Yes, you read that title correctly. Ted Bundy worked in a crisis center hotline in the ’70’s, helping young women talk through difficult situations. Bundy later wrote a rape prevention pamphlet and he was an assistant director of the Seattle Crime Prevention Advisory Commission. It’s easy to see that Bundy found a way to be close to his victims without giving away his motives. By working on the suicide hotline, he had the power over life and death without laying a hand on a woman. He probably got a kick out of hearing the vulnerability in a woman’s voice and toying with them as he would later toy with his victims.

Crime writer Ann Rule later noted that she was often alone in a small room with Bundy while working late nights. In fact, he generally walked her to her car, advising her to watch for predators when out late at night. Rule was one of his loyal supporters as he was winding his way through the court system. It wasn’t until his “Chi Omega” Florida trial that she was finally convinced he was guilty. Imagine the memories that came flooding back to her as she remembered how close she came to a murderer on those dark nights alone with him. Rule later said that she is convinced the only thing that saved her life is that she wasn’t his type. (She was older than Ted’s co-ed victims at that time.)

Thankfully, it doesn’t appear that Bundy killed any callers to the suicide hotline, but Bundy intimated before his execution that there were many other unidentified victims the police hadn’t found. Only time will tell if any of them were connected to him through his volunteer work.