Ted Bundy for the Defense - Part Three: Unhinged
Once Upon A Crime
Esther Ludlow
4.6 • 5K Ratings
🗓️ 24 February 2026
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
After escaping from a Colorado jail, Ted Bundy fled to Florida — and unraveled.
In this episode, we follow Bundy’s path to Tallahassee, the brutal Chi Omega sorority house murders, the attack on Cheryl Thomas, the abduction of 12-year-old Kimberly Leach, and Bundy’s eventual arrest in Pensacola after 46 days on the run.
Gone is the methodical charmer of the Pacific Northwest. In his place: a reckless, frenzied killer who has lost control.
About This Series:
Ted Bundy for the Defense examines Ted Bundy’s criminal cases through the lens of his courtroom behavior and his insistence on controlling his own fate. This series separates myth from fact, focusing on documented evidence, trial records, and survivor testimony.
Sources:
The Bundy Murders: A Comprehensive History, Kevin M. Sullivan, McFarland and Company, 2020 (Second Edition).
Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers, Caroline Fraser, Penguin Press, 2025.
The Devil’s Defender, John Henry Browne, Chicago Review Press, 2016.
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Events & Appearances:
Meet Esther and Lorena in person at:
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This podcast details true crime cases. It contains adult themes and may contain descriptions of violence. |
| 0:07.3 | It is not intended for children. Listener discretion is advised. |
| 0:15.0 | Thank you for joining me for today's episode of Once Upon a Crime. |
| 0:23.0 | I'm your host, Esther, and this is our continuing series, Ted Bundy for the Defense. |
| 0:28.8 | This is part three, Bundy Unhinged. |
| 0:47.3 | When Ted Bundy escaped from the Garfield County Jail in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, on December 30, 1977, it was not the calculated disappearing act of a disciplined fugitive carefully executing a long-planned exit. |
| 0:55.3 | It was desperate. |
| 0:57.3 | Bundy had already made one audacious escape months earlier in Aspen. |
| 1:01.8 | That first attempt had reinforced the mythology growing around him, |
| 1:06.1 | that he was clever, patient, almost supernaturally composed. |
| 1:10.7 | But the second escape would reveal something very |
| 1:14.0 | different. He had deliberately lost weight in the weeks leading up to it, shrinking his body |
| 1:19.2 | enough to squeeze through a hole he had carved into the ceiling of his cell. Late that night, |
| 1:24.3 | while guards were distracted during the holiday lull, he climbed onto his bed, |
| 1:28.7 | wriggled through the narrow opening, and dropped down into the jailer's apartment, which happened to be empty. |
| 1:34.7 | He changed into street clothes and walked out the front door. It was that simple. |
| 1:40.3 | Outside, a snowstorm had blanketed the Colorado Mountains. |
| 1:44.2 | Bundy quickly located an M.G. Midget with the keys left in the ignition, |
| 1:48.4 | and drove off into the freezing night. |
| 1:50.9 | But this was not the smooth getaway of a mastermind. |
| 1:54.3 | Within 30 miles, the small car became stuck in deep snow. |
| 1:58.7 | He abandoned it and began hitchhiking towards Vale, clutching $500 in hidden |
... |
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