Elanor Louise Cowell, who went by Louise, was 22 years old and unmarried when she gave birth to her son Ted. Ted’s father may have been Lloyed Marshall, an Air force veteran and a Penn state graduate, according to Ann Rule, a coworker of Ted’s and the author of the book The Stranger Beside me. Other sources had Ted’s father it that his father was also his grandfather. Because Ted’s birth certificate lists his father as “Unknown,” his biological father’s identity may never be confirmed. In 1951, Louise married Johnnie Bundy. While Ted took his name, he reportedly didn’t have much respect for his stepfather, whom he resented for being too uneducated and working class. Johnnie and Louise had several children together. Louise was working as a secretary at the University of Puget and still married Johnnie in the 1970’s when Ted was accused of his crimes. She refused to believe the charges for years. Although she changed her stance after he confessed. Bundy was born in Burlington, Vermont on November 24, 1946. He started life as his mother’s secret shame, as his illegitimate birth humiliated her deeply religious parents. Louise delivered Ted at a home for unwed mothers in Vermont and later brought her son to her parents in Philadelphia. To hide the fact he was an illegitimate child, Bundy was raised as the adopted son of his grandparents and was told that his mother was his sister. Eleanor moved with Bundy to Tacoma, Washington, a few years later, and soon married his stepfather Johnnie. From all appearances, Bundy grew up in a content working-class family. He showed an unusual interest in macabre at an early age. Around the age of 3, he became fascinated by knives. A shy but bright child, Bundy did well in school but not with his peers. As a teenager, a darker side of his character started to emerge. Bundy liked to peer in other people’s windows and thought nothing of stealing things he wanted from other people. Bundy confessed to 36 killings of young women across several states in the 1970’s, but experts believe that the final tally may be closer to 100 or more. The exact number of women Bundy killed will never be known. His killings usually followed a gruesome pattern: He often raped his victims before beating them to death. While there is some debate as to when Bundy started killing, most sources say that he began his murderous rampage around 1974. Around this time, many women in the Seattle area and in nearby Oregon went missing. Stories circulated about some of the victims last being seen in the company of a young, dark-haired man known as “Ted.” He often lured his victims into his car by pretending to be injured and asking for their help. Their kindness proved to be a fatal mistake.