On January 15, 1978 Officer Henry Newkrik and his partner responded to an emergency call from the Chi Omega sorority house at 3:23am.[1] When they arrived it became apparent the situation was much worse than originally anticipated. To his horror, Newkrik, discovered the bodies of two young women who had been strangled and two others who had been bludgeoned within an inch of their lives. For several weeks Tallahassee police made little progress as they were unable to locate any evidence that would have provided them with a suspect. However, a breakthrough came when Pensacola police arrested a “John R. Doe” who refused to provide his identity.[2] Eventually Mr. “Doe” was identified as Theodore Robert Bundy, fugitive wanted by the FBI, as well as police in Washington, Utah and Colorado.[3] Before long police were making connections between Bundy and the Chi O killings and after a thorough investigation, enough evidence was collected to take Ted Bundy to court.
Once the trial for the Chi Omega killings was set to begin, Defense Attorney Michael Minerva knew there was only one thing that could save his client from the electric chair, the insanity plea.[4] Minerva originally believed this to be the most logical attempt to save his clients life but he would soon come to realize that he was indeed working with someone who, at the very least, was mentally unstable. Theodore Bundy had the mind of a child; a smart, conniving child trapped within the body of a man. Intellectually Bundy was largely able to function as an adult but behaviorally and emotionally he was stuck as prepubescent teenager. Emotionally unable to function in an adult world Ted began turning to other outlets to cope with his short comings. These outlets would result in dangerous addictions to things such as stealing, alcohol, and pornography. Ted’s addictions paired with his mental instability, together would result in a sadistic killer who knew only possession and gratification and was completely without guilt.
Initially I was hesitant to delve into this topic, but you have a very interesting and effective writing style that has caught my interest. (I also feel the look of the background and set up is perfect for the subject.)
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