Ted Bundy Typology

Classification of Offender

According to Holmes and Holmes (1998) and their typology of serial killers, Theodore (Ted) Bundy is categorized in the category of a power/control type serial killer. This typology is defined as a person who “received gratification from complete control of the victim…[and] exerting complete control over the life of his victim [gives him] experiences [of] pleasure and excitement…[to] have the power to do whatever he wishes to another human being who is completely helpless and within his total control” (Holmes and Holmes, 1998, p. 13). While this kind of killer does not believe to be living in another world or is disconnected from reality, he chooses to ignore the rules of society and to take control by committing

6), which in Bundy’s case led to serial murder. In Bundy’s early life, he was born out of wedlock and was an only child for some time before his mother remarried and eventually had more children, going from the centre of attention in the family to being only one in the constellation of children. It is claimed by Holmes and Holmes that “many known serial murderers were born out of wedlock…[and serial murderers when they were children] were physically, sexually, or emotionally abused” (Holmes and Holmes, 1998, p. 15), and while Bundy was someone born out of wedlock, he also experienced abuse at the hand of his grandfather, leaving Bundy feeling “inadequate and displayed narcissistic traits” (Hickey, 2016; Williams, 2020, p. 210). Along with these factors, growing up Bundy often felt out of place amongst his peers, even though he was reported to be a “conventionally attractive” person, he was left unappreciated and unnoticed by his peers, claiming he felt “as though he was an alien among humans” (McClellan, 2006, p. 22), leading him to have issues with self-esteem and consistently felt like a loner. When considering Hickey’s Trauma Control Model, these predispositional factors could have

Specifically, women who: were white, ranged from age 18-25, had a college-level education, and were college coeds (McClellan, 2006, p. 27) and the women he selected “all [had] dark long hair parted down the middle” (Holmes and Holmes, 1998, p. 14). All of his victims were strangers to him, all were unsuspecting of the seemingly charming man who was asking them for help and because of his “conventionally attractive” features, it was easy for the women to trust Bundy before the acts he committed. Interestingly, the women who did have a romantic relationship with Bundy were never harmed, his ex-girlfriend (Elizabeth Kloepfer) who was involved with Bundy romantically during his murders, as well as his wife, (Carole Boone) who stood by him during his trials, never experienced this sadistic side of