Ted Bundy’s cousin, Edna Martin, says she exchanged letters with the convicted serial killer for years while he was on death row, describing his responses as dismissive and condescending even as she sought accountability for his crimes.
Bundy, who confessed to killing more than 30 young women across multiple states during the 1970s, maintained written contact with Martin beginning in 1980, several years after his arrest and convictions.
Martin, now 74, says she sent her first letter to Bundy on Sept. 9, 1980, asking his opinion of The Stranger Beside Me, a book written by former friend Ann Rule that chronicled Bundy’s double life. According to Martin, Bundy replied that the book was filled with falsehoods and half-truths and expressed excitement at hearing from her after years without contact.
He framed their past relationship as existing in two eras, she says, referring to “before court, cops” and “after damnation.”
At the time, Bundy had been convicted in Florida of murdering two women at a university sorority house and of raping and killing a 12-year-old girl. He was later linked to dozens of additional murders.
Martin says she continued writing to Bundy because she believed their family connection and past friendship might prompt him to admit responsibility for his actions.
She described trusting Bundy completely during their earlier years, when she was a college student in Washington state and he was involved in political campaigning. Bundy, she recalled, often visited her and her friends, bringing food and captivating them with stories and charm. At the time, she said, he appeared successful, confident, and generous.
Martin says she was unaware during those years that Bundy was responsible for violent attacks on women in the region, including an assault on a fellow university student who survived despite severe injuries. When the attacks became public, Bundy allegedly expressed sympathy and condemned the violence, which further obscured his role.
In their correspondence from death row, Martin says she directly confronted Bundy about the killings and asked how someone could develop such extreme rage and hatred. She recalls that Bundy denied responsibility in writing, quoted scripture, and avoided substantive answers.
“He was patronizing,” Martin says of the letters. She recalls Bundy telling her she no longer knew him and suggesting she needed to understand herself before questioning him. In one letter, she says, Bundy wrote that he felt no guilt, remorse, or regret for anything he had done.
Despite this, Bundy consistently signed his letters with “Love, Ted,” according to Martin.
Reflecting on the experience, Martin says Bundy maintained a clear separation between the persona he presented to family and friends and the violence he inflicted on his victims.
“Ted was two people,” she says. “I don’t think he ever wanted to remove that mask with me.”
Bundy was executed by electric chair at a Florida state prison on Jan. 24, 1989.