Criminal Psychology: Ted Bundy

A person who has the ability to kill another human being is not someone mentally okay. Almost all serial killers have a past that has caused them to become crazy. Take, for example, the case of Ted Bundy, a man who managed to kidnap, rape, and murder more than 30 young women. Bundy would grow up believing that his mother was his sister, and his grandparents were his mother and father. His maternal grandfather who at first raised him was racist, misogynistic, and altogether abusive. Bundy spent his adolescence across the country, removed from all he’d known as a child, raised by a stepfather who he felt no connection to.

When reviewing how troubled and disturbing Bundy’s childhood was, it’s no surprise that he turned out to be mentally sick. What is so interesting in his story is that he didn’t look nor act like someone who is a serial killer, and that’s how he covered up for his murders for about 7 years. He was tall, attractive, and generally good looking. However, what made him a great serial killer is that he was a genius.

He was so intelligent that took his appearance to his advantage and never failed to impress women. Women would trust him because he was charming. But isn’t that how society works anyway? Our reactions are not the same to every new person we meet. Take a homeless, old man and a young, attractive man in a suit. They both approach you and ask for your help with carrying something from their car. Who would you trust? The correct answer would be no one. Just because someone is attractive and is formally dressed does not mean that he is not a serial killer. Ted Bundy was so smart that he knew he was charming and he knew women would trust him because of his appearance.

But what was going on inside this man’s mind? He was not just a regular serial killer. He had no motive and no desire for revenge. He was just mentally sick and addicted. It’s like his mind was infected and felt like he would get satisfaction by killing. Like a smoker, his cigarettes were his murders. Every time he thought it would be his last one, he ended up having the need again. The creepiest fact in his case is that he only killed certain kinds of women. All of his victims were women, with long, dark hair parted in the middle. All of them were raped, before and after they were

killed.

 

So, after researching his story and past, it’s very interesting to find how many mental illnesses this person had: antisocial personality disorder, psychopathy, narcissistic personality disorder, bipolar personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, schizoid personality disorder, addictive disorder, and Machiavellianism. Imagine how hard was plain thinking for this person. When your mind is constantly kicked by so many anomalies, how are you supposed to act right? It’s scary to think how a monster can be created just from genetics.

The psychology that hides behind this story is fascinating. How a person can become inhumane after being raised abnormally, how our mind only can turn into a weapon without us realizing it, how we make instant conclusions based on what we see rather on what we know. Being a criminal is not a label for a person. It’s an identity for his/her mind.