Ted Bundy was remembered as a “normal” and charming individual during his time in Tacoma, Washington, in the 1970s.
Despite some of his victims being close to his circle of friends, he cleverly concealed his crimes.
His cousin, Edna Cowell Martin, now in her 70s, recalled that Bundy seemed obsessed with fiction novels featuring damsels in distress when he was young. She also believes that on one occasion, he left a dinner party at her flat to carry out a killing.
Ms. Martin spoke out about their childhood ahead of the release of the book “Dark Tides: Growing up with Ted Bundy.” She also shared letters they exchanged while he was on death row awaiting execution.
Ms. Martin described her childhood as mostly normal and remembered Bundy, five years her senior, as an older brother figure. However, in retrospect, she noticed early signs of psychopathy, such as his obsession with salacious detective novels.
These books often had covers depicting women in distress, tied up, or helpless, with a man watching. Before his death, Bundy admitted to a series of crimes and revealed that he would reenact scenarios from detective magazine covers when he brought women back to his flat.
After spending her teenage years in Tacoma, Ms. Martin moved to Arkansas for several years before returning home to attend university, bringing her closer to Bundy than ever before. In a chilling moment, she recalls seeing Bundy eyeing her own roommate.
After dinner at her flat with friends, they were dancing to vinyl records. Ms. Martin remembers returning to the room to find Bundy and her roommate Margie slowly dancing.
“I got an apartment about a five-minute walk from where Ted was living, and I saw him a lot and he would drop by frequently,” she told the DailyMail, before recollecting that incident. Margie had her head leaned against Ted’s chest, and as they turned with the music, I got a direct view of Ted. I could see him looking down at her,’ she noted.
“I will never forget the look on his face. For a moment, I swear, I didn’t recognize him at all. It wasn’t Ted. His countenance was tense. Mean.”
