Ted Bundy's Last Words Showed a Caring Side That His Victims Never Got

The night before his execution on Jan. 24, 1989, Ted Bundy confessed to murdering 30 women while speaking with psychologist James Dobson. There is no way of ever knowing what the real number is, but it could be as high as 100. His last victim was 12-year-old Kimberly Leach, a seventh grader in Lake City, Fla., who went missing Feb. 9, 1978. Her body was found two months later in a wooded area near Suwannee River State Park.

When Dobson asked about Leach's death, Bundy said it was too painful to discuss. He hoped that someday her parents and the families of his other victims might be able to forgive him. The conversation the prolific serial killer had with Dobson was a far cry from the cocky Bundy who chose to act as his own attorney during some of his legal proceedings. This change was also reflected in his last words before he died.

What were they? Here's what we know.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Bundy's last words were directed to two men. "Jim and Fred, I’d like you to give my love to my family and friends," said Bundy. Jim Coleman was one of Bundy's lawyers, and Fred Lawrence was a Methodist minister who prayed with the murderer the night before. This is when he would have partaken in a last meal, but Bundy refused to order anything.

There were 42 people in attendance at Bundy's execution. Outside of Florida State Prison, hundreds of people cheered upon learning of the killer's death. Chants of "Burn, Bundy, burn" could be heard, while some people banged on pots and pans in celebration. Jim Sewell, police chief of Gulfport, Fla., told the Los Angeles Times that, "Regardless of what Bundy did, he was still a human being."

As true as that was, Sewell was still relieved when Bundy was finally dead.

The evening before he was executed, Bundy also made two phone calls to his mother, Louise Bundy, per UPI. Louise told the outlet that her son sounded wonderful. "He sounds very much at peace with himself," said Louise. "He said, 'I'm so sorry I've given you all such grief ... but a part of me was hidden all the time."

He also told her the son she knew existed as well.

In his second phone call to his mother, Bundy returned to his hidden side. "He kept saying how sorry he was that 'there was another part of me that people didn't know,'" explained Louise, who told her son everyone was praying for him. Louise and her husband, Bundy's stepfather John, were able to get through the past week because they were "surrounded by love in this house."

When asked by reporters about the death penalty, Louise said she was furious about it. "I think it is barbaric," she spat out. "It's legalized murder, is all. It's not a deterrent. They've been killing people for thousands of years, and what good has it done?" Louise also expressed sympathy for the victims' families. "What he he says he did — those are awful things — but I believe God forgives," said Louise.