True Crime Book: The Stranger Beside Me
The Crime writer Ann Rule’s book About Ted Bundy from a Personal Perspective~ She Knew Him Before he Was A Monster!
I am about 1/3 the way through The Stranger Beside Me which caught my eye because Ann Rule was a lifetime true crime writer who happened to meet and work with Ted Bundy before he became an infamous Serial Killer.
He killed over 36 young women in Washington, Utah, and later when he was trying to start over, “couldn’t help himself” and started killing again in Florida.
In Florida, he registered as a student pretending to be age 23, even though he was 31 at the time.
My thought with him moving around to kill, was I’m so glad Ohio wasn’t on his radar. My mother was a teenager in the ’70s, but she also wasn’t Ted Bundy’s type! Hooray!
Ted Bundy tended to kill women with long brown hair with a middle part. Who were ‘tiny’ at 100–115 lbs and approximately 5ft-5'3.
Later on, he did kill a couple of blonde women and one that was 6'ft.
I guess he lowered his standards! (bad joke).
Ann Rule, knew Ted from working with him alone, three years prior on countless late nights helping women at the crisis call center. He confided in her about being illegitimate and talked openly about his first love who didn’t want to be with him.
Since Ann was older (about 15 years his senior, and with 4 kids) was not on his relationship or kill radar however he did have a history of befriending older women.
This book is particularly interesting because it was written from a female perspective in 1981 (when it was a man’s world, especially in the police department) and from someone who knew him before he became a monster.
She also talks about the women he murdered. Like what they were going through that day, their relationships, and what they were studying to become. He targeted a lot of women on college campuses and was dubbed the ‘Campus Killer’.
Usually, the women were distracted which made them an easier target. In several cases, Ted Bundy would nab them within 40 feet of safety.
In 1973, when the murders began, there were thousands of men named Ted and thousands of people who drove brown and light brown VW Bugs. But he wasn’t even on the cop’s radar, even though he had both of those things, because he was clean-cut and had no criminal record on file. Although sometimes, he did wear a fake mustache and pretend to be a cop to lure victims!
Ann Rule went to a party with Ted in 1973. Doesn’t hear from him for two years. Then out of the blue, he calls her.
He knows she writes for the police and wants to find out what they know about him. It is a heart stopping moment but he sees her as his adversary and friend.
He is the ultimate Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The way he becomes this animal when he is stalking his prey is horrifying which Ann also describes in some instances like at the high school play. Where he loiters and blocks the play director’s path. Stares at her in a creepy way when she asks if he found someone to help with his car and tells her she’s pretty instead of responding. If someone I didn’t know was behind the scenes at a high school play acting creepy, I would have called the cops! It could have saved a life.
Ann Rule talks a lot about the victims when they were people. But then she also talks about the bodies being discovered. What state they were in. When she talks about finding a lot of skulls in one place, I had to take a 24-hour breather.
After a by-chance encounter, where Ted gets pulled over by a highway patrol cop, they find “burglar equipment” in his car. Including handcuffs like the ones he used on his victim tht got away. They also find a panty hose mask, which really really scared me!
Out of all the things!
But his reason for having the panty hose mask he said “was to keep warm under his ski mask” in winter which could also be true but like when he’s outside burying the bodies in the mountains. AAAHhhh!!!
He also has his passenger seat missing and thrown in the back seat. Why is that?
Seeing that in his car, did save a girl though, who was sus after helping him carry books to his car. (he would wear a fake cast on his arm or leg to appear weak).
Ted Bundy after being put in prison finally (phew) writes Ann Rule letters and poems that rhyme. She appears to be on his side even though she has a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.
She up to this point, has no idea about the Utah murders and the Florida ones, which haven’t happened yet.
Meg Anders, his “girlfriend” is the key to all the things the police were missing. She is in love with him so doesn;t see how bad it is but does tell the cops about him anyway when her friend keeps insisting.
She sees all the women’s clothing in his room, and has to deal with him wanting to do weird sex stuff. Which she says no to after a point.
One night, she wakes up to him examining her body under the blanket. Like with a flashlight.
Meg is like his practice doll. But she really spills the beans. Including that he sometimes borrows her light brown VW Bug.. (he also has a brown one) and that he got upset when she wanted to cut her hair short.
She says:
He loves brown long hair. Especially when parted in the middle. His first girlfriend wore it that way too.
Eeeeeeek
It’s a page-turner! It’s like reading an awesome movie. I’m still scared even though Ted Bundy has been dead for over 30 years.
I want to say I can’t wait to see what happens next but I do know the general timeline. There’s just a lot of it I was too afraid to read more about for a while but reading it from the perspective of a woman who knew him, slowly finding out the truth is fascinating.
Do you have a personal story about True Crime?