History is replete with figures who dared to leave their footprints on the sands of time. Some are renowned for building billion-dollar empires, while others created inventions that were previously dismissed as mere figments of the human imagination.
But history has its fair share of villainous characters, too—those who trode darker paths, exacting pleasure in other people’s pain and suffering.
Ted Bundy aptly fits this category. Bundy is considered one of the most sadistic serial killers of all time, with scores of body counts to his name.
So depraved was Bundy that he once described himself as “the most cold-hearted son of a b*tch you’ll ever meet,” a tag that one of his attorneys, Polly Nelson, agreed aptly fit him.
Now, Ted Bundy underwent a trial at a critical period in the polygraph evolution. That explains the widespread speculations that the prolific murderer passed lie detector tests. But did he?
Unmasking Ted Bundy
Before establishing whether the lie detector test was used on Ted Bundy, you’re probably wondering who he is.
Theodore Robert Bundy was an American serial killer who embarked on his killing spree in 1974. He was captured once but escaped justice long enough to claim more body counts.
Born on November 24, 1946, little is known about Bundy’s childhood. The psychopathic murderer first hit the headlines after he was linked to a series of heinous crimes.
Like most serial killers, Bundy had a unique modus operandi. He reportedly lured his victims (predominantly young women and girls) into his vehicle by convincing them he was in distress or misrepresenting himself as an influential figure.
Bundy would then bludgeon his victims unconscious before restraining them. He later drove his captives to a remote location, where he sexually assaulted them before killing them.
But the violation didn’t stop there!
Bundy occasionally returned to his victims’ bodies and performed sexual acts on them. This would proceed until the corpses completely decomposed or were devoured by wild animals.
Ted Bundy was first arrested in 1975. He was subsequently jailed for aggravated kidnapping, after which he became associated with a litany of unsolved homicides. Bundy escaped jail but was recaptured in 1978. He eventually got the chair on January 24, 1989, at Florida State Prison.
Did Ted Bundy Pass A Polygraph Test?
Ted Bundy was tried at a period marked by remarkable interest in the polygraph machine.
As many jurisdictions had since allowed polygraph testing in criminal investigations, many believe that Bundy was polygraphed at some point. Some went as far as to speculate that the seasoned murderer beat the lie detector test.
However, there’s insufficient evidence that Ted Bundy ever took a polygraph test. If he did, that information would have certainly been publicized. But that’s not the complete story.
What We Know About Bundy and the Polygraph
Speculations on whether Ted Bundy passed the polygraph test underpin the book “The Stranger Beside Me: The True Crime Story of Ted Bundy” by acclaimed true crime author Ann Rule.
In the novel, Rule asserts that she once approached Bundy and recommended that he take a lie detector test. Bundy reportedly answered that his then-attorney, John Henry Browne, had advised against it.
For someone who murdered with careless abandon, it’s doubtful if Bundy simply rejected a polygraph exam on his lawyer’s advice. He probably reckoned that taking the test would add no substance to his case, which was already heading south by all indications.
Browne also sheds some light on Ted Bundy’s polygraph speculations.
In his 2016 book titled “The Devil’s Defender: My Odyssey Through American Criminal Justice from Ted Bundy to the Kandahar Massacre,” the firebrand lawyer mentions that Bundy failed a polygraph exam he had arranged for him.
Browne further reveals that Ted Bundy had indicated he would deploy countermeasures to beat the lie detector test due to his “unique personality type.” While attempting to cheat the polygraph was a clear indication of guilt, Bundy casually justified it by saying, ‘it was just a game.’
What’s The Verdict on This Matter?
Two renowned authors have provided inconclusive accounts of Ted Bundy’s polygraph speculations. The fact that both individuals had close interactions with Bundy further complicates the matter.
Now, it’s worth noting that Bundy’s trial was widely televised.
That’s not to say the media let the public in on every action. But if the serial killer did take a law enforcement polygraph, the news would spread like a bushfire, despite the outcome.
Therefore, we can only conclude that such tests never happened. And if they did, they were privately arranged and the findings kept under wraps.
Demystifying the Long-Held Ted Bundy Lie Detector Myth
Ted Bundy may be long gone from us. However, his legacy (if we can call it that) will serve as an enduring reminder of human depravity.
As Bundy’s trial was widely publicized, there have been widespread rumors that the killer passed a lie detector test. A section of those who spread this information seeks to discredit the polygraph’s validity.
To set the record straight, it’s unclear if Ted Bundy ever took a polygraph exam.
Perhaps the psychopathic killer knew the jig was up and avoided lie detector tests in a bid to cut his losses. Or, maybe, it was just another proof of his nonchalant attitude towards life in general.
But if Bundy did take a polygraph test, as suggested by his one-time lawyer Browne, he most certainly failed it.
