TED BUNDY AND THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF LITTLE ANN MARIE BURR

Written by Scott Williams-Collier

Theodore Robert Bundy (Ted Bundy) is probably the most infamous serial killer in American history, perhaps in the world. Good looking, intelligent and articulate Ted seemed like the all-American boy on the surface, the kind of boy a lot of parents would be very happy to see their daughter dating. However, that was just superficial charm, underneath that facade lay a much sinister character who would brutally abduct and murder scores of young women and girls across America.

After years of denial, charismatic and handsome Ted Bundy admitted to 30 murders on the eve of his execution but alluded to there being many more. Once asked if 36 was an accurate figure Bundy responded with "add one digit to that and you'll have it." Bundy was suspected at the time of at least 36 murders but by the time law enforcement agencies had finished speaking with him, the figure was closer to one hundred. I personally believe Bundy killed many more than the 30 he admitted to. I also believe that he started killing years before his official killing spree which started in 1974 and ended in 1978.

Bundy's first known and confirmed crime started with the brutal assault on Karen Sparks on the 4th of January 1974, Sparks survived the attacked but was left with horrific injuries that still affect her to this day. His crimes finally came to an end with the tragic murder of 12-year-old Kimberly Leach on the 9th February 1978 while he was on the run from law enforcement after escaping from prison for the second time on December 30th 1977. Ted Bundy was finally arrested for the last and final time six days after killing Kimberly Leach on the15th of February 1978.

There are many professionals in law enforcement, historians and the true-crime community alike, who believe the true decade Bundy started killing was actually the 1960's and not the 1970's. in fact, some including myself believe the exact date to be the 31st August 1961.

Eight-year-old Ann Marie Burr lived in the 3000 block of North 14th Street in Tacoma, Washington with her parents Beverley Burr, Don Burr and her three siblings. On the 31st of August in 1961, Ann took her younger sister (whom she shared a room with)  into her parent's bedroom. Her sister had a broken arm at the time, which was bothering the child. The Burr's sent their daughters back to their bedroom. This would be the last time anyone would ever see Ann Marie Burr again.

The following morning Beverley Burr woke around 5:30 am to find that her daughter was missing. The front door, which was locked the evening before was found open and a living room window which was always kept ajar was found open wider than normal. Some red material was found on the windowsill. A footprint was found outside the property near the window believed to be a Ked Sneaker size 6 or 7, which would be the size of a small man or teenage boys feet. A similar footprint was found at the back of the property by the basement window. The Burr's also recalled their pet dog barking during the early hours but at the time dismissed it as the thunderstorm that evening scarring the dog. The police believed that the assailant had entered the house through the window, entered Ann's bedroom then lead her out through the front door.

At the time 14-year-old Ted Bundy lived not far from the Burr's home. He also had a paper round in the area which would have passed close by to Ann's house. The Burr's home was also very close to one of Bundy's earlier childhood homes, the home of his favourite great-uncle.

Sadly, with hardly any valuable evidence or suspects, the search for Ann Marie Burr soon went cold and the crime slowly became a distant memory. That was until years later when the police had caught Ted Bundy and suspected him of being a prolific serial killer who preyed on young girls and women.

Beverley Burr wrote to Ted in prison numerous times to ask if he had abducted and murdered her daughter. Ted always denied involvement in Ann's disappearance, but an interview Ted gave shortly before his execution raised big doubts over his innocents. Bundy told a story in the 3rd person, as he usually did to avoid the stigma of the crimes he commited. He told a story of a crime where he took a young girl out of a house and assaulted her in an orchard next door before leaving her in a ditch. The Burr family lived next door to an orchard. At the time there was also construction work going on at the nearby University. Don Burr had apparently told the police that they need to check the ditches at the University construction site, some of these ditches were over 30 feet deep and full of water. By the time the police went to check the ditches, they had all been filled in and pathed over.

Ever since learning of the case of Ann Maria Burr years ago, I have suspected Ted Bundy was her killer. The manner in which she disappeared fits Bundy's modus operandi perfectly. We already know that Bundy was known to on occasions break into victims homes and attack them while they slept. In the Linda Healy murder, Bundy broke into her home and entered her basement room, assaulted her in her bed, then dressed her and even made her bed before leaving the property with the young women; she was never seen alive again. Ted was a self-professed peeping tom who liked to peer through windows watching women in their homes while he masturbated. According to Ted, this was something he did quite a lot in his early deviant behaviour. Neighbours of the Burr family had said they saw someone peeping through their windows a few days before Ann went missing. Don Burr also believed he saw Ted Bundy on the nearby construction site the morning his daughter disappeared, and the fact that Bundy lived nearby and had a paper round in the area speaks volumes to me.

Some think that Bundy was too young to commit a crime like this when he was just 14. But as far as I am concerned he wasn't too young at all!  This was likely a period in his life where he was having dark fantasies and was also becoming interested in sex at the same time.  Most serial killers who commit sex crimes have dark fantasies during adolescence, this is a period were going through puberty and starting to become interested in sex while also having dark fantasies can be a dangerous mix. We only have to look through the annals of criminal history to know that children can be just as cruel and wicked as adults. Bundy's own auntie recalled an incident when Ted was very young. She awoke from her nap to find all the sharp knives from the kitchen had been arranged around her body, with her very young nephew watching with a smile on his face, This is very unusual behaviour for a child to do something like that.

Ann Marie Burr's case is still open today and remains unsolved, and unfortunately, it's very unlikely we will ever see this case solved. With Ted Bundy dead and no DNA evidence to go off its extremely difficult to see any closure to this one, officially anyway. Ted Bundy is the standard that all other serial killers in America are compared to today and I believe that Little Ann Maria Burr was his first victim. There are too many coincidences and the method of operations fits perfectly with how Budy behaved in some of his crimes. Let's not forget that Bundy also stated that there are some crimes he will not talk about because they were too close to home, too close to family and very young.

Sadly Don Burr passed away in 2003 followed by Beverley in 2008. They passed without ever finding out what became of their daughter and who had committed the crime.  It's up to us to draw our own conclusions on this tragic mystery of the Ann Marie Burr disappearance. Did he or didn't he? for me he did!

EAST LANCS RIPPER PART 2

Written by Scott Williams-Collier

PART 2

In my last blog, we discussed the three murders of prostitutes Linda Donaldson in 1988, Maria Christina Requena in 1991 and Julie Finley in 1994. Sadly these brutal murders still remain unsolved today and the perpetrator untouched by the long arm of the law. The victims and their families are yet to get any justice and any imminent arrest seems unlikely.

There are striking similarities used in the modus operandi in these crimes which lead me to believe they were committed by the same offender. All the women in question were prostitutes, picked up in urban areas, murdered and then dumped in a quiet rural area in another town, close to the East Lancs Road. All the girls had all their clothing and belongings taken. Linda Donaldson was killed with a knife and horribly mutilated, Maria Requena was strangled then dismembered and dumped just three miles away from the deposition site of Linda Donaldson. In the case of Julie Finley, she had been strangled and dumped naked in a carrot field near the Rainford Bypass in St Helens. I believe the murder of Julie Finely was possibly a more impulsive murder which is why a knife was not used, the killer may have been disturbed or panicked and decided to dump her quickly. We must always remember that serial killers don't always follow the exact method of operation for every murder, and may sometimes vary the way they kill a victim to avoid crimes being connected.

There have been many people questioned about these crimes over the years, most notably rapist and murderer David Smith was questioned about the murders of Linda Donaldson and Maria Requena. Yet we are still waiting for someone to be charged with murdering any of these ladies. Unfortunately, as time moves on it becomes more difficult to see a positive conclusion to solving these crimes.

I hate to say this but in the cases of murdered working girls, I don't believe they are always given the same treatment as, say, the murder of respectable middle-class women would be treated. Some in the police force, unfortunately, view prostitutes as second class citizens. They live a risky lifestyle, usually have drug and alcohol dependence and often they are estranged from or have strained relationships with their immediate family. This makes them the perfect target for a serial killer. They are more accessible, more willing to get into a car with a stranger and to go off somewhere where they will be isolated. They are a lot less likely to be missed straight away and the police are less likely to take their disappearance seriously, to begin with. A prostitute is also a lot less likely to contact the police if they are raped or violently attacked.

These cases are still solvable, it's so important that we keep unsolved cases like these out in the public domain. It could help prompt a potential witness to come forward with valuable information which could solve one or more of these cases. It also keeps pressure on the police to keep investigating these crimes.

I had Ex-Police Officer and now published author Chris Clarke on my podcast show recently to discuss the East Lancs Ripper case. Chris has been undertaking a painstaking investigation of these cases and believes that Christopher Halliwell should be looked into as a person of interest in the murders of Linda, Maria and Julie. Halliwell was a keen fisherman and narrowboat enthusiast and was known to travel extensively around the country undertaking various jobs and possibly on narrowboat holidays, he, therefore, likely has a good knowledge of the countries waterways and canals, like the Leeds and Liverpool canal at plank lane not far from the deposition site of Maria Requena at Pennington Flash. He possibly fished at Pennington Flash lake too which is a popular fishing location.

Suspected serial killer Christopher Halliwell who is serving two life sentences for the murder of Becky Godden and Sian O'Callaghan has links to Liverpool. Recently a witness came forward and made it known that Halliwell worked as a window fitter in the area and lived in nearby Aughton around the time of Julie's murder. The Witness also claimed that Halliwell drove a 1986 white D reg Ford Transit Van like the one spotted near the entrance to the carrot field where Julie Finley's body was dumped. Halliwell fits the general description of the white male seen talking to Julie in Liverpool the night before her body was found in the carrot field.

Christopher Halliwell removed and took clothing and personal belonging from his two known victims. In fact, in 2014 police drained and searched a small pond and woodland were they discovered Halliwell liked to fish. There they retrieved 60 items of women's clothing buried in the woodland which is believed to be a secret trophy cache. They also recovered from the pond boots belonging to Sian O'Callaghan and a shotgun.

Chris Clark

Key points raised by Chris Clark and why he believes Halliwell should be considered a suspect.

1. The abduction of Linda Donaldson crossed force boundaries, with the abduction in the Merseyside Police force area and the deposition in the Greater Manchester Police force area, which is consistent with Halliwell's modus operandi.
2. All three victims fitted Halliwell's victim preferences (were prostitutes) and were enticed into a vehicle.
3. Halliwell lived in the Liverpool area, he may have travelled through Liverpool on narrowboat holidays on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, which is situated three miles from the abduction points of Linda Donaldson and Julie Finlay. 
4. Julie Finlay was witnessed talking to an unknown white man, of average height and build aged in his 20s to 30s. Christopher Halliwell was thirty in 1994 and fits the general description.
5. Shortly after the murder of Julie Finlay a woman calling herself Tina called the police and told them that on the night of her murder, Julie said she was going to meet a taxi driver from Prescot. Halliwell is known to have worked as a taxi driver and Prescot is 6.5 miles from the deposition site at Rainford. 
6. The taxi driver from Prescot may have been a regular client of Julie Finlay. Halliwell was a regular client of Becky Godden before he murdered her, so this again is consistent with his use of prostitutes and his modus operandi. He has also worked as a taxi driver for a large part of his life.
7. Halliwell lived in the Liverpool area and travelled widely. It is probable that he knew Manchester. He may have holidayed on the Rochester Canal, which would take him into Manchester City Centre close to the abduction point for Maria Christina Requena.
8. Halliwell used prostitutes, so may also have been familiar with all three abduction points from picking up prostitutes while living in Liverpool, visiting Manchester, or being in both cities on narrowboats holidays. 
9. The deposition site for Maria Christina Requena's body at Pennington Flash is within a third of a mile from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, Leigh Branch. The deposition site for Linda Donaldson at Winwick Lane in Lowton is 3.6 miles from the deposition site of Maria Requena.
10. Halliwell may have gone fishing at Pennington Flash while living in the Liverpool area or on a narrowboat holiday while moored at the nearby Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Plank Lane.
11.  Halliwell worked at various jobs including bin man. Pennington Flash where Maria Christina Requena's body was found is literally a few minutes walk away from Leigh Waste & Recycling Centre on Slag Lane which is 3.4 miles away from the dumping site of Linda Donaldson on Winwick Lane.
12. Linda Donaldson's body had been washed down to remove fibres that could provide forensic evidence. Halliwell burned clothes and discarded seat covers and floor mats from his car after abduction Sian O'Callaghan, to destroy forensic evidence. This is entirely consistent with a forensically aware offender, such as Halliwell.
13. All three deposition sites were in rural areas, which is entirely consistent with Halliwell's modus operandi. 
14. Maria Christina Requena's body had been put into water, which is consistent with the murders Carol Clarke, Lindsay Jo Rimer and Caroline Glachan all of whom Halliwell is suspected of murdering. 
15. Maria Christina Requena's body had been dismembered and wrapped in bin bags which is consistent with the murder of Melanie Hall (Halliwell is a possible suspect in Hall's murder). Again consistent with a forensically aware offender.

I believe Christopher Halliwell is the most viable suspect we have had to date in the East Lancs Ripper case. Here we have a killer who is suspected of murdering multiple women across the country. A suspect, who is forensically aware, who has travelled extensively around the country. Has owned over 80 cars and is a keen fisherman and narrowboat enthusiast who likely has extensive knowledge of the countries waterways, canals and rivers. He is also a collector of women's clothes and all three women in the ripper case had all their belongings and clothes removed never to be found again. Is it possible that any of their belongings are among those 60 items found at the pond back in 2014? It is hard to ascertain if that's the case, as things stand at the moment the police are yet to show these items to any of the families of potential victims. 

More importantly, we now know Halliwell has links to the North West, in particular, Liverpool where he lived and worked. As far as I am concerned it's a no brainer that the police need to speak to him about these crimes.  They also need to show the general public the landscape paintings found in his home which could be depositions sites for other victims. There is so much the police forces could be doing to investigate these cases further, which unfortunately doesn't seem to be happening at the moment. The very fact that a meagre £40,000 was given to investigate Christopher Halliwell and finding other potential victims should tell us all how important the police view the cases of missing or murdered women potentially connected to Halliwell. 

I will be doing a full feature on the East Lancs Ripper case in the coming weeks on my podcast show at The True Crime Page Podcast. All I can ask is that you share this blog and any of my other work connected to the East Lancs Ripper case, we need to keep this case alive and out in the public domain so it's not forgotten about. Linda Donaldson, Christina Maria Requena and Julie Finley may have taken the wrong path in life, but they were human beings like the rest of us, they all had dreams and aspirations just like me and you. They all took a path that they wouldn't have took under different circumstances, a path that unfortunately ended with them losing their lives. My hope is that one day these cases will finally be solved and justice will prevail for these young ladies who lost their lives in the most brutal way imaginable.