Ted Bundy: Antisocial Personality Disorder

Ted Bundy was a notorious serial murderer who’s reign of terror lasted from 1974 to 1978. Bundy was convicted of three homicides and was sentenced to death for all three charges. However, at the time of his execution, Bundy confessed to 30 murders however the exact number of victims is still unknown. Bundy’s crimes evolved over time but he was both a sexual sadist and a necrophiliac serial killer. At the beginning of his rampage, Bundy would sneak into the victims house in the middle of the night, violently attack them while they were sleeping with a blunt object and then Bundy would usually sexually assault them. However, as Bundy evolved, he utilized several different ruses (such as being injured or as an officer of the law) to lure the

Bundy appears to meet several of the criteria required to be diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder. The DSM- IV defines antisocial personality disorder as the pervasive, inflexible, and enduring pattern of disregarding and violating the rights of others (APA, 2013). In order to be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder, the individual must have at least three of the criteria listed in the DSM-IV. Bundy indicated to fit eight out of the possible ten criteria to be diagnosed which will discussed in the following paragraphs of the paper. Bundy’s actions falls under the definition of antisocial personality disorder due to the fact he had a complete disregard towards the rights of

Bundy is believed to have killed his first victim at age twenty-two which is over the age of eighteen. When Bundy was three years old, he snuck into his teenaged aunt’s room and put butcher knives under the covers and remained standing there, grinning (The Biography of Ted Bundy by A&E 2007). In the book “The Need to Kill” written by Dr. Steven Egger, Dr. Van Austin discussed the final report on Ted Bundy in which he found Bundy not to be suffering from schizophrenia or psychotic (2003). Bundy underwent several psychological tests and he was found to be intact psychologically. In conclusion, Ted Bundy indicated to meet eight out of a possible ten criteria from the DSM-IV. In order to be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder the individual must be indicated to fit at least three of section A as well as B, C, and