Ted Bundy for the Defense - Part Three: Unhinged

About this episode

This episode follows Ted Bundy's violent actions in Florida after escaping jail, leading to multiple murders and his eventual arrest.

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. Sponsors:  Completing the Puzzle: Go to CompletingthePuzzle.com and use code OUAC for $10 off your first puzzle subscription box or gift card. Weight Loss by Hers…

People in this episode

Host: Esther Ludlow

Topics covered

• Ted Bundy
• true crime
• sorority murders
• criminal behavior
• courtroom behavior
• survivor testimony

Keywords

• Ted Bundy
• Chi Omega murders
• Cheryl Thomas
• Kimberly Leach
• Florida
• true crime
• courtroom behavior

Sponsors

Completing the Puzzle, Weight Loss by Hers, Talkiatry

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Bundy Murders: A Comprehensive History, Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers, The Devil’s Defender

Places: Florida, Tallahassee, Pensacola, Albuquerque, NM

More episodes of Once Upon A Crime

• Ted Bundy for the Defense - Part Four: Reckoning · March 3, 2026 · 29 min
• The Other Ted Bundy: Suspicion, Denial, and the Warnings That Came Too Early · February 10, 2026 · 15 min
• Ted Bundy for the Defense - Part Two: The Mask Cracks · February 3, 2026 · 25 min
• Bonus Episode - Bill Mann - “The Black Dahlia” follow-up interview - The Suspect · January 27, 2026 · 42 min
• Ted Bundy for the Defense – Part One: Beginnings · January 20, 2026 · 25 min
• Ted Bundy for the Defense - The Myth on Trial · January 13, 2026 · 14 min