Ted Bundy's Murderous Mysteries

by Kevin Sullivan

  I finally made contact by telephone with Scott’s mother, informed her who I was, and asked her if she would please have him call me. She seemed to be very upset but stated that she would get the message to him. This was on Thursday, January the 12th. Later on in the afternoon, the individual called my secretary and informed her that he was not going to talk with me, and that if I wanted any information, I should contact Mike Fisher in Colorado, as he had talked to him before and was tired of being harassed. I immediately called him back and after some persuading to the individual on the phone, he reluctantly agreed to come in at 2:30 p.m. this date and talk to myself and Captain Hayward.

  The individual came into the office that afternoon. After a short while with him he seemed to settle down and he was not so upset as he was at first.

  He did not want me to tape his conversation, however. He basically went over when he met Bundy, which was in October of 1974, when Bundy moved into the apartment with him at 565 1st Avenue. He knew him from then until March, the last part of March when he moved out.

  Stated that they had gone drinking a couple of times, had double-dated once or twice. Other than that he did not know the individual too awfully well, as he was studying at the U and he assumed that Ted was also.

  He stated that he was very shocked to find out that Ted had missed almost the entire fall quarter, because he always left every morning and he assumed that he was going to college.

  Scott also stated that he himself also left on weekends a lot, and does not know if Bundy was home, if he traveled, or what he did. If he did travel, he states that the individual never confided in him. He stated that the only vehicles that he knew Ted to have was a light brown or tan VW bug, and that he had an older model blue pickup truck that ran off and on.

  He stated that he had never observed any scratches or marks or anything on Ted’s face at any time. Ted was a neat dresser and kept himself rather neat all the time. He stated that they did go with Margaret Maughan who lived in the apartment at one time down to the Sun Lounge, that he was not aware of Ted having any girls up to his apartment, other than maybe for an hour or two to eat during the evening, and that he assumed that he was probably his closest friend, and he states yet that he was not that close.

  He stated that when he came back to Salt Lake after he had moved, he was shocked to find out that Ted had been arrested, that it didn’t seem possible to him, and that it was during the December months, just after Ted had bailed out of jail, that he ran into him in downtown Salt Lake where he was window shopping, he asked Ted a little bit about it, and Ted told him he was not allowed to discuss the matter on orders of his attorneys, so he stated he did not go into the matter.

  He states he never heard or saw him since, but while Ted was in jail, he called his mother and wanted Scott’s number, and that Ted did call him in Canada to talk to him.

  He stated that he basically wanted to talk to him about the Laura Ann Aime case in Utah County, stating that the police were trying to involve him in that and also Scott and he just wanted him to be aware of it.

  Scott denies ever being down in Utah County, Lehi, or in a café with Ted Bundy, where he was supposedly seen by some witnesses in Utah County. He states that he told the Utah County authorities and also Colorado authorities that, he’s still sticking with that story that he never went down there with Ted, doesn’t even know where the place is.

  He was asked if he observed anything wrong with the seat in Ted’s VW. He stated I don’t know if it’s from people asking me, but it seems to me that something was wrong with the passenger seat, that it was broken or something, but he can’t put his finger on it.

  He was also asked if he ever observed Ted with a pair of handcuffs. He stated here again, “Yes, I believe he did have a pair, but I just cannot remember for sure, where and how I saw them. I believe at one time he was playing around with them, and it seems to me that he put them on Margaret Maughan and hooked them onto the door,” but he says, “I may be wrong there.”

  He was asked if he was aware of a meat block in Ted’s apartment, he states that “Yes, Ted had got that after he had moved there from a want ad in the Salt Lake Tribune, and just more or less had it for a conversation piece.”

  He was asked if he knew anything about Ted’s background, if he ever talked about it. He stated very little, but he did observe from being around him, that Ted did not like blacks or Orientals, for some reason. Other than that, he never talked too much about his home life. He was asked if he ever mentioned Liz, he stated no. He was asked if Ted ever mentioned a girlfriend in Seattle, he stated no, he didn’t know that he had one.

  The individual towards the end of the interview seemed to be cooperative, he assured the captain and myself, that if he heard from Ted or had any information, that he did not want to get involved in it, he did not want to get his life ruined in publicity in regards to the matter, that he would certainly give us a call.

  He stated that if we had any more questions that we could call him, and he could try and answer them, however he was tired of being bothered by other agencies and that he was not going to talk to any other police department or agency, and that he would refer them back to us.

  Because as he stated, this has got to end somewhere, and I don’t want to get involved, and my life ruined for Ted, as I only knew him for six months, I lived in the same apartment building, and I’m sorry I ever met him.

  The interview lasted for approximately two hours. As of 1-17-78, I still am in contact with the Colorado authorities and the FBI, out of Salt Lake, where I am kept abreast of any new leads or information in regards to the whereabouts of Ted, however, as of this date, nothing has come up whatsoever. Many leads have been checked out and proven to be false. All the phone numbers that Ted called with his credit card have been and are being checked out by the FBI Office and nothing has come up from them.

  At this time the FBI is considering putting Ted on the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, but the decision has not come down from the Washington office.

  Just before the escape, Ted had won a change of venue, from the Aspen County Courthouse for his trial to Colorado Springs, Colorado, and this tentatively scheduled for January the 9th, with the same judge, Judge Lore presiding.

  However due to his escape, this was cancelled and who knows when a new trial date will ever be set.

  The below transcription is of a telephone conversation between Detective Jerry Thompson and an Undersheriff Hart, concerning the escape of Ted Bundy, and it follows a normal Q&A pattern:

  December 31, 1977

  A: Hello.

  Q: Sheriff?

  A: Yeah.

  Q: This is Jerry Thompson, Sheriff’s Office in Salt Lake. Just talked to Mike Fisher a minute ago and we’re trying to get a broadcast out on Bundy over here, but I didn’t get a description if he’s wearing a beard, mustache, or anything you could help us with.

  A: Now, now you bet, his hair is not too short, of course it’s dark brown, and he just has a mustache and sideburns about halfway down to his ears, they say he shaved off his whiskers again.

  Q: Okay.

  A: And to the best of my knowledge, he would have, if he, I don’t find those boots that he brought over here from Point of the Mountain (Author’s note: the nickname for the Utah State Prison).

  Q: Um hum.

  A: And of course they got them marked you know and he got a bunch of his shirts out of the apartment, he went over the top of the sales, and come down in the apartment and he got a bunch of short-sleeved shirts out of there, all different colors.

  Q: Out of an apartment?

  A; Yeah, the jailer’s apartment.

  Q: Oh, I see.

  A: And when he did, now he didn’t take any coats with him, and he’s got on blue jeans, and he took a muzzle loading rifle and a muzzle loading Derringer.

  Q: Okay.

  A: He didn’t take any
ammunition but he just got them, of course he can hock them.

  Q: Um hum.

  A: But he had about $7 in change on him and that’s all I can see that the guy took. (Author’s note: Bundy had over $700 with him as he escaped. This was money that had been sent to him by family and friends and was to be used to pay his attorneys and other legal expenses, and Bundy apparently had access to it. But the particulars of why he was allowed access to this money, which turned out to be a major mistake, is unknown to this author.)

  Q: We got a time limit on him at all, Sheriff?

  A: I wish I could answer that one.

  Q: (Chuckles)

  A: No, they called me at 12:10, I was eating lunch at home and they called me at 12:10, and said that Bundy was missing, and come to find out no one has seen him since about seven last evening and he fixed his bunk you know so that it looked like he was in there. And he stuffed one of the sleeves of his shirt with paper and put it out from under the cover, you see, so it looked like he was laying on his side and his arm was out from under the cover.

  Q: Um hum.

  A: So it looked like his arm there, and fixed it up and left it that way, one of the oldest ruses there are.

  Q: And how did he get out of the cell, sheriff?

  A: Well, they tore a light fixture out of there years ago and we’ve never been able to get the damn welders in here, they don’t like to come in (here) and work.

  Q: Um hum.

  A: And we can’t get the welder in here to fix it up, well, he just went out through there, it’s about a foot square.

  Q: But then does that get him outside the jail, or just into another area?

  A: No, it got him into the jailer’s apartment, then they’ve got a front door on that apartment which leads out into the street and he just walked out that way.

  Q: I see, okay, well, I don’t know if there’s any indication he’ll come back here in the area, but we wanted to get a broadcast and everything out as soon as we could.

  A: Well, I’ll appreciate anything you can do.

  Q: Okay, if there’s anything…

  A: And I don’t, I don’t want any layman cripples, you don’t need to send him back.

  Q: Ha, ha, ha, I know just what you mean, if there’s anything we can do over here sheriff to help you, why, don’t hesitate to give us a call.

  A: I certainly will.

  Q: Okay.

  A: And I appreciate your help very much.

  Q: Thank you very much, sheriff.

  A: You bet.

  Q: Bye.

  A: Bye.

  INFORMATION

  Melissa Smith Criminal Homicide

  Report by Detective Jerry Thompson

  On 3-21-77, Mike Fisher from Aspen, Colorado, and Milton K. Blakey, who is Chief Deputy out of the District Attorney’s Office in Colorado Springs, Colorado. His telephone number is (303) 475-8500. Arrived in Salt Lake City and a conference was held Monday, Tuesday, and half of Wednesday, with these individuals, this detective, Dave Yocom, from the Salt Lake County Attorney’s Office, Sergeant Paul Forbes from Murray PD, and Brent Bullock from county attorney’s office in Utah County. Numerous other officers and people were contacted during this time, as they are preparing for their case on Ted Bundy, which goes to court April 4, 1977.

  They made contact with several of the witnesses in the Salt Lake area in regard to their case. They were unable to make contact with Rose Mary Shearer, which had been used as a witness in the Carol DaRonch case. They asked this detective if I would make contact with her. Contact was made with Rose Mary Shearer at her apartment, which is in the Stratford Hotel in Salt Lake City, 169 East 2nd South, Apartment 301. She’s living there with her younger sister and her mother.

  They requested that I show her some pictures of some coats out of a magazine that they had left me, to see if she could identify any one of them or any resemblance to them that Mr. Bundy had worn during the time that she had lived across the hall from him. She was shown the pictures and stated, “It’s been so long ago, I just can’t tell you. I do believe, and in fact I am sure, that he had several jackets like windbreakers, of the slick finish, nylon type.” She says, “I believe they were dark blue, but they could have been a different color. They did zip up in the front.” And she was just not sure if they looked like the ones in the photo, or in the picture or not. She says, “They could have been.” But it’s been too long for her to really tell.

  Also, they requested if I could get them another driver’s license photo of a Scott Wesley Nelson (Author’s note: individual’s date of birth redacted by me). That driver’s license no. is: XXXXXXXX. Two photos were acquired of this individual and the one will be mailed back to them; and contact was made with our intelligence division in an attempt to come up with his telephone number that he had when he was living in Salt Lake in ‘74 and ‘75, so that a subpoena may be served on that number in an attempt to come up with any long-distance phone calls this individual made. He is currently residing in Ontario, Canada. I do not have the exact address, but Utah County does and they have had the Royal Mounties in Canada make contact with this individual. Checking with the University of Utah, the only thing they have on this individual is he did graduate from the U of U in 1975, and at that time the only address they had was 421 West 800 South in Bountiful, Utah. They have no other information on this individual at this time.

  At this time, it is noted that Bret Bullock from the Utah County Attorney’s Office states that they have come up with some pertinent information in regard to the Laura Aime homicide down there, where they can now positively put Bundy with Laura Aime. Details of that instance will be in their reports, and a copy will be obtained by this detective for my file. Also, they are going over some of the evidence that they have now come up with down there, and have requested that the tires from Bundy’s Volkswagen be removed so that they can send them back to the lab and compare them with two tire casts that they have now found in their evidence room. This detective will be working with the Utah County Attorney’s Office in regard to this new evidence that they have come up with in regard to Bundy. That information will be kept on additional follow-ups as it comes in.

  The following report concerns the Intermountain Crime Conference, which was held at the Holiday Inn in Aspen, Colorado, on November 14 and 15 of 1975. The report was written by Detective Jerry Thompson of the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

  On 11-12-75, Capt. Hayward, Sgt. Paul Forbes of Murray PD and this detective left for Aspen, Colorado, for a conference being held there at the Holiday Inn in regard to suspect Ted Bundy and the missing girls in the Intermountain West. The conference was held on the 13th and 14th of November in Aspen. Represented from the state of Utah, other than the three mentioned above, were Chief Anderson of Bountiful PD, Detective Ira Beal of Bountiful PD, Jay Hunt of Davis County Sheriff’s Office, Dave Yocom from the Salt Lake County Attorney’s Office, and Chris W. Eskridge from the Utah County Sheriff’s Office. There were representatives from the state of Washington, from the state of California, and several agencies in the state of Colorado. A list of every individual at the meeting is attached in my file.

  Ted Bundy was discussed from his time of birth up until the present with all the background that has been done on him by all agencies involved, plus all the evidence and the cases of all agencies were discussed in general. It was a very beneficial meeting and it enlightened all agencies of just what everyone else had and what everyone is up against and what they have to look for. There was nothing that came out of the meeting that would help us or any other agencies file a case at this time. Tapes were made of the individuals making their presentations at this meeting and are contained in my case file. This meeting was hosted by the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office in Aspen, Colorado, and was concluded on 11-14-75.

  On 11-20-75, Ted Bundy was released from the Salt Lake County Jail at approximately 5:0
0 p.m. on a cash bail apparently put up by his mother and father who were in town at the time. Also on this same day it was learned by Deputy County Attorney Dave Yocom that Mr. Bundy had two titles to his 1968 Volkswagen. One of them was given to Vince Walton, the bondsman, and the other one was given to the Severson boy whom he sold his Volkswagen to. He had applied for a duplicate title some time ago and had signed both of them over. In regard to this situation, a complaint was signed by Deputy County Attorney Dave Yocom for fraudulently obtaining a motor vehicle title, or something in regard to that phrase. The bail was currently set at $2,500.00 on it. The following morning, on 11-21-75, Mr. Bundy appeared in Judge Grant’s Court for the preliminary hearing on the aggravated kidnapping charge. At this time the subject was arraigned on this count and was placed on his OR (own recognizance) in regard to that, the judge stating he was already out on bail for another case. The trial lasted the entire day of Friday, 11-21-75, at which time Mr. Bundy, during his recess, made press releases to the press; he was very jovial, very happy, very talkative to everyone.

  The case was then continued over the weekend to Monday morning, 11-24-75. It was held in the judge’s chambers between Dave Yocom, Mr. Bundy’s attorney John O’Connell, and Mr. Bundy himself. The judge then took it under advisement until Wednesday, 11-26-75 at 1:30 p.m. and the judge gave his decision stating that the subject was bound over to the district court on aggravated kidnapping and that the judge was dropping the attempted criminal homicide charge, as he saw no evidence representing this type of crime. The subject then sneaked out the back of the courtroom and took off on a rather hurried walk through the halls and across the parking lot, not speaking to any news media or to anyone attempting to talk to him. He appeared to have just the reverse as when he first went into the courtroom, as he was very happy and jovial at first and now he was completely reversed.

  On 11-25-75, the F.B.I. Laboratory called our office and talked to Detective Forbes, telling him that from the samples of stuff sent back to them from the Volkswagen, they had definitely come up with human hair samples and that if we could send them back any samples to compare then with, they would see what they could come up with. They also told him that they had come up with a plastic type substance in the vehicle which represented, as near as they could tell, something that buttons and clothing would come with or be made, and to send anything back to compare that with, if we could. A sample of Melissa Smith’s hair, which was already sent back to the FBI lab once before, is being re-submitted to them. Also, Vern Harrington of Utah County Sheriff’s Office was informed of this, and he stated he would send the slides of hair from Laura Aime back to the lab. Detective Keppel of King County Sheriff’s Office in Seattle stated that he would send back the hair samples of his girls up there that he had. Contact has not been made yet with Lt. Baldridge of Aspen, Colorado, in regard to his girl. Contact will be made with him, and all samples of female hair which we do have throughout the three states should be mailed off to the FBI laboratory before the middle of the first week in December.