CRIMES WORTHY OF INK

Content Warning: This work contains depictions of violence, strong language, and themes of grief that some readers may find distressing. Reader discretion is advised. Also, any personal opinions contained in this does not come from any licensed field of study. It’s just my opinion, and we all know what they say about opinions …

Dark Tide is a very well written book. It isn’t a page turner and the author isn’t some flashy author with a lot of titles under her name. To my knowledge, this is the only book she has written. It is so interesting to see the energy she put into this book. She made you feel like she was sitting in front of you telling you all this. I rated the book 5 fingerprints out of 5.

Although in my review I will mainly mention things Edna Cowell Martin says and my response, please read the book. Edna is an excellent writer. I love talking to old people because they can tell us about time periods of long ago, and Edna doesn’t disappoint. Her background in American history around Ted Bundy before the killings gives a whole new perspective that all the other media don’t have. I thought, 1.) this book probably has a lot of mistakes, and 2.) It was going to be boring. I was so wrong. Before starting a book, I read the title and subject and decide from there what I might read in the book. I thought a woman who was familiar with Ted and wrote a book about him that might noticeably leave out pertinent information needed to place the reader in that time period with her and her cousin.

In most of my reviews, I may refer to people by their first names. I am just that way. I don’t mean any disrespect by it. When calling people by their first name, it sounds more familiar, like a friend might sound. I call the killer by his first name, but it isn’t to sound closer to him. Hahaha. I just do it to pacify everyone. After all, this was Ted Bundy’s cousin. Regardless of what he has done and what he has become of our history, he is still her relative. So, I will respect him as well.

Edna Cowell Martin was Ted Bundy’s cousin, but they grew up closer than a brother and sister would have been. This is her memoir of growing up with Ted. Both she and her brother, John, knew Ted until they both realized they didn’t know him at all. She couldn’t come to terms with the Ted she knew growing up and the Ted his victims knew. She had friends who knew Ted through her. Her old roommate still to this day can’t talk about Ted. She said either she or one of her friends, either directly or indirectly, knew one or more victims at the University of Washington. These wounds haven’t healed to this day.

This book is her story. For many years, she struggled to avoid the Bundy media circus. She spoke with her daughter about the media, and social media won’t let the subject die. Her daughter suggested that she write a book.

Megan Atkinson is a screenwriter and writer who helped Edna get her words on paper and to a publisher.

She says that she has read a lot of books, watched a lot of documentaries, and seen all the social media sensationalism. In any other context, others would regard her as a fan.

Since the rise of true crime, Ted’s story has risen to the top again. She wonders what makes people want to read and watch such things. What’s the fascination with these criminal life events and unimaginable horror?

While talking to Edna, it all made sense. While she can’t understand men like Bundy, Edna provides the context. Edna says that you can’t measure darkness without relating it to light.

She said that darkness reveals the light. While writing this book, she realized darkness can swallow any light up.

In a letter to Edna, Bundy tells her his life is divided by 2, B.C before court/ cops/ prison and A.D after damnation. No one else may find that comical, but I couldn’t help getting a chuckle at his description. Honestly, he may be the only serial killer who could do that. He said one life ended, and another began after living in prison.

SPOILER ALERT

He tells his cousin that if you have $14.95 to waste on poorly written fiction (which contains a small amount of truth mixed with a large amount of fiction), then buy Ann Rule’s book. He said he’d never tell someone not to read something. I guess not, because he was a very educated man. Ted thought that Rule and the other true crime writers were only writing half-truths and it puzzled him why people wanted to read it. It is kinda disheartening that Bundy felt this way about Ann Rule. Ted and Ann were friends who worked at a suicide hotline together. If anyone could paint a picture of the true Ted, she should have been able to. She observed him on the phone with the poor people who were at a crossroads and needed help. She probably saw a kinder, more caring side of Ted. I think he just didn’t like being called a killer. One thing Ann did very well was tell the true crime fans exactly what happened. But maybe Ted was right. No one could know him because he was a chameleon that never showed his true color.

I was thinking about what he said about writers of true crime only writing half-truths. I’m not a writer of true crime; I merely give book reviews and comment on the subject a lot … and all my books are true crime books. I don’t believe the writers are writing half-truths; rather; I think what he means is that an element is missing. The one thing no writer can quite capture is the real person … his feelings … his instincts … what was his mind thinking during the crime … was he tired … hungry … paranoid … energized … all these things would be in play during a crime. The writers can listen to them tell their stories. They can report what they hear in a courtroom. They can even watch social media sites and get a version of the person … but no one was there, at the exact minute, that the crime was happening, except the suspect and there is no telling what he is thinking when he comes down off the adrenalin high from the crime. That might be half the truth that writers don’t have.

I have seen in countless books about Ted and the documentaries that Ted was a charmer who was going places. Almost in a narcissistic sort of way. Edna said he was like that as a child as well. Ted’s mom would never tell who the father of Ted was, so when she married Johnny Bundy, he adopted Ted as his own. Edna clarifies Bundy had a different view of life than others in the family. I would wager if his biological father had similar character traits. I do wish someone knew who his real dad was. I’d like to find out the answer to: nature or nurture. Every time I read a true crime book, especially about serial killers, I’m always asking –  is it nature vs. nurture.

Edna’s mother was Eleanor Gellert. In the navy, she held the rank of lieutenant. She didn’t like to carry a gun; she said it didn’t go with the uniform. She was in the military sometime around 1943. I think the destiny to do great things ran in the family.

Edna’s father was a piano player, songwriter, and singer. He wrote the music for the show West Side Story.

She talks like Ted had a destiny to do great things, but as I sit here reading her book, I am enamored at her writing style. I feel she too was destined to accomplish great things.

As I wrote, Edna must not have realized her own rights to greatness,, she explains, even though she and her brother knew some great people, she was very humbled. She and her brother didn’t recognize royalty. They saw everyone on a level playing field. Ted enjoyed it when Edna and her brother told him stories of their lives. She doesn’t think she recognized Ted’s desire to be great until now, when looking back on it. I guess she never heard the phrase “hindsight is 20/20”.

When Louis, Ted’s mother, was going to move with Ted, she went to the courts to change his last name. Then she changed her last name. It wasn’t very clear why she needed to do that.

When Ted and his mom moved to Washington, they lived with her aunt. Edna said that no matter what Ted would ask her, he would look her straight in the eye to hear her answer. He always made her feel like what she said mattered to him. She always loved that about him. She was sad when she found out he used that talent later on to do his thing. Like I say, hindsight really is 20/20.

Edna talks about all the things they could do outside. They could go to the beach, play games outside, or ride the horses they had borrowed from a neighbor. She said Ted would go with them to do these things, but he never really participated. She got the feeling he wanted to stay on earth bound.

Every time she talks about the fun she had with Ted and the other kids, she says it always saddens her. Everything is so much clearer now. She said Ted didn’t want to participate, but he also didn’t want to impede on their fun. He made them feel like he enjoyed watching them.

On one visit with all the kids, they wanted to take a family photo with all the Bundy’s family and all her family. Just as the camera was about to click, Ted moved from the Bundy’s side of the group to her family’s side. She even thought that was strange back then.

Edna said her brother, Johnny, likes to hang out with Ted, but he can also name a few things that were strange, that seemed strange then, but today’s thinking back on it, makes a little more sense, yet, nonetheless, strange.

John said that when he and Ted hung out, they did nothing abnormal or unseemly, even though they were teens. However, Ted enjoyed reading pulp detective novels, the kind with vaguely smutty art on the cover, usually featuring a provocatively dressed woman in a vulnerable position with a man looming above her, holding a gun. John , thought they were too young to be reading that stuff.

When John would go to visit Ted at his house, he said Ted’s room was very bleak. He didn’t have any décor in his room. No nicknacks or anything on the walls. John’s room had posters hanging up, drawings, and a variety of things that represented the various hobbies he enjoyed. He didn’t know this was a rule in the Bundy home or Ted’s preference.

When Edna’s parents couldn’t enroll them in school due to all the base transfers, her mother would teach them. When they studied an event in history, her mother would take them to the place where it happened.

John had a hard time in school because he would get bored. When he got bored, he would act up in class. The teachers got to the point they threw up their hands and said something must be wrong with him. They would call his mother in and make it sound like she was causing him to act this way. They told her; he needed to have his head examined.

John’s parents put him in a private school. It was a boarding school. He seemed to thrive in that environment. Apparently, this school was providing something that public schools couldn’t provide.

Ted compared himself to John. With John flourishing at this boarding school, Ted seemed to compare himself to him. Apparently, and she doesn’t mention what the comparisons were, but Edna said years later there were comments Ted would make about the comparison that Edna can never forgive Ted for.

When the Bundys would go on vacation, they went Far-A-Way. One thing the teens always did there was pull pranks on one another. It was all in good humor and fun. One year, Edna and her friend went out on the river and pulled a prank on John and Ted. Edna thought Ted looked upset, but she didn’t know the extent of until she saw John later that night. John informed her that Ted said someone had made a fool of him. John said he tried to calm Ted down, but he wasn’t having it.

Ted wanted to know his father. Not sure if his mother knew about his search or if she didn’t care if he searched. What people know is that his mother made great efforts to conceal his identity. You would have to keep in mind; this was back in the late 40s and early 50s. it was unheard of that a woman would sleep around. Much less to the point of getting pregnancy. That was like wearing the scarlet letter “A”. Just like in this case, I am sure it happened. But I agree with Ted; if he is an adult, why not tell him who his father is? Did the dad know he had a son out there or did she just disappear? What could it hurt?

There had been, and I guess there still is people who wonder if Louise was Ted’s sister or his mother. For all he knew, she was his mother. They think she changed her name to Nelson to avoid being shamed for being an unwed mother. But if Ted was Louise’s brother, that would make a lot more sense. That would mean there was something nefarious going on. Edna said for all Ted knew and the rest of the family, Louise, was his mother.

Even Edna questioned why Louise never told Ted who his father was. It clearly bothered him, and she would be as bold as saying he was angry about the secrecy. Edna never understood the mystery. Everyone has a relationship break-up before. Everyone would’ve understood, unless it was something that should never have happened.

After reading through this struggle of emotions and the will powers that was at work, I am leaning toward Louise being Ted’s sister. I have read in a lot of places that he never knew his dad. Again, with hindsight being perfect, as this book often shows, consider who Ted grew into … he probably inherited many traits from his family.

When Ted went to Stanford University, he volunteered as a Republican to get Nelson Rockefeller elected to office. In 1968, he attended the Republican National Convention. Edna was more Democrat, but that didn’t deter her from supporting Ted in his adventure.

That is how people should deal with politics: agree to disagree. Although I wonder if Ted even realizes that a lot of the beliefs of the Republican party put him on death row. The irony of it all is so uncanny.

When Edna was in high school and Ted was in college, Ted brought his new girlfriend to meet the family. Edna offered to drive them around town. They spent the whole day together and never ran out of subjects to talk about. As Edna thinks back on that day, she even thought they could have talked about a lot, but it was what wasn’t said that was the most interesting. They never talked about the Vietnam War. That is a glaring omission. That was a significant topic in America. The movies at the theater, the songs on the radio, even the bell-bottom pants she had on were all influenced by the war. The government implemented the draft for every boy of fighting age to go to war. With Ted’s interest in politics and his deferment for education, that should have been a pressing issue to talk about.

They didn’t talk about the tensions in the south over racism, or the passage of the Civil Rights Act.

Domineering the man world. She said she challenged a group of guys one day to a game of H.O.R.S.E and when she won; the men took the ball and left the court.

They didn’t talk about his break-up with the girl he planned to marry, or even how it left him shamed, shattered, and maybe worse.

Edna said Ted had become extraordinary in keeping things compartmentalized, keeping unseen elements of his character firmly guarded. This was a trait that would enable him to lead his double life.

Ted was first noticed in Washington as a serial killer. They were finding his victims but still looking for who it was. The sheriff who told the public about the first few bodies they found said that his method was too experienced to have just started. Even Ted said there were some undocumented hitchhikers he killed. But no one knew how much they could trust what he said.

Ted worked at Governor Dan Evan’s campaign office for him to be re-elected. He was becoming a familiar face around the office. He became acquainted with other politicians. He would get up close and personal with the news reporters. To people looking in, he had a bright future in politics. He was so excited talking about it. While all this is happening, he starts law school.

You know what I’m wondering? I wonder if he was already having the urge to kill. They had to be something he was fighting. I think that is why he tried to be busy with politics and law school. He thought if he stayed busy, the intrusive thoughts would subside. Obviously, they didn’t.

Ted said he wanted to make a difference. He worked at both crime prevention for the city and justice planning for the county. Get this: he hoped to study violent assaults on women. Are you kidding me? Not only is he keeping his schedule busy with school and politics, but he also wants to do a study on violence on women. This truly takes the cake. I would have to believe not only was he having the thoughts, he was doing a study not to stop it … but to get away with it.

Even Edna, now looking back on it sees where his mind was. She now knows he was fighting the demons that lived inside him. She now has the same thoughts I have; he wasn’t trying to prevent crime; he wanted to get away with it.

Though Edna thought her cousin was an all-American boy doing what he could to make women feel safe. I know hindsight is 20/20. I don’t know why that phrase keeps popping into my head at every turn of the page in this book. Ted lived his life trying to cover up his past and keep the present going. I don’t know if Edna ever seriously realizes just how close to a killer, she was. Almost like Ann Rule. Ann just knew they had the wrong guy when she found out what he was being accused of. She even went to him to talk to him about it. Honestly, I think nothing like this would have happened to me. I have a sense about things that are going to happen. I believe I would have picked up a vibe from him. Come to think of it, I wish I could have met him back then and seen if he really was just that smooth.

Edna describes the night that is seared into her brain forever. She said after one of their dinners with Ted, Edna’s friend Marjorie were all up dancing to the music on the player while cleaning up, and a slow song came on. Edna went over to the records (they had what was called vinyl records back then), and she was thumbing through them to find something more upbeat. When she turned around to ask what they wanted to hear, she found Ted and Marjorie dancing together. Marjorie had her head on his shoulder, as if in bliss. But not Ted. He was looking down at Marjorie with this terrifying face. He clenched his jaw. His eyes were black eyes. He had this look on his face like he was somewhere else at that moment. For a moment, she couldn’t even recognize Ted. Edna called Ted’s name, but he didn’t seem to be there, or he didn’t hear her, so she called his name again, a little louder, and this time he snapped out of whatever trance he was in. It was like immediately all the darkness she had seen for that moment was gone.

Even though Ted snapped back to himself, it was only a short time later that he left. Edna asked him if he was alright, and he said he was. Marjorie, who was still in her dancing lull, wondered what had just happened. But she had never seen the look Ted gave her.

That would be so scary. I once dated a guy named Michael. He was one weird character. What I call my spidey sense seems to warn me that the meter is in the red. Honestly, I shouldn’t have been with him after the first week. He drank a lot, and I think he might have also done drugs. I have just never seen it. That was shortly before my drug addiction. Anyway, he would get this distorted look on his face when he got drunk. His eyes would go black and his entire mood would be this look of doom. Most of the time I could talk him down and everything would just disappear. No mad, distorted looks. No black eyes that looked like they could see your soul. However, there were times it didn’t go away, and before the day was over, a physical fight would break out between us. He would be drunk whenever his entire face appeared distorted like this. I think that was the only saving grace for me. He was too drunk to put up a strong fight, never wanting to lose complete control, I never got drunk. My fighting back to defend myself was easy.

Back to Edna. Today, when she looks back on that day, she wonders what he did after he left her apartment. Man, I wasn’t there, and she doesn’t know the date of that day, but that would be so odd if she had just predicted. His first, or pretty close to it, killing. Wow, I wish she knew the date.

She attended the University of Washington, and during that same year she was studying history. Little did she know her cousin was using the campus for his own personal hunting ground and that he was making history as they sat in class. She was so angry with him for the crimes he had committed.

Edna said that Ted and John met up with Don, Edna’s future husband, and they went to several bars where students hung out. There was no one in the first 2, so they went to a 3^rd. The place was full of people. Don thought it was a nice day, but looking back on it, Ted was people watching and it creeped him out to think what Ted’s real motives were that day.

Quote:

The world is full of possibilities, but you have to be smart. 

                                                      — Edna Cowell Martin                                          

Edna was talking about her experience learning sky diving. She was nervous the first time she jumped, but afterwards she felt invincible. But just a few weeks after her jump, the plane took her jumpmaster up with another group, and fog overtook the plane. They got confused and lost their bearings, and they crashed into a side of a mountain. They all died. She wasn’t feeling so invincible any longer.

Ted was 5 years older than Edna, and he would drop by her apartment and hang out dressed in a sweater over his shoulder. He would be amid campaigns for Dan Evan’s. Edna thought of bringing out her new tape recorder she had just got and was dying to try it out. She placed it in front of Ted and told him to discuss the campaign trial. According to her, he lit up with excitement after realizing he was being recorded. She mentioned Ted thrived in the public eye.

Edna was working at a restaurant for school money. She would walk to her shift and then walk home at night. She was panicking when she walked home at night because there were rumors of a stalker around the school at night.

You know, that must be hard for her family to have all this 20/20 hindsight. To think the stalker was someone they all knew so well, or at least as much as they thought they did. That is just creepy. She quit the job because of her fear. She would have been furious after quitting the job out of fear and then discovering it was her cousin, realizing she had no reason to fear him.

This reminds me of Dennis Radar (BTK Killer). When people started being attacked closer to their home, Dennis’ wife would tell him how afraid she was becoming, and he would comfort her and tell her she was safe. I am sure she it took a comforting thing that any husband would tell their wife to keep them from worrying so much. But the whole time he knew exactly who was committing the murders, and he knew for a fact she was safe. 😟

You know, that must be hard for her family to have all this 20/20 hindsight. To think the stalker was someone they all knew so well, possibly. That is just really creepy. She quit the job because of fear and then found out it was her cousin and she had no reason to fear.

Edna said 2 blocks from her apartment on the University of Washington campus, there sat a tiny house. She had never looked at the place twice. But later she learned that someone had attacked a student in her room in that house. Never once did the school warn the females to be careful at night because of this. Besides the stalker rumors, no one said anything. She said she didn’t know about the incident for decades. Then she found out Ted did it.

Again, another trip to the bar and Edna is trying to get Ted to dance, but he wasn’t having it. He stayed in the corner, watching the crowd. It would appear, when Ted wasn’t on the campaign trail, he was looking for his next victim. The entire night Ted’s attention wasn’t with anyone.

Ted was an excellent talker with a strong vocabulary. But he was an even better listener.

This book was sad to read. The author was a cousin of the infamous Ted Bundy. There are memories she recalls, and those memories coupled with what she knows today can break your heart. You can feel her pain through the pages.

QUOTE:

            Even when we had others over, I never minded when Ted stopped by. In fact, I loved it. Ted was always a hit with our friends, and I was proud to be related to him.

I was proud to be related to him.

An old memory washed in by the tide.

When I read that, my heart truly broke for her. You never know who you’re sitting by. Family or friend – either can be an unknown foe. That is scary to think about.

Edna introduced Ted to many of her friends, and he victimized none of them. She always believed in her mind that he didn’t see his victims as people. They were objects to “play with” temporarily and then leave in the outdoor environment for anyone or anything to discover. When you read an autopsy report, you get the truly grizzly ways a body appears when they are that decomposed.

A friend convinced Edna that her friendship with her was the sole reason she avoided becoming a victim. She didn’t tell her that with any comfort, nor did Edna receive it with anything like pride.

That is so eerie to wonder why Edna’s friends were off limits. Wonder if he was trying to save his relationship with his cousin, as if he truly had some sort of respect or honor for them? For example, did they give him the respect and interest (all out of respect it was Edna’s cousin) that he didn’t receive from his victims?

Edna felt the only thing she and her friends felt was guilt. She had wondered all her life if she had even introduced her roommate’s friend to Ted. Was it her introduction to Ted that got her friend’s friend killed? I can’t imagine growing into adulthood with that kind of guilt weighing on you.

She discussed having to hide from the media hype about Ted. She doesn’t understand why people are still talking about him today. I think, as someone who was close to him, not only as family but as a friend also, she knows why. She has even mentioned why when she talks about when he would drop by her home. Ted had a charisma about him that everyone wanted to be around. He told interesting stories, wore nice clothes, and he was just so smart. Yes, they are going to keep that kind of person in all their talks and conversations. I personally would have liked to meet him. I would’ve wanted to listen to him the way Edna did. I guess I want to know if it is all hype or if he is seriously that captivating.

QUOTE:

She didn’t want to talk about it.

I understand.

How could I not? Until very recently, it was exactly how I felt. We all have different journeys, different needs, and I can’t respect her enough.

                                    — Edna Cowell Martin

As Edna planned to meet up with her roommate, who was going to meet Lynda that night, the roommate came back home and was in disbelief that Lynda wasn’t there at their meeting place. But as she planned for this meeting, she realized she could let go of the guilt. She remembered she had just moved into that house. There is no way she could’ve introduced Lynda to Ted. She felt so much relief from that memory.

Something that I found interesting. Back in 1974, they didn’t have a name for someone who killed several people. Since they lacked a term such as “serial killer,” people avoided discussing cases of multiple missing persons because they didn’t have a proper name for it. Yet, Ted wasn’t the first serial killer; there had been many by that point. The FBI coined the term. “Serial homicide” in 1974. But the term “serial murder” came in 2004. Over time, it changed to “serial killer”.

Ted brought fear to Seattle. Back then the houses didn’t have air conditioning yet; people left their windows shut out of fear of this killer. No one went anywhere out of fear.

Hitchhiking was the way of transportation, and that came to a halt almost instantly. They had a killer among them. Grocery shopping, got to work, even getting a haircut. Fear draped everything they took for granted.

You know, looking back on it, if Edna suspected Ted of being the killer, I wonder if she would’ve let her guard down? Not that he is being followed and watched by the police. If she had just a mere speculation.

There was a night when Edna and her roommate had friends over. Someone in the group offered to smoke weed. So, the entire group was talking and passing the joint around. The dog alerted that someone was outside. It was Ted. As soon as Ted walked in, the group offered him the joint, but he said he didn’t like losing control.

Control of what? All he did was campaign and work. So, that excuse didn’t sound fishy at all.

Eventually, he took the joint. Edna said Ted was always wound a bit tight, but the joint caused a quick and dramatic transformation. Ted became wild and loud.

Where weed usually makes one mellowed out, not Ted. He got up and was dancing. Edna had never seen him do that. When everyone else got up dancing, ted jumped up on the coffee table and continued dancing.

Hahaha, well they always wanted Ted to loosen up at the bars when they got together. I bet they have a new viewpoint on that now.

Edna said by now everyone else had quit dancing to watch Ted. They didn’t know if they needed to let him go or if someone needed to intervene before he hurt himself.

Before long, he popped out of the mood and sheepishly stepped off the table. It was obvious he didn’t like losing control like that. It was as if they all got a peek at the Ted, he likes to keep private.

Ted lived in a boarding house. Edna never came over unannounced. But when she met him at his place, he never invited her inside. The one time she went over unannounced, Ted came to the door; he appeared agitated. He told her not to come in because the place was a mess. She thought little of it because she knew he was a very private person.

Years later, Edna explained they had never invited her brother, John, either. But one time he could get a quick peek, there were some high-end skis in the room and stereo equipment. Edna asked him about the equipment, but Ted deflected and went on to other subjects. But when Ted got arrested in Utah, one charge was theft. She wondered if she had ever been in what she’d have seen? Ted gained a reputation for severing the heads of his victims and storing them in his home.

As summer came in, the newspaper did a story on all the missing ladies. It was confusing to everyone. The information was coming out furiously. The ones that were killed, were killed by the same person.

John and Ted showed up at Edna’s house. All her roommates hadn’t gotten home yet. John said that he and Ted were there to put new locks on her doors. Today, looking back, she sees the irony that the man accused of being the worst murderer in the world is in her house putting new locks on her door to protect her from him.

This reminds me of BTK. His wife once asked him if they, her and their daughter, were safe from the BTK. His answer was, just leave the doors locked, but no one was coming for them. Her next question should have been how he knew. But you know, I am sure that’s not a special fear of these two families. I am almost positive others had the same conversations with their loved ones.

How are we to act when a killer is on the loose? No one even takes a second glance at their loved ones. Why? Do you feel you can trust everyone close to you? I trust some, but yes, I have mistrust in some as well.

Edna talks about two more girls who went missing, but the news didn’t think they were the same as the other missing because this guy said his name was Ted.  She shook it off, saying there is no way he gave his real name, and they also said that the abductions happened in the middle of the day. Then she said witnesses said he was driving a brown VW Beetle. She shook that off too, because everyone back then drove Beetles.

See, that is the point I would have to take a pause. I realize everyone drove the same vehicle, but the guy’s name is Ted. At that point, regardless of how you or anyone y’all know, think about it, someone should have taken the tip to the police. I’m serious, readers, I would have. If it isn’t him, the police will rule him out. If they don’t think it is him, that would then be in their hands as if looking the other way. In the meantime, he’s moving across country to kill some more women. For God’s sake, tell what you know, regardless of who they are to you. But another thing I questioned, she said that when she heard them report they had a description of the guy, she ran to the store to buy a copy of the newspaper to see the description. If you are that curious, you either already had a suspicion, or you wanted to know if you knew anyone fitting that description. If it was the latter of two of the marking points to Ted Bundy, why wouldn’t you share that information? Even if it was someone else you knew with two identifiable points, would you have turned the tip in? She and her boyfriend laughed it off and simply thought it was a fluke. They didn’t think the composite matched him. Other identifiers didn’t match; had an English accent, arm in a sling.

Get this readers, I am always listening for clues and tips that come across about this person or that person. I used to date a guy named Jim. From time to time, I would want to take a picture of him, and he vehemently refused and wouldn’t let me take one. One day, I was sitting in the living room and I could see him over the bar going into the kitchen. I took the picture. I don’t even know why I wanted one so badly. He drove an F150, and it was dirty. So, when you look at it, it would look cream or brown. I bought him a seat cover that said “JIM” on it with a bass fish under his name. I had no clue just how important those observations were going to come in handy. Or at least I think they did. I honestly don’t know how my tip panned out, but I turned in as soon as I heard it. I came home from work one day and the news was talking about a woman who got raped at Lake Lanier. Lake Lanier is where Jim enjoyed taking me and the boys swimming and have picnics. When I looked at the composite sketch, y’all, I am not lying. It looked just like Jim. So, I called the detective’s number that was on the screen, and I told him I wanted to ask some questions about the composite sketch I saw on TV with the rape. He told me he couldn’t tell me anything more than what they released on the news, but he wanted to know my reason for calling. I told him I wanted to find out what color the truck was and if it had an identifiable seat cover on the seats? He told me to tell him what was on my mind. I told him I just broke up with a guy that looked just like the sketch. I told him he drove a Ford F150 that was dirty, so it could pass as a brown or cream color, depending on the lighting. I told him about the seat cover having his name on it with a bass fish, and I wanted to know if any of this sounded familiar to the statement by the witness. He told me he wants to know if I have any pictures of the guy that I thought it could be. I told him I have one, but it is a tinge bit blurry, but if they wanted to see it, they could come get it. I told him I wanted to take more pictures of him, but he refused to have his picture took and if this turns out to be their guy, I now knew why. They came, got the picture, and I never heard another word. But I don’t think they would’ve come to get the picture if at least some of my details didn’t match the story.

Edna and Don couldn’t wait to joke with Ted about it. Ted came by that night, and they were kidding him, and he just smiled it off. But what I did think was odd: Don asked Ted if he had a fake sling anywhere. No one knew that detail at the time. Remember when I said John saw skis in Ted’s home? They knew this guy needed help to put something on top of his car. One of Don’s questions was, did he have any boating stuff? I think Don may have had more than two markers.

But I had a question for the witness. If he couldn’t put the boating thing back on the car, how did he get off? Also, if his arm was in a sling, how did he do any boating of any sort?

I wonder how not one time did any of his friends ever look in his car. They would have seen the missing passenger seat and probably the sling.

Ted told them that the police had already contacted him because of the description. Really? I would have gone to the police now. I want to know if they are looking at my cousin. Even if it is to say it wasn’t him? But in return, find out if they were really looking at him?

Edna mentioned the dog that lived with her and her roommates. It was a mutt, mid-sized. When someone entered their yard, Jeffy, the dog, would bark to let them know. Once they looked out the window and saw Ted, Edna told him it was alright; it was Ted. Ted had seen and played with Jeffy plenty of times. But that night, they had to pull Jeffy by the collar away from Ted. It took her and her roommate to pull the dog away from him. No one has ever seen him act this way.

One thing about it is dogs can spot an evil seed in a heartbeat. Thing I wonder, no one ever kept this date in mind, but I wonder if Ted planned to kill that night, or had he already done it?

That was the one and only time Jeffy acted like that. When they got him in the back room, Jeffy kept throwing his body against the door. Edna said years later that the roommate told her she never felt comfortable around Ted after that.

Again, readers, I have another personal story to share. I used to be a drug addict back in

2007 and I had a small, long fur Dachshund. One night, I had some guys over and we were just talking. One guy had another friend who dropped by, and Junior was always so good with my visitors. There was one night that the other friend dropped by and Junior came unglued. I mean he was trying everything he could to tear a hole in his ankle. I had to put him up because of it. A little later, everyone left. I had let that friend and his friend borrow my car that night. The next day, when I went to work, I noticed a duffle bag in the back seat. When I got to work, I looked in the bag to see if I could tell who it belonged to. I found a gun with bullets and a long, mean-looking knife. The knife scared me the most because it had blood on the blade. The next day, I’m asking my friend whose bag it was, and he told me it was the guy he brought with him the night before. He is the guy that my dog had barked so furiously at. I told my friend, I never want him at my house again, and he needed to get his bag out of my car. I told him if he ever let that guy back in my car; it would not be good for either of them. Now, just let me say this: I had no clue who or what I was dealing with. I never realized how bad both guys were. I kinda glad I didn’t know, because I don’t know how much trouble it would have caused. But suffice to say, soon after that, I left Florida and came back to Georgia, where I belonged. I say that to say this: pets know when something isn’t right, and we should listen to them. But also, go with your gut. I had the feeling that guy was bad news, and I allowed him around my home anyway.

I fully understand the roommate’s feelings. Her dog was protecting her.

She said soon after that Ted packed up and moved to Utah. No more girls came up missing. Little did they know that a new list of missing women started showing up in Utah.

I can’t see why no one realised that Ted was the one referred to as “the Ted.” They had points on the description that matched, now after joked with him about the description, he’s moving of “law school” in Utah. It wouldn’t hurt to just report what you know. Ok, he might be innocent, but he also might be guilty. Let the police at least pick your brain. Y’all only know what you know, the police never gives out all their evidence. Something you know just might be the piece of the puzzle they were trying to find.

The year is now 1975, and Ted has been gone to Utah for almost a year. There have been no more killings, and that just shocks me that no one thought of giving the police a tip. If they didn’t have enough at the beginning, surely they would by then. Another thing, if they had turned in what they knew, the police could have contacted Utah to see if they had had anything like that happen in their state since he moved there. Think about how many lives people might have saved if someone had simply asked a few questions.  After joking with him about the article in the newspaper, he got up and moved. The red flags should have been waving at them in full color and fast. Again, another clue went right over their heads. Everything has become lower in chaos. People have put their guard down.

An incident happened where a man snuck up on Edna from the back. Fear went through her after he punched her in the cheek two times. She now understood how the missing girls felt and what they thought. She now could sympathize with the fear that must have shot through them.

Later, the police told her she wasn’t the first victim and in the other incidents; he seemed to be progressively getting worse.

Edna and her family didn’t believe in the death penalty. She keeps trying to get Ted to write to her. She wants to know where his mind is. How did this start? When did it start? Because one officer didn’t believe these were his first victims. The scene was too clean for that. As of this point in the book, he is in prison awaiting the death penalty. He thinks it would be risky for him to talk to her. How did this start? I don’t see how. He is already on death row. What more could they do to him? I guess they could deny all his appeals … but if you did nothing, he could tell her how he thinks he became suspect number Uno.

Edna was so shocked when she found out it was Ted. She found out while she was deep out in the sea at work. She felt nothing she thought was real any longer. Down was up and white was black. She said she was finding out that the monster under her bed wasn’t a monster after all.

I got it. For so long she feared the unknown, and he wasn’t so unknown. Her mind was probably going over all the red flags she had missed. Here she had signed up for this job because it made good money. The job would hold them on the ocean for 30 days without a day off.

She and her family felt they knew him better than anyone. Little did they know just how much was unknown.

I could see her family feeling that way, but she and John should have known better. They had occasionally sneak peeks into the real Ted and ignored the warning signs.

What’s ironic to me is Edna’s family didn’t believe in the death penalty; they must’ve been Democrats or disagreed with Republicans. Ted, however, was a Republican, and he either believed in the death penalty and disagreed with the Republicans on that issue, or he was a full Republican; he basically called for his own death.

When Ted was in jail, awaiting trial, Edna and her brother, John, felt sorry for him. They just couldn’t believe he committed these crimes. It’s a little funny; I had just graduated from high school the year before they put him to death. I don’t remember ever hearing about him until it was his time for execution. I heard on the news, newspapers, and other people how they were going to execute this guy in Florida for killing some ladies in a sorority house and they wanted everyone in the state of Florida to turn off all electrical appliances to make sure every ounce or surge of power could go straight to his heart. I lived in Georgia and I couldn’t imagine someone being hated that much. Not long after that is when I got interested in true crime. That’s when I started reading about Ted and his crimes. Sometimes when I get curious (or over curious) about prisoners, I will write them a letter. As you can tell by my blogs, I always have a lot of questions, and I want to go straight to the source for answers. I have written to several of them already. Some have written back, but others don’t. Little did I realize that there were probably family members who had been writing to these poor lost souls, wanting to ask the same things I did. I just never thought about it until this book. But honestly, I think if they were going to talk to anyone, it would probably be me or some other media source before they speak to a family member about what happened, because they have a reputation for keeping up in the family. They wouldn’t want their family members to lose all respect for him. I do wish I could’ve had the chance to write Ted Bundy. Do you know how much his responses would be worth today to all the social media sites? The ones that respond don’t ever really answer my questions. They provide vague answers that people could interpret in many ways. I’m not sure if they are in denial or just don’t want to discuss the crime, or they are in hopes of an appeal. Most of the time, it is a waste of time. Either they share my name and address with other inmates who might want a pen pal, or they respond wanting more than just a friendly chat or discussion about their crime. They may try to use you for money or worse, flirt with you, making you think they love them — and then they will ask you for money. They do have the games they play, and I always shut them down in the first letter with the first questions.

Ted had the usual complaints that all inmates have: the food is bad, but he gets 3 a day and he has always been a coinsure of free meals. The crazy man just doesn’t realize that his food is not free. The prison will encourage him to work for $0.12 an hour; where does he believe the remaining funds go? To pay for all the “freebies”.

At the time Edna found out Ted was getting arrested in Utah for aggravated assault and kidnapping women, she had signed up for a job on a ship packing lobster because it was a season job. She went on the job with over 100 people for 2 ½ months. She came home with 12 people. They just couldn’t handle the conditions of the job. But the pay was good.

Edna said people often asked her how it felt to be related to Ted. She would say the same thing every time: family is always the hardest to believe he did it.

QUOTE:

Ted was a former boy scout, law student, and an up-and-coming young Republican who was always polite to strangers and used to volunteer at a crisis center.

When Ted got released from jail in Utah, he immediately went back to Seattle. Edna invited him to go out with her and her friends. He agreed, but needed a ride. He claimed he sold his Beetle to make the police leave him alone. But the police found it and towed it to the police department to have it dismantled, looking for evidence.

I can’t believe he thought they wouldn’t look for it still. As soon as they saw it, they would see how he had it all set up for kidnapping ladies (or men, if he was into that).

Ted was staying with his girlfriend. Now, he just got out of jail. Where did he meet this girl? He didn’t mention one before he went to jail. He got married in jail and I bet this woman he also met in jail. I guess in this case it really didn’t matter, because it is likely she really didn’t know what his charges were and she just believed one of his lies. Today, we have the internet and, as I always say, Google is my best friend. He is just so smart.

When they met up with Edna’s friends, all the conversation was about the ship they all worked on — until it wasn’t. When one guy asked him his name, he said, “Ted”. It was at this time that Edna realized this was a bad idea. Then the guy asked him his last name, and he told him, “Bundy”. The guy even gave him an out; he asked, are you that Ted and in his narcissistic fashion, said “yes”. Edna said he sounded proud. She couldn’t understand why he was so proud to be mistaken. It was the real Ted up close and personal.

I have a hard time believing at this point she didn’t have at least a little inkling that this was him. She has already assembled most of the puzzle. All you have to do is read it. If she still had confidence, it wasn’t him, then she needs those self-defense courses because she is a terrible judge of character.

By the time Edna got Ted back home, she had decided — Ted was guilty. Everywhere they went that day, Ted enjoyed letting people know who he was. He had pride in it. I guess as a family member, I could understand her not wanting to believe who he was. But long before he was announcing it to the world, she had the red flags and ignored them. When she got him home, he got out and walked into the house. There were no goodbyes — although that is what it was. There was no invitation to meet up next week. She left and went home. Man, if this were me, I would’ve used that acknowledgement to ask some deep-seated questions.

As Edna drove home, she couldn’t comprehend what she had just witnessed. Ted had all but told her he was the man without using those particular words. You know, I got it. That had to be hard for her to put what the subconscious already knew (because I believe she and John both already knew) with what the fully conscious mind now knows. I agree with her. How do you put a funny, witty politician in the body of a monster?

When she got home and told Don, her boyfriend, what had just happened, at first, he defended Ted. But after she told him the events of the day, he too believed now.

Edna had so many emotions shooting through her all at once. She felt sorry for the Bundy family and his brothers and sisters. The one thing she couldn’t come to terms with is how she didn’t know? How? Like I say, I think it was always there; she just hadn’t opened herself up to it yet. She was close to Ted growing up. But look at the ex-police officer, turned true crime writer – Ann Rule. She worked with him at a suicide crisis line for years and never knew a thing about him sitting there in the call center right beside her.

QUOTE:

Were there signs?

It’s an easy question. The answer I greatly prefer is yes, but I didn’t see them at the time. The signs were there, but I foolishly missed them all. I was blind. Stupid. Naïve.

                                                — Edna Cowell Martin

Ted had everyone fooled. That means he had to be a real psychopath.

She said by this being true about Ted; it threw into question what she knew about all the people in her life. How can you trust your judgment when you lower your defenses and allow the monster to grow? She was losing faith in her ability to discern good people from bad.

This is exactly what I was saying earlier. She needed to keep taking those self-defense courses because she is one poor judge of character. I can’t say that I am any better. None of my relationships have ever lasted for over six months until my last one. All of them were bad news, and the last one was bad also, but he introduced me to drugs (notice I said introduced me to drugs, he isn’t the reason I became an addict – I did that myself). If he hadn’t introduced me to drugs, he too would have been gone by the time we got to the six-month mark. The drugs ruined my perspective – a lot.

Edna’s dad wrote a letter to the judge asking for leniency in the sentence. He said that Ted is a good man and he would be a great asset to society if given some rehabilitation. I don’t think her dad realized that this is a man who had been to 3 states that everyone is aware of, and in every one of them, he killed women. He would never be an asset to anything – I don’t even think he was one in prison.

QUOTE:

Now I assume every person has a side they’re not showing, secrets they’re holding close. It’s a new angle to view the world – not good or bad, just different.

                                                — Edna Cowell Martin

John Cowell (the father of Edna and John) wrote a letter to the judge over Ted’s murder case in Utah. Keep in mind that was where Bundy moved when he left Washington, when people started asking questions. He moved to Utah to go to law school is what he told everyone. My theory is he took Edna and John’s teasing to heart and wanted to leave town before others caught on and turned him in. Only an opinion, and we know what they say about opinions …

Anyway, the murders in Washington stopped when he moved, and then Utah started having missing girls and bodies showing up. I get this uncle was probably still under the Bundy spell, but how are you going to put your artfully beautiful name on the line for someone who has an insurmountable amount of circumstantial evidence against him? God only knows how much quantifiable evidence they had.

Edna sent Ted numerous letters asking why he committed the acts he was convicted of, but he never responded. Then one night he did, but he didn’t send it. He waited six weeks, almost two months, to write her back. Now keep in mind, Edna knew his execution date was coming up, and she wanted to know what made him do the things so she could tell the families, because they deserved to know. He finally writes back. It took him six weeks to come up with the biggest pile of BS I have ever heard. But people considered him a chameleon. Whatever you wanted him to be, he could be, but he would never be truthful. He mentioned to her that she had written to him, inquiring about the reasons behind his convictions. He informed her that she didn’t know his true identity. He didn’t kill anyone. If she had known him, she wouldn’t have believed all that garbage. Get this. He told her that to know him, she must first know herself, which can only happen if she loves herself. Those 14 words summarise the entire letter: she must know herself, and she can only do that if she loves herself. Between the many times he writes it, he tells her, when you love and know yourself, you will love and know me. Those two sentences rephrased about as many ways as he could do it was all the letter said.  

I was wondering earlier in the book if any of Edna’s friends or herself ever rode in Ted’s VW. Edna said she had ridden in it frequently. I wonder how long it took him to convert it to his killer beetle and then wrap it all up again so friends wouldn’t see it when they rode in it. Come to think of it, I wonder if he was really working on the campaign trail or not? Was he just telling them that so he could disappear for a while at a time without questions? Google says he worked on them for the Republican Party. He was making a stellar name for himself. His horizons were so bright. But just because he worked on the campaign trail, I am sure there were times he said he was going to go do this trip or that, and in reality, he was going to kill. Since one detective didn’t think this was his first kill, it kinda makes one question if he could have been killing ladies on the trails. I know, I warned you, I always have a million questions. Problem with these: Google can’t separate his schedule from when he was killing or when he was campaigning. Now, if AI could get us closer to doing that, bloggers such as myself would very seldom have to leave our offices to do research.

Even after Ted’s convictions in Utah and Colorado, Edna kept thinking about him and his crimes. Having just had a baby girl, she now felt even darker thoughts about Ted and his crimes. She swore her daughter would never meet him. Although she might prevent Ted from contacting her daughter, especially given his imprisonment, the widespread media coverage and Kevin Sullivan’s extensive books on every aspect of Ted ensured she would inevitably discover information about him.

QUOTE:

However, no matter how hard you try to disconnect the past from the present, you will severely fail. They are linked together. You are responsible for what you did in the past, just as I am responsible for my actions in the past. If I had cut my arm off ten years ago, it would still be gone today. Certainly, I would have adapted – preceded with my life – but I would always suffer the consequences.

                                 — Edna Cowell Martin

Edna wrote a very strong letter to Ted, and that quote was just one of the many genuine statements she made. This woman was wise beyond her years. She refused to give up on Ted, telling her why he killed all those women. But you know, in all honesty, he may not even know. Sociopaths live for the present. They are narcissistic and can only focus on the here and now. After all, they are conforming to society the way they see it now.

When I started this book, I thought (like I say; I read a title and think about it before I start) it was going to be one very boring and drawn-out view of life in the family with Ted. I was so off-base – the way she portrays her life story is so encompassing. You almost feel like she is sitting in front of her listening to all her tales of being Ted Bundy’s cousin. You feel you are a part of her family – that is, if you don’t mind Ted Bundy also being in that family. Hahaha.

When Ted got sent to Colorado to face his murder charges there, he called Edna. It surprised her. I can understand that. It isn’t like he has given her anything until now to build on their relationship; they used to have. I thought for sure he was a sociopath, and he very well might be a psychopath, but honestly, I can’t pin it down. I am not a doctor or even a counselor, but surely there is something Ted is sick with. The evidence is there that he committed these murders.

This is something I thought was odd about the women at Lake Sammamish. He walks up to two women who are sunbathing. Calling himself “Ted,” he asked one of them for help with a boat or something. He is aware the dead woman won’t reveal his name – did he assume the other women wouldn’t recall? This other woman got a look at him, heard his name, and saw what he drove. Where was his head at? There must be a mental illness with this trait. It must be something more than denial. But let’s go back to the witness. She was close enough to hear his name. She could tell what he was driving. Did she see the boat that he was talking about? Did she see this woman get hit or pushed into his car? When the car left or she saw it was gone, did she look for this lady (not sure if it was her friend or simply a witness).

Now he is in Colorado. Another murder trial, and he is calling Edna and asking her what she would think if he got out of that jail. She could tell right off that it would not be legal. Well, my God, he hasn’t exactly been living on the legal side of things for quite some time now. Why should he start? But then he uses a jail phone to ask her this. He was full of idiocrasy. Keep this would be his 2^nd attempt if he does it. This was after the law library incident where he jumped from the 2^nd floor window. When they found him 6 days later, he had sustained injuries, suffered from sleep deprivation, and was frozen. I guess he learned something from the 1^st attempt that will make this a success.

Yep, it is very possible that Ted could stoop to a new low. He tells Edna that he’s not the only one who should be there. He tells her that her brother, John, was the weird one. Did he really think that was going to keep her on the line? It didn’t. As soon as Ted mentioned her brother, she was done. As far as she knew, her brother didn’t have any convictions for killing anyone – but I guess he believes she doesn’t actually know that about him because he is wrongfully accused.

I wonder what made him throw John under the bus. There was no need for any comment there. Why did he think he could convince Edna that John was a murderer too? However, let’s keep it real here. I don’t think he has killed anyone – but it isn’t like that trait doesn’t exist in their family tree somewhere. She did believe Ted was a killer, either? I wonder if Edna gave his comment a 2^nd thought?

Sure enough, 2 days after speaking to Edna, Ted escaped and, of course, since she was the last one to talk to him, they thought he would come there. Don assured the FBI that they won’t allow Ted to come there. Edna and Don’s baby had just turned 1-year-old. They became terrified because Ted was coming. Why would he instill this in the family members? But you know, the more I think about I, I think the law would follow up with Edna, so he threw them off his trail by having made a phone call the day he escaped. It was all a ruse. He was sure to mention escape in the phone call so Edna would have without a shadow of doubt or confusion on her face when the law visited them. He knew the law would see something in her expression and that would be at least 2 officers that won’t be on his trail – they will watch Edna’s house for signs of him showing up. What a creep. Their fears didn’t matter to him.

In a letter to Edna, Ted makes light of her comparison of what history has to do with today. He tells her that even if he felt like telling her about the history for him, it would fill more than a couple of volumes. But currently, he isn’t talking. It was as if Ted liked people to be begging him for something – anything. Politicians begging him to work for them. Investigators answer their questions. Family, what went wrong? It was as if he had an air of grandiosity about him. He had what everyone wanted – but none of what they wanted was worth keeping him alive. Edna said she was against the death penalty, but what other solutions were there if the inmate keeps escaping and making you fear for your and your family’s safety? Her dad thought they just needed to give him a prison sentence – again, how do you give a rehabilitation prison sentence if the prisoner refuses to be rehabilitated? However, Ted makes a valid argument; there are other books like How to Catch A Killer by Katherine Ramsland that speak about him. I would estimate that over a thousand books feature him as a subject or are written about him.

QUOTE:

Yes, I agree that we must learn from what has occurred in the so-called past. It’s essential. The way I see it, that’s the true value of reviewing the past: to learn from it, to grow, to change, to be transformed.

                                                — Ted Bundy

Edna tells him he must face his past and quit running from it. His response:

QUOTE:

I am asking you not to run away from your past. You said okay. Well, I won’t. I promise, and I haven’t been. That which I call the past isn’t something I fear. I have no guilt, remorse, or regret over anything I’ve done. What’s done is done. The important thing to do is to learn from it in such a way that his new awareness becomes a part of my life here and now, or to put it another way, that I don’t make the same mistakes.

                                                — Ted Bundy

Remember earlier when I said he only called Edna about the escape to get them off his trail and to her door instead. That last comment tells me I am right. He learned from his mistakes and could do it longer without being captured. The first time he escaped, he was out 6 days before being recaptured. The 2^nd time, he was out for 47 days. But had it not been for his urge to kill again, there is no telling how long he could’ve been free.

Ted makes light of his prison days. He tells a few of the users in rapid fashion and then reminds Edna that he doesn’t let them get him down and that he is an upbeat person. But she knows that. It is almost like he forgets she knew him before prison. He said he gets frustrated from time to time, but that can happen anywhere. He said there is always something to do.

John told Edna that Ted called him the same night as her and said that he told him also that he planned on escaping. Now that we know how Ted really felt about John, why would he intentionally call him to say that he planned to escape? He would’ve been better off calling the warden in and telling him. But John wasn’t like that (however, I would’ve been). All I can come up with is that he wanted to throw more officers off his tail by dividing and conquering. Ted asked John what the worst states for the death penalty were. John thought about it and then said, “Probably Texas or Florida”. Now, why would he ask him that? This was before the attack on the Chi Omega sorority house. Was he trying to get the death penalty to not be in jail? Why would he intentionally go to a death penalty state? It couldn’t be by accident. He was up in Washington State and Utah; Florida is on the side of the world from them (I may have exaggerated a bit).

When Ted broke into the Chi Omega house in Florida, the whole attack on the ladies lasted 15 minutes. It took the police days to find out who it was in their jail. When they found out that was the last time Ted roamed as a free man. It is a mystery why Ted would ask John that question, and then kill more women? Did Ted know he couldn’t live life on the run? Was he wanting to die to kill the demon inside? Edna thought he may try to change his identity – but how are you going to do that and then go on another killing spree? He successfully changed his name in Florida.

The killing spree in Florida differed from all the other crimes. It was more vicious, gruesome, and messy. It was as if he had lost control. Since he appeared to want to be put to death, he probably wanted to go down with a bang.

John thinks Ted went to Florida for his own doom.

Edna said Ted hated prison (but then, that is the way they set it up) while he craved attention and control. This is the ultimate attention snatcher and control. What better way to have everyone talk without killing more people and going on death row.

Ted preferred the death penalty to living in a box. Edna believes he wanted to be caught. But as strange as it sounds, by his killing more women in a gruesome and messy way, she may be right. How can someone that investigators believed had a smooth and thought-out killing pattern go rogue? Had Ted given up? Why? What made him want to give up?

Edna has spent years reviewing every scenario to determine what plans were made for Ted and what actions were reckless. What made him get reckless, if that happened?

Edna writes another letter to Ted. She explains all the problems she has with the death penalty. She said there are some heinous crimes happening, but she isn’t sure the death penalty is the answer.

By the time Ted had been on death row for a decade at Raiford, Florida prison, he had become a phenomenon. People studied him, wrote about him, and talked about him. He was a public icon.  Hahaha, he begged them not to put him on death row because they needed to study him to know why he did these things. They showed him they didn’t need him alive to do that.

Edna said the more popular Ted got, the more she wanted to disappear.

Every time Edna thought of Ted in prison, on death row, she had a hard time picturing it. She still saw him as the Ted she had grown up with. It is very clear he had a screen up to fake people out. But she wondered who had seen the real Ted: her or the victims, because she felt that he had duped her.

Watching Ted’s trial on TV, she said he strutted around the courtroom like he were the only sane person there. She felt sorry for the surviving victims who had to be questioned by him on the stand. She couldn’t see how any of that was justice. The Ted that would re-traumatize the victims like that was not the Ted she knew. However, she did still wonder if the death penalty should be legal. She said it was like murder for a murder. It was like a wrong for a wrong. Her feelings about the death penalty were already complicated, and Ted’s presence on death row made them even more intense. She explained there was never a roadmap for navigation of those feelings. She never sought counseling for it, even though it was dragging her down. Instead, she did the only thing she could think to do – she avoided the issue. Especially around Anna, her daughter. She felt she was protecting her daughter. She didn’t want her to know how ugly the world could be. Ted had stained her life, and she didn’t want him to do it to her daughter. She figured one day she would tell her, but the time never came. Anna was light and pure. Ted was darkness and filth.

Anna was 8 or 9 years old when she inadvertently almost opened one of Ted’s letters. Due to how Edna responded, she realized there was something her mom was protecting her from, and that is how they left it.

During one of Ted’s appeals, Edna found where Ted was claiming a plea for incompetence. Ted was always adamant that he was perfectly sane and he would never plea of insanity. Edna said they couldn’t find one person to say he was incompetent. The doctor had evaluated Ted and said Ted was incompetent, even if he was the only one to say so. Ted had to make this doctor say he was insane because 1) his life depended on it, and 2) Ted had a unique talent for deception.

Ted’s luck only went so far. There were some powerful people who wanted him dead. Even though the judge deemed him incompetent, the judge ruled that this would not excuse him from the death sentence.

This time Edna could feel it in her gut. He would go for sure this time.

One morning Edna was listening to the radio, and they had a newscaster talking to people out there awaiting Ted’s demise. She couldn’t believe it. She said people used to love Ted … now they can’t wait for him to be put to death. It was upsetting to her.

She does not comprehend; those people cheering were probably family members of those girls. They could have been people who traveled from Washington, Utah, and Colorado to see him put to death for his killings. I’m thinking Edna was more upset for the fact people were cheering for someone to get the death penalty, and she was against the death penalty period, and not so much Ted being put to death. I always wonder about people who are against the death penalty. Here, the court convicted Ted of killing 3 women in their sleep. I think they said one or two of them didn’t know what hit them before they died, but what if they did? I wonder if they reflect on the victims Ted murdered. For example, do you wonder if they begged for their lives? Do you believe they wished to survive and not face attacks in their homes? What are they supposed to do for these killers? Paddle their hands with the ruler 3 times and tell them not to do that anymore? Are we supposed to put them up in this big house called a prison, feed them 3 meals a day, and put a roof over their heads, and they never have to worry about paying another bill for the rest of their lives? I don’t think so. Eye for an Eye.

Edna felt the need to talk to someone about Ted and her feelings. She always had Don to talk to, but she needed an unrelated 3^rd party. She thought of Richard Larsen, who wrote, Bundy: The Deliberate Stranger. My book review on that book should be soon, since I like to read any book suggested in the books I read as well. Richard Larsen knew Ted personally; he met him on the campaign trail when Richard was covering the politicians. Which brings us to the problem of talking to Robert. He was part of the media, and that is what she worked so hard at hiding her family from. But she had trust in Richard. She figured they had something in common: Ted duped them both.

Edna and Richard hit it off right from the start. They built a kinship out of ground – Ted. Neither of them could believe he was guilty at the beginning.

Anna found out who Ted was at 12 years old. As much as she hated him for what he had done, she hated society for cheering when he was on the verge of execution. They were almost frothing at the mouth in anticipation.

It was also around this time that Anna learned she would not be late coming home, like other kids. This experience left Edna with a lot of distrusts of who was lurking around to kidnap you or kill you.

I always wondered if these families ever thought about or feared this could hit home. I mean, how would you not? Were the restraints on the younger generation more restrictive than the others?

Here’s something else I thought about. When she met Robert again, she asked him if he wondered if it could be genetic. She said every time she lost her temper, if she could be capable of that. Robert told her he doesn’t think it runs in DNA, because she isn’t like Ted. This guy was a reporter who followed Ted’s campaign trails of the various politicians he supported and volunteered to work for. Robert struggles to believe that people accused Ted of these crimes. So, here he is telling Edna that she isn’t like that. Seriously? Basing this on what? From the way everyone talked, including him, didn’t think Ted was capable of that either.

Katherine Ramsland called Ted the Chameleon. He deceived anyone and presented himself as anyone he wanted. Who’s to say Edna isn’t like that? I understand that every family has something we’d rather not be connected by DNA, but that’s just the way it is. For me, that was just a weird response to her statement. Her question is basically what scientists have been studying for years: nature vs nurture. Was the person this way because of how they were born, nurtured. Or are they this way because of society: nature? But at any rate, until someone shows their true selves, we have no way of knowing who a killer will be or who won’t.

Robert was willing to pay Edna’s way fully to go visit Ted in prison and see if that would convince him to confess … but she declined. By the letters that she wrote to him and he responded to, she could tell Ted kept what his normal life was far from his criminal mindset. She thought she had a special kinship with her cousin, but apparently, he didn’t feel the same way.

She had worked so hard to keep her family away from the media frenzy that surrounded him. If she visited him, someone would inevitably discover it and reveal all her secrets about Ted’s family connections.

When they set Bundy’s death sentence for January 4th, 1989, Ted pleaded once more to admit to more murders and disclose where they could find the bodies for a little extra time. That is what these poor victims and their families had become – bidding chips (bodies). I am so glad the governor didn’t fall for it. Who’s saying how many more out there, or how many he was going to confess to? Would other families have to wait until the next execution date, hoping he would confess to their loved one’s burial spot? It simply wasn’t worth it. These families deserved so much more than what this convicted psychopath was doing to them.

I have a lot of questions about Ted and execution bidding. He asked John where they had the toughest laws for the death penalty. John tells him about Florida and Texas. Ted chose Florida to do his last hurrah. Ok, something about this act tells me he wanted the death penalty. So, if he wanted the death penalty, why was he his own attorney in the trial that convicted him? But, even more interesting, why are you here at the 11^th hour making pleadings to postpone it? However, in all of it, I wonder how much your victims pleaded with you to let them live.

On January 21^st, 1989, three days before the execution date, Ted confessed, with or without a deal to reset the execution date. Ted killed his first victim on February 9th, 1974. Ted killed his last victim on February 9th, 1978. Authorities charged and convicted him only of these victims. Investigators have always thought there were more victims before they started being found. For me, this is too late, and even when he offered the plea it was too late. These families knew deep down it was him, and they don’t need him to wait 20 or 30 years just to hear him say it. They don’t want to give him any special favors for it.

Ted used the entire weekend to confess to over 30 more murders.

When I was researching some of my comments, I found something strange, and I wondered if others had seen it, too. He killed his first victim on the same day he killed his last victim, with just 4 years between them. How odd is that? These are the only repeated dates for any other victims. Just weird. You could almost wonder if he planned it this way. If so, he did more planning than he let on he did.

The day before Ted was going to be executed, the news clip after clip reported all the parties’ people were having in celebration of it. Edna was just about to turn the T.V off when she spotted Robert at the prison gates, where people celebrated the coming execution. She realized he really did stay with him until the end. He had spent most of the day with Ted.

Ted’s last words were, “Give my love to my family and friends”. This had to make Edna realize that the guy she loved and knew remained present, just concealed deep inside that dark monster of a man.

Edna hoped the spotlight on Ted would die down after his execution – it didn’t. Decades later, people still talk about Bundy as much as they did the day they arrested him. He has left a spot on our culture that will never fade.

It’s neat how Edna has come full circle. Where she struggled all her life to hide her past family woes of being related to Ted Bundy. She has now written a book about her relationship with Ted. I don’t see why she is so ashamed of the relationship, anyway. She, nor anyone else, controls what their family members turn out to be. Imagine Ted’s mother. Do you think she thought she was raising a serial killer? Let that sink in.

One day, Don and Edna met with some friends from Don’s high school and college days. One friend, Michael, was an attorney. While Edna was in Alaska on the shipping boat, a detective went to John’s house wanting to know when they took hiking trips, where did they go. After Don urged him and made introductions, John called Michael to get some legal advice. Edna had never known about this.

John thought the day was a complete waste of time, but Michael said it wasn’t. The detectives had found both of Ted’s dumping sites. They found 6 more of his victims and still others that weren’t ever identified.

I wonder how John felt about this? To know what was fun and leisure for him was scouting crime spots and criminal survival for Ted.

Can you imagine how Edna and Don felt? This was supposed to be a social gathering of friends, and again, they face a story about Ted.

Edna said another conversation she had was with her friend Jeanie. Jeanie was a psychologist and even taught it for a while. She has retired now. She called me to catch up on old times. After school, they lost touch with one another. Jeanie said back when she taught psychology, at the very end of the quarter, the very last of the class, she left them with food for thought. She told them she once had dinner with Ted Bundy.

Jeanie considered calling Edna earlier, but she assumed Edna probably wasn’t ready to talk about it. Jeanie said she always thought she was a good judge of character … until Ted. 

Because many of her students were going into law, Jeanie said she would tell her classes about that to let them know you can’t always trust your gut feeling. She would tell them there were never any red flags with Ted.

Edna said it’s strange living in a house with Ted’s letters. She doesn’t always think about them; it’s almost like they have a life of their own. She didn’t have the gumption to throw them away. I imagine her daughter will discover the letters after she passes, and the next generation will breathe new life into them. Edna said she doesn’t know what others might do to the letters – or what they might do to the beholder. She said she even opens them with gloves on so nothing of Ted rubs off on her.

Edna said she was a history major, and she has great respect for history. She recognizes that Ted, whom she called “The Ted Bundy,” wrote letters that actually serve as historical documents and probably belong in some kind of museum.

She wonders if Ted realized the consequences of his letters and the information in them? I agree with her; he owed it to the families not only to let them know where their loved one was but why he chose her.

Almost 50 years after Ted became an object of public interest, a T.V producer from London found Edna and wanted to interview her for a documentary. It was by email that they contacted her, so she didn’t have to respond quickly. She had the time to get over the shock. After discussing it with her family and then a lawyer, she turned the offer down. But the idea took root that she should tell her story.

Edna felt like her family had a sort of celebrity status because of Ted. They had let their guard down. She thinks Ted enjoyed his status in society. He used it and manipulated it.

QUOTE:

What’s interesting about walking is that it means Anna and I are facing forward. Every once in a while, we’ll turn to look at the other, but most of the time we have to look ahead or risk tripping over our feet.

Edna had such a heart for all of Ted’s victims. She listed their names in her book, the ones he got convicted of, but I wanted to make as full of a list of as many names as I could find. These were all the victims and suspected victims of Ted Bundy:

Linda Ann Healy

Donna Gail Manson

Linda Ann Healy

Donna Gail Manson

Janice Ott

Denise Naslun

Melissa Smith

Laura Aime

Carol Daronch

Caryn Campbell

Margaret Bowman

Lisa Levy

Karen Chandler

Kathy Kleiner

Kimberly Leach

Ann Marie Burr

Karen Sparks

Lynda Lynn Healey

Susan Elaine Rancourt

Roberta Kathleen Parks

Brenda Carol Ball

Nancy Wilcox

Rhonda Stapley

Debi Kent

Julie Cunningham

Denise Lynn Oliverson

Lynette Culver

Susan Curtis Cheryl Thomas