Carol M. Bundy
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| Carol M. Bundy | |
|---|---|
| Alias(es): | The Sunset Strip Killer |
| Born: | 1942 |
| Died: | December 9, 2003 |
| Cause of death: | Heart failure |
| Penalty: | life |
| Killings | |
| Number of victims: | convicted of 2 suspected of more |
| Span of killings: | late spring 1980 through early summer 1980 |
| Country: | U.S.  |
| State(s): | California |
| Date apprehended: | 1980 |
Carol M. Bundy (1942 - December 9, 2003) was an American serial killer.
Carol M. Bundy and Doug Clark became known as "The Sunset Strip Killers" after being convicted of a series of murders in Los Angeles during the late spring and early summer of 1980. The victims were young prostitutes or runaways.
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[edit] Bundy and Clark
The case seemed to be solved after Bundy, a divorcee with two children living in the San Fernando Valley, went to police claiming that her lover, Clark, had told her he had killed several young women. All had been shot with a gun Bundy had purchased. Bundy claimed initially that she knew nothing of the murders, "only what (Clark) told me".
Shortly before going to police Bundy, who worked as a nurse, had shot to death, stabbed and beheaded another lover, Jack Murray. Bundy eventually confessed to that murder but claimed it was self-defense. Later, Bundy also admitted that she had been present during one of the murders for which Clark was charged. That murder took place in a car parked behind a gas station in East Hollywood. Bundy claimed Clark shot a prostitute in the head while the prostitute was in the act of fellatio. Bundy had hired the girl for Clark's birthday. Clark insisted Bundy was the shooter. Both agreed that they had disposed of the body together.
Clark has always claimed that Bundy and Murray committed the murders and he was merely Bundy's fall guy.
[edit] Trial
Clark's trial was a pitch-black portrait of the San Fernando Valley underworld of the late 1970s, a world in which Clark, Bundy and Clark went on endless sexual adventures. Clark himself had engaged in a long sexual relationship with the 13-year-old girl who babysat Bundy's children. But the highlight of the trial was Bundy's account of how Clark had taken the head of one of his victims, played with it in a shower and stored it in his ice box. Bundy's testimony was critical; all other evidence introduced against Clark was circumstantial. Moreover, no forensic examination was ever performed comparing the body of the girl who had been beheaded with Murray's body.
The evidence included a piece of bloody scalp found in the ceiling of Murray's van. That evidence was mentioned but not introduced at Clark's trial. Bundy plea bargained and, in return for her testimony, received a moderated sentence.
[edit] Death
Bundy died in prison of heart failure in 2003. Clark is on California's death row. No date has yet been set for his execution.
