The Hunt for Ted Bundy (2015) - full transcript

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Over four years,

a cruel, calculating predator
terrorizes the United States.

It's up to three rookie
detectives to hunt him down.

I think he actually enjoyed
people who were dead.

Mcchesney:
Whatever it was inside him

was just building up
and building up and building up.

Now, decades later,
lead investigator Bob keppel

shares his extraordinary
experience

of chasing one of America's
most notorious serial killers.

Don't know.

Everything Ted Bundy did
was a game.



Everything.

June 1974.
The pacific northwest.

In the last five months,

four female college students
have vanished.

There really are no clues,

no theories as to
the disappearance of the girls.

Narrator:
Fear spreads like wildfire

throughout Washington state.

30-year-old rookie
homicide detective Bob keppel

is just two weeks
into his new job

at king county sheriff's office.

After working one
successful murder investigation,

he's now assigned the case
of a fifth missing woman.

The Brenda ball case --



that was my first real case
to be called out upon.

Narrator:
The 22-year-old was last seen

leaving the flame tavern
in burien,

10 miles outside Seattle.

I contacted several people
who knew her.

There was no trace of her
anywhere.

Narrator:
A month into the investigation,

two more students
are reported missing --

23-year-old Janice ott
and 19-year-old Denise naslund.

Both were last seen
on the same day

at lake sammamish,
a popular beach

12 miles east of Seattle.

The cases are assigned
to Bob keppel

and another rookie detective
Roger Dunn.

Roger was a good partner to have

because he didn't mince words
with anybody.

Narrator:
Although they don't know it yet,

the young detectives
are on the tail

of one of America's
most prolific killers.

In succeeding days,
we were contacted by women

who had seen Janice ott
walking with a male

wearing a sling on his arm.

So he had a special look
to himself

that nobody else had there.

At least three people saw him
come up

and talk with Janice ott.

They heard him say,
"hi, I'm Ted."

Another witness
also reports being approached

by a similar-looking young man,

who she claims tried to lure her
to this car --

a vw bug.

But nobody can offer
any information

on the other missing woman.

No one saw anyone
approach Denise naslund.

She was gone.

Narrator:
The case makes headline news.

24-year-old Kathleen mcchesney,

one of only four female
detectives in king county,

closely follows its progress.

At the time of these cases,

I wasn't that much older
than the women

who ultimately became victims,

so I felt almost part
of what was going on

in the college communities
at the time.

Drawing from
eyewitness testimony,

police release a sketch
of the alleged perpetrator

from lake sammamish,
a man they think is called Ted.

We had well over 500 calls a day
coming in.

The problem is
we couldn't be guaranteed

that the Volkswagen bug
or the name Ted were real.

When we asked the women
that were on the beach,

one of them heard the name Ted.

Another one heard the name ned.

And another one heard Fred.

So flip a coin.

Which one is it?

In terms
of surveillance cameras,

people didn't have cellphones,

so at lake sammamish,
for example,

if that were to occur today...

...you would have thousands
of photographs

on a sunday afternoon

that you would be able
to get ahold of.

We had virtually
a half a dozen or a dozen.

Narrator:
Keppel checks the whereabouts

of several well-known rapists
and murderers

and turns up a promising lead.

John Paul Knowles
was a serial killer

who was in a hotel right near
lake sammamish state park

the week before
the crimes occurred.

On September 7th,
two hunters on a wooded hillside

two miles east of lake sammamish
make a chilling discovery --

human remains.

I was the one chosen to be
kind of in charge of the search.

And we searched
for maybe 10 minutes

and started finding bones.

What do you got
there, Bob?

Just more bones so far.

Jawbones, as a matter of fact,
aren't they?

Well, one kind of looks like
a jawbone, yes.

Got teeth in it?

Yes.

Narrator:
The search lasts for a week.

It turns up 26 bones, including
a skull and two jawbones

later identified as belonging to
Janice ott and Denise naslund.

Bones of a third victim
are also recovered,

but cannot be identified.

The bone fragments reveal
the true horror of the crimes.

Have you ever seen
anything like that?

No.

Guy's a psycho.

He's a pathetic
screwball psycho.

What the hell's
he doing to those women?

Would you stop talking about it,
please?

That jawbone...

It was totally smashed.

He'd beaten her
to a pulp.

What kind of sick mind makes
you do something like that?

And why -- why is he doing
something like that?

Just take it easy, Roger.

It's nuts.

I think Roger felt
more personal responsibility

for not stopping the crimes.

And Bob approached it more from
an investigator's standpoint.

So, he likes order, he likes
conclusions to things,

and he doesn't talk
about feelings.

Narrator:
The missing persons cases

of Denise naslund and Janice ott
have now been designated

a large-scale homicide
investigation.

It enabled us to think
that we needed to look

more into other missing persons.

But every other missing person
that could have been out there

at the time, we found alive.

But there were these few
that were never found.

Narrator:
Over the next six months,

keppel expands his investigation

to include
a further five missing women --

Lynda Healy, Donna manson,

Susan rancourt,
georgann Hawkins,

and his original case,
Brenda ball.

Could they have fallen victim
to the same ruthless killer?

It wasn't a popular theory

that they were all abducted
by the same person.

It had never happened before,
so why would it happen then?

Since getting assigned
the case seven months ago,

keppel and Dunn
still have no hard evidence

pointing to a suspect.

And one of their best early
leads has already gone cold.

The known killer in the area,
John Paul Knowles,

had left town before ott
and naslund's disappearance,

and there's another reason
to exclude him.

The suspect was thought
to be anywhere from 5'10" to 6'.

John Paul Knowles was closer
to 6'6".

Despite Knowles
being ruled out as a suspect,

keppel believes
the cases are linked.

But to prove it,
he needs evidence.

The problem is forensic science
in the 1970s is in its infancy,

and DNA analysis
hasn't been invented.

Dental records were the only way
they could be identified.

For instance, Susan rancourt --
she had a bridge.

Brenda ball -- she had fillings.

So I had basically memorized
the dental charts

of all known missing women,

so I knew quite a bit
about what I was to find.

March 2, 1975,
on Taylor mountain,

just 10 miles from where
the first bones were found,

two forestry students
stumble across a human skull.

Detective keppel is
one of the first on the scene.

As soon as he sees
the skull's teeth,

he knows the victim's name.

Brenda ball.

That same day,
I found another skull,

which turned out to be
Susan rancourt.

And then later on,
we found a skull

belonging to Kathy parks
from Oregon state university.

Remains of another
victim later prove to be

that of 21-year-old
college student Lynda Healy.

All four skulls
had fracture marks.

Narrator:
The head injuries sustained

by the victims at both sites

confirm Bob keppel's
worst fears.

Robert:
It was a pretty good indicator

that they all suffered damage
from the same person.

And that's not all.

The killer's
not just dumping bodies.

He's decapitating them.

Narrator:
In the pacific northwest,

female college students
are disappearing

at a terrifying rate.

Man:
What do you got there, Bob?

When decapitated bodies
start turning up,

police realize they're chasing
a crazed serial killer,

the likes of which
has never been known before.

It's unreal and it's a nightmare

and nothing in anybody's manual
would prepare you

for something like this.

Now, with remains
found at two sites

and tips flooding in,

the king county
sheriff's department recognizes

they need more man power
to work the case.

Radio check.

A task force is established

with Bob keppel and Roger Dunn
lead detectives.

There was nothing
like this case

that I could find
in the history,

anywhere in Washington state.

Since young women
first began disappearing

13 months ago,

investigators have positively
identified six bodies.

Only 18-year-old
georgann Hawkins

and 19-year-old Donna manson
remain unaccounted for.

In Seattle,
fear grows that they, too,

may have fallen victim
to the brutal predator

known to police as "Ted."

It was very hard to solve
because we had nothing.

We had no good suspect
that stood out.

Officers spend
thousands of hours

trying to get their heads
around the challenging case.

But just one month later,

the task force is disbanded
with no real progress

having been made.

Keppel and Dunn are left
with more than 3,000

possible suspects
and no solid leads.

When their captain offers
just one more detective

to assist them,
they make a bold move.

They choose one of keppel's
former trainees,

24-year-old Kathleen mcchesney,

a detective in
the checks and fraud division.

She was eager to get out
of checks and fraud

because that's a loser place
if you're a detective.

Mcchesney:
There were certainly some men

who didn't think that women
should be in law enforcement,

but Bob keppel is an individual
who is focused on work,

and he doesn't care
what his partner looks like.

He only cares how they act and
the intellect that they provide.

Detective mcchesney
offers the investigation

something incredibly valuable --

a female perspective on how
the killer targets his victims.

This was someone
who was very bright, very smart,

who had a little bit
of the gift of gab

and able to convince someone
to go with him.

Why do they keep
falling for it?

I mean, why do they go off with
an unknown guy -- this loser?

I think he...Loves women.

I think he knows
what they want.

Women like that.

I'd like that.

I want to meet a nice guy.

At first, that's him.

The first killing
is dangerous --

scary, probably...

Exciting.

So he tries it again.

Is he gonna
keep on killing?

Oh, he's hooked.

He can't stop.

Seattle in the 1970s
was a pretty loose,

liberal sort of community.

People were more trusting
and certainly less suspicious

of strangers
than they are today.

But after the murders,

women were becoming afraid
to go out,

afraid to talk to people,

afraid to do the kinds of things
that they had done very safely

and without a thought
prior to that.

She didn't show up
to the final.

I talked to the professor
the next day.

He said he was really surprised
that she didn't show up.

Rumors circulate
that the killer preys

on a particular type.

Victims were
all women, of course,

of a certain age,

generally their late teens,
early 20s.

But age and appearance

are only part
of the killer's m.O.

The fact that
he went to college campuses

and found victims was

because he was so comfortable
in the college setting.

He knew how to talk to co-eds.

He knew how to approach them.

So that was his area.

That was where he did his work.

Narrator:
With no viable suspect,

the stress mounts
on the lead detectives.

The media were surrounding us,
seeking information,

but it wasn't just
because it was sensational.

It was because the community
really needed to know

what was going on.

This is a little different
than most homicide cases

that we handled.

I don't know that people realize
the burden that detectives have

or the responsibility or guilt.

I think that Bob was thinking
about that all the time.

Working such
an impossible, high-stakes case

in the glare
of the media spotlight,

keppel, Dunn, and mcchesney
are living in a pressure cooker.

But they refuse to lose hope.

I think people perhaps thought
it was un-solvable.

We never believed that.

I think one of these days
we'll find him.

I can't tell you when,
but we will.

But with
so many potential suspects,

they're drowning in paperwork.

It was overwhelming,
and in a case like that,

it's possible that you're gonna
overlook something.

And that's
your biggest nightmare.

Swamped by names,
dates, car models, and alibis,

keppel realizes they have
too much data to process.

Desperate to make sense of it,

he comes up
with a startling idea.

I ran into the computer person,

and I started talking to him

about what could he do
to help us.

I thought there was a chance

the computer could take
all the names we had

and categorize them
and link them together.

In 1975,
with computers in their infancy,

it's a revolutionary concept.

We believe it was
the first time computers

have been used
in a criminal investigation.

Being able to use computers

was absolutely an essential part
of putting that case together.

Now able
to cross-reference owners

of vw bugs with up to
30 other sub-categories,

keppel and his team
reduce their list

of potential suspects
from nearly 3,000 to just 100.

Now they must Wade
alphabetically through

the new computer-generated list,

eliminating suspects
as fast as they can

before the killer strikes again.

We definitely wanted an alibi --

something when it would prove
whoever we were looking at

was not at lake sammamish
on sunday, July 14th.

It's a painstakingly
slow process.

In two months,
they eliminate only six names.

Incredibly, during that time,
no more women go missing.

So, where is Ted?

Either the killer was dead
or had moved on.

If the killer
has fled Washington state,

his trail could easily go cold.

Then suddenly,
the detectives catch a break.

You always hope that
your offender makes a mistake.

Oh, I was convinced
he was the right one.

After a year hunting
a serial killer

known only as "Ted,"

king county detectives
keppel, Dunn, and mcchesney

have two
unexplained disappearances

and 94 possible suspects.

October 15, 1975.

A 28-year-old man is arrested

for the attempted kidnapping
of Carol daronch,

an 18-year-old
telephone operator.

Impersonating a police officer,

the man lured her to his car
and attacked her

before she managed to escape.

His vehicle
was a Volkswagen bug,

which was our suspect vehicle.

And there were some things
about the description

that also reinforced
it probably was this Ted person.

Has the ruthless
killer made his first mistake?

Detectives immediately check
the man's name

against their list
of possible suspects.

Theodore Robert Bundy
was Ted #7.

In his vehicle, there was a mask
with eye holes cut out,

a crowbar,
and a pair of handcuffs.

There were things that you would
expect a serial killer to have.

Ted Bundy immediately
becomes the prime suspect

in the Washington state
slayings.

Still, investigators
must check Bundy's alibis

against each
of the six known murders.

They go straight to the person
who knows him best --

his long-term girlfriend, Liz.

Mcchesney:
You know he's been charged --

aggravated kidnapping.

No.
That's not possible.

He wouldn't.
You can ask anyone.

Liz...

Those are all the items
found in his car.

Can you explain
any of that?

No.

He didn't do anything.

I love him.

We're gonna get married.

I shouldn't even be here.

Is he violent with you?

No.

Once or twice.

Despite protesting
his innocence,

Liz wasn't with her boyfriend

on the day that two young women
went missing at lake sammamish.

And now it emerges
that she had been wary of Bundy

since the first composite sketch
was released in July 1974,

more than a year ago.

She was concerned when Ted
started to demonstrate behaviors

that were unusual

and, in fact,
to her words, somewhat scary.

She was among
hundreds of other women

who had turned in their
boyfriends as possible suspects.

Narrator:
After Liz called police

with a tip about her boyfriend,

they ran a background check
on Bundy,

but found nothing suspicious.

Now they must dig deeper.

Robert:
We began to investigate him.

We contacted everybody
we could find

that had anything
to do with him --

his professors
at the university of Washington,

locations where he'd worked,

locations where he'd lived,
his relatives.

Outwardly,
Ted Bundy appears handsome,

charming, and polite.

Could this clean-cut
28-year-old former law student

really be capable
of such atrocities?

Our son is the best son
in the world.

We still don't believe it.

It just can't be.

I keep shaking my head day after
day, saying, "how can this be?"

Robert:
Everyone thought we were wrong.

I mean, when you have governors
speaking on your behalf,

that helps you look like
a good person.

But the fact that Ted
was from Seattle

and had been in the Seattle area
at the time of our cases

led me to believe that we had
a really good suspect here.

We couldn't find anything
that would eliminate him.

I think Ted Bundy
was very successful

at separating
the different parts of his life,

whether it was from women
he was seeing, his professors --

they were never able
to see the dark side of him

because Ted was
a master manipulator.

I'll plead not guilty right now.

In November 1975,
one month after Bundy's arrest,

Bob keppel travels
to Aspen, Colorado,

to meet with detectives
and prosecutors

investigating the murder
of 23-year-old caryn Campbell.

Their prime suspect --
Ted Bundy.

We knew that if he got
a conviction in Colorado,

it would strengthen our case,

and we'd be able to use
their conviction in our courts.

Also in attendance

are detectives
from Utah and California.

It's only when they compare
case notes

that they realize the true
extent of Bundy's crimes.

On march 1, 1976,
Ted Bundy is found guilty

of the kidnapping and assault
of Carol daronch.

He is sentenced
to between 1 and 15 years

in Utah state prison.

He is also charged
with the Colorado murder

of caryn Campbell
after locks of her hair

were discovered in his car.

But while Bundy awaits trial,
the unthinkable happens.

I received a telephone call
that said,

"he's gone.

He's escaped."

Narrator:
On new year's Eve 1977,

while serving a sentence
for attempted kidnapping

and awaiting trial for
the murder of caryn Campbell,

Ted Bundy escapes from
his jail cell in Colorado.

I called several people
that I knew that knew Ted Bundy

and told them that they should
call us right away

if they hear from him,

otherwise, I'd arrest 'em.

I told his mother that.

A nationwide manhunt
is launched,

and Bundy shoots straight
to the top

of the FBI's most wanted list.

Ted Bundy became
a household name.

The media made him a folk hero.

There was something odd
about it.

Narrator:
No one knows where Bundy is,

but detective Bob keppel is sure
about one thing.

I absolutely thought
that he would kill again.

It's been four days
since the fsu murders occurred,

and the mood both on campus

and here in this usually
peaceful city

is still one of apprehension.

Mcchesney:
The earmarks were there

that Ted Bundy
was very likely the offender.

The deadly attacks
on young women

in the university sorority house

displays a new level
of bloodthirsty recklessness.

Four weeks later,
he strikes again.

Only this time,
his victim is much younger

than his usual targets --

12-year-old schoolgirl
Kimberly leach.

That frightened
a large number of people.

Ted Bundy --
he was in such a frenzy

because he had not killed
for so long,

so whatever it was inside him

was just building up
and building up and building up.

One week later,
in pensacola, Florida,

police pull over a car
with stolen plates.

The driver -- Ted Bundy.

It's an incredibly lucky break.

Bundy is arrested and put on
trial for the Florida murders.

Theodore Robert Bundy.

Narrator:
Armed with eyewitness reports

and physical evidence tying him

to the sorority-house
crime scene,

the prosecution's case is
strong.

She had been beaten
severely.

At trial,
Bundy denies the allegations,

and ever the public showman,

the former law student
even acts as his own attorney.

You watch Bundy's
behavior throughout that trial,

and he was
really enjoying himself.

Don't shake your finger
at me, young man.

The sentence of this court --
that you, Theodore Robert Bundy,

be adjudicated guilty of murder
in the first degree.

Narrator:
In July 1979, Bundy is convicted

on three counts
of first-degree murder,

three counts
of attempted murder,

and two counts of burglary.

A majority of the jury advises
and recommends to the court

that it impose the death penalty
upon the defendant,

Theodore Robert Bundy.

Do you understand?

Though Bundy receives
the death sentence

for the Florida slayings,

there are dozens more
unsolved murders,

including eight
in Washington state

that detectives
keppel, Dunn, and mcchesney

believe Bundy committed.

We felt disappointed
that we weren't able

to get justice
for those victims' families

in Washington state.

I know he murdered Denise,

and I-I hate him.

Oh, I was convinced
he was the right one.

All I knew was
I just needed evidence.

10 years later,
as his execution draws near,

Ted Bundy asked to meet
with Bob keppel face-to-face.

Hello, Bob.

Diabolical genius,
deceptive, manipulative --

words authorities used
to describe Theodore Bundy.

The authorities also say Bundy's
trying to head off execution

by confessing to some
of the murders he's suspected of

and by hinting
that he'll provide details

about the other killings.

I expected maybe he would
stall things out, but no.

He wanted to talk about murder.

What did you want to
tell me?

Now, 26 years later,
Bob keppel listens

to 1989 audio recordings
of his confrontation

with the monster
that is Ted Bundy.

The "why" didn't matter

because the "why"
never catches anybody.

Keppel questions Bundy
about the unidentified victim

found at
the issaquah crime scene.

The name Bundy gives

is one keppel has suspected
for over a decade.

But her name is not enough.

Keppel needs more proof.

Hawkins:

But the way
he disposed of the body

is even more horrifying.

I just had to take it
with a straight face.

I'm thinking
about the next question.

He did
what you call murder-rape.

Most people do rape-murder.

But he's different.

I think he actually enjoyed
people who were dead.

As the only victim
of his original eight

unaccounted for,

keppel fears Donna manson
suffered the same cruel fate.

You're not gonna find
her head.

Why not? Where is it?

Narrator:
As his execution draws near,

notorious serial killer
Ted Bundy

agrees to confess his crimes
to Bob keppel,

the detective who spent
four years hunting him.

What happened
to Donna manson?

What did you do
with her?

You're not gonna find
her head.

Why not? Where is it?

In Liz's fireplace.

Mm-hmm.

Don't know.

Maybe he's doing it
to elicit some sort of response

that is about him
and maybe gives him

continued control
until the end of his life.

Everything Ted Bundy did
was a game -- everything.

You could ask
any medical examiner

if it's possible to do
what he did with that skull.

Burn it all the way up?

I doubt it.

Narrator:
Though Bundy may be exaggerating

details of his heinous crimes,

keppel has what he needs.

He admitted to the eight murders
in Washington state.

Still, Bundy has
one final surprise in store.

How many did you kill
in the northwest?

11.

11?

Well, I got eight.

The problem is
that we didn't know

which three he was adding up

because we hadn't found
any missing person cases,

and we definitely had not found
any bodies.

Who were the others
in Washington?!

What were their names?!

Give me more!

The conversation
was now over.

You just signed
your own death warrant.

He didn't give enough to me
for me to speak on his behalf

to the governor of Florida.

The games are over.

One of America's worst
serial killers

is finally going to get
the punishment

many believe he deserves.

I would love to see him being
drug to the electric chair.

Now, that may sound cruel,
but that's exactly how I feel.

Narrator:
Now, in January of 1989,

15 years
after Bundy started killing,

keppel finally closes the case.

He will never know
whether there were

another three victims
in Washington,

but his close encounter
with Ted Bundy

leaves a lasting impression.

Bob was just shaken.

He said,
"I think I witnessed the devil."

Bundy's execution was the 20th
in the state of Florida

since the death penalty
was reinstated.

Normally, a state execution
is met with a storm of protest,

but as channel 7's Joan lovett
reports

Bundy received little sympathy.

In the early hours
of January 24, 1989,

Ted Bundy is executed
by the state of Florida.

Outside the prison,
thousands rejoice.

Bob keppel isn't one of them.

I had actually
flown home from Florida,

and I went to bed.

And when I woke up,
he was already dead.

I didn't have any feelings
about it.

That's what his strong suit
has been

is that he's been able to look
at terrible, terrible things

and back off and look at it from
the role of the investigator.

Otherwise, I don't think
he could do his job.

Narrator:
The Ted Bundy investigation

is Bob keppel's second
as a homicide detective,

but it's the first
of 50 serial-killer cases

with which he will be involved
over the course of his career.

The lessons that I'd learned
in that case

helped me with every other case
that I ever had to investigate.

Kathleen mcchesney
went on to become

an executive assistant director
at the FBI.

She gives much credit
for her achievements

to her early mentors
who took a chance

on a young,
ambitious female detective.

From Bob keppel and Roger Dunn,

I learned you could have
an impact on society.

You could have an impact
on somebody's life.

And that's a real treasure --

a real gift to be able
to do that.

Having helped convict
and imprison

one of America's most notorious
serial killers,

Bob keppel doesn't mince
his words.

I could tell you how I teared up

and I felt really good
and all that stuff.

That's not true.

None of that happened.

I was in the business
of dealing with killers.

That's all it was.

No more.