Chameleon: The True Story of Ted Bundy A film by Brian Lee Tucker
Final draft / December 2014 [email protected]
1 BLACK SCREEN WITH THE TITLES:
“Sometimes I feel like a vampire…I just can’t help myself.” - Ted Bundy
FADE IN INT. FLORIDA STATE PRISON – BRADFORD COUNTY, FLORIDA – 1989 – DAY
{Special Agent WILLIAM HAGMAIER sits in a small interrogation room with TED BUNDY, conducting the last interview with TED he would give before his execution. TED seems a little nervous and fidgety but otherwise friendly and compliant, wearing a big smile.}
WH: It is about 2:30 in the afternoon. You are scheduled to be executed tomorrow morning at 7:00, if you don’t receive another stay. What is going through your mind? What thoughts have you had in these last few days?
TED: I won’t kid you to say it is something I feel I’m in control of or have come to terms with. It’s a moment- by-moment thing. Sometimes I feel very tranquil and other times I don’t feel tranquil at all. What’s going through my mind right now is to use the minutes and hours I have left as fruitfully as possible. It helps to live in the moment, in the essence that we use it productively. Right now I’m feeling
2 calm, in large part because I’m here with you.
WH: For the record, you are guilty of killing many women and girls.
TED: Yes, that’s true.
WH: How did it happen? Take me back. What are the antecedents of the behavior that we’ve seen? You were raised in what you consider to be a healthy home. You were not physically, sexually or emotionally abused.
TED: No. And that’s part of the tragedy of this whole situation. I grew up in a wonderful home with two dedicated and loving parents, as one of 5 brothers and sisters. We, as children, were the focus of my parent’s lives. We regularly attended church. My parents did not drink or smoke or gamble. There was no physical abuse or fighting in the home. I’m not saying it was “Leave it to Beaver”, but it was a fine, solid Christian home. I hope no one will try to take the easy way out of this and accuse my family of contributing to this. I know, and I’m trying to tell you as honestly as I know how, what happened...
3 DISSOLVE TO INT. THE HOME OF SAMUEL AND ELEANOR COWELL – PHILADELPHIA – 1956 – DAY
{A ten year old TED BUNDY sits in the middle of the living room floor wrapping up newspapers for his paper route. His grandfather, SAMUEL, walks in to see the mess in the floor and flies into a fit of rage. He is a tyrannical bully and a bigot who hates blacks, Italians, Catholics, and Jews, beats his wife and the family dog, and has swung neighborhood cats by their tails in the past.}
SAMUEL: Damn it! Look at this mess! Haven’t I told you not to wrap your papers in here?!
{TED looks petrified, tears welling up in his eyes.}
TED: Yes, daddy.
SAMUEL: Then take this mess to your bedroom, now!
{TED begins picking up the mess when his mother, LOUISE, walks in, glaring at her father hatefully.}
LOUISE: {to SAMUEL} it’s bad enough he thinks you are his father, do you have to be so mean to him?
4 SAMUEL: {whispering} then you shouldn’t have gotten knocked up by some bum who left you high and dry, huh?
LOUISE: Go to hell, Samuel Cowell.
SAMUEL: {glaring hatefully} I’m already there.
EXT. TED’S PAPER ROUTE – DAY
{TED has just finished his route and is on his way home when he passes an open TRASH CAN and glances at it and comes to a halt. He peeks inside and sees several PORNOGRAPHIC MAGAZINES and pulls them out, seeming instantly captivated by them and by the lurid pictures on the cover. He tucks them into his jacket and climbs back on his bike and pedals away.}
INT. TED’S BEDROOM – NIGHT
{TED is sitting on his bed in his underwear, using a flashlight to look at the magazines in the dark. His eyes wide in awe at the violent images, he lowers one hand down into his underwear, tugging at his penis and working himself up into his first sexual frenzy.}
TIGHT SHOT OF MAGAZINE
{It contains images of a NAKED WOMAN who has been tied to a bed on her hands
5 and knees being lashed with a bull whip by a NAKED OLDER MAN.}
EXT. THE PAPER ROUTE – DAY
{TED has stopped by the same trash can again and opens the lid to see more HADRCORE, VIOLENT MAGAZINES inside. Glancing around to see if anyone is looking, he stuffs them into his jacket again and pedals away.}
INT. THE LOCAL DRUGSTORE – DAY
{TED is at the magazine racks looking over hardcore magazines depicting violence and rough sex on the covers. The PHARMASIST, HAROLD PINKERTON, sees TED glancing over the ADULT section and walks over to shoo him away.}
HAROLD: You’re Louise’s boy, Ted, aren’t you?
{TED looks embarrassed at being caught in the ADULT section.}
TED: Yes, sir.
HAROLD: You shouldn’t be looking at the adult books, son. The comic books are right over there, ok?
TED: Ok.
{After HAROLD walks away to wait on a customer, TED shoves a couple of the
6 adult magazines down his pants and walks out.}
FADE OUT
FADE IN EXT. THE PAPER ROUTE – DUSK
{TED is pedaling his bike toward home when he sees a COLLEGE AGED GIRL through a window of a house nearby, wearing a bathrobe as though she has just come out of the shower. She is beautiful, with long blonde hair and blue eyes. TED stops his bike and hides it in some nearby bushes and creeps over to her window to watch her dress. A moment later she drops the robe, her back to him, exposing her buttocks. He reaches down into his pants, grasping his penis, and begins masturbating furiously.}
INT. THE COWELL HOME – NIGHT
{EVERYONE is sitting at the dinner table eating when TED walks in from his paper route wearing a big stupid grin.}
LOUISE: Where have you been? You should have been done with your paper route almost an hour ago.
TED: My chain came off and I had to walk the bike over to the gas station.
LOUISE: Oh my gosh; are you ok?
7 SAMUEL: Christ, woman, he’s not a baby, quit treating him like one.
TED: May I be excused to go take a bath?
LOUISE: Ok, honey, but hurry back before your dinner gets cold.
TED: {rolling his eyes} ok, mom.
{As TED leaves the room, SAMUEL shoots him a dirty look. TED’S AUNT, JULIA, sits across from SAMUEL glaring at him.}
SAMUEL: What the hell are you looking at, you little whore?
INT. THE COWELL HOME – LATE NIGHT
{TED is asleep in his bedroom when a SOUND coming from the hallway outside his door wakes him up. He climbs out of bed and peeks out the door to see SAMUEL standing behind JULIA, forcing her to bend over the stair railing as he yanks down her panties and proceeds to sodomize her. As he stands there with her eyes full of tears and SAMUEL’S hand clamped down over her mouth, TED, instead of seeming frightened by it all, seems fascinated, almost mesmerized by it all, and even cracks a smile.}
FADE OUT
8 FADE IN INT. A CHRISTIAN SINGLES DANCE IN TACOMA, WASHINGTON – 1961 – NIGHT
{LOUISE is standing amongst the other SINGLE WOMEN watching the other PEOPLE dance when she notices a tall, handsome man eyeballing her from across the room. His name is JOHNNY CULPEPPER BUNDY. He motions to her to see if she wants to dance, and she blushes and nods her head yes.}
INT. THE DANCE FLOOR
{LOUISE and JOHNNY are slow dancing and gazing into each other’s eyes as if they’ve known each other forever. He leans in and whispers to her.}
JOHNNY: You have such beautiful eyes.
LOUISE: Careful; flattery might get you everywhere.
JOHNNY: I hope so.
LOUISE: Me, too.
JOHNNY: {jokingly} did it ever cross your mind I might be a serial killer with a yen for pretty Christian singles?
LOUISE: Not really. You strike me more as the Prince Charming type.
JOHNNY: I have my moments.
9 LOUISE: I bet you do.
{There is silence between them for a few moments.}
LOUISE: My church is having a picnic this Sunday. Would you like to come?
JOHNNY: That sounds like fun, I’d love to.
EXT. THE CHURCH PICNIC – DAY
{LOUISE and JOHNNY are sitting on a picnic table talking while TED stands alone, watching other KIDS play nearby. He looks bored and restless, as though he doesn’t want to be there. A pretty teenage BLONDE GIRL walks up to him, holding an ice cream cone.}
GIRL: Want some? It’s good.
TED: What?
GIRL: My ice cream. You want some?
TED: {forcing a smile} no thanks.
GIRL: I’m Danica.
TED: Ted.
DANICA: You look really bored.
TED: {glumly] I am.
10 DANICA: I’m supposed to be doing piano right now but I was bored so I came outside {Pause} It’ll take my Mom awhile to figure out I’m not practicing. I left my recital tape on.
TED: Why?
DANICA: That’s just what I felt like doing today. Don’t you feel like just doing stuff sometimes?
TED: {grinning} yeah, I do {Pause} want to see what I like to do?
GIRL: {shrugging} Sure.
TED: {motioning to the nearby woods} follow me.
EXT. A SMALL CLEARING IN THE WOODS
{TED and DANICA are standing by an old picnic table and talking.}
DANICA: So, what is it you want to show me?
TED: This.
{TED drops his pants, exposing his penis. DANICA seems taken back at first, then smiles.}
DANICA: Ok, it’s cute, but what do you want me to do with it?
11 TED: Come over here and get down on your knees.
DANICA: {grinning seductively} what for, you naughty boy?
TED: {staring angrily} just do it.
{DANICA obeys him, lowering down to her knees and OUT OF FRAME. TED arches his back ever so slightly, smiling, and moaning, as if he’s dreamed about this moment for a long time. TED winces now, his face a grimace of pain as he reaches down and pushes DANICA away.}
TED: You bit me!
DANICA: Yes, but, for a moment there, didn’t you like it?
TED: Let’s see how you like this.
{TED grabs her and twists her arms behind her back, putting her in a lot of pain. He pushes her up against the table, and reaches down with one hand and yanks up her short skirt, exposing her bare buttocks.}
DANICA: {terrified} no, wait! I’m sorry I bit you! Please!
TED: Now I’ll show you what real pain is.
{TED proceeds to sodomize her, her face a mask of pain and fear. He thrusts
12 away at her mercilessly, and she begins to cry.}
DANICA: Please, stop! I’m sorry!
TED: No you aren’t, not yet.
{TED begins slapping her buttocks hard, leaving welts and bruises. She screams in pain now.}
DANICA: Please, IT HURTS!
{TED finishes now, backing away from her and slapping her buttocks viciously as he does so. He grins maniacally as he leans down to whisper in her ear.}
TED: And remember; if you tell anybody about this, I’ll come back and do it again, then I will kill you. Understand?
DANICA: {in tears} yes…
TED: Good. Now pull your skirt down, you nasty little whore.
{TED walks away, zipping up his pants and grinning, leaving DANICA leaned over the table in tears, overcome with pain, fear, and humiliation, unable to move.}
EXT. THE PICNIC AREA – A LITTLE LATER
{TED comes walking out of the woods wearing a big smile. He’s happy now, having raped the girl just like he’d
13 seen the men doing to young girls in the magazines. LOUISE sees him and motions to him to join her and JOHNNY.}
LOUISE: Ted, honey, this is Johnny.
TED: {indifferently} hi.
JOHNNY: Your mom tells me you’re quite the entrepreneur.
TED: A what?
JOHNNY: You know, have made a lot of money on your paper route.
TED: Oh, yeah, I guess.
LOUISE: Ted, I’ve invited Johnny over to our place for dinner next week. Is that ok with you?
JOHNNY: Yeah, big guy, I always ask the man of the house first.
{TED smiles at the remark, as if it insinuates he has the most authority.}
TED: Sure, that’s ok.
LOUISE: Wonderful!
TED: Mom, can I go on home? I have a headache.
LOUISE: Oh honey, are you ok?
14 TED: It’s just a headache, mom, I’ll live.
LOUISE: Well, ok, but lock it and don’t open it for anyone but me, ok?
TED: {rolling his eyes} ok.
{She hands him the house key and he turns to leave.}
LOUISE: Teddy?
TED: Yeah?
LOUISE: Where’s my kiss?
TED: {rolling his eyes} oh, mom.
{He walks back over and kisses her cheek and turns to walk away again. JOHNNY shoots her a funny look.}
JOHNNY: He’s sort of different, isn’t he?
LOUISE: {glumly} you don’t know the half of it.
INT. THE LOCAL CHURCH – THREE MONTHS LATER – DAY
{LOUISE has married JOHNNY, and the vows are now over and as they walk down the aisle, with TED following not too far behind, the GUESTS cheer and toss rice into the air.}
15 EXT. OUTSIDE THE CHURCH
{As they walk out, one of TED’S relatives, an UNCLE, gets his attention, pulling him off to the side.}
MAN: Uh-uh, big guy, you’re spending the weekend with me.
{As TED watches his mother and her new husband pulling away, he looks angry, cheated, and jealous.}
EXT. THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR – THE NEXT NIGHT
{TED is creeping around after dark, peeking in his UNCLE’S next door neighbor’s windows.}
INT. THE BACK BEDROOM OF THE HOUSE
{A pretty young GIRL with red hair has just come out of the shower and is standing in her bedroom, dropping the bath towel and standing naked, looking at herself in the mirror, admiring her round full breasts.}
EXT. OUTSIDE THE WINDOW
{As TED watches her, he reaches down and unzips his pants and begins masturbating. Suddenly a VOICE startles him to wheel around to come face to face with his UNCLE.}
16 UNCLE: Ted! What in the hell are you doing?!
INT. LOUISE AND TED’S PLACE – TWO DAYS LATER
{TED is sitting at the kitchen table as LOUISE and JOHNNY sit talking to him about what he did.}
LOUISE: Ted, we think you should see a psychiatrist.
TED: What for? All I did was beat off. I’m sixteen years old, mom. All I think about it girls and beer and cars.
JOHNNY: That’s all I used to think about at your age too, Ted, but I didn’t go around masturbating outside my neighbor’s windows.
TED: {sarcastically} yeah…you probably had your brother blow you when you felt the urge coming on, right?
LOUISE: {mortified} Ted Bundy, you apologize right now!
{TED stands up and pushes his chair so hard it slams against the wall.}
TED: The hell I will; he’s not my real dad, and I do what I damn well please.
{TED storms out now, without saying another word, and slams the front door behind him. LOUISE and JOHNNY sit
17 looking at each other and shaking their heads in disbelief.}
JOHNNY: Well?
LOUISE: I’d better call Dr. Reese.
INT. THE OFFICE OF DR. REESE – DAY
{TED sits in the office of DR. ANDREW REESE, a psychologist, talking about his life. REESE is a handsome man with black hair slicked back in an old fashioned style, with the guileless face of a well scrubbed angel, clean shaven and inherently honorable. One could have easily pictured him as more of an actor, a leading man, than a therapist.}
REESE: So, Ted, how’s life been treating you lately?
TED: It’s been pretty horrifying, actually.
REESE: How so? Are you speaking of your mother’s recent marriage?
TED: That’s only part of it.
REESE: Tell me, Ted, what was the first real ‘horrifying’ experience you’ve had as a youth?
TED: Are you sure you really want to hear it?
18 REESE: I wouldn’t have asked if I hadn’t thought it might be relevant to your therapy, Ted.
TED: Okay, you asked for it {Pauses, clears his throat} I’ve had quite a few ‘horrifying’ instances, but the memory that plagues my mind the most was when a couple of male friends invited my friends and me to a trailer out in the woods to watch a snuff film, of older men raping and beating young women.
{TED stops, choked up from the memories. REESE hands him a box of tissues and TED smiles his thanks before continuing.}
TED: I remember sitting there on the floor and just bursting into tears. I was beyond rage and felt completely hopeless. I was only thirteen, out in the middle of nowhere, with so much madness and insanity around me.
REESE: We can stop there, if you feel you can’t go on.
{TED grins, as though the thought of going on won’t bother him at all.}
TIGHT SHOT OF TED’S FACE
{TED’S pleasant smile and bright eyes betray what’s underneath, a streak of physical violence that is boiling closer and closer to the surface.}
19 TED: It’s ok, doc, really. As the night went on, I sort of enjoyed it.
DISSOLVE TO INT. THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON – 1966 - DAY
{TED is walking down the hall with a pretty young female student, STEPHANIE BROOKS, whom he’s been dating recently. She doesn’t look very happy.}
STEPHANIE: So, are you going to be working again tonight at the presidential campaign office?
TED: {jokingly} you know Rockefeller will never get elected without me.
STEPHANIE: {glumly} we had a date tonight Ted, remember?
TED: I know, I know-
STEPHANIE: And why didn’t you take that last job offer? And how about our ‘upcoming’ engagement?
{TED pulls her off to the side, out of earshot of other STUDENTS.}
TED: Why don’t you just announce our business to the whole world?
STEPHANIE: I’m sorry, Ted, but lately, you’ve seemed to have lost all your ambition. What’s wrong? Talk to me, Ted.
20 TED: I don’t know…I feel so overwhelmed lately, with all that’s going on. It’s not your fault.
STEPHANIE: Ted, would you mind if I went back to California for a few days to visit my parents? I really need a break from everything right now, too.
TED: {forcing a smile} sure, I understand.
STEPHANIE: {kissing TED’S cheek} thank you, Ted, I knew you’d understand. Well, I better get to class. Are we still on for lunch?
TED: Sure, I’ll meet you back here at noon.
STEPHANIE: Bye bye!
TED: Bye.
{As TED watches her fade away into the crowd, it is obvious by the look on his face that he feels betrayed by her for leaving him all alone, and his eyes suddenly fill with rage and fury as he walks away into the CROWD, pushing his way through like a bully.}
INT. TED’S DORM ROOM – NIGHT
{TED is talking to STEPHANIE on the phone, and he looks as though it is all he can do not to explode.}
21 TED: So, you’re not coming back after the weekend?
STEPHANIE: {voice} I’m sorry, Ted, but after thinking it over, your immaturity and lack of ambition is scaring me right now. I think it would be better for us if we took some time apart. I hope you understand.
TED: {forcing a smile} sure, I understand. I haven’t been myself lately.
STEPHANIE: Thank you, Ted. Well, I better go, my parents and I are going to church early in the morning.
{Before TED has a chance to reply, the line goes dead. He takes several deep breaths to regain his composure, then slams the phone down hard.}
DISSOLVE TO EXT. A HIGHWAY OUTSIDE OF TUMWATER, WASHINGTON, 1973, DUSK
{TED is driving his old 1968 Volkswagen Beetle down the highway when he sees a young GIRL with brown hair standing on the side of the road with her thumb out, hitchhiking. He grins and pulls over, rolling down his window.}
TED: Need a ride?
22 {It is obvious that she is smitten with him because of his boyish good looks, and walks closer to the car.}
GIRL: Which way are you going?
TED: Toward Seattle.
GIRL: Me, too. Thanks!
{The GIRL climbs into the car and they pull away into the darkness.}
EXT. A SMALL CLEARING IN THE WOODS – NIGHT
{TED is naked, standing above the dead body of the YOUNG GIRL from the highway. She looks to have been beaten and strangled to death. He is holding her blood-soaked blouse in his hands, rubbing it all over his face and chest and staring up at the night sky and mumbling to himself, as if he's performing some sort of bizarre blood ritual. His face now smeared with the GIRL'S blood, he drops the blouse and raises his arms toward the sky and begins crying, tears streaming down his face, as he now begins howling like a wounded animal.}
FADE OUT
FADE IN INT. THE SEATTLE SUICIDE HOTLINE CRISIS CENTER 1974 – DAY
23 {TED is sitting answering the phone while his friend and co-worker, ANN RULE, an aspiring true crime writer, sits next to him doing the same thing. They both hang up about the same time, smiling at each other in relief.}
TED: Well, there’s one more poor soul who will live to see another day.
ANN: You’re so good at what you do, Ted. You have a real knack for talking to people.
TED: What I do is, I put myself in their place, and in that mindset, I realize how much they are hurting, and it makes me work that much harder to show them there is something worth living for.
ANN: You’re an amazing man, Ted.
TED: {shyly} thanks.
ANN: Speaking of which, how goes it at the campaign office?
TED: Evans is doing pretty well at the polls, but we have a long way to go yet.
ANN: With you by his side, I’m sure he’ll get there.
TED: Thanks {glances at wristwatch} well, I better get going, I have a lot of studying to do.
24 ANN: You have a good day, Ted, and good luck.
TED: {smiling} you too!
{As TED walks away ANN smiles after him fondly totally unaware of the beast lurking behind his clever façade.}
INT. THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON OFF CAMPUS APARTMENT COMPLEX – JANUARY 4th - NIGHT
{TED is creeping down the hallway in the dark, dressed all in black, to blend in with the shadows. Breathing hard and trembling, he makes his way down the hallway, seeming to glide through the hallway instead of walk; as if he were a ghost instead of a man. Looking to the left now, he sees the basement stairs. Stopping at the foot of the stairs, he makes one last feeble attempt to overcome his compulsion to kill. Failing, he descends the stairs.}
INT. THE APARTMENT OF 18-YEAR-OLD KAREN SPARKS – NIGHT
{TED has entered her apartment, quietly shutting the door behind him. Like spectral beasts, the living room furniture huddles around him in a circle. He begins tip-toeing down the hallway toward the bedroom.}
INT. THE BEDROOM
25 {Although his need for blood is great, he forces himself to wait until his eyes adjust to the gloom. He notices a large round mirror at first, then begins to make out the shape of a dresser underneath it. POLAROID SNAPSHOTS lined the mirror's edges, though he can't make out the faces in the pictures. A moment later, he is able to make out a HUDDLED FORM lying on a bed, covered with a thick pink blanket. Pink is a girl's color, so the form lying on the bed must be a girl. It was all just a matter of deductive reasoning. He steps closer, removing something from inside his jacket. It is a TIRE IRON. He raises it up in the air high above his head with one hand, and with the other he gently pulls the blanket back, revealing a sleeping KAREN SPARKS. His face contorted into a mask of rage and fury, he brings the tire iron down on her head, again and again, until his face is smeared with her BLOOD SPATTER.}
EXT. OUTSIDE THE APARTMENT BUILDING
{As TED jogs toward his car, a CAMPUS POLICE CAR cruises through the parking lot slowly, shining a spotlight around. TED jumps behind a large tree momentarily, until they are out of sight. As soon as they are, he jumps into his car and pulls away with his headlights off, into the darkness.}
26 EXT. THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON OFF CAMPUS APARTMENT COMPLEX – JANUARY 5th – EARLY MORNING
{Two DETECTIVES and some CAMPUS POLICE mill about in the parking lot as an EMT truck pulls in. STUDENTS have gathered outside the yellow crime scene tape, curious as to what’s going on. The county CORONER sits close by, on a small bench, his face pale and fidgeting with his hands nervously.}
DETECTIVE 1: Jesus, what a mess.
DETECTIVE 2: Have the victim’s parents been informed yet?
DETECTIVE 1: Yeah…they’ll be here this afternoon.
DETECTIVE 2: Christ, what a homecoming {Pause} the victim?
DETECTIVE 1: {whispering} a student, a Miss Karen Sparks. She was bludgeoned to death with a tire iron, then sexually assaulted with some sort of long metal object.
DETECTIVE 2: Dear God…
DETECTIVE 1: God didn’t have anything to do with this, brother.
{The EMTS are bringing KAREN’S body out on a gurney now, covered up with a sheet. A NEWSPAPER REPORTER and a
27 CAMERAMAN are on the scene now, doing their best to get past the POLICE and under the crime scene tape.}
DETECTIVE 1: {glumly} time for damage control.
DETECTIVE 2: Might as well get this over with.
DISSOLVE TO INT. THE SUICIDE HOTLINE CRISIS CENTER – DAY
{TED and ANN are taking a coffee break and watching a TV set in the break room. The new of TED’S attack on KAREN SPARKS is airing now, with a FEMALE NEWS ANCHOR standing out in front of the building.}
FNA: The body of local resident and student Karen Sparks was found early this morning by her roommate, Joni Lenz. She had been bludgeoned to death and sexually assaulted. This is the third young woman to die this way in the last three weeks, with two young women still missing. Authorities believe the killings have all been committed by the same person, who seems to target college students. More at eleven.
ANN: My God, how awful.
TED: I hope they catch the sick bastard soon.
28 ANN: Amen to that.
TIGHT SHOT OF TED’S FACE
TED: {grinning} I wonder if I could help?
INT. THE WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY SERVICES, OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON – TWO WEEKS LATER – DAY
{TED has volunteered to work at the DES answering phones, the same department that is involved in the search for the TWO MISSING WOMEN. As he hangs up from a conversation with someone who phoned in a tip, he grins mischievously as the phone rings again.}
TED: DES, this is Ted speaking {Pause} you think you saw someone suspicious where? {Pause} thank you very much for the information, and if you see anything or anyone else suspicious, be sure to let us know {Pause} thank you.
{TED hangs up, grinning again as he looks up at a TV monitor showing another NEWS ANCHOR standing in front of the building where he killed KAREN SPARKS.}
TED: {under his breath} completely clueless.
29 EXT. LAKE SAMMAMISH STATE PARK - ISSAQUAH, WASHINGTON - SUNDAY, JULY 14 – 1974 – DAY
{TED is walking along the beach wearing a white tennis outfit with his left arm in a sling to make it appear as though has broken his arm. As he glances around at the CROWD, his eyes land on JANICE ANNE OTT, a pretty young woman who is getting something out of the trunk of her car. He approaches her, speaking in a slight accent, perhaps Canadian, perhaps British.}
TED: Excuse me, could you help me out?
JANICE: I don’t know. What do you need help with?
TED: Well, as you can see, I’m pretty much incapacitated for now, and I really need someone to help me unload my sailboat from my car.
JANICE: {smiling} sure, I could help you out. Where are you parked?
EXT. THE BEACH – SEVERAL HOURS LATER
{TED is back at it again, with JANICE nowhere in sight. He is eyeballing another young woman, DENISE NASLUND, an 18-year-old woman walking toward the public restrooms. He glances around to see if anyone is watching, and walks toward the restrooms too.}
30 EXT. SOME WOODS NEAR LAKE SAMMAMISH STATE PARK – AN HOUR LATER
{TED has dragged NASLUND into a small clearing and stripped her down naked and laid her face down in the dirt. He stands above her, looming over her DEAD BODY like some sort of sexual demon, his eyes filled with lust and fury as he begins removing his clothes now, and bending down behind her, as if he intends to sodomize her corpse.}
TED: There, there now, it will all be over soon.
EXT. A SMALL REST STOP ALONG THE HIGHWAY – AN HOUR LATER
{TED has parked the car and is opening the trunk to expose NASLUND’S severed head lying in the trunk on some old newspapers. He reaches in and picks it up and places a gentle kiss on her cold lips, then places the head in a plastic bag and tosses it into a trashcan nearby. Then he climbs back into his car and pulls out, heading down the highway as the sun begins setting on the horizon.}
DISSOLVE TO INT. FLORIDA STATE PRISON – BRADFORD COUNTY, FLORIDA – 1989 – DAY
{TED and WILLIAM HAGMAIER are still sitting in the interrogation room, sipping coffee and talking.}
31 WH: So, you think that your early exposure to violent pornography led to your crimes?
TED: The most damaging kind of pornography - and I’m talking from hard, real, personal experience - is that that involves violence and sexual violence. The wedding of those two forces at an early age - as I know only too well - brings about behavior that is too terrible to describe.
WH: Walk me through that. What was going on in your mind at that time?
TED: Before we go any further, it is important to me that people believe what I’m saying. I’m not blaming pornography. I’m not saying it caused me to go out and do certain things. I take full responsibility for all the things that I’ve done. That’s not the question here. The issue is how this kind of literature contributed and helped mold and shape the kinds of violent behavior.
WH: It fueled your fantasies.
TED: In the beginning, it fuels this kind of thought process. Then, at a certain time, it is instrumental in crystallizing it, making it into something that is almost a separate entity inside.
32 WH: You had gone about as far as you could go in your own fantasy life, with printed material, photos, videos, etc., and then there was the urge to take that step over to a physical event.
TED: Once you become addicted to it, and I look at this as a kind of addiction, you look for more potent, more explicit, more graphic kinds of material. Like an addiction, you keep craving something which is harder and gives you a greater sense of excitement, until you reach the point where the pornography only goes so far - that jumping off point where you begin to think maybe actually doing it will give you that which is just beyond reading about it and looking at it…
DISSOLVE TO INT. THE HOME OF TRUE CRIME WRITER ANN RULE – NIGHT
{ANN is sitting in her living room sipping tea and watching the latest news on the case on TV. KING COUNTY POLICE, finally armed with a detailed description of their suspect as well as his car, have been posting fliers throughout the Seattle area. As the COMPOSITE SKETCH of TED flashes across the screen, ANN almost drops her tea cup in her lap.}
ANN: Oh my God…no.
33 {ANN picks up her phone and begins dialing the number on the screen.}
EXT. A SERVICE ROAD NEAR ISSAQUAH, WASHINGTON – SEPTEMBER 4TH – DAY
{Two GROUSE HUNTERS are walking along the road carrying their hunting rifles when one of them stops dead in his tracks, his eyes wide open in horror.}
HUNTER 1: Jesus!
HUNTER 2: Oh my God, oh my God…
TIGHT SHOT OF DITCH NEXT TO ROAD
{The SKELETAL REMAINS of two WOMEN are lying in the ditch. They are the skeletal remains of OTT and NASLUND. The two HUNTERS run back to their truck and climb in and pull out.}
EXT. THE SAME LOCATION – AN HOUR LATER
{The scene has been cordoned off with yellow crime scene tape now, with COPS, EMTS, the CORONER, and DETECTIVES milling about. The two HUNTERS stand by their truck talking to a KING COUNTY COP.}
KCC: So, you were out hunting when you found them?
HUNTER 1: Yes sir. We’d tracked some grouse to this spot and that’s when we found them.
34 {BOB KEPPEL, the chief criminal investigator for the Washington attorney general, and DAVE REICHERT, a King County detective, walk up now, motioning to the KCC they want to speak with him. He nods in understanding and leaves the HUNTERS standing alone for now.}
KCC: And you gentlemen are?
BOB: Bob Keppel, CI for the Washington attorney general, and this is Dave Reichert, detective for King County.
KCC: Pleased to make your acquaintance – although I wish it could have been under better circumstances.
DAVE: We understand all too well.
BOB: So, those are the guys who found the remains?
KCC: Yes, sir. That one on the right, he practically stepped on them. I would have had nightmares for a month.
BOB: Been there, done that.
DAVE: Has the coroner finished his preliminary?
KCC: Yes, sir. He said both girls died from what appears to be head trauma and strangulation.
35 BOB: {glancing at DAVE} the same as Karen Sparks.
DAVE: Ted?
BOB: {smiling} why don’t we talk to Mr. Bundy?
DAVE: I don’t know…it would be unlikely that a clean-cut law student with no adult criminal record could be the perpetrator, don’t you think?
BOB: There’s only one way to find out.
INT. KING COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT – NIGHT
{BOB and DAVE have picked up TED and have him standing in a lineup with other SUSPECTS. Behind the two-way glass BOB and DAVE stand with several FEMALE WITNESSES that were there that day at Lake Sammamish State Park the day OTT and NASLUND vanished.}
BOB: Now, girls, just take your time and look at each one.
DAVE: And don’t worry, they can’t see or hear you.
{The GIRLS move a little closer to the glass and begin looking the SUSPECTS over carefully. After a few moments one of them turns back to BOB and DAVE, pointing at TED.}
36 GIRL 1: That one, number four? He looks like the same guy, but the guy I saw at the lake didn’t have a mustache, and his hair was different.
GIRL 2: Yeah…it could be him, but he does look different.
BOB: Girls, under the law, you have to be certain.
{The GIRLS look TED over again, and shake their heads.}
GIRL 1: I’m sorry, but I just don’t know.
GIRL 2: I feel so bad…I really wanted to help.
DAVE: It’s ok, girls. You did your best.
INT. AN OFFICE AT THE KING COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT – NIGHT
{BOB and DAVE stand at a second floor window watching TED climb into his Volkswagen in the parking lot.}
BOB: You know what I think?
DAVE: What’s that?
BOB: I think that the very definition of heartless evil just walked out the front door.
FADE OUT
37 FADE IN INT. THE HOME OF ANN RULE – DAY
{ANN is sitting in her dining room sipping tea when her DOORBELL RINGS. Before she can even get up to answer it, TED walks in, coming in without invitation. ANN looks frightened at first, then forces a smile. He has a strange look on his face, and looks tired and disheveled.}
ANN: Ted, are you ok?
TED: {sitting down} you wouldn’t believe what I’ve been through lately.
ANN: Ted, why haven’t you been at the office lately? People have been concerned about you.
TED: I’m sorry {Pause} I’ve been so busy lately, had so much going on, I tried taking on too much.
ANN: You look exhausted.
TED: That’s not the half of it. The King County police came by requesting I take part in a lineup. I guess it was about those missing girls.
ANN: {haltingly} Ted, don’t take this the wrong way, but you do resemble their composite sketch.
38 TED: Yeah, well, so do a thousand other guys around here, right?
ANN: This is true…
TED: See? This has been so embarrassing and humiliating…it could ruin my reputation.
ANN: Ted, if you are innocent, then you have nothing to worry about.
TED: What do mean, ‘if?’
ANN: You know what I mean, Ted. It’s just a figure of speech.
{TED smiles and seems to calm down now, leaning back in his chair. Gone is the crazy look in his eyes and he appears totally different now. He has an uncanny ability to change his appearance within a few seconds, like a chameleon.}
TED: I’m sorry, Ann. I’m just so upset by it all.
ANN: Totally understandable {glances at her wristwatch} oh Ted, I have a shift at the Suicide Hotline in about an hour. But you can come back later and talk for awhile, how’s that?
TED: {standing to leave} that sounds great. I could use a friend to talk to right now. You are my friend, right?
39 ANN: Oh Ted, of course I am, you know that.
{TED gives her a quick hug, and it is obvious she has to fight the urge to shudder at his touch. He turns to leave now, stopping at the door to wink at her.}
TED: I’ll be back later, ok?
ANN: I’ll be here!
TED: Great!
{After TED closes the door behind him, ANN slumps down in her chair, hugging herself, as though his touch has left her shivering.}
DISSOLVE TO EXT. SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – OCTOBER 18TH – DAY
{TED is sitting in his Volkswagen across the street from a small pizza parlor, watching the front door. Moments later 17 year old MELISSA SMITH walks out the door carrying a takeout pizza, and begins walking down the street with it. TED starts the engine and pulls out, following her from a distance.}
INT. A CHEAP MOTEL ROOM OUTSIDE SALT LAKE CITY – NIGHT
40 {We see a TIGHT SHOT OF A TV SCREEN as the CAMERA SLOWLY PANS LEFT to show us a view of the BED. MELISSA SMITH lies on the bed, naked and dead. She has been placed on her stomach with her ankles and wrists tied to the bed with clothesline wire. Blood and other bodily fluids soak the sheets beneath her. Her face has been battered beyond recognition and a pair of nylon panties has been tied tightly around her throat, no doubt to strangle her with. TED walks out of the bathroom now in his underwear, carrying a small plastic bucket of water and a bottle of shampoo. He sits down on the edge of the bed and reaches out and runs his fingers through her hair, which is matted with blood.}
TED: What an awful mess. But don’t worry, I’ll fix you right up.
{TED mixes the shampoo with the water and begins massaging it into her hair with his fingertips, slowly and gently.}
TED: See? Doesn’t that feel good?
{He stops and takes a small towel and begins towel-drying her hair, then uses a small comb to comb it back from her face. He turns the body over now, exposing her ruined face.}
TED: Oh goodness, that won’t do.
41 {TED reaches over to the night stand and grabs a small makeup kit and begins applying makeup – eye shadow and lipstick – to her face, grinning at his handiwork.}
TED: There! You look as good as new!
{TED grabs the body and flips it back over now, yanking down his underwear.}
TED: {grinning maliciously} now, where were we?
FADE OUT
FADE IN INT. THE APARTMENT OF TED BUNDY – SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – 1975 – NIGHT
{TED is living in Salt Lake City now and has company over to visit, a pretty young woman he works with at the DES named CAROLE ANN BOONE. They are sitting sipping coffee and talking about work.}
CAROLE: We really missed you at work, Ted. I’m glad you came back.
TED: I really missed all of you, too. But I think it did me some good to take time off, I was feeling so overwhelmed.
CAROLE: What about?
TED: It was my own fault, taking too much on at one time. But like I said, I
42 feel better now. But enough of talking about me, how have you been?
CAROLE: {glumly} I’m ok, I guess.
TED: That didn’t sound too convincing.
CAROLE: Sorry {Pause} but enough of my problems. Why don’t we go out and eat dinner? It’s my treat.
TED: Hey…I have an idea; I’m going to be renovating my apartment over the next few days, why don’t you stay here for a week, and help me out? It would give us a chance to reconnect, and get your mind off of your worries.
CAROLE: {face beaming} that sounds great!
TED: So, what’s for dinner? Why don’t we go Chinese?
INT. THE KING COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT – DAY
{BOB KEPPEL is sitting at his desk when DAVE walks in, wearing a big grin.}
BOB: What’s so funny?
DAVE: More like ironic. Guess who’s working for the DES?
BOB: I give up, who?
DAVE: Mr. Theodore Robert Bundy.
43 BOB: No! No way!
DAVE: Yep. Still think he’s dirty?
BOB: Even more so now.
INT. THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS – SALT LAKE CITY UTAH – DAY
{TED has just been Baptized and is leaving the building when CAROLE walks up, clapping her hands and so proud of him.}
CAROLE: Gosh, Ted, I’m so sorry I couldn’t be here, I thought I’d never get away from the DES.
TED: {indifferently} don’t feel bad, you didn’t miss much.
CAROLE: {confused} Come again?
TED: It was no big deal; I just got Baptized. I was already a Methodist.
{TED turns away without saying another word, leaving CAROLE standing there confused by his reaction to getting Baptized.}
EXT. THE CAMPUS OF BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY IN PROVO, UTAH – JUNE, 1975 - EARLY EVENING
44 {A student, 19 year old SUSAN CURTIS, is walking to her car when TED walks up behind her, startling her. He has his leg in a fake cast and is standing on crutches. He has grown a full beard too, and his hair is bushier and longer.}
TED: Excuse me, I wondered if you could help me out?
SUSAN: Wow…it sure looks like you could use some help. What can I do?
TED: I dropped my briefcase over there, by my car? And I can’t bend over far enough to pick it up.
SUSAN: {sympathetically} sure, come on.
{As they approach the Volkswagen and she bends down to pick up the briefcase, TED drops one of the crutches, and swings the other one into the back of SUSAN’S head, banging her head against the side of the car. Blood streams from a wound on her head as she falls face-first on to the pavement. TED quickly snatches her up and tosses her body into the back of his car, climbs in fast and pulls away.}
EXT. A SNOWY HILLSIDE OUTSIDE OF PROVO – NIGHT
{TED is carrying SUSAN’S dead, naked body into some dense woods nearby, and moments later, comes back out, taking
45 off his gloves and shoving them into his pocket. Gazing up at the beautiful night sky, he smiles, takes deep breath and exhales, feeling refreshed by what he’s done, then walks away into the darkness.}
INT. THE DES OFFICES – DAY
{TED is sitting in his cubicle next to CAROLE’S cubicle, talking back and forth when he glances down at his computer screen to see that HIS NAME has been listed under POSSIBLE SUSPECTS and VOLKSWAGEN OWNERS NAMED "TED." Mortified, knowing that all of the DES employees will see this, he quickly shuts his computer down and leans over the top of his cubicle and speaks to CAROLE.}
TED: Carole, would you do me a favor?
CAROLE: Sure, what is it?
TED: I have to duck out and take care of some important business. Would you tell the boss-man I’ll be back after lunch?
CAROLE: Sure {Pause} are you ok, Ted?
TED: I’m fine, really, just super busy. I’ll see you later!
{As TED walks away toward the elevator, CAROLE watches him go with an expression of concern and uncertainty.}
46 INT. THE HOME OF ELIZABETH KLOEPFER – DAY
{ELIZABETH KLOEPFER, a young woman TED had been dating sporadically since college, is sitting in her recliner waiting for him to show up, watching the clock on the wall. She hears a KNOCK AT THE DOOR now, and gets up from the chair and speaks.}
ELIZABETH: Come in.
{TED walks in, all smiles, but seeming fidgety and nervous.}
TED: Hi babe!
ELIZABETH: Ted, can I ask you something without you getting offended?
TED: Sure.
ELIZABETH: What is this stuff?
{ELIZABETH points to the kitchen table, where she arranged some items she found in her closet: A SET OF CRUTCHES; A BAG OF PLASTER OF PARIS, A MEAT CLEAVER, SURGICAL GLOVES, AN ORIENTAL KNIFE IN A WOODEN CASE, AND A BAG OF WOMEN’S CLOTHING.}
ELIZABETH: I found this stuff in the back of my closet when I was looking for a pair of my old shoes. Why is this stuff in my closet, Ted?
47 TED: {feigning ignorance} wait, just let me explain-
ELIZABETH: And what about the new stereo and TV you brought over here last week? How could you even afford it?
{TED’S eyes suddenly fill with rage and fury as he storms over to her and grabs her by the shoulders, pulling her close to him and looking her directly in the eyes.}
TED: If you tell anyone, I'll break your fucking neck, understand?
{Before she can react, TED stomps over to the table, grabs up all of the items and storms out the front door. ELIZABETH locks the door behind her, then walks over to the window to look out and see TED piling the items into his car and peeling out in a cloud of dust.}
EXT. A HIGHWAY OUTSIDE OF GRANGER, UTAH – DAY
{TED has been pulled over by a UTAH HIGHWAY PATROL OFFICER for failing to pull over for a routine traffic stop. As TED sits in the front seat of the Volkswagen fidgeting nervously with his hands, the HPO approaches his driver’s side window and motions to him to roll down his window.}
48 TED: Is there a problem, officer?
HPO: I’d say so, yes. You failed to stop about two miles back when I turned on my lights the first time.
TED: I’m so sorry, officer, I didn’t see you, really.
HPO: Uh-huh {Pauses, looks at the missing passenger’s seat area} ID and registration, please?
{TED: {opening glove compartment} sure thing officer.
{TED hands him his ID, license, and registration. The HPO looks it over and glances at TED skeptically.}
HPO: What’s all of that stuff in your missing passenger’s seat for, Mr. Bundy?
TED: {feigning ignorance} pardon me?
HPO: You know; the ski mask, the mask made from pantyhose, crowbar, handcuffs, trash bags, a coil of rope, and an ice pick. Those are all common burglar tools, Mr. Bundy.
TED: Oh no, hold on. I can explain.
HPO: I can’t wait to hear it, go on.
TED: Well, the ski mask is for skiing, of course, and I found the handcuffs in
49 a dumpster, and the rest are common household items.
HPO: Ok, but why are they all in your car at the same time, Mr. Bundy?
TED: No in particular reason, officer. I just haven’t cleaned my car out for awhile, that’s all.
HPO: Uh-huh. Well, would you mind just standing right where you are for a few moments, while I check your license for any outstanding warrants?
TED: {grinning} Oh no, go right ahead, I have nothing to hide.
HPO: Thank you, this won’t take long.
{As the HPO walks back to his cruiser, TED mumbles under his breath.}
TED: Asshole.
{The HPO finishes talking on his car radio and is walking back now.}
HPO: Well, you have no outstanding warrants or tickets.
TED: I told you.
HPO: But, I’d like to give you some friendly advice, if I may?
TED: Sure, officer.
50 HPO: I’d clean out my car soon, Mr. Bundy. Those items in your missing seat makes you look awful suspicious.
TED: I’ll do that as soon as I get home, officer, thanks.
HPO: You have a good day, Mr. Bundy.
TED: You too, officer.
{As the HPO walks away, TED stands glaring at him hatefully, and it is obvious by the look in his eyes he is getting close to losing his grip on reality again.}
INT. THE KING COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT – DAY
{BOB and DAVE are sitting in BOB’S temporary office when another DETECTIVE, JERRY THOMPSON, walks in.}
JERRY: An HPO from Utah just informed the DES that he pulled over a Mr. Ted Bundy right outside of Granger, Utah, and he was in possession of a ski mask, a mask made from pantyhose, a crowbar, handcuffs, trash bags, a coil of rope, and an ice pick.
DAVE: Hot damn!
BOB: Not so fast {to JERRY} But?
JERRY: But, the HPO found no outstanding warrants or traffic
51 tickets, as well as no visible evidence in his car of having done anything wrong.
DAVE: Jesus…
BOB: Well, this is a good thing.
DAVE: How’s that?
BOB: Now, we have just cause to place twenty four hour surveillance on him, which means he won’t be able to piss, shit, fart, or even blow his nose without us knowing about it.
JERRY: Need any help?
BOB: We sure do; I need you to take the next flight out to Seattle to interview a Miss Elizabeth Kloepfer, one of Ted’s ex-girlfriends. By what I understand, she has a lot to tell us, too.
INT. THE HOME OF ELIZABETH KLOEPFER – THE NEXT MORNING
{ELIZABETH and JERRY are sitting at the kitchen table and sipping coffee and chatting.}
JERRY: So, Elizabeth, what was it that Ted did that made you become suspicious of him?
ELIZABETH: I wasn’t only suspicious, I was terrified. The last time he was here, he told me, quote, ‘if I told
52 anyone about the items I found in my closet, he’d break my fucking neck.’
JERRY: I’d be terrified, too. Go on.
ELIZABETH: I had suspected he was up to no good for awhile now, but didn’t want to admit it to myself.
JERRY: I understand completely. What do you mean by ‘up to no good’?
ELIZABETH: Well, for one thing, he would break dates with me at the last minute without any explanation, or he’d disappear for days or weeks at time, then just pop back into my life like he’d done nothing at all out of the ordinary.
JERRY: Is there anything else, I mean, like something that really stood out in your mind?
ELIZABETH: Other than what I’ve told you, not really. But, a few weeks ago, he admitted that he had been seeing another woman behind my back, her name was Stephanie Brooks.
JERRY: Do you happen to know where she lives?
ELIZABETH: No, but they attended Washington State together, so she shouldn’t be hard to find.
53 EXT. MURRAY, UTAH – THE MIDVALE RESTURANT – NIGHT
{TED is sitting in the parking lot inside his VW, watching the front door. A pretty young woman named CAROL DARONCH walks out and lights a cigarette and stands around like she’s waiting for someone. TED exits his car and walks up to her, brandishing a FAKE BADGE he pulls out of his pants pocket.}
TED: Miss, I’m Officer Roseland of the Murray Police Department, and I wanted to tell you that someone has tried breaking into your car – or at least I think it’s your car.
CAROL: Oh my God! Was it damaged?
TED: Not much {Pause} would you accompany me to your car so you could positively identify it for me?
CAROL: {suspiciously} wait…if you already know about my car, why do I need to identify it?
TED: Please, ma’am, I’m trying to help you here.
CAROL: {rolling her eyes} oh…ok, but I have to make it fast, I’m waiting for my boyfriend.
TED: It won’t take long, I promise.
54 {CAROL begins leading TED to the parking lot but he grabs her arm gently and begins leading her toward his VW.}
CAROL: Hey, wait, my car is over-
TED: I’m sorry, I meant to say that your car is at the police impound lot, and we have to go there.
CAROL: Jeez…ok. But it better be fast, or my boyfriend is going to be mad.
{As they approach TED’S VW, CAROL seems leery of getting in, seeing that the passenger’s seat is missing.}
CAROL: What kind of police car is this?
TED: Oh, I’m sorry, it’s an unmarked car, we use for going undercover. I know it’s a mess.
CAROL: Jeez…ok.
EXT. A LONG DIRT ROAD OFF OF THE HIGHWAY
{Seeing that TED hasn’t taken the normal route to the police station, CAROL is becoming frightened and suspicious.}
CAROL: Hey…this isn’t the way to the station. What gives?
TED: Just calm down, we’ll be there soon enough.
55 CAROL: I think you’d better stop the car and let me out – NOW.
{TED suddenly swerves off of the road and comes to a grinding halt, causing CAROL to bump her head on the dashboard. Dazed momentarily, TED has an opportunity to slap a pair of handcuffs on her. She screams and begins struggling, causing him to inadvertently snap the cuffs on the same wrist. She fires a vicious blow to his nose, and then jumps from the car and runs down the road, screaming at the top of her lungs. As TED sits holding his nose with blood streaming from his fingers, he screams and yells in agony and anger.}
TED: Damn! Damn! Damn! I’ll KILL YOU, you bitch!
{TED starts the engine and begins to follow CAROL, but looks into his rearview mirror to see a CAR coming his way, and instead floors the car in the opposite direction fast.}
DISSOLVE TO INT. THE HOME OF ELIZABETH KLOEPFER - NOVEMBER 1975 – DAY
ELIZABETH is sitting at her kitchen table reading a newspaper and shaking her head in disbelief.}
TIGHT SHOT OF NEWSPAPER
56 {The headlines have focused on young women that have been disappearing in towns surrounding Salt Lake City.}
{ELIZABETH picks up the phone and dials the THE KING COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT.}
ELIZABETH: King County police? I’d like to talk with a Detective Jerry Thompson if I could? {Pause} it concerns a man named Ted Bundy.
INT. THE MOTEL ROOM OF CARYN CAMPBELL – THE WILDWOOD INN – SNOWMASS VILLAGE, COLORADO – NIGHT
{CARYN Sits on her bed smiling and chatting on the phone.}
CARYN: Yes, mom, I’m coming home for the holidays, I promise. Mom, would you be mad if I hung up for now? I have to get some sleep if I’m going to drive up there tomorrow {Pause} I love you too, bye!
{CARYN hangs up the phone, slips on her shoes, and walks out the door.}
EXT. THE OUTSIDE HALLWAY
{CARYN is walking down a well-lit hallway between the elevator and her room when she stops suddenly, as if she feels a shiver, glancing around behind her. Seeing nobody is following her,
57 she smiles and shakes it off as paranoia and walks on.}
DISSOLVE TO EXT. A DIRT ROAD JUST OUTSIDE THE RESORT
{TED is carrying CARYN’S NUDE, BATTERED BODY to a ditch nearby and dumping her in. He walks back to his car, grabs her bloody clothing, and walks back to dump it in with her body. He walks back to his car and climbs in.}
INT. TED’S APARTMENT – NIGHT
{TED is sitting on the couch in his underwear watching TV and eating popcorn. He seems bored and restless. He gets up from the couch and walks into his bedroom, and opens his walk-in closet, sits down on the edge of the bed, and sits looking at the inside of the closet and grinning.}
TED: Ah…my beauties. How are we today?
SLOWLY PAN TO: INSIDE OF CLOSET
{TED has placed a wooden shelf inside, at the top of the closet, and has several HUMAN HEADS taken from his victims resting on the shelf. They have been wrapped in plastic to keep the odor at bay.}
EXT. A SCHOOL PARKING LOT – DUSK
58 {TED and a young MAN are standing by TED’S Volkswagen and talking.}
MAN: So, how much do you want for it?
TED: I’d take nine hundred for it.
MAN: That’s a little steep for an older model VW, isn’t it?
TED: Ok, you got me; how about six hundred?
MAN: I’ll give you four-fifty.
{TED looks as though he’s about to lose his temper but regains his composure.}
TED: Sold.
EXT. A HIGHWAY OUTSIDE OF MIDVALE, UTAH – NIGHT
{The young MAN is driving the VW down the road when a STATE TROOPER pulls up behind him, turning on his siren and gumball lights. The young MAN pulls over, dumbfounded as to why he’s been pulled over. The ST is there now, tapping on the driver’s window with his flashlight.}
MAN: Was I speeding, officer?
{The ST glances at a PHOTO on his clipboard and back to the MAN.}
ST: Where did you get this car, son?
59 MAN: I just bought it, from a guy named Ted.
ST: {grinning} is that so?
INT. THE MIDVALE POLICE IMPOUND – THE NEXT DAY
{FBI TECHNICIANS have finished dismantling and searching the VW, and are giving their results to BOB KEPPEL and JERRY THOMPSON.}
BOB: Give me some good news, fellas.
FBIT 1: There were hair strands that matched those of Melissa Smith and Carol DaRonch.
BFIT 2: There is no doubt about it; those women were in Ted’s car.
BOB: {smiling at JERRY} shall we invite Ted in for another lineup?
INT. THE MIDVALE POLICE DEPARTMENT LINEUP – LATE AFTERNOON
{As BOB, DAVE, JERRY, and CAROL DARONCH stand on the other side of the two way glass looking in at the MEN lined up against the wall, CAROL almost immediately picks out TED from the lineup.}
CAROL: That’s him, number three. He’s the one who tried to kidnap me.
60 BOB: {smiling} are you sure? We need a positive ID.
CAROL: Oh, I’m sure. That’s him. That’s ‘Officer Roseland.’
DAVE: {looking at TED} gotcha.
DISSOLVE TO INT. THE UTAH STATE PRISON - FEBRUARY 23, 1976 – DAY
{TED has been processed and is being led to his cell by a GUARD. The other INMATES begin calling him names and making sexual innuendos. It is obvious by the look on his face he is afraid he won’t make it out of prison alive.}
DISSOLVE TO INT. PITKIN COUNTY COURTHOUSE – ASPEN, COLORADO – JUNE 7TH, 1977 – DAY
{TED has been transferred for a preliminary hearing on another charge and is inside the courthouse's law library, ducked down behind a large book case. Glancing around to see if anyone is watching, he exits through the second floor window.}
EXT. THE COURTHOUSE GROUNDS
{TED has landed hard and is limping on one foot from a sprained ankle. He exits the bushes and mixes in with the
61 crowd, quickly making his way from the building.}
INT. A CABIN IN MAROON LAKE, 10 MILES SOUTH OF ASPEN – NIGHT
{TED has broken into a cabin and has donned some clothing he’s found and gulping down water from the sink tap. Taking food and a ski parka, he exits the cabin.}
EXT. ASPEN GOLF COURSE – THREE DAYS LATER
{Cold, sleep-deprived, and in constant pain from his sprained ankle, TED has come across a car with the keys in it, and jumps inside, starts the engine, and pulls out fast, heading toward ASPEN.}
EXT. A RESIDENTIAL STREET IN ASPEN – NIGHT
{TED is driving erratically from lack of sleep, weaving back and forth in both lanes. Suddenly a POLICE CAR pulls up behind him, whooping it’s siren and flashing it’s lights. He pulls over, wearing a defeated look on his face. The COP walks up to the car slowly, with his hand on the grip of his service weapon.}
COP: Id and registration, please? {Pause} hey, Ted. We’ve been looking for you.
62 {TED sits in the car shaking his head in disbelief.}
DISSOLVE TO INT. GLENWOOD SPRINGS JAIL – SIX MONTHS LATER – NIGHT
{Having lost 35 pounds, TED is now thin enough to squeeze into the crawl space above his cell. Glancing back and forth down the hallway outside his cell, he shimmys up into the crawlspace and disappears inside.}
INT. THE APARTMENT OF THE CHIEF JAILER – NIGHT
{A small trapdoor above the bathroom opens, and TED is there, peeking down to see if anyone is around. Satisfied he is alone, he shimmys through the door and into the bathroom. He walks into the bedroom and picks out some clothing from the JAILER’S closet.}
EXT. THE FRONT GATE OF THE JAIL
{Keeping his face averted from the GUARD shack window, TED walks by, waving at the GUARD, who, not knowing any better, buzzes TED out through the gate. As he walks away, he is smiling from ear to ear.}
FADE OUT
FADE IN
63 INT. THE CHI OMEGA SORORITY HOUSE – UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA JANUARY 15, 1978 – NIGHT
{TED has entered the building through a rear door with a faulty lock. He makes a right turn and walks up some steps, carrying a piece of oak firewood.}
INT. A DARK HALLWAY ON THE SECOND FLOOR
{TED creeps down the hallway, opening doors and peeking inside. Opening a fourth door, he smiles, apparently satisfied with he sees inside, and walks in, closing the door quietly behind him.}
INT. THE ROOM
{As 21 year old student MARGARET BOWMAN lies sleeping peacefully, TED walks over and stands above her, smiling, then raises the oak firewood up over his head and brings it down hard on her skull, crushing it. Blood spatters his face as he beats her with it again and again.}
INT. THE ROOM OF STUDENT LISA LEVY
{TED creeps up on her and begins beating her with the firewood, then satisfied she has been beaten unconscious, he grabs a pair of nylons and begins strangling her with it. After a few moments, satisfied she is
64 dead, he moves on toward an adjoining bedroom.}
INT. THE ADJOINING BEDROOM
{TED walks in, covered in blood and brain matter, to stand between the twin beds where students KATHY KLEINER and her friend, KAREN CHANDLER, lie sleeping. He raises the firewood and brings it down on KATHY first, breaking her jaw and lacerating her head, rendering her immobile and dazed. He then moves toward KAREN, proceeding to beat her on the head and jaw, blood spattering his face again. She begins screaming at the top of her lungs, prompting his quick departure.}
EXT. THE PARKING LOT OUTSIDE
{TED is walking out now, tossing the firewood into the bushes and walking nonchalantly through the lot to the sidewalk, whistling a happy tune to himself as if nothing out of the ordinary has happened, his face still smeared with blood as he disappears into the darkness.}
EXT A PARKING LOT OUTSIDE LAKE CITY JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL EARLY MORNING
{TED is sitting outside the school watching young GIRLS filing out when he spots 12 year old KIMBERLY DIANE LEACH walking out. He grins and leans back in his seat, keeping his heads down but
65 keeping an eye on her. As she walks over to an adjoining building, he starts the engine and slowly pulls around to the other side of the parking lot.}
EXT. A PIG FARROWING SHED NEAR SUWANNEE RIVER STATE PARK, 35 MILES NORTHWEST OF LAKE CITY – DUSK
{TED is walking out of the shed zipping up his pants. His mouth and hands are smeared with blood as are his pant legs. He looks down at himself, shakes his head, and walks on.}
TED: I guess it’s time for another shopping spree.
EXT. A PARKING LOT IN PENSCOLA FLORIDA – NIGHT
{TED has hotwired a car, an older model VW Beetle and is pulling out of the lot toward the highway.}
EXT. A HIGHWAY NEAR THE ALABAMA STATE LINE – NIGHT
{TED is driving the stolen car down the road smiling and listening to the car radio when a PENSECOLA police officer, DAVID LEE, pulls onto the road behind him and begins following TED, making sure he keeps up with him.}
INT. POLICE CRUISER
66 {DAVID LEE is talking on his radio to the POLICE DISPATCH.}
LEE: I need you to run a plate for me, romeo-aileen-victor-1959, an older model VW Beetle.
INT. THE VW BEETLE
{TED is glancing into the rearview mirror and sweating bullets. He speeds up a little bit and flips on his left turn signal.}
INT. POLICE CRUISER
{LEE is getting the response from DISPATCH.}
VOICE: {radio} romeo-aileen-victor-1959 was reported stolen two hours ago.
LEE: Roger that.
{LEE turns on his siren and lights and TED pulls slowly over to the side of the road.}
INT. THE VW BEETLE
{TED is still sweating bullets and fidgeting nervously with his hands when LEE approaches the car with his hand on the grip of his service weapon, and taps on the driver’s window with a flashlight. TED rolls the window down, forcing a smile.}
67 TED: Was I speeding, officer?
LE: Sir, this car was reported stolen a couple of hours ago. Would you mind stepping out of the car, please?
TED: There must be some kind of mistake, officer, I-
LEE: Just step out of the car now, sir. I won’t ask you again.
{TED steps out of the car and leans against the door.}
TED: I don’t understand, officer, I bought this car and-
LEE: Your driver’s license, please?
{TED begins to reach into his back pocket and instead kicks out with his left foot, knocking LEE off balance and he falls to the pavement. As TED turns to run, LEE pulls out his service weapon and fires a warning shot, then another, but TED keeps running. LEE scrambles to his feet and gives chase, tackling TED about twenty yards away. TED goes for LEE’S gun but LEE manages to subdue him and flips him over, slapping handcuffs on him, then stands above him, catching his breath.}
LEE: ID, sir?
TED: I don’t have it on me.
68 LEE: Uh-huh.
{LEE walks back to the VW and peeks inside and shines his flashlight around. Lying on the passenger’s seat are three sets of IDs belonging to female FSU students, and 21 stolen credit cards. LEE suddenly realizes who he has in custody, and walks back over to TED, looking down at him and grinning.}
LEE: Welcome to Pensecola, Mr. Bundy. You’re under arrest.
INT. THE POLICE CAR
{As LEE drives TED back to jail, TED speaks up from the back seat with tears of frustration in his eyes.}
TED: I wish you had just killed me.
FADE OUT
FADE IN INT. THE HOME OF BOB KEPPEL – DAY
{BOB is sitting in his study, looking over file folders of the KIMBERLY LEACH murder case and shaking his head. His WIFE walks in and peeks over his shoulder, and smiles sympathetically.}
WIFE: Why are you doing this to yourself, Bob? They caught him and he’s in custody where he can’t hurt anyone else.
69 BOB: I know, I know…but this case, it’s really weighed heavily on my mind.
WIFE: I know, but it will all be over soon, you’ll see.
BOB: And then there are these bad dreams…
WIFE: What kind of dreams?
BOB: About Bundy.
WIFE: And?
BOB: In one dream, I’m standing in a motel room, watching him rape and strangle one of the FSU students, and my whole body is frozen, I can’t move, I can’t help her…
WIFE: You have to stop placing yourself inside his head.
{She wraps her arms around him, kissing him gently on the cheek, and he forces a smile.}
WIFE: Your daughter has a dance recital tonight, and she’d really like you to be there.
BOB: {smiling} I wouldn’t miss it for the world.
WIFE: {turning to leave the room} I’m going to hold you to that, Bob Keppel.
70 {After she has left the room, BOB closes the file folder and places his face in his hands, sobbing quietly.}
DISSOLVE TO INT. A ORLANDO FLORIDA COURTROOM – DECEMBER, 1979 – DAY
{The courtroom is filled with VICTIM’S FAMILY MEMBERS and members of the MEDIA as TED is brought in and seated with his DEFENSE TEAM, TED still wearing handcuffs. As he confers with his team, the PROSECUTING ATTORNEY and ODONTOLOGIST RICHARD SOUVIRON sit close by, ready to make their presentation.}
JUDGE: Counselor, are you ready?
PA: Yes, your honor, we are.
JUDGE: You may proceed.
{ODONTOLOGIST RICHARD SOUVIRON steps up to a large easel which bears the images of dental impressions and bite marks found on victim’s bodies. The PA begins speaking.}
PA: Mr. Souviron, according to your study of the bite mark evidence, what was your conclusion?
SOUVIRON: The bite marks found on the Chi Omega victims and on Kimberly Leache’s body are consistent with Mr. Bundy’s dental impressions.
71 {TED sits close by, expressionless, knowing he’s not going to get out of this one.}
PA: So in your opinion, there’s not even a shadow of a doubt that Mr. Bundy is the person who inflicted these injuries?
SOUVIRON: No, sir, no doubt in my mind whatsoever.
PA: Thank you.
JUDGE: Thank you, Mr. Souviron, you may be seated.
{As one of TED’S team leans in to whisper something to him, he suddenly raises his hands above his head and opens his mouth wise, screaming at the top of his lungs.}
JUDGE: Counselor, either control your client or I’ll have him bound and gagged.
{TED begins screaming even louder now as the BALIFF and a GUARD escort him from the courtroom.}
DISSOLVE TO INT. FLORIDA STATE PRISON – BRADFORD COUNTY, FLORIDA – 1989 – PRESENT DAY
72 {WILLIAM HAGMAIER and TED are still sitting in the interrogation room talking.}
WH: One of the final murders you committed was 12-year-old Kimberly Leach. I think the public outcry is greater there because an innocent child was taken from a playground. What did you feel after that? Were they the normal emotions after that?
TED: I can’t really talk about that right now. It’s too painful. I would like to be able to convey to you what that experience is like, but I won’t be able to talk about that. I can’t begin to understand the pain that the parents of these children and young women that I have harmed feel. And I can’t restore much to them, if anything. I won’t pretend to, and I don’t even expect them to forgive me. I’m not asking for it. That kind of forgiveness is of God; if they have it, they have it, and if they don’t, maybe they’ll find it someday.
WH: Do you deserve the punishment the state has inflicted upon you?
TED: That’s a very good question. I don’t want to die; I won’t kid you. I deserve, certainly, the most extreme punishment society has. And I think society deserves to be protected from me and from others like me. That’s for sure {Pause} then again, I did help Mr.
73 Bob Keppel solve the Green River murders.
WH: Tell me about that.
DISSOLVE TO INT THE HOME OF BOB KEPPEL – 1988 - DAY
{BOB’S WIFE is sitting at the kitchen table with a large manila envelope resting on the table in front of her. She takes a sip of coffee and then another as BOB comes walking in now, back from fishing with his son.}
BOB: Uh-oh; I know that look. What have I done now?
WIFE: This came for you today.
{She picks the envelope up and tosses it at him and it lands on the floor.}
BOB: Whoa…what’s wrong?
WIFE: Just look at it.
{BOB picks it up and looks at the return postage. It is from TED, sent from prison.}
BOB: What the hell?
WIFE: My sentiments exactly. Why would he be mailing you anything?
BOB: I have absolutely no idea, really.
74 WIFE: Well, it better not be a request for another interview, or I swear I’ll pack up the kids and head to my mother’s.
{She gets up and walks out, leaving BOB to sit down at the table and read the letter. As he begins, we hear TED in VOICEOVER.}
TED: {voiceover} Bob, I hope this letter hasn’t caused you or your family any unnecessary stress, but I understand you have no new leads on the Green River murders? Perhaps I can be of assistance?
DISSOLVE TO INT. FLORIDA STATE PRISON – BRADFORD COUNTY, FLORIDA – 1988 – DAY
{BOB is sitting outside TED’S cell speaking to him through the bars of his cell. He has a tape recorder running on a small table nearby and some file folders spread out as well.}
BOB: So, Ted, you said you have even worked up a profile on the Green River killer?
TED: Not a very detailed profile yet, but I was hoping you’d let me see your files?
BOB: Uh-uh, no way. Quid-pro-quo, remember, Ted? I have already brought
75 you some cigarettes, books, and magazines. It’s your turn.
TED: {smiling} I never could pull anything over on you, could I Bob?
BOB: Not for long, anyway. I’m waiting.
TED: Well, first of all, this person most likely lives alone, isn’t married, and has most likely failed miserably in relationships with women.
BOB: I’m listening.
TED: I’d say that the killer is a white male between 20 and 30, possibly working at a low-paying job.
BOB: That could describe thousands of men in Washington State, Ted. Can’t you do any better than that?
TED: You wanted my opinion, and that is my opinion, Bob. You can take it or leave it.
BOB: Ok, I’ll play along, go on.
TED: I believe he is also a necrophile. I think he might be ... intending to return to the scene, to either view his victim, or in fact, interact with the body in some way.
BOB: You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you, Ted?
76 TED: Do you want to hear this or not?
BOB: Sorry, go on.
TED: I think the police might already know who the killer is.
{BOB listens intensely now, sitting straight up in his chair.}
BOB: I’m listening.
TED: There's an excellent chance this guy has already been reported; a field card here, arrested there, reported over here, car license plate shows up over here. My feeling about the guy is he's very low-key and inoffensive, you know, like a fish in water, he could blend right in.
{TED stops talking, lighting a cigarette and just staring at the walls.}
BOB: And?
TED: And, I’m waiting.
BOB: Come again?
TED: You know, quid-pro-quo, remember? I have given you a partial profile, and now I want to ask you a question.
BOB: {sighing with boredom} ok, Ted, but make it fast. I’m only allowed so much time in here per day.
77 TED: Splendid {Pause} so, Bob, do you think about me very often?
BOB: Why would I think about you, or even want to?
TED: Your mind; I will always be there, and even if the thought is a negative one, you’ll still want to see me again, right Bob?
BOB: Why would I want to see you again, unless it’s in the electric chair?
TED: I know you must despise me for so easily picking my way through your past and personality, that I so carelessly – but successfully – captured everything that you are, or will ever want to be.
BOB: Which is?
TED: The big head cheese at the FBI? Have your name up in lights, and a big house on a lake where you can spend your early retirement on a small but lavish fishing boat, perhaps?
BOB: {standing to leave} I think we’ve covered enough for one day, Ted.
TED: I was just getting started, Bob.
BOB: {motioning to the GUARD} Hey, I’m ready.
78 {As the GUARD unlocks the door for BOB, TED leans in close to the bars of his cell, grinning mischievously.}
TED: I still think about you often. Isn’t it funny, how the human mind works? Such a short time spent together, yet we both cling to those memories as if they are a lifeline to our past – and maybe even our future? {Pause} do you ever dream about me, Bob?
BOB: Go to hell, Ted.
{As the GUARD allows BOB passage to the outside hallway, TED is still watching him go.}
TED: I’m already there, Bob. I’m already there.
INT. THE HOME OF BOB KEPPEL – NIGHT
{BOB is sitting alone on the couch, staring at the blank TV screen, when his WIFE walks in, shaking her head in disbelief.}
WIFE: So, did you have fun today?
BOB: Not really, why?
WIFE: Bob, you should know by now that anything – or anyone – Ted Bundy touches turns into pure poison.
BOB: You think I’m being poisoned mentally by Ted Bundy? My dear, I had
79 started having bad dreams a long time before I met Ted Bundy.
WIFE: Maybe so, but you have never seemed so bound and determined to make yourself sick over a case until now. Can’t your friends, Dave and Jerry, take over the Green River killer case?
BOB: The chief wanted me on it, because of my involvement with the Ted Bundy case. If I back out now, it could mean my job.
WIFE: And if you don’t back out now, it could mean your marriage, Bob. Have you seen the way your own children look at you? You scare them, Bob.
{She turns and walks out of the room now, leaving BOB to think about what she said, let it soak in. Instead he just sits staring at the TV screen again, in his own little world.}
INT. FLORIDA STATE PRISON – BRADFORD COUNTY, FLORIDA – 1988 – DAY
{BOB is sitting outside TED’S cell again, talking to him through the bars. TED is standing at the cell door, looking over another case file on the Green River killer case.}
TED: I think there's an excellent chance that he has picked up a number of prostitutes that he has later released, for any number of reasons.
80 BOB: Why would he release any of them, after killing so many of them? That doesn’t make any sense.
TED: He knows what these girls are like and what they need, Bob. He gains their trust, and then returns later to pick them again and then kill them. He breaks his normal MO to throw off the cops.
BOB: And?
TED: And, you could most likely catch the killer by staking out the sites where he dumped bodies. I’m sure this guy has returned to the dump sites many times.
{BOB leans in closer, whispering.}
BOB: You know who he is, don’t you?
TED: {grinning} now Bob, how would I know who he is if I’ve been locked up for almost eight years?
BOB: You’re allowed mail correspondence and phone calls.
TED: You’re grasping at straws, Bob. Here I am trying to help you, and you’re blaming me for all of this, like this guy is my groupie or something.
BOB: You’re an easy person to blame – and to hate, Ted.
81 TED: True, but still, it seems to me that maybe you need to turn this case over to somebody else. If you haven’t caught up to him by now – and after the help I’ve given you – you may never catch him.
BOB: Could we just get on with your profile, Ted? I’m really getting sick and tired of you trying to sidetrack our conversations.
TED: Fine by me {Pause} I was only trying to give you some friendly advice, that’s all. Besides, you know I know you better than you know yourself.
BOB: {impatiently} I’m waiting, Ted.
TED: Fine {Pause} our killer, he possesses a deep, almost mystical satisfaction with killing. You see, after a while, murder is not just a crime of lust or violence. It becomes possession. They are part of you…and the victim becomes a part of you, and you both are forever one…and the grounds where you kill them or leave them become sacred to you, and you will always be drawn back to them.
BOB: {smiling} you think that he is just like you, don’t you Ted? That’s why it has been so easy for you to build a profile on him, right?
TED: You say tomato, I say-
82 BOB: Whatever. Well, Ted, is there anything else you want to tell me before lunch?
TED: If you have the spare time, your victims can be anything you want them to be.
BOB: Meaning?
TED: For instance, with Melissa Smith? I revisited her dump site, and applied makeup to her lifeless face, and even washed her hair.
BOB: I don’t see where you’re going with this, Ted.
TED: It’s simple enough; I decapitated approximately twelve of my victims, keeping four of the heads in my walk-in closet.
BOB: Ted, I don’t-
TED: Think about it; if you do have a prime suspect right now, get a warrant to search his car, home, or garage. There is a good chance he has kept some sort of memento, some souvenirs, from his victims, like I did.
{BOB sits glaring at TED, shakes his head in disgust.}
BOB: You know, you’re a real psycho, you know that?
83 TED: {grinning} that hurts, Bob. And allow me to elaborate as to the meaning of the aforementioned term: Psychopath: They are very much in touch with reality, and despite their inability to feel empathy, guilt, or remorse, still have their shit together as far as knowing what it is they were sent here to do. Psychotic: Now, these are the dangerous ones, folks; they are completely out of touch with reality, and are delusional in the way they think they are God-like creatures, and/or there are monsters or bad people out to get them. I don’t see any connection to myself in either category, actually.
BOB: That could be up for debate.
TED: Like I said, you say tomato, I say-
BOB: And I say it’s time for a lunch break.
TED: Great! Make my steak medium rare with a side of wedge fries, would you Bob?
BOB: {sarcastically} sure I will, Ted. No problem.
INT. THE PRISON SHOWER AREA – NIGHT
{TED has been allowed out of his cell to shower, and is walking out of the shower area wearing only a towel
84 wrapped around his waist. As he stands running his fingers through his hair, FOUR FELLOW INMATES walk in, clad only in their boxer shorts, all of them smiling and leering at him. Knowing what they’re thinking, he begins to walk out fast only to be stopped by the biggest of the four men, who grabs TED around the throat and pins him against the wall, while the other three line up behind him, dropping their boxers to their knees.}
BIG MAN: What ya say, short eyes?
TED: I’m not! I swear! Please, don’t-
BIG MAN: Now we gonna show you what it feels like to be really fucked.
{TED begins screaming and the BIG MAN slams his head against the wall, disorienting him, while one of the other MEN positions himself behind TED, grabbing his hips and thrusting into him. TED squirms and struggles to no avail, emitting muffled grunts and screams as he is raped.}
DISSOLVE TO INT. THE SHOWER AREA - AN HOUR LATER
{A GUARD walks in to find TED lying on the floor nude and a pool of blood on the floor beneath him. He presses a button on his shoulder radio and speaks.}
85 GUARD: Get a stretcher down to the showers right away! We’ve got a rape and assault.
INT. THE HOME OF BOB KEPPEL – NIGHT
{BOB has fallen asleep on the couch and suddenly the PHONE RINGS, startling him awake. He reaches for it and drops it, picks it back up.}
BOB: Yeah? {Pause} what?! {Pause} is he going to make it? {Pause} alright, I’ll grab the first plane out tomorrow.
{His WIFE walks in now, half asleep and yawning.}
WIFE: Who was that at this ungodly hour?
BOB: It was the prison; Ted Bundy was raped and assaulted a few hours ago.
WIFE: {turning to walk out of the room} good. Now he knows what his victims felt like.
INT. FLORIDA STATE PRISON – BRADFORD COUNTY, FLORIDA – 1988 – DAY
{BOB has come back to see TED one more time, and is sitting outside the cell as TED finishes dressing. The prison DOCTOR is exiting the cell, glancing at BOB and forcing a smile.}
BOB: How bad was it?
86 DOCTOR: Multiple welts and bruises, a mild concussion, and six stitches in his rectum. Believe it or not, I say he got off lucky.
{As the DOCTOR leaves, TED is there now, at the bars of his cell, buttoning his shirt. He is smiling, trying to put on a show for BOB, but BOB knows better.}
BOB: Are you okay, Ted?
TED: Hmm…let’s see; I was beaten and gang raped by four big smelly bull queers, and had to have my rectum sutured shut. I’m far from ok, Bob, but thanks for asking.
BOB: Hey, Ted, you asked the warden to call me at four o’clock in the morning. I was just trying to show some genuine concern.
TED: Yeah, that’s right; we wouldn’t want your prime cold case profiler to end up in the infirmary, would we?
BOB: We have a suspect, Ted. We just wanted your opinion.
TED: Is that right? Well, if you already have a suspect, why ask for my expertise on the matter, hmm?
BOB: If you don’t feel up to it, Ted, I can always come back another day.
87 TED: Oh no, God forbid you come all this way only to leave empty handed. Ask away.
BOB: Fine {opens a file folder} so, you say you think he would come back to visit his dumping sites?
TED: I believe he would, yes.
BOB: Well, we’ve been keeping an eye on the last three dumping sites, and he – our suspect – hasn’t been there.
TED: Then maybe your suspect isn’t the right man.
BOB: But he fits your profile exactly, except for coming back to the dumping sites.
TED: Hmm…well, maybe he has a police scanner, and also keeps an eye on your activities. If he blends in, nobody would even notice him at first. And he might wear a hairpiece or a hat or different clothing. He might just be hiding in plain sight.
BOB: That’s possible – I guess.
TED: Or, maybe you should keep an eye on some of the older dumping sites.
BOB: Older? Why, for God’s sake? The victim’s remains are long gone.
88 TED: Ah, yes, but their memory lingers on, if he does in fact revisit them.
BOB: I never thought about that. That’s an interesting theory.
TED: {grinning} see, Bob? What would you do without me?
BOB: Hmm…I don’t know, maybe sleep?
TED: Having bad dreams, are we Bob?
BOB: Not me, personally, no. But I believe my wife does.
TED: Sorry, Bob, hazards of the profession, you know?
BOB: It’s not your fault, it’s mine.
TED: Care to elaborate?
BOB: Not really, but I will; she thinks you’re nothing more than a bottom feeding, low life, scumbag who radiates evil like a supernova.
TED: And what do you think?
BOB: I’m beginning to wonder why I seem to have such a morbid fascination with some piece of shit who gnawed on the naked buttocks of a dead college coed and who fucked the week-old rotting, headless corpse of one of his victims – and liked it.
89 TED: Doubting your own sanity, are you?
BOB: I was – until now. Now I just want to get this case over with, and move on with my life – while I still have one.
TED: If I could have one wish, you know what it would be, Bob?
BOB: Let me guess; you’d want to revisit one of your victims, and drop in for a cold one?
TED: Nope; I’d wish I could just go ahead and die, Bob. I think I deserve to die, don’t you?
BOB: Can’t argue with that. Is there anything else you want to tell me, Ted? I’ve had a long night.
TED: Just one thing – I’d like to ask you, that is.
BOB: I can’t wait.
TED: Do you still dream about me, Bob?
BOB: {standing to leave} this interview is OVER.
INT. A MOTEL ROOM IN FLORIDA – NIGHT
{BOB is sitting on the edge of the bed staring at the phone on the nightstand. He takes a deep breath, picks it up, and asks to be connected to his home phone.}
90 BOB: Yes, could you connect me to 1- 555-738-1959, please?
{A few seconds go by and his WIFE picks up.}
BOB: Babe? I’m coming home {Pause} yes, for good this time {Pause, teary –eyed} I love you too. I love you so much.
FADE OUT
FADE IN FLORIDA STATE PRISON – BRADFORD COUNTY, FLORIDA – DEATH ROW – PRESENT DAY
{TED and WILLIAM are still sitting talking about his life and crimes.}
WH: {glancing at wristwatch} well, Ted, it’s only a few hours away.
TED: {glumly} I know.
WH: Ted, is there anything else you’d like to tell me before…well, you know.
TED: What I’d like to tell you would take a lot longer than eight hours, Bill.
WH: I know.
TED: But I would like to make some more confessions, if that’s ok.
WH: Sure, Ted. Get it off your chest.
91 {TED blinks away tears and clears his throat.}
TED: There were more than thirty six victims – a lot more.
WH: Go on.
TED: Let me just say this; add one more digit to that number, and you’ll have the real number.
WH: Go on, I’m listening.
TED: There were eleven in Washington alone, including Parks, abducted in Oregon but killed in Washington. There were eight in Utah, four in Colorado, and three in Florida.
WH: How about Oregon?
TED: Only two there, and two in Idaho.
WH: Is that all you wanted to tell me?
TED: No {Pause} the little girl, Kimberly Leach?
WH: Yes?
{TED leans in and whispers something to WH, and WH backs away in horror, his mouth agape. Moments later he motions to the GUARD he is finished. As he stands to leave, TED speaks to him one last time.}
92 TED: Bill?
WH: What, Ted?
TED: I can’t say that being in the Valley of the Shadow of Death is something I’ve become all that accustomed to, and that I’m strong and nothing’s bothering me. It’s no fun. It gets kind of lonely, yet I have to remind myself that every one of us will go through this someday in one way or another.
WH: It’s appointed unto man.
TED: Countless millions who have walked this earth before us have gone through this, so this is just an experience we all share, you know?
EXT. OUTSIDE THE PRISON
{As WH leaves, there are PEOPLE gathered across the street holding up signs that say BURN BUNDY BURN and DIE BUNDY DIE. Others mill about talking and laughing, drinking beer and setting up barbecue grills. WH walks by, glancing over at the morbid festivities, shaking his head.}
INT. WILLIAM’S CAR
{As he climbs in and starts the engine, he looks back at the CROWD across the
93 street one more time. He grins now and pulls out of the parking lot.}
WH: Burn Bundy burn, indeed.
INT. TED’S CELL – NIGHT
{TED is lying in bed reading a paperback book when a GUARD walks back to his cell and gets his attention.}
GUARD: Bundy, you have one last visitor.
TED: {excited} who?!
GUARD: Some fella named James Dobson, from the Christian evangelical organization Focus on the Family.
TED: Sure, I’ll talk to him.
{The GUARD motions to someone OFF SCREEN and JAMES walks up to the cell, smiling and holding a Bible.}
JAMES: Mr. Bundy, may I speak with you?
TED: Sure, have a seat.
{JAMES sits down on a chair the GUARD provides.}
TED: What do you want to talk about, Mr. Dobson?
JAMES: Well, I thought maybe you could provide me with some insight as to what to warn young people out there to avoid.
94 TED: Pardon me?
JAMES: You know, what things helped to shape you into what you became as an adult.
TED: I’ve already made all the confessions I intend to make, Mr. Dobson, if that’s what you’re after.
JAMES: Oh no, I’m not fishing for a confession, just some friendly advice from a sinner.
{TED sits looking JAMES over like a scientist would look over a lab rat.}
TED: Ok, I’ll bite. Ask away.
JAMES: You seemed to have had an obsession with sex and violence?
TED: It happens in stages, gradually {Pause} the younger you begin experiencing it, the younger you are when your brain is…infected with it.
JAMES: Infected? Oh…you mean the younger the mind – not yet fully developed – the more susceptible they are to the damage that can be done by such material?
TED: Exactly. Violence in the media, and it’s obvious repercussions, are what can lead to someone to becoming a… well, another Ted Bundy.
95 JAMES: Do you have any other good advice?
TED: Yes, I do; the FBI should stake out adult movie houses and follow patrons as they leave. Half or more of them will turn out to be just like me.
JAMES: Anything else?
TED: You are going to kill me, and that will protect society from me. But out there are many, many more people who are addicted to pornography, and you are doing nothing about that.
INT. TED’S HOLDING CELL – JANUARY 24TH, 1989 – SIX AM
{TED is sitting in the cell staring at the walls with a blank expression. His head has been shaved, and he is dressed in the prison jumpsuit he’ll be executed in. The prison CHAPLAIN and two GUARDS walk up to the cell door now, ready to escort TED to the execution chamber. Upon seeing them, TED stands up, forcing a smile, acting brave.}
TED: Morning, padre.
CHAPLAIN: Good morning, Ted {Pause} Ted, it’s almost time.
TED: {swallowing a lump in his throat} I know.
96 GUARD 1: Ok, Ted, up against the bars, you know the drill.
{TED walks over to the bars and places his hands up in the air and spreads his legs.}
GUARD 2: Now stand still.
TED: No problem.
{As the GUARDS place the wrist and leg shackles on TED, the CHAPLAIN talks to TED to keep his mind occupied.}
CHAPLAIN: So, Ted, do you have any immediate family you’d like me to contact on your behalf?
TED: No, padre. I mean, I do, but I don’t think they’d really be interested.
CHAPLAIN: Why not?
TED: Would you be?
INT. THE EXECUTION CHAMBER
{TED is being strapped into the electric chair by the two GUARDS as the CHAPLAIN stands close by. Suddenly TED goes limp in their arms, unable to stand on his own two feet, and begins sobbing loudly and struggling. The GUARDS motion to another GUARD to come and assist them, and they finally get
97 him strapped in. The CHAPLAIN walks closer now, whispering.}
CHAPLAIN: Ted, do you have any last words?
TED: {teary-eyed} I don’t feel guilty {Pause} Guilt doesn't solve anything, really.
{The CHAPLAIN turns and nods to the GUARD who is standing at the switch, and walks away, being replaced by the prison DOCTOR. The GUARD looks toward a room nearby, where the WARDEN stands waiting. He nods, and the GUARD throws the switch.}
INT. THE VIEWING ROOM
{The room is filled with PEOPLE FROM THE MEDIA, as well as VICTIM FAMILY MEMBERS. As the switch is thrown, we can barely see the REFLECTION of TED’S body frying and convulsing in the partition glass. One of the WOMEN in the room, a mother of one of the victims, smiles.}
WOMAN: Burn in hell, you son of a bitch.
EXT. THE FIELD ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE PRISON
{The CROWD is really whooping it up now, singing, dancing, and setting off fireworks.}
98 DISSOLVE TO INT. THE HOME OF BOB KEPPEL – MAY, 2002 - DUSK
{BOB is standing out on his back porch gazing out at the oncoming sunset, a slight breeze blowing through his thinning hair. Sunsets in Washington were something they’d grown to love. The way everything turned to a blinding gold and shined as if it were the only place on the earth. As if the sunset was meant for them alone. As he stands looking out over the sunset, his WIFE walks up behind him, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tight.}
WIFE: Bob, what if it finds us again?
BOB: What if what finds us?
WIFE: The darkness. It always seems to find us.
BOB: I think it likes us.
WIFE: That’s comforting.
BOB: The only thing you are missing, my dear, is faith. There is no mystery to my madness, only a thinking man’s logic, a believer’s logic, nothing more, nothing less.
WIFE: I wish I could understand; I wish I could understand how you believe in the things you do. There must be some reason, something I’m missing.
99 BOB: Maybe you should try it more often.
WIFE: Believing?
BOB: Not only that, but believing in us.
{She turns herself around so she is facing him, her arms still wrapped around his waist, and he smiles.}
WIFE: If I hadn’t believed in us, I wouldn’t be here, Bob Keppel {Pause} speaking of which, I gather Mr. Gary Ridgway is going away forever?
BOB: Well, considering the fact he has already confessed to forty eight murders, I’d say so, yes. You know what’s so ironic about it all?
WIFE: Tell me.
BOB: If it hadn’t been for Ted Bundy’s help, we might have never caught up with Ridgway.
WIFE: Oh God, not Bundy again.
BOB: Sorry! {Pause} hey…you want to go commando tonight, and make homemade cheeseburgers and vanilla malts?
WIFE: {jokingly} why not?! Let’s toss caution to the wind!
{BOB pulls her close to him and plants a gentle kiss on her lips.}
100 WIFE: Wow…what was that for?
BOB: I’m in this for the long haul, babe. I’m here for you, this is a partnership.
WIFE: What kind of partnership did you have in mind?
BOB: The kind where I love you until you’re too old to care.
WIFE: You think you can last that long, huh?
BOB: Try me.
EXT. CASCADE RANGE OF WASHINGTON STATE – DUSK
{A tall. slender 50ish WOMAN resembling TED'S old co-worker, CAROLE ANN BOONE, is standing at the top of a hill overlooking a beautiful valley. Nearby, a COLLEGE AGED GIRL with dark hair and dark eyes is attempting to fly a kite. The WOMAN warns her to stay close.}
WOMAN: Careful, missy, rabbit hole to your right.
GIRL: {rolling her eyes} yes, mother.
{The WOMAN removes an old coffee can from her oversized purse and pops the lid, to expose TED’S ASHES from his cremation, she has kept all of these
101 years. She opens the can and begins spreading the ashes, watching them blow away with the breeze. The GIRL sees this and walks back over to her mother.}
GIRL: Why did dad want his ashes spread way out here? I thought he was born in Vermont.
WOMAN: It was his wish, in his last will and testament. You have to honor something like that regardless of what you thought of that person otherwise.
GIRL: Mom, did dad really kill all of those girls?
WOMAN: {glumly} at least some of them I guess.
GIRL: Why?
WOMAN: Demons are real, and the real demons – unlike the ones conjured up by filmmakers and book writers – are even more terrifying, because they are spawned within your own heart, by you, and although Satan has a hand in tempting you with them, it is still you, and you only, that makes the final decision as to whether your inner demons will ever go away.
GIRL: Do you think my demons will ever go away?
WOMAN: {hugging the GIRL} I hope so, honey, I sure hope so.
102 FADE TO BLACK WITH THE TITLES:
Ted Bundy died in the electric chair at Raiford Prison in Starke, Florida, on January 24, 1989. Biographer Ann Rule described him as "a sadistic sociopath who took pleasure from another human's pain and the control he had over his victims, to the point of death, and even after.”
He once called himself "... the most cold-hearted son of a bitch you'll ever meet, the very definition of heartless evil.”
Bundy’s crimes were the basis for the term, ‘serial killer,’ which is still used to this day by law enforcement.
The exact number of his victims may never be known.
FADE TO BLACK / END TITLES ROLL
103 104 Brian Lee Tucker is a former bartender, house painter, and a “late-blooming hippie,” whose mother gave birth to him on the way to the Woodstock music festival on August 15th, 1969. Needless to say, he didn’t make it to Woodstock, but he made up for it later by forming his first band, Yellow Moon, at the tender age of twelve years old, with his mother, Karina, and his father, Jackson, on backing vocals and guitar. Influenced by the mellow, smooth sounds of bands like the Mamas and the Papas, the Byrds, and singers like Bob Dylan and Gordon Lightfoot, he created a signature sound all his own, a folk-ish, soft rock style that made him a home town institution around San Fransisco in the early eighties. Staying true to his roots, he is still an avid fan of the classic 60s and 70s pop culture, as well as the classic literature of such noted writers as Harper Lee, J.D. Salinger, and rebel writers like the late Hunter S. Thompson. A fledgling writer and poet, he is currently at work on his first book of fictional stories. Also a hardcore true crime buff, he is currently at work on another screenplay, Chameleon, based on the murderous exploits of serial killer Ted Bundy.
Screenplays:
Raging Cannibal: the True Story of serial killer Ottis Toole The Cemetery Artist: Ed Gein: a True American Horror Story
Both available now from www.createspace.com and Amazon Kindle
105 Other books from author Brian Lee Tucker: Raging Cannibal: the True Story of serial killer Ottis Toole
Ottis Toole, born at the bottom of the gene pool, retarded and illiterate, had been out of control since early childhood. A severely drug-dependent individual as well as an arsonist, murderer, rapist, and cannibal, he was unsafe under any conditions outside of a secure prison, and perhaps unsafe there. To him, life itself was so unmeaning, and the distinction between living and dead people so blurred, that
106 killing another human being was no more than swatting an annoying fly. Between 1976 and 1982, together with his serial killer buddy, Henry Lee Lucas, Ottis Toole was reported to have committed over three hundred murders. However, the discrediting of the case against his partner in crime, Henry Lee Lucas, for crimes in which Toole had offered collaborating statements created doubts as to whether either was a genuine serial killer or, both merely compliant interviewees who police used to clear unsolved murders from the books. Now, in RAGING CANNIBAL, a screenplay for film by author D. Daniel Brian, offers up a totally new glimpse into the life of Ottis Toole, one never shown before, the eyewitness accounts, personal testimony, and never-before- uncovered evidence providing an in depth loom into one of the most notorious serial killers that ever lived, who was dubbed the nick name, ‘the cannibal kid.’
107 The Cemetery Artist Ed Gein: a True American Horror Story
“Due to legal complications, the ‘official’ true story of the Ed Gein case could not be told before now.” Thus begins the opening lines of the book, ED GEIN: AMERICA’S MOST BIZARRE MURDERER, by the late Judge Robert H. Gollmar. The real true story of Ed Gein – a murderer, grave robber, cannibal, and transvestite – is much more bizarre and terrifying than any Hollywood version of the events that took place on November 16th, 1957. In THE CEMETERY ARTIST: ED GEIN: A TRUE AMERICAN HORROR STORY, author Brian Lee Tucker, using book excerpts, real court transcripts, and eye
108 witness, behind-the-scenes-testimony, has created an in- depth look into the mind and life of a man whose crimes transcended even those of rivals Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, or even Jeffrey Dahmer in their frequency and ferocity. What readers will be subjected to is probably the most unusual case of modern times. The TRUE story of Ed Gein, arguably America’s most bizarre killer, a man who created his ‘art’ - exotic household items and wearing apparel made from female torsos, heads and vaginas – and, unquestionably, the most notorious killer to ever stand in a court of law.
109 Thank you for buying this book. A certain amount of proceeds from the sale of this book will go to benefit the local Humane Society.
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