Twitter/PopularCrime
Even though Ted Bundy died thirty years ago, he’s remained a prominent name in the world of true crime.
A number of documentaries and films have examined the mind of Bundy, and now, ABC is adding to that list with a new 20/20 special, titled Bundy.
Over the past three decades, people have grown increasingly curious about the mystery surrounding Bundy’s first and only wife, Carol Ann Boone. What do we know about her? Where is she today? Is she alive, and how did she manage to stay out of the spotlight despite once being married to one of the most prolific serial killers in modern history?
Here’s what you should know.
1. She Fought for His Innocence
Boone met Bundy while working at the Washington State Department of Emergency Services. The two grew to be friends in the mid 1970s.
Boone believed in Bundy’s innocence.
In archival footage, Boone says, “Let me put it this way, I don’t think that Ted belongs in jail… I don’t think they had reason to charge Ted Bundy with murder.”
The National Enquirer also quotes Boone as once saying, “He struck me as being a rather shy person with a lot more going on under the surface.”
2. Bundy Proposed to Boone During His Trial Against 12-Year-Old Kimberly Diane Leach
Four months after being charged with first-degree murder in the cases of Margaret Bowman and Lisa Leyve, Bundy was charged with the death of 12-year-old Kimberly Diane Leach. During the trial, he proposed to Carole Boone. (And yes, we do mean during the trial. Boone was being questioned on the stand when Bundy popped the question.)
As Digital Spy notes, Boone took to the stand to testify to Bundy’s character. At the time, he was acting as his own attorney. She described him as “kind, warm, and patient.”
Cosmopolitan writes, “Bundy’s proposal at the time was considered legal thanks to an arcane Florida law that stated as long as a judge was present for a marriage declaration in court, the transaction would be allowed. Per Ann Rule’s 1980 biography of Bundy, The Stranger Beside Me, Bundy proposed a second time after mixing up the terminology (“I do hereby marry you” made it legit). Bundy was subsequently sentenced to death for a third time…”
3. She Gave Birth to Their Daughter While Bundy Was Incarcerated
Bundy was executed at Florida State Prison in 1989. Prior to that, he and Carole managed to have one child together, a daughter named Rose.
A 1981 Associated Press story published in Utah’s The Desert News writes that Boone once told reporters it was “nobody’s business” how Rose was conceived while he was in prison.
Rose was born in 1982, which would make her about 36 or 37 today. Radar Online reports that she lives in another country under a new identity.
4. She Divorced Bundy in 1986
In 1986, Boone divorced Bundy. She subsequently moved to Florida with the couple’s daughter, and her son from a previous relationship, Jim.
According to Netflix’s newest documentary about Bundy, the killer was involved in a number of relationships with many women, even during his killing sprees. At the time that she met Bundy, iNews repots, Boone had been divorced twice.
In, “The Only Living Witness: The True Story of Serial Sex Killer Ted Bundy,” Boone is quoted as saying, “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.”
5. She Died in 2018
The National Enquirer points out that Boone died in 2018 of septic shock.
Multiple outlets report that Boone changed her identity four times over the course of her life to keep from being tied to the notorious killer.
Prior to Boone, Bundy dated Elizabeth Kloepfer, who wrote about her relationship with the infamous murderer in a book she penned herself, titled, “The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy.” It was published while Bundy was on death row.