Hi, listeners.
that I want to tell you about. It's called America's Most Infamous Crimes, and it's hosted
“by self-defense instructor Katie Ring. Each week, Katie takes on one of the most in”
notorious crimes in American history. From cereal killers like Ted Bundy, who terrorized entire cities, to high-profile kidnappings like the Elizabeth Smart Case, also to headline making investigations like the Idaho College murders. Each case unfolds across multiple
episodes, released every Tuesday through Thursday, from the first sign that something
was wrong to the moment that the truth came out. Or, didn't. These are the cases that changed our society forever, and with Katie's self-defense expertise, she'll also show you how to recognize warning signs and protect yourself along the way. I have a preview clip here from episode 1 of Katie's Deep Dive in Detead Bundy, and if you like what you hear and want to
“listen to the rest, make sure to follow America's Most Infamous Crimes on Apple Podcasts”
Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts. There's also a link to the show in the episode's description.
From the moment Ted Bundy was born, he was surrounded by lies. Ted's mom Louise got pregnant
in early 1946, but his dad abandoned them, which meant Ted was born out of a wedlock that November. This was a huge scandal that could have destroyed their family. To avoid the stigma that came with being a young single mother, Ted's grandparents raised him as their own son in Philadelphia. He actually spent his early life thinking Louise was his older sister and not his mother. In interviews, Ted claims that his upbringing was completely normal, but
according to some family members and biographers, Ted's grandfather Samuel was known to have a violent temper, was racist and misogynistic, and would even harm animals. And despite Bundy's claims, it seemed like whatever was going on in that household did have an effect on him psychologically. One night in 1950 when Ted was just three years old, his teenage aunt Julia recalled waking
up and seeing him standing next to her bed. But he wasn't there because he couldn't sleep or to ask for a glass of water. As Julia squinted in the darkness, she saw Ted with a huge smile on his face, and then realized she was surrounded by butcher knives. Of course, I'm not a psychologist, but this is not something that a three-year-old generally thinks to do on their own. They learn by copying behaviors they've seen. So to me, this would indicate
that something very wrong was going on in that house. Luckily, Ted didn't try and hurt Julia that night, but even with these signs that something was clearly wrong, his family didn't get him any help. In fact, things only got less stable for him over time. In 1951, when Ted was just four, he in the ways who was still pretending to be his sister, Lephila Delphia, and moved to Washington State. It was supposed to be a fresh start, but
“it was a confusing adjustment for Ted. Remember, he still thought his grandparents were”
his biological parents. To him, it seemed like his older sister was separating him from his mom and dad. This was just another moment of perceived betrayal that he'd remember for the rest of his life, and things only got more confusing from there. Shortly after moving, Louise Menagai named Johnny Bundy at church, but it wasn't long before things got serious. They got married after just a few months of dating, and Johnny even adopted Ted.
But Ted never really accepted Johnny as his father. He thought he was unintelligent and
resented him for not being able to provide him with the expensive clothes and items that he wanted. Friends even recall Ted provoking Johnny, and Johnny sometimes responding with violence. They looked like a happy family on the outside, but Ted was just as miserable as he'd been in Philly, and things only got worse when Ted found his birth certificate one day. That's when he learned the truth. That his birth father had abandoned him, and his
older sister was actually his mom.
