If you weren't creeped out enough by Netflix’s Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes earlier this year, you might wanna tune into the upcoming biopic starring Zac Efron, aptly titled Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile on May 3. (Not necessarily saying you should, but ya know, you could.) Zac plays Bundy, the charismatic serial killer who savagely murdered more than 30 women in the '70s before being executed via electric chair in January 1989.



The docuseries and biopic have both been criticized for essentially going too soft on Bundy, with EWSEAV debuting at Sundance to mixed reviews. In response to the criticism, Joe Berlinger, the director of both the Zac Efron biopic and The Ted Bundy Tapes, told Buzzfeed News that the biopic "is a serious portrait of how Bundy deceived the people closest to him and his manipulation of the American media allowed him to flourish and evade detection and capture for so long." He also made clear that "our film in no way glorifies Bundy or his atrocious acts."



And his acts were nothing short of atrocious—Bundy raped, strangled, and bludgeoned his victims to death. He severed the heads of his victims and kept them in his apartment to "admire" and had sex with their dead bodies. There is arguably no bigger monster than Bundy in U.S. history, but to this day, his charismatic personality seems to have a way of masking exactly what he did.

It’s hard to read about the women who lost their lives in such grisly and, frankly, depraved ways. But it’s important to remember the victims here, especially when so much attention is directed at the perpetrator.

So if you can stomach it, take the time to read about 26 of Ted Bundy's victims (far from the total body count, which is estimated to be at least 30 killed), some of whom survived. The list is incomplete, in part because Bundy also confessed to murdering hitchhikers whose names are unknown. And one more thing: The dates listed here generally refer to the dates that the women went missing. In some cases, it’s believed that Bundy raped and tortured women for days before killing them.

Joni Lenz

Age: 18

Survived attack: January 4, 1974

Lenz, a student at the University of Washington, was raped with a bedpost but survived the attack.

Lynda Ann Healy

Age: 21

Died: February 1, 1974

A fellow University of Washington student, Healy was kidnapped from campus during the night and killed. According to the History Network, her murder marked "Bundy’s entry into the ranks of serial killers as he had recently attacked his first victim." Her body was found in 1975 on Taylor Mountain, near Issaquah, Washington.

Donna Gail Manson

Age: 19

Died: March 12, 1974

Friends last saw the Evergreen State College freshman on her way to a jazz concert. After confessing to Manson's murder, Bundy said he burned her skull in his girlfriend’s fireplace, per an AP report.

Susan Rancourt

Age: 18

Died: April 17, 1974

Abducted on campus at Central Washington State College, Rancourt's skull was later found near Taylor Mountain. (This is said to be Bundy’s "graveyard.")

Roberta Parks

Age: 20

Died: April 17, 1974

Parks was abducted from Oregon State University, reports ABC News. Her skull was found during the same search of Taylor Mountain where Susan Rancourt’s skull was identified. Bundy said he raped and killed her.

Ted Bundy left the world with more questions than answers. Here are some of them:

Brenda Carol Ball

Age: 22

Died: June 1, 1974

According to ABC News, Ball was abducted from a town south of Seattle. Like many of Bundy’s victims, her skull was found at Taylor Mountain.

Georgeann Hawkins

Age: 18

Missing since: June 11, 1974

The University of Washington student disappeared from campus while walking to her boyfriend’s house. Though Bundy confessed to knocking Hawkins unconscious and taking her away in his car before murdering her, she is still listed as a missing person.

Denise Naslund

Age: 18

Died: July 14, 1974

Naslund disappeared from Lake Sammamish State Park. Two months later, her body was found on a hillside near Issaquah, per The Seattle Times.

Janice Ott

Age: 23

Died: July 14, 1974

Ott was also abducted from Lake Sammamish State Park on the same day as Denise Naslund. Her body was also found in the same location in Issaquah.

Nancy Wilcox

Age: 16

Missing since: October 2, 1974

Believed to have been murdered by Bundy, Wilcox disappeared near her home in Holladay, Utah after she went out to buy a pack of gum. He confessed to sexually assaulting and strangling her, then burying her body near Capitol Reef National Park, located about 200 miles south of Salt Lake City, but it has never been found.

Melissa Smith

Age: 17

Died: October 26, 1974

The teenage daughter of the Midvale police chief (in the Salt Lake City area) went missing. After being raped and beaten, Smith's body was found in the mountains nearby.

Laura Aime

Age: 17

Missing since: October 31, 1974

After disappearing on Halloween night, Aime's body was later found frozen in Provo Canyon, according to the LA Times.

Carol DaRonch

Age: 18

Survived attack: November 8, 1974

In The Ted Bundy Tapes, DaRonch says that Bundy identified himself as a police officer, told her that her car was broken into and asked her to go down "to the station." As he attempted to handcuff her, she fought off Bundy and escaped, People details.

Debra Kent

Age: 17

Died: November 8, 1974

She disappeared from the parking lot of Viewmont High, a school in Bountiful, Utah. Bundy confessed to murdering Kent and burying her body in the same area as Nancy Wilcox.

Caryn Campbell

Age: 23

Died: January 12, 1975

Campbell was heading to her hotel room in Aspen when she disappeared. Her body was found beaten to death and left nude near a dirt road.

Julie Cunningham

Age: 26

Died: March 15, 1975

His second victim in Vail, Cunningham was walking to a restaurant to meet up with a friend when she offered to help Bundy, who was pretending to struggle on crutches. He kidnapped her and put her in his trunk where he drove to the desert, strangled her to death, and left her body, details the Aspen Times.

Denise Oliverson

Age: 24

Missing since: April 6, 1975

Oliverson disappeared while riding her bike to her parent’s home. Bundy confessed to killing her and dumping her body in the Colorado River, but it was never found, according to the Charley Project.

Melanie Cooley

Age: 18

Died: April 15, 1975

After disappearing on her way home from high school, Cooley was tied up and bludgeoned to death with a rock. Her body was found in Coal Creek Canyon. Bundy has been suspected in her murder, but it was never confirmed (and according to the Denver Post, he was eliminated as a suspect). She’s included in many of the lists of Bundy’s murder victims, which is why, despite the fact that the Colorado Bureau of Investigation lists her murder as a cold case, Cooley is included here.

Lynette Culver

Age: 12

Missing since: May 6, 1975

Culver was abducted from her neighborhood in Pocatello, Idaho, per People. Bundy killed her and threw her body into the Snake River. He eventually confessed to her murder before he was put to death. Still, as late as 2018, Culver was listed as a missing person, and the Pocatello Police Department says she may not have been murdered by Bundy, according to the Idaho State Journal.

Susan Curtis

Age: 15

Missing since: June 27, 1975

She was abducted while walking back to her room during a Mormon youth conference at Brigham Young University. Curtis was Bundy's last confession as he walked down to the hall to be executed. Her remains were not found, so she is still listed as a missing person.

Margaret Bowman

Age: 21

Died: January 15, 1978

Bowman was among the four women in the Chi Omega sorority house at Florida State University attacked in her bed in the middle of the night. Bundy beat her with a piece of firewood and strangled her, according to ABC News.

Lisa Levy

Age: 20

Died: January 15, 1978

Levy was another Chi Omega sorority sister. Bundy beat and strangled her to death in the Chi Omega house.

Kathy Kleiner

Age: 20

Attacked: January 15, 1978

Bundy bludgeoned Kleiner with a piece of firewood and left her with her jaw hanging off.

Karen Chandler

Age: 22

Attacked: January 15, 1978

Chandler was Kathy Kleiner’s roommate in the Chi Omega house, and Bundy beat both women at the same time. Despite a broken jaw and right arm, and four teeth knocked out, according to an AP report, Chandler survived.

Cheryl Thomas

Age: 21

Attacked: January 15, 1978

After leaving the Chi Omega house, Bundy crawled through a window in Thomas' home and beat her to death. She was a dance major at the university, according to ABC News, and survived.

Watch Cheryl Thomas share her harrowing story below:

Kimberly Leach

Age: 12

Died: February 9, 1978

One of Bundy's youngest victims, Leach was in seventh grade when she disappeared in the middle of the school day, per NBC News. Her body was found two months later in a shed behind Suwannee River State Park.

Jessica Migala Jessica Migala is a health writer specializing in general wellness, fitness, nutrition, and skincare, with work published in Women’s Health, Glamour, Health, Men’s Health, and more.

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