compiled by Patrick H. Moore
On June 30, 1976, the notorious serial killer,Ted Bundy, was sentenced in Utah to 1 to 15 years in state prison with the possibility of parole for the kidnapping of Carol DaRonch. Thus, Bundy found himself serving real time. While he was incarcerated in Utah State Prison, investigators began searching for evidence to connect him to the murders of Caryn Campbell and Melissa Smith. The die was cast and from this point forward, Bundy’s legal problems were only going to get worse. Rachel Bell of Crime Library writes:
Detectives discovered in Bundy’s VW hairs that were examined by the FBI and found to be characteristically alike to Campbell’s and Smith’s hair. Further examination of Caryn Campbell’s remains showed that her skull bore impressions made by a blunt instrument, and those impressions matched the crowbar that had been discovered in Bundy’s car a year earlier. Colorado police filed charges against Bundy on October 22, 1976, for the murder of Caryn Campbell.
In April of 1977, Ted was transferred to Garfield County Jail in Colorado to await trial for the murder of Caryn Campbell.
While preparing for his trial, Bundy became increasingly unhappy with his attorney as he became convinced that the man was inept. Well-versed in the law, Bundy became convinced that he could do a better job representing himself and fired his lawyer. His self-confidence was such that he convinced himself that he would succeed at the trial which was scheduled for November 14, 1977. Bundy talked his way into being granted permission to leave the jail occasionally to utilize the courthouse library in Aspen to conduct legal research. What the police didn’t know was that he had a backup plan known as jailbreak.
On June 7th, during one of his trips to the library at the courthouse, Bundy managed to jump from an open window, injuring his ankle in the process, and escaped to freedom. He was not wearing any leg irons or handcuffs, so he did not stand out among the ordinary citizens in the town of Aspen. It was an escape that had been planned by Ted for a while. Aspen Police were quick to set up roadblocks surrounding the town, yet Ted knew to stay within the city limits for the time being and lay low. Police launched a massive land search, using scent tracking bloodhounds and 150 searchers in the hopes of catching Ted. However, Ted was able to elude them for days.
Rachel Bell explained that while he was on the run, Bundy managed to live off of food he filched from local cabins and nearby campers. At times he slept in ones that were abandoned. Bundy knew he couldn’t hide in Aspen forever and that what he really needed was a car. Ted believed that he was destined to be free. According to an interview with Michaud and Aynesworth, Bundy explained that he felt as if he were invincible:
“(N)othing went wrong. If something did go wrong, the next thing that happened was so good it compensated. It was even better”.
Filled with his peculiar combination of positive thinking and hubris, Bundy eventually stole a car with the keys left in it. But, his luck was short-lived. While trying to flee Aspen in the stolen vehicle, he was spotted and taken back into custody.
Amazingly, although Bundy was now required to wear handcuffs and lef irons, he was still allowed to continue conducting his legal research at the Courthouse law library. Meanwhile, he bided his time and planned his next escape attempt.
Seven months later, Bundy tried again. Rachel Bell writes:
On December 30th, he crawled up into the ceiling of the Garfield County Jail and made his way to another part of the building. He managed to find another opening in the ceiling that led down into the closet of a jailer’s apartment. He sat and waited until he knew the apartment was empty, then casually walked out of the front door to his freedom. His escape would go undiscovered until the following afternoon, more than fifteen hours later.
By the time police learned of his escape, Bundy was well on his way to Chicago. Chicago was one of the few stops that Bundy would make along the route to his final destination, sunny Florida. By mid-January of 1978 Ted Bundy, using his newly acquired name Chris Hagen, had settled comfortably into a one-room apartment in Tallahassee, Florida.
Although Bundy’s back-to-back jailbreaks seem almost miraculous, and he briefly enjoyed his new-found freedom, his penchant for murdering girls soon got the best of him, and in February of 1978, he was arrested for the final time in Tallahassee.
Click here to view our previous Ted Bundy posts:
The Lonesome (and Thoroughly Dramatic) Death of Ted Bundy, Serial Killer
Ten Fatal Facts about Ted Bundy’s Formative Years
14 Cold-Blooded Quotes by Serial Killer Ted Bundy