4 – His Victims Were Based On a Template of his Ex-Girlfriend
This fact doesn’t come as a surprise to those who study serial killers. It is common for these deranged individuals to choose victims based on lost love or even a parental figure (usually the mother). When it comes to Bundy, the ‘template’ was his one-time girlfriend, Diane Edwards, more commonly known by the pseudonym Stephanie Brooks.
She was a fellow classmate at the University of Washington, and they started dating in 1967. At that time, Bundy had no real direction in life and soon dropped out of college and worked in a number of minimum wage jobs. Soon after, Brooks dumped Bundy and returned home to California. She did not want a relationship with someone who had no ambition and was immature.
Bundy had another tempestuous relationship (with Elizabeth Kloepfer) after that but he was heartbroken when Brooks left him. Ultimately, he appeared to turn his life around and returned to the University of Washington where he graduated with a degree in psychology. Bundy rekindled his relationship with Brooks in 1973, and she was amazed at his transformation from layabout into a serious and dedicated professional.
At that stage in his life, it appeared as if Bundy was destined for a fine legal and political career. After his graduation in 1972, he joined the reelection campaign of Washington Governor Daniel Evans. Although he only achieved average scores on Law School Admission Tests, Bundy was accepted into the law schools of the University of Utah and UPS. He gained admission mainly due to letters of recommendation from important people including Evans.
Bundy even discussed marriage with Brooks as their relationship blossomed, but one day in January 1974, he broke off all contact. Eventually, he coldly answered one call and hung up, never to speak to her again. According to Bundy, he never forgave Brooks for the initial breakup and just wanted to prove that he could have married her. By now, Bundy had stopped attending law school, and women started to disappear.
All of his victims have a similar appearance to Brooks. They were all white females aged 15-25, college students from middle-class backgrounds and they all had long, straight dark brown hair with a parting down the center. Former police officer and crime writer Ann Rule worked alongside Bundy on numerous occasions, and there were plenty of opportunities for him to kill her. Fortunately for Rule, she did not resemble Brooks, so she was never a likely victim.