Who doesn’t know Ted Bundy? The notoriously infamous serial killer is famous for manipulating women with his magnetic charm. His sociopathy assisted him in killing over 30 women across the United States of America. His sexual exploits and homicidal tendencies made him the center of all attention during that time. Despite his grievous crime, he managed to marry a young divorcee named Carole Anne Boone and have a child while in prison.
The Netflix documentary series, Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, was released in 2021. Besides throwing light on Ted Bundy, the series also gave the audience a good dose of information on Bundy’s wife.
So, who is Carole Ann Boone, and how did she meet Bundy? Read this article till the end to find out.
Who was Carole Ann Boone?
Carole Ann Boone was born in 1947 in Olympia, Washington, in the United States of America. Little information is known about her early life. Before meeting Ted Bundy, she had already married once and even sought divorce for reasons unbeknownst in the media.
How Did Boone and Bundy Meet?
The meeting between the two happened while they were at work. If you know about Ted Bundy, you must be aware that he worked at the Washington State Department of Emergency Services in 1974, where he was helping with the search of several women he had later murdered. Interestingly, Carole, too, worked in the same place.
The two connected pretty well. Boone was not exactly in the best phase of her life and was still struggling with the effects of her sad marriage and divorce. At the same time, she was raising her son James alone. Apparently, sparks began to fly between Carole and Ted, and their infamous affair started.
According to the book, The Only Living Witness: The True Story of Serial Sex Killer Ted Bundy, by Stephen Michaud and Hugh Aynesworth, Boone said,
“I liked Ted immediately. 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.”
Initially, things were platonic between the two, and they would often hang out with each other after office hours. But in no time, the two connected romantically. At that time, Bundy was on trial in Florida for the murders of two young women in the Chi Omega sorority house at FSU. Boone eventually moved from Washington to the Sunshine State to meet her lover more frequently. Their relationship appeared to partially overlap with the one he had with Liz Kendall, Bundy’s long-time girlfriend.
Boone and Bundy Got Married in the Court Room
Yes, you heard that right. Their marriage did not get solemnized in any church, nor did Carole wear a gown or walk down the aisle. In 1979, Boone testified for her lover as a character witness, and during the same time, the couple took their relationship to the next level of seriousness.
As Florida law allows two people to declare themselves married in a courtroom if a judge is present, the two actually took full advantage of the law. Some reported that it was likely to win sympathy from the jurors too. However, Bundy shunned these claims and stated that it wasn’t a stunt but an act of true love. Bundy said to the jurors,
“We didn’t do this for your benefit. It was the only chance to be in the same room together where the right words could be said. It was something between she and I.”
When Boone Became Pregnant with Bundy’s Child
The prison visits of Boone for Bundy were one of the most controversial highlights of their marriage. Apparently, Boone would smuggle in drugs for Bundy through her vital organs, which he would then take back to his cell through his.
The couple was also able to get intimate with each other even though the serial killer wasn’t technically supposed to have conjugal visits. In one of the recordings of Ted Bundy Tapes, Boone said, “After the first day they just, they didn’t care. They walked in on us a couple of times.” The sessions continued, and Boone eventually became pregnant with Bundy’s child. She gave birth to a baby girl in 1981, and they named her Rosa Bundy while the child’s father was still on death row.
Carole Ann Boone Proved that Love is Blind
If the phrase ‘love is blind’ is true by any chance, it has to be applied to the relationship between Bundy and Boone, where the wife wholeheartedly believed that her husband was innocent. In fact, so many people thought Ted Bundy was an innocent man and was being railroaded for an unknown reason. It is because there was not really strong evidence against him in any of the cases. Throughout the trials, Carole was surrounded by people who fed her the idea that her husband was not guilty of any crime.
The Truth Came Out
Better late than never! The truth came out soon, and it was not until Bundy was offered a ‘bones for time’ deal (if he told police where the bodies of his victims were, they would delay the death penalty) that she realized that she had put faith in the wrong person all the while. Her faith shattered into bits and pieces.
Boone Broke up with Bundy before his Execution
The couple broke up while Bundy was still serving his sentence in jail, and in 1986, Boone ended up divorcing her husband and heading back to Washington with her two children. The reason why love died between the couple remained unknown.
Some rumors suggest that Bundy had started a relationship with Diana Weiner, one of his lawyers, which made Boone furious, leading her to break up with her husband. As soon as the date of Bundy’s execution came closer, he became more willing to confess all his crimes. It came as a shock to many people, including Boone. All this while, she believed Bundy because he had always maintained his innocence.
Boone felt deeply betrayed and was devastated by his sudden wholesale confessions in his last days.
When Boone Stopped Meeting Bundy
After frequent visits to her husband to avoid her daughter from getting upset, Carole Ann Boone stopped coming to her ex-husband altogether and said she was absent from the visits because she had to take care of a sick relative. By the time Bundy’s execution date was rolling around, Carole was long gone. She never spoke to him again.
After Ted Bundy’s execution, Boone even changed her and her daughter’s surnames to avoid being identified. She even avoided any publicity falling their way, and it worked in their favor.
Where is Carole Ann Boone Now?
Carole kept herself out of the media and limelight after parting ways with her serial killer husband. Little was known about her whereabouts. It later came out that she was depressed and moved with her children to Washington. Some rumors also claimed that Carole married for the third time. Carole took her last breath in January 2018 at 70. She allegedly died of septic shock at a Washington Retirement Home.
Reportedly, Rosa Bundy changed her name to Abigail Griffin and moved to Oklahoma City.
Carole Ann Boone is depicted in Netflix’s Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile. Actress Kaya Scodelario portrays the character.
