Article entitled "Who Is Ted Bundy?" published in The Aspen Times of August 4, 1977

An archivist from the Aspen Historical Society has just kindly sent me a scanned version of an article entitled "Who Is Ted Bundy?" published in The Aspen Times of August 4, 1977. Because the papers were bound the best she could do was this pdf with the article - the edges are a bit difficult to read because of the binding, but readable. It satisfied my personal research. And I'm now sharing the article publicly on my archive.org channel, dedicated to sharing rare materials from my personal stash with everybody: https://archive.org/details/who-is-ted-bundy

Was Bundy perhaps a victim of mistaken identity, wonders the author of the 1977 article... Then he points our that a critical link, albeit circumstantial, involves the use of a credit card...

“A credit card issued to Bundy was used to buy gas in Glenwood Springs twice on or near Jan 12, 1975, the date Caryn Campbell disappeared. The license number recorded matched that of Bundy’s Volkswagen. A handwriting expert said the signature matched too.

“Police say that card was used March 15, 1975, in Dillon, the date that Julie Cunningham, 26, disappeared. She was last seen walking near her Vail apartment.

“The credit card was used again April 6 in Grand Junction, the day that Mrs Denise Lynn Oliverson, 25, disappeared. Her bicycle and shoes were found about a mile from her home the next day.

“During questioning at a preliminary hearing, Bundy said that the card used in Glenwood Springs and in Green River, Utah, the next day (between Glenwood and Salt Lake) “must have been” his, since his card had never been stolen.

“Bundy was vague on the stand when asked about his travels in Colorado. He said he didn’t know the difference between Vail and Aspen, wasn’t sure whether he had ever been to Aspen.

“He said he often took long drives to relax from the pressure of studies and didn’t pay too much attention to the places he passed through.

“Glenwood is not Aspen or Snowmass Resort, and the prosecution introduced no solid evidence during the preliminary hearings that would place Bundy there the day of the Campbell disappearance.”

The DaRonch trial behan Feb 23, 1976, and Bundy was found guilty of aggravated kidnapping March 1, 1976. After a 90-day diagnostic evaluation at Utah State Prison, he was sentenced June 30 to 1-15 years.  According to the author of this article, “It was obvious from his first appearance in the District Courtroom, that Ted Bundy was no ordinary defendant.

“Dressed for his first appearances, in loafers, brown slacks and a belted cardigan, he looked more like a young attorney than a man accused of murder.”

“And, indeed, he soon announced his intention to represent himself.

“‘I’m using positive psychology,’ he said in an interview after the announcement. ‘I’m going to do it because I’m right, because the person I’m representing is innocent.”

“District Judge George Lohr, who is hearing the case, allowed Bundy to represent himself, but insisted that he be advised.

“That advice came at first from the public defender’s office, but now Bundy is assisted by Aspen attorney Stephen Ware, a person he respects.

“Bundy moved about the courtroom easily, spoke casually to the prosecutors and the press. He smiled often and joked about his circumstances or events taking place. Spectators often had to ask, ‘Which one is Bundy?’

“Although he is restrained by leg shackles since his escape, Bundy retains his sense of humor, alertness and general optimism.

“During the proceedings, Bundy is often taking notes rapidly on a legal pad. The files to date nearly fill a cardboard box that is about 2 by 3.

“From time to time, the defendant looks around the courtroom, observing everyone and everything.

“Sheriff’s Deputy Donald Davis testified that Bundy’s alertness and observation was calculated. Davis said that Bundy told him after he was recaptured that he had timed the movements of his guards in anticipation of an escape.

“Bundy told Davis he kept track of how long it took various guards to smoke a cigarette and so on, figuring when he would have the best opportunity to escape.

“‘There is always a continuing adjustment to circumstances,’ Bundy said last week.

“He was talking about life in jail, but the statement might be applied to his actions in general.

“Talking with reporters during a court break, he once corrected one’s use of language. ‘I wish you would stop calling me an ‘accused murderer,’ he said, ‘and say ‘accused of murder.’

“Bundy reads most of the accounts of his trial, and rates them. He seems to genuinely enjoy the little exchanges with other attorneys, clerks, and reporters in the courtroom.

“‘He’s got the gift of gab,’ one of his Utah jailers said. It’s true.

“’He’s a hell of a nice guy,’ an Aspen cellmate said.

“After working in politics, Bundy said, it was a natural step to study law. ‘Lawyers and politicians are all products of a devious mind,’ he said.

“Bundy was in a jovial mood when he granted an interview to the Times after a hearing last Friday. He is very happy with the assignment of ware and Ware’s associate Kenneth Dresner. They are advising him in the murder case and representing him on charges filed after his escape. Again, it is perhaps a matter of continual adjustment to circumstances. Bundy was unhappy with Chuck Leidner, the public defender who originally was assisting him. He kept complaining until he got Ware.

“Judge Lohr has also ruled favorably on a whole series of other motions filed by Bundy to improve his conditions of imprisonment and to help him defend himself. Bundy has a rudimentary law office in his cell and can use the Garfield County law library. He can receive calls and make them using a credit card.

“He has been assigned not only Ware and Dresner, but his own investigator, pathologist and hair expert. His diet has been improved and a bothersome tooth ordered repaired by the court. This is not to say that conditions are luxurious for him. He is still in solitary confinement in a small cell. Attorney Ware said last Friday that he could not conduct interviews in that cell. Again the court ordered that a suitable office be provided. Ware said the cell was unbearably hot and stuffy and that he couldn’t get the jailers to let him out for a half hour after the interview was over. In the meantime, he added, he was given a parking ticket. Perhaps the fact that Ware joined the attack on his jail conditions Friday helped to buoy Bundy’s spirits Friday.”

As a side note, this article was sent to me and other researchers free of charge, and yet it has been put up for sale on Patreon by someone who obtained it from the same "free" source as me: it was scanned by the Aspen Historical Society and sent to the Patreon "creator" who is now selling it. Charging money on Patreon for research materials that are obtained for free from the original source, must be a new fad...