Who is Ted Bundy and who did he torture and murder?

He was one of the most notorious killers of all time, but the details of psychotic killer Ted Bundy — and his crimes will haunt you.

It seems like there’s never been a more ferocious appetite for all things Ted Bundy than now.

Not only is Netflix coming out with the docu-series Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, but a feature film, Extremely Wicked , Shockingly Evil and Vile, by the same director Joe Berlinger, will premiere at Sundance later this year with Zac Efron as the notorious serial killer. In addition to these projects, director Celene Beth Calderon will release the documentary Theodore and last year there were two difference series deal with Bundy’s crimes and subsequent execution.

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Zac Efron to star as serial killer Ted Bundy in the independent drama Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.

But you’d be forgiven for not knowing exactly who Theodore ‘Ted’ Bundy was, what crimes he committed or why people are so obsessed with him considering it’s been 30 years since his death by electric chair.

The fascination with the 1970s killer mostly comes down to the fact that he was attractive. At the time, people couldn’t understand how someone with such charisma and good looks could commit such horrendous crimes. And yet, he was one of the worst serial killers the world has ever seen.

Here, we delve into everything you need to know about Ted Bundy.

Convicted kidnapper Ted Bundy being led to the Pitkin County courthouse by police for a hearing in Aspen, on June 8, 1977.

UPBRINGING

Hailing from Burlington, Vermont, Bundy was initially raised by his grandparents because it was deemed too controversial that his mother had him out of wedlock. As a result, he grew up thinking of his mother as his sister. When he was five, his mother ran away with him due to his abusive grandfather and it wasn’t until when he was at college that he discovered she was actually his mother.

Despite his twisted future life as a murderer, Bundy was well-liked at school and graduated in 1965. He changed colleges frequently in his first few years until finally in 1973 he was accepted into the University of Puget Sound Law School. However, he stopped attending classes after a few months. It’s believed that around this time, disappearances started popping up.

Murder suspect Ted (Theodore) Bundy listens to comments of attorney during first appearance on charges of burglary and car theft, is a suspect in Chi Omega sorority house murders and disappearance of Kimberly Leach.

Convicted mass murderer Ted Bundy pictured in 1979, sentenced to death in Florida.

HIS CRIMES

His first known attack was in January 1974. He didn’t murder his first victim, 18-year-old Karen Sparks, but he brutally attacked and assaulted her. After breaking into her apartment, he bludgeoned her with a metal rod from her bed before sexually assaulting her. His attack left Sparks in a coma for 10 days and with permanent disabilities.

His first known murder victim was Lynda Ann Healy, a student at the University of Washington. Bundy again broke into her apartment and physically assaulted her until she was unconscious. He took her body from her apartment and she was never seen again until parts of her skull were found in the same place where Bundy placed the bodies of people he had killed.

He went on to kill five more college students in the space of five months, often luring them away from public areas by wearing a sling across his arm and asking them to help him with his car. He then moved to Salt Lake City, where he continued his killing spree and then to Colorado.

Between 1974 and 1978 Ted Bundy was responsible for the murders of 30 known women, but many believe he could have killed up to 100 women over his lifetime.

After studying law in his youth, Ted Bundy ended up representing himself at his own trial

EVADING ESCAPE

Bundy was officially caught by police in 1977, but managed to escape while remanded in police custody and went on to commit three more murders in Florida. He was finally caught in 1978 and sentenced to death. He was on death row for 11 years before being killed by electric chair on January 24, 1989.

HIS WIFE: CAROLE ANN BOONE

During his trial in Florida in 1979, Bundy became very close to Carole Ann Boone, a woman he’d worked with at the Washington State Department of Emergency Services prior to his capture. Boone was a single-mother and after exchanging multiple letters with Bundy while he was in prison, she moved with her son to Florida to be closer to the murderer.

The pair wanted to get married, but due to laws, they were told it was impossible. However, Bundy found a loophole in Florida laws and during his 1980 trial, while in the witness stand, he asked Boone to marry him and she said yes. Because it happened in front of the presiding judge, it was legal.

The following day Bundy was given the death sentence.

This story was originally published on whimn.com.au and is republished with permission.