Elizabeth Kendall, Survivors Speak Out in 'Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer'

Amazon Prime’s new five-part true crime docuseries Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer will be available for streaming on January 31st. After 2019 brought the documentary Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes and the biopic film Extremely Wicked, Shocking Evil and Vile to Netflix, this series directed by Trish Wood offers a fresh perspective on one of the most well-known serial killers in American history. While the Netflix true crime documentary has been criticized for putting too much attention on the perpetrator of the crimes rather than the victims, and the biopic film received some backlash for glamorizing Bundy, Falling for a Killer manages to avoid both of these pitfalls by focusing on the women who survived or were impacted by Bundy's brutal crimes.

Extremely Wicked might have been based on the memoir by Ted Bundy’s long-term girlfriend, Elizabeth Kendall, but it was still a dramatized account. Falling for a Killer puts Kendall directly in the interview seat. In fact, the new docuseries reframes the Bundy narrative by telling it through the voices of the victims.

Read on for more information on this new true crime docuseries, and watch the trailer below.

Yes! I also want to get the Early Bird Books newsletter featuring great deals on ebooks.

Ted Bundy confessed to committing 30 homicides in seven states between 1974 and 1978, though the true number of victims may be higher. During his crime spree, Bundy targeted women, typically between the ages of 15 to 25. Falling for a Killer examines Bundy's crimes through the lens of the women's liberation movement of the 1970s, illustrating how Bundy's hatred of women and his string of kidnappings, rapes, and homicides collided with the era's fight for gender equality. Women at the time were plagued by a sense of dread. And while many of the survivors of Bundy’s gruesome acts have kept their fears and frustrations quiet for decades, that silence has come to an end.

Archival footage and photographs are utilized throughout docuseries, but this is not the same investigation into the killer’s psyche and charm that viewers are used to seeing. One line from the trailer states, “Women’s lives are still secondary to men, and somewhat expendable,” highlighting the way women are often forgotten in the midst of violence. Pushing away the frequent idolization of Bundy, Falling for a Killer puts control of this dark narrative in the hands of the courageous women who survived and helped bring this cold-blooded killer to justice. With accounts full of love, disgust, terror, grief, and triumph, the interviews in this docuseries offer chilling new perspectives on the notorious case.

At the center of this documentary is Elizabeth Kendall, the woman who dated Ted Bundy off and on between 1969 and 1978. Though concerned about Bundy’s odd behavior and his striking resemblance to police sketches, she stuck by her boyfriend through his first arrest. Her interview is the first time she’s speaking out in over forty years.

Molly Kendall, Elizabeth’s daughter, also appears in this documentary. Just a child at the time of Bundy's terrible crimes, Molly had considered Bundy a part of her family.

Joining the voices of the women who were blindsided by Bundy’s actions are Karen Sparks, a survivor and one of Bundy’s earliest confirmed victims, Phyllis Armstrong, the friend of Bundy murder victim Georgann Hawkins, and Laura Healy, the sister of murder victim Lynda Healy. Kathleen McChesney, one of the few female detectives on the King County Sheriff’s Department at the time, and Polly Nelson, a lawyer from Bundy’s final defense team, offer a legal perspective on the crimes. Giving a cultural viewpoint is Py Bateman, the founder of the Feminist Karate Union at the University of Washington, and Barbara Grossman, the first female television reporter in Utah.

Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer is available on 1/31 on Amazon Prime.

Watch It Now