Rose Bundy (Daughter of Ted Bundy), also known as Rosa, is believed to be the sole offspring of the notorious criminal, Ted Bundy.
Many individuals aspire to gain recognition and fame for commendable reasons. However, nobody desires to achieve notoriety in a contentious manner, hence, adverse publicity is shunned due to the myriad of problems it brings.
This is particularly true for Rose Bundy, Ted Bundy’s daughter, who has been thrust into the limelight since her birth.
Countless documentaries, films, and books have attempted to chronicle the life of the infamous American serial killer and his family.
Some of these include Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019), Ted Bundy (2002), Fry Day (2017), The Only Living Witness (Stephen G. Michaud, 1993), and The Stranger Beside Me (Anne Rule, 1980).
Periodically, individuals follow and peruse them to gain insight into Ted Bundy’s daughter.
Who is Rose Bundy?
Rose Bundy was born in October 1982, making her 38 years old.
Her mother, Carole Ann Boone, encountered Ted Bundy while working at the Department of Emergency Services (DES) in Olympia, Washington.
Ted Bundy and his spouse, Carole Ann Boone, had an unconventional relationship. They initially met as colleagues at the Department of Emergency Services in Olympia, Washington in 1974.
Per Hugh Aynesworth and Stephen G. Michaud’s The Only Living Witness, Carole was instantly drawn to Bundy, and although he exhibited interest in dating her, the relationship initially remained strictly platonic.
Carole Ann Boone
Carole Ann Boone attended Bundy’s 1980 Orlando trial for the killings of Chi Omega sorority girls Margaret Bowman and Lisa Levy, where the serial killer acted as his own defense attorney.
Rose Bundy even called Boone to the stand as a case witness. The soon-to-be mother of Rose Bundy had recently moved to Gainesville to be closer to Ted Bundy, approximately 40 miles from the prison.
Carole Ann Boone not only arranged conjugal visits with Bundy but also purportedly smuggled drugs and money into the jail for him.
Ultimately, while Boone testified in Bundy’s defense, the criminal proposed to her.
Author Ann Rule revealed in her Ted Bundy biography, The Stranger Beside Me, that an old Florida law stated that a marriage declaration in court in front of a judge is considered a binding agreement.
Since the couple couldn’t find a minister to oversee their vows, and officials at the Orange County jail prohibited them from using the facility’s chapel, the law student Bundy found a loophole.
As Rule pointed out, the second anniversary of Bundy’s abduction and murder of young Kimberly Leach— a 12-year-old girl— marked Boone and Bundy’s first wedding anniversary.
It wasn’t long before the couple had a daughter of their own, Rose Bundy.
Conjugal visits were banned for the prisoners on death row, but according to former friend Ann Rule’s 1980 biography of Bundy, The Stranger Beside Me, inmates were known to pool money to bribe guards to allow them alone time with their female visitors.
Other rumors began to circulate about the logistics of Rose’s conception. Some speculated that Boone had smuggled a condom into prison, had Bundy transfer his genetic material into it, seal it, and return it to her through a kiss.
As Rule pointed out, however, the circumstances of Bundy’s confinement did not necessitate such extreme, imaginative measures. Bribing guards was not only possible, but common, and allowed the couple to have sexual intercourse in various areas of the facility, behind a water cooler, on a table in the prison’s outdoor ‘park,’ and in several rooms, which people reportedly walked into several times.
Some remained suspicious. Florida State Prison superintendent Clayton Strickland, for instance, was not entirely convinced that these possibilities were so easily feasible. “Anything is possible,” he said of Rose Bundy’s conception. “Where the human element is involved, anything is possible. They’re subject to do anything. I’m not saying they couldn’t have some sexual contact, but in that park, it would be mighty difficult. It’s stopped as soon as it starts.”
The revelation that serial killer Ted Bundy managed to get married and impregnate someone while imprisoned for killing several people, including a child, was an extraordinary piece of news. It did not take long for the media to seek out Boone for details concerning Ted Bundy’s daughter.
“I don’t have to explain anything about anyone to anybody,” she said.
The Birth of Rose Bundy
Rose Bundy was Ted Bundy’s first and only biological child, and her birth could not have occurred at a more frenzied, media-heavy time in her father’s life.
Bundy’s Florida case had captured the nation’s attention. It was extensively televised and drew a large viewership. Those who attended his trial were not just individuals enraged by the man’s existence; many were young women who captivated the killer’s attention.
“There was an assumption about Ted’s victims: that they all wore their hair long, parted in the middle, and wore hoop earrings,” explained Stephen G. Michaud in the E! True Hollywood Story on Ted Bundy.
“So, women would come to court with their hair parted in the middle, wearing hoop earrings. A couple of them even dyed their hair the right kind of brown…They wanted to appeal to Ted.” Bundy had actually amassed an unusual fan base of groupies, which is not necessarily unheard of for a handsome, charismatic criminal like himself.
Despite his disconcerting celebrity and triple death sentence, his devoted wife carried their daughter Rose along on her visits to prison.
Familial photos of Ted, Carole, and Rose Bundy do exist and seem to differ from their conventional counterparts only in having the prison as a backdrop. Carole would bring her son, Jayme, along on these visits as well.
Life of Rose Bundy After the Execution
There are, of course, theories regarding what happened to Rose. The young girl would now be 38 years old. Details about her teenage years, her educational pursuits, her social circle, and her occupation have all remained elusive?
Rose Bundy’s whereabouts are shrouded in mystery—Ted’s daughter certainly aspires to distance herself from the shadow of her felonious father.
In 1986, three years prior to Bundy’s execution, Boone separated from him and departed Florida with Rose and her son from a previous relationship, James.
She never communicated with Bundy again, and it is unlikely that Rose would have been allowed to have contact with her father.
After thedivorce, Carole Ann Boone disappeared from public view and had little mention in the media.
As Ted Bundy’s daughter, it’s highly likely that Rose intentionally maintains a low profile. Being the child of one of the most infamous murderers in modern history, it would be challenging to even engage in casual conversations at social gatherings. Some speculate that Boone remarried and changed her name, currently residing in Oklahoma as one Abigail Griffin, but no one can confirm for certain.
It’s unclear whether Rose is aware of the media coverage, such as the Netflix documentary series The Ted Bundy Tapes or the 2019 movie Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.
In a 2008 reissue of her book The Stranger Beside Me, Ann Rule made it clear how she felt about inquiries into the current whereabouts of Ted Bundy’s daughter, stating:
“I have heard that Ted’s daughter is a kind and intelligent young woman, but I have no idea where she and her mother may live,” she wrote. “They have been through enough pain.”
Rule later elaborated on her website, saying:
“I have deliberately refrained from any knowledge about Ted’s ex-wife and daughter’s whereabouts because they deserve privacy. I don’t want to know where they are; I never want to be caught off guard by some reporter’s question about them. All I know is that Ted’s daughter has grown up to be a fine young woman.”
Carole Ann Boone: Rose Bundy’s Mother
Little to no information is available regarding Boone’s birthplace and upbringing.
Boone was known to be a “lusty-tempered free spirit” and was vibrant, intelligent, and diligent in her job.
She was described as a mentor or maternal figure by some of her colleagues.
When Boone met Ted Bundy, she had recently divorced and was striving to raise her teenage son James.
Bundy had started working at the Washington State Department of Emergency Services (DES) and had caught the attention of both men and women who found him attractive.
Boone was immediately drawn to him, later stating that Bundy had expressed his desire to date her right from the beginning.
In the book The Only Living Witness: The True Story of Serial Sex Killer Ted Bundy, Boone said:“I liked Ted immediately. We hit it off well.
“He struck me as being a rather shy person with a lot more going on under the surface than what was on the surface. He certainly was more dignified and restrained than the more certifiable types around the office.”
Bundy continued to date his then-girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer and numerous other women, many of whom were ultimately murdered.
After Bundy was imprisoned on suspicion of multiple kidnappings and murders, he and Boone grew very close during his trial in Florida in 1979.
After exchanging numerous letters, Boone traveled to Florida with her son to be near Bundy.
Although Boone and Bundy expressed a desire to marry, the authorities made it clear that this would be impossible.
However, Ted Bundy found an obscure law in Florida’s legal books.
On February 9, 1980, during the trial for the murder of Kimberly Leach, Boone was called to the witness stand.
Bundy asked her if she would marry him, and she accepted – it was legal because it was done in the presence of the presiding judge.
According to Rule, Boone divorced Bundy three years before his execution.
The below section has been updated on 07, May 2022
Rose Bundy Fascinating Fact List
Explore the most sought-after facts about Rose Bundy and her family in this section.
1. It is speculated that Rose Bundy may have changed her name to Abigail Griffin
While Bundy has wisely stayed out of the public eye for most of her life, the only confirmed information is her age of 38 years old. However, little else is known about her personal life. The lack of records has led some to speculate that she may have changed her name, a logical step considering her family history.
2. Rose Bundy’s father was imprisoned because of an escaped victim
Despite being a closed case, there is still debate over when Ted Bundy began his killing spree. Most agree that it began in 1974 when several women started disappearing near Oregon and Seattle.
In 1975, Bundy’s final arrest ended his killing spree after his escaped victim Carol DaRonch identified him in a police lineup. Subsequently, Bundy was convicted and spent many years behind bars, with multiple confirmed cases attributed to him.
3. Reports suggest that Rose Bundy’s mother aided Ted in escaping prison
Boone and Bundy fell in love after reuniting in a Utah prison in 1977. Once they began their relationship, Boone visited him in jail and exchanged letters with him frequently.
According to Rolling Stone, Boone may have assisted Bundy in his escape from a prison in Colorado, allowing him to ultimately flee to Florida.
4. The Bundy family’s life was a public spectacle during Bundy’s crimes and trials
Amidst the media coverage of Bundy’s crimes and trials, Boone and Bundy got married. Soon after, their daughter was born, thrusting the Bundy family into the public spotlight.
5. A post on the Life in the Row forum in 2016 hinted at Rose Bundy’s potential Facebook page
An unidentified post on the forum in 2016 suggested that Rose Bundy may have a Facebook page. The post also indicated that Carole Boone’s son, Jamey Boone, has a Facebook page linked to his mother’s profile.
6. No signs of criminality were found in Rose Bundy’s father’s brain
After Ted Bundy’s execution, there was a request to examine his brain for scientific purposes, hoping to discover any abnormalities that may have contributed to his violent behavior.
While brain injuries may lead some individuals to be notably violent, none were found in Bundy’s brain.
In 1989, Ted Bundy summoned Dr. Dorothy Lewis to Florida State Prison for a meeting. Meeting a serial killer in person was not unusual for Lewis, who had spent her career as a clinical psychiatrist studying murderers in maximum security prisons and on death row, aiming to understand what drove them to kill.
In the 32 years since Bundy’s execution, Lewis has amassed evidence to show that the serial killer experienced significant childhood trauma, leading her to reanalyze his case—a journey depicted in the film Crazy, Not Insane.
In the film, now available, Lewis carefully guides viewers through her compelling findings, ultimately arguing that society is better served by keeping serial killers alive and behind bars. She expressed regret that she hadn’t been able to share her detailed analysis with Bundy himself. “I wish I had known that before he died, but I didn’t,” said Lewis with remorse. “I goofed.”
After decades of study, Lewis has come to the understanding that people are not born as murderers, but are made into murderers due to various predispositions.
In conclusion, society needs to be more supportive and empathetic towards others as it can change someone’s entire worldview and bring joy to those related to them, just like Rose Bundy, who is striving to live a normal life while disassociating herself from her serial killer father.
