In the world of serial killers one of the most studied and discussed killers is Ted Bundy. His crimes from both a criminal and psychological standpoint have been a consistent topic throughout my study of criminal justice and psychology. Up until this point in my studies I have gained a general knowledge of his criminal and psychological history. His psychopathic nature leads me to want to learn more about how and why someone with his mental state commits such crimes. Theodore Robert Cowell was born to Eleanor Louise Cowell on November 24, 1946 at the Elizabeth Lund Home for Unwed Mothers in Burlington, Vermont (Rule, 2009). Eleanor and Ted returned to her parent's home in Philadelphia to live under the rouse of Ted being Eleanor's little brother (www.crimemuseum.org). After four years, his mother decided to move to Washington to live with some other relatives (www.crimemuseum.org). On October 6, 1950, Louise went to court and had Ted's name changed to Theodore Robert Nelson (Rule, 2009). Once they had moved to Washington, it didn't take long for Louise to meet Johnnie Bundy and they married on May 19, 1951 (Rule, 2009). Six months before his fifth birthday Ted became Theodore Robert Bundy. .
Louise and Ted never discussed his biological father, nor did she explain that his grandparents were not really his parents. Ted was left to figure it out on his own. According to Elizabeth Kendall (1981), a long-time girlfriend, Ted found out about his illegitimate birth from a cousin when he was a teenager. Ted told Ann Rule (2009), a friend and co-worker, that he found out in 1969 when he went back home and looked up his birth certificate. Ted's childhood was not unlike most children in the 1950's and 1960's. He had younger siblings, made good grades in high school, and got into trouble with the law a couple of times for auto theft and burglary (Rule, 2009). Ted received a scholarship from the University of Puget Sound (Rule, 2009).