Dozens of American women lost their lives after an encounter with Ted Bundy, but it was a different tale for his wife, Carole Ann Boone. Although Boone was married to the vile American serial killer for barely six years (1980 – 1986), she earned an eternal reputation as the spouse of one of history’s most cold-hearted killers. For supporting Bundy and failing to see the manipulative camouflage of his foul character, Boone is often portrayed as a slow-witted woman so strongly infatuated with Bundy’s appealing looks that she forsakes common sense.
To cut her some slack, Ted Bundy was charming with quite a charismatic persona that appealed to his victims. Boone might have been too idealistic for her own good or even naive, but she was also a victim of Bundy’s sociopathic ploys. Having spent over a decade defending and proclaiming Bundy’s innocence, Carole Ann Boone was devastated when she learned he was unfaithful to her. Worst still, he confessed to 30 murders. Boone disappeared from the limelight thereafter, leaving many to wonder what became of her.
Carole Ann Boone Met Ted Bundy In 1974
Carole Ann Boone and Ted Bundy’s story began in May 1974 when the serial killer joined the Washington State Department of Emergency Service (DES). Interestingly, the department was actively involved in the search for missing women who were Bundy’s victims. Twice divorced with a child at the time, Boone was immediately drawn to Bundy. In Hugh Aynesworth and Stephen G. Michaud’s The Only Living Witness, a biographical book about the serial killer, Boone is quoted to have 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 than what was on the surface. He certainly was more dignified and restrained than the more certifiable types around the office.”
Ted Bundy Wedded Carole Ann Boone In Court While On Trial
Facing trial for his crimes, Carole Ann Boone left Washington for Florida to support the serial killer. Ted Bundy actively participated in his own defense. This allowed him to pull off a stunt that marked the beginning of his marriage to Boone after their request to wed in jail was rejected. While Bundy questioned Boone, who was testifying as a character witness for him, he took advantage of a vague Florida law to wed Boone in the courtroom.
The said law sees any marriage declaration in court witnessed by a judge as legal. Bundy sneaked in a proposal while questioning Boone under oath; when she said yes, he declared, “I do hereby marry you.” The incident must have been traumatic for the family of 12-year-old Kimberly Dianne Leach, whom Ted Bundy was being tried for her brutal murder.
They Had A Daughter While Ted Bundy Was On Death Row
Carole Ann Boone and Ted Bundy’s sneaky marriage in court didn’t affect the outcome of his trial. He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for the third time. This was on February 10, 1980. Awaiting execution at the Florida State Prison in Raiford, Boone continued to support Bundy. She visited him regularly as they bribed their way to have some conjugal time, which was prohibited. This resulted in the birth of Rose Bundy on October 24, 1982. Bundy enjoyed having his family around for a while. His wife and daughter, alongside Boone’s son from a previous marriage, regularly visited him in prison. The visitations ceased after the serial killer began confessing his atrocious crimes.
Carole Ann Boone Cut Ties With Bundy After He Confessed And Died In 2018
As Ted Bundy’s death sentence appeals fell apart, he began owning up to his crimes, hoping it would buy him more time to get off the death penalty. This development, according to sources close to the couple, was a monumental shock for Carole Ann Boone, who testified in court that she had “never seen anything in Ted that indicates any kind of destructiveness or hostility towards any other people.” She moved back to Washington with their daughter and ended communication with Bundy.
Polly Nelson, who was part of the serial killer’s defense team, divulged that Boone refused to take Bundy’s call the day he was executed. “She was hurt by his relationship with Diana [Weiner]… and devastated by his sudden wholesale confession in his last days,” explained Nelson in her 1994 book, Defending the Devil: My Story as Ted Bendy’s Last Lawyer. Weiner was also part of Bundy’s defense team, and they were allegedly in a relationship.
Returning to Washington, Boone and her daughter embraced a quiet life and stayed off the media radar. This engendered speculations about their whereabouts, with several reports claiming they changed their names to avoid public scrutiny and get on with life. Carole Ann Boone lived quietly in Seattle until her death on January 13, 2018. She died at age 70 in a nursing home. Reports have it that she had been suffering from multiple sclerosis and succumbed to a septic shock. Her daughter Rose leads a private life and has carefully avoided anything that links her to the depraved serial killer.
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