin was born in 1956 and passed away at the age of 25 in 1982 and Victor who was born in 1960 but sadly died in 1981 at the age of 21.
Brenda Joy Baker.Brenda Baker.
Sandra Jean Weaver, 19, July 1, 1974 (disappeared). Salt Lake City, UT.
Sandra Jean Weaver (who went by Sandy) was born on August 5, 1955 to Bruno and Marlene of Arcadia, Wisconsin. An investigator for Mesa County Colorado Sheriff’s office said that Sandra left Wisconsin in the summer of 1974 and moved to Salt Lake City; she hitchhiked the whole way there with a girlfriend and a male friend. After the friends arrived they went to Toole and either stayed with ‘a girlfriend and a couple boys in a trailer’ or in an apartment (I read conflicting reports). She got a job roughly forty miles away in Salt Lake and hitchhiked everyday back and forth to work. Sandra was last seen leaving the “Wycoff Building” from the Salt Lake area on her lunch hour around 10/11 AM on Monday, July 1, 1974 after two individuals picked her up at her residence around 8 AM and dropped her off at her place of employment. The body of Sandra Weaver was discovered the next day on July 2, 1974 around 4:00 PM by tourists hiking in the area near DeBeque, CO by the Colorado River about sixteen to eighteen miles east of Grand Junction. Her naked body was found beaten and strangled off a service road in the Palisades Canyon (some sources say it was DeBeque Canyon) in Colorado. She had been sexually assaulted and died by suffocation due to strangulation; her fingernails were freshly manicured shortly before her death. Unfortunately her body wasn’t identified until January 1975: according to an article titled “Services Pending for Murder Victim,” she was identified through a nationwide check of persons reported missing. Law enforcement also found a very particular type of contact lens on the victims remains, and using optemetric tests forensic experts were able to determine that lens belonged to Weaver; dental records were also used.
Sandra Jean Weaver.Sandra Jean Weaver.
Laurie Partridge, 17, December 4, 1974 (disappeared). Spokane WA.
Laura ‘Laurie’ Lynn Partridge was born on May 31, 1957 to Ken and Mary Partridge of Santa Monica, California. The family relocated to Spokane from Fountain Valley, CA when Mr. Partridge was transferred by the outdoor advertising firm that he worked for in August of 1974. At first Laurie was incredibly upset about the move to Washington state and had hopes of going back to California as soon as possible but she quickly settled into her new life. She even broke up with her old boyfriend in CA and started dating a new guy in Spokane. At roughly 12:30 PM on December 4, 1974 Laurie went to the administrative offices at her school after telling friends she was starting to experience menstrual cramps; she wanted to go home and lay down before her shift at work later. She didn’t have a car of her own so she called both of her parents for a ride, but they were working and told her to just hang out and wait for the bus (I read in a news article that it was rainy that day). Not willing to sit around and hoping the walk and some fresh air might help soothe her cramps, Laurie decided to trek the two miles home. She was never seen or heard from again.
Debbie Diane Smith, 17, birth date unknown. February 1975 (disappeared), SLC International Airport.
Not much is known about Deborah Diane Smith. Her stats on ‘bci.utah.gov’ website list her as 6’7” tall and 180 pounds but I wonder if this is a typo. Additionally the website says “the victim was located deceased in an open pasture located North/West of the Salt Lake International Airport. The victim was located by a Utah Power and Light worker checking on poles.”
One of the few pictures of Debbie out there, this is on her grave stone.A part of me wonders if this was from a bogus site but it’s from bci.utah.gov and looks legit.
Melanie ‘Suzi’ Cooley, 18, April 15, 1975 (disappeared). Nederland, CO.
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. 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. 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.”
Melanie ‘Suzi’ Cooley.Melanie Cooley.
Shelley Kay Robertson, 23, July 1, 1975 (disappeared). Golden, CO.
Shelley Kay Robertson was born on July 24, 1951 to Roberta and Elmer Robertson of Arvada, Colorado. She graduated from Arvada High School in Colorado in 1969 then spent a year doing missionary work for the United Church of Christ in Biloxi, Mississippi. After returning she attended Red Rocks Community College where she majored in Spanish. I’ve read varying reports that say she disappeared on either June 29 or July 1, 1975… what I’m deducing is she was last seen on June 29 and failed to show up to work on July 1, 1975 (I could be wrong). Seven weeks later her body was discovered in a mine shaft near Georgetown by mining students. Clear Creek County investigator Bob Denning went to Salt Lake City to discuss Robertson’s disappearance with Bundy and when asked about Robertson he said “I don’t want to talk about that.” Denning said he is 99% sure that it was Bundy who murdered Shelley.
Shelley Kay Robertson in grade school.Shelley Kay Robertson.Shelley Kay Robertson dressed up for graduation.
Nancy Perry-Baird, 23, July 4, 1975 (disappeared). East Layton, UT.
Nancy Perry-Baird was born on January 14, 1952 to Kenneth and Elna (nee Dee) Perry of Provo, Utah. Nancy was divorced and had a young son when she disappeared on July 4, 1975. She was working a 3-11 PM shift (some sources say it was until midnight) as an attendant at the Fina self-service gas station in East Layton, Utah. A little after five o’clock Officer David Anderson stopped and chatted with Nancy for a bit during her shift; he bought a soda water before leaving a few minutes later to investigate a potential alcohol violation at the Shamrock gas station on the other side of the highway. When Nancy’s manager Bonnie Peck popped in to get some soda water at around 5:30 she came into a line of customers and no cashier. What happened between Officer Anderson leaving and Bonnie Peck arriving? Somehow in that 15-20 minute time frame Nancy had vanished off the face of the earth. All of her personal belongings including her car, purse, and cashed paycheck were left behind. The only thing out of the ordinary was that $10 worth of gas on a pump that hadn’t been paid for. Nancy has never been recovered.
Nancy Perry-Baird as a child.Nancy Perry-Baird.Nancy Perry-Baird.
My Salt Lake City trip was a bit of a disaster right from the start: my Mom passed away in July 2022 after a six year battle with Multiple Myeloma… then we got pregnant less than a month later after trying for over 2.5 years! Then as quickly as that happened, suddenly we weren’t anymore… despite not being in the best mindset mental health-wise, by Fall I was ready to get away. So, I planned a 4 day long trip to Salt Lake City in November 2022. Unfortunately I not only missed my flight there but I missed it home as well. I guess I just wasn’t at my best and it showed. I probably should have pushed the trip off but I did get through all the places I wanted to see.
We all know that Ted left Seattle and moved to Salt Lake City to attend the University of Utah Law School in early September 1974. He resided in a few different apartments while in SLC: he lived at 565 1st Ave N from September 1974 to September 1975 then moved to 364 Douglas Street on September 26th, 1975. His 1st Ave address is roughly 15 minutes away from the cellar where Douglas Street is just 10 minutes away. In 1976 he briefly lived at 413 B Street while on trial for the kidnapping of Carol DaRonch.
This site in Emigration Canyon is supposedly where Bundy killed up to 12 girls, although there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever proving he ever stepped foot in the area. Ted never mentioned taking his victims to a cave or cellar in any capacity. No longer a cave, it’s now just a weird old shack sitting right in between Donner Way and a condominium complex. In my opinion, it sounds like it’s all just a local urban legend. Watching videos about this place before I went to Salt Lake, it looks like it’s in a super sketchy area in the middle of the woods but it was right by the Donner Pass and strangely enough, the condominium nearby was built in 1966 (meaning it was there when Bundy was active in Utah). I put this off until last because I was pretty sure Ted never killed anyone here (meaning if I missed it I wouldn’t have been too upset). I’m shocked at how out in the open this place is. Once I knew where I was going it was easily accessible, with well worn pathways that have been used frequently.
I couldn’t have summed it up better myself, screen grab courtesy of thisinterestsme.An informative post about the cellar from someone local to Salt Lake City in Utah, screen grab courtesy of Reddit.The entrance to the murder cellar… that’s a lovely wang spray painted on the gate.A shot of the outside door of Teds alleged murder cellar, photo taken in November 2022.A shot of the outside of the cellar door of Teds supposed murder cellar, photo taken in November 2022.A shot of the outside of the cellar in comparison to the Canyon Crest Condominiums, photo taken in November 2022.A shot of the inside of the cellar, photo taken in November 2022. That’s the furthest I was willing to go.A broad shot of the outside of the cellar, photo taken in November 2022.A shot of the outside of the cellar, photo taken in November 2022.A shot of the wall surrounding the “cellar,” photo taken in November 2022.The supposed murder cellar, photo taken in November 2022.The well-worn path to the murder cellar, photo taken in November 2022.Another picture of the well used path to the murder cellar, photo taken in November 2022.My rental car by the street walking away from the murder cellar, photo taken in November 2022.An opposite shot of Canyon Crest Condominiums in Salt Lake City, Utah, photo taken in November 2022.A sign for Donner Hill, photo taken in November 2022.A sign for Donner Hill, photo taken in November 2022.A beautiful shot of the mountains in Salt Lake City, photo taken in November 2022.The coordinates for this abandoned shack near Emigration Canyon in Utah are: 40.75135, -111.80201, photo courtesy of thisinterestsme.Bundy’s apartment located at 565 1st Ave N in SLC, Utah. The top right window was his room.Bundy’s apartment located at 364 Douglas Street in SLC, Utah.Bundy’s apartment located at 413 B Street in SLC, Utah.
Another Bundy Blog. 