Carol Mary Bundy (née Peters; August 26, 1942 – December 9, 2003) was an American double murderer and suspected

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

. Bundy and Doug Clark became collectively known as the Sunset Strip Killers after being convicted of a series of

lust murder Lust murder, also called sexual homicide, is a homicide which occurs in tandem with either an overt sexual assault or sexually symbolic behavior. ''Lust murder'' is associated with the paraphilic term erotophonophilia, which is sexual arousal or ...

s in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

during the late spring and early summer of 1980.

Early life

Bundy had a troubled childhood, as both of her parents were abusive

alcoholics Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...

. Bundy's mother died when she was a child and her father

sexually abused Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is r ...

her starting at the age of 11. After Bundy's father remarried, he put her in various

foster home Foster care is a system in which a underage, minor has been placed into a ward (law), ward, group home (Residential Child Care Community, residential child care community or treatment centre), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, ref ...

s. When Bundy was 17 years old, she married a 56-year-old man. By the time Bundy met Doug Clark at the age of 37, she had just escaped a third marriage to an abusive man, by whom she had two young sons. She had begun an affair with her apartment block manager, part-time country singer Jack Murray, and had attempted to

bribe Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official duty, to act contrar ...

Murray's wife into leaving him. After Murray's wife compelled him to evict Bundy from the block, Bundy continued to show up regularly to venues where he was singing. It was at one of these venues, a bar called Little Nashville, where she first met Clark in 1980. Clark soon moved in with Bundy and they found out that they shared dark sexual fantasies.

Murders

On August 9, 1980, the decomposed body of John Robert Murray, 45, was found in a van parked just blocks away from his home in

Van Nuys Van Nuys ( ) is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1 ...

. Murray's body suffered stab wounds to the chest and was decapitated. His head was never found. Two days later, Bundy called police and confessed to shooting her lover, John "Jack" Murray, with her chrome Raven gun, five days before his body was found. On March 3, 1981, the incomplete skeleton of an unidentified young woman was found buried in a shallow stream bed near the Bouquet Reservoir. Though only a few bones remained, investigators did recover a skull with a bullet hole. The firearm wound matched the description of the murder of a prostitute that Clark and Bundy had picked up, according to their own testimonies. Clark claimed Bundy had shot the young woman in the head, stripped her bare naked and instructed him to drive to a location in Green Valley, where they disposed of the body. Clark also declared that Bundy fondled the dying victim along the way. It was later revealed that Bundy confided in a fellow nurse about her involvement in the murders of Murray and that of the unidentified woman, though she alleged that Clark had fired the fatal shot.

Arrest and trial

Bundy was arrested on August 11, 1980, at her home in

Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...

. Clark was arrested the same day. Two days later, she was

arraigned Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal charging document in the presence of the defendant, to inform them of the criminal charges against them. In response to arraignment, in some jurisdictions, the accused is expected to enter a plea; in ...

for the murder of John Robert Murray and held without bail. Sealed documents of a court session on September 18 of that year revealed that Bundy killed Murray in an effort to prevent him from going to authorities after she told him that her roommate, Douglas Clark, committed the Sunset slayings. She also told the court that she had to cut off his head to prevent the bullets being traced back to her. Co-workers of Bundy testified that she confessed to being present during the murder of a young woman and helped dump her body afterwards. On May 2, 1983, Bundy pleaded guilty in

Los Angeles County Superior Court The Superior Court of Los Angeles County is the California Superior Courts of California, Superior Court located in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County. It is the largest single unified trial court in the United States. The Sup ...

to the murders of Murray in 1980 and of the unidentified woman whose skeleton was found in 1981. Her plea came as a surprise to prosecutors, as Bundy had originally pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. Though no bargain was made, by pleading guilty, the district attorney could not prove special circumstances, a requirement for life without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors had already agreed to remove the death penalty upon Bundy testifying against Clark during his trial. For his part in the crimes, Clark was sentenced to death but died of natural causes on death row on October 11, 2023. On May 31, 1983, Bundy was sentenced to 52 years to life: 27 years to life for the murder of Murray, and another 25 years to life, to be served consecutively, for assisting in the death of the unidentified female.

Death

Bundy died in prison from heart failure at the

Central California Women's Facility Central California Women's Facility (CCWF) is an American women's California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison located in Chowchilla, California. It is across the road from Valley State Prison. CCWF is the second larg ...

on December 9, 2003, at the age of 61.

Early life

Murders

Arrest and trial

Death

See also

References

Further reading