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The most noteworthy criminal with whom I crossed paths, was not known at all to the police, at the time. This was Ted Bundy, later convicted as a serial-killer of women, who I met in Eugene in May of 1972 and again in July of 1973. The first time, he approached me at the University of Oregon, as he was interested in the kayak I had on my car. We talked for a long time, he telling me he had paddled them in Seattle.
The next time, on July 23, 1973, a woman friend and I had been paddling kayaks and she watched them on the grass at a park, while I used a rest room. When I came back, Bundy was talking with her. She immediately left and I had no idea what he had been saying to her. He and I again talked about kayaks and also volkswagens. His VW bug needed a new muffler and I told him how to remove and replace it. He left and I noticed that his car had a cheap little ski-rack on top. The color and condition of its paint looked just like that of the one that's on display at a national crime museum.
When my friend returned, she said that he'd told her he had just arrived in town, to apply for a job. He wanted her to accompany him and show him where the company's location was, so he could drop-off his resumé. Afterwards, he would reward her by taking her to dinner. She thought he was very creepy and was suspicious and didn't want to come back from the rest room, until he had left.
That was the end of that for us and it wasn't until 15 years later, the day before his execution, that I realized who we had met and that my friend had been lucky to escape what he probably had in mind for her. He was interviewed on TV the night before he was executed and I immediately recognized him and his voice. A complete description of his proven and suspected crimes was printed on two full pages in our local newspaper the same day.
I was shocked to learn that two young women were kidnapped and murdered in Oregon, one in Eugene and another in West Linn, just a few days before and then after July 23, 1973. I remember the exact date, because it was my father's birthday. Bundy was later identified by a couple of other people as having been in Eugene at that time. He never confessed to either of these two murders, but the police said they had his trademark on them.
My friend was a very attractive woman and bore some resemblance to several others who he murdered. I had lost contact with her until recently and when I told her this story earlier this year, she was alarmed to learn what she had avoided. Her first remark was, "Yikes!".
Last edited by Steve McDonald; 11-24-2016 at 07:56 PM..
WOW......a very close call for your friend. {{{shiver}}}
What was your impression of him?
As so many others who had met Ted Bundy have said, he was very friendly, polite and soft-spoken. He was obviously intelligent and well-educated. The interview with him before his execution is probably available online somewhere. It didn't seem that he really explained why he had done those things and I suspect that he didn't understand it himself.
I've also read a lot about him. I'm pretty obsessed with true crimes, anyway. But, man, the type of person he was is so frightening. It's the seemingly sane ones that tend to be most dangerous.
I've also read a lot about him. I'm pretty obsessed with true crimes, anyway. But, man, the type of person he was is so frightening. It's the seemingly sane ones that tend to be most dangerous.
The two murders in Oregon I mentioned, although thought to have been committed by Ted Bundy, are still officially unsolved and I've heard that a detective in each city has one of them on their to-do lists. I debated for years about telling my friend what had happened and finally decided that I should do it. I asked if she'd like to give a statement to the police, but she emphatically rejected that. I've also wondered if I should contact them and tell this story, but it might lead to my friend being pulled into it, against her wishes. There wouldn't be anything we could tell them, that I haven't stated here.
It has always puzzled me, how he could have carried out those crimes for so long in the Seattle area, without any connection being made to him. His name, face and any good description were still unknown to them, when I encountered him here in '72-'73. His two escapes from custody and a murder he committed after his second escape, are also amazing. I found an old newspaper article quoting the lead investigator on his cases in Seattle, as estimating that he may have killed at least 100 girls and women, although admitting to only 29 of them before his execution. Bundy had attended law school and was a key figure in his own defense. A judge in one of his trials was impressed by how well he presented his case, calling him a "diabolical genius".
Last edited by Steve McDonald; 11-25-2016 at 06:07 PM..
I own a restaurant upholstery business. One of my suppliers and friend told me he was a supplier for the hillside strangler Angelo Bono. He was shocked when he was arrested and said the guy was friendly with him but standofish and didn't like women at all wouldn't even talk to them.
I saw a tv show on them and the judge that sentenced him said Angelo had the deadest eyes he'd ever seen reminded him of a reptile. Makes sense he was a sadistic killer and tortured his female victims before strangling them
My husband encountered Angelo Buono at work. Angelo was a security guard in the area where my husband worked and he told me he saw him there on a daily basis. We were shocked when he was arrested for murders in our town then the Hillside Strangler really scared us as we shopped at that grocery store where he abducted and killed the two women. Chills.
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