Story of Eleanor Louise Cowell: Ted Bundys Mom

Eleanor Louise Cowell, the mother of Ted Bundy, America’s most famous serial killer, used to support her son at all costs. She loved him and always supported him.

Even after confessing to all of them, she never thought her son could do such horrendous crimes. She fought for him all the way to the very end.

In this article, you will read more details about Eleanor Louise Cowell and her son Theodore Robert Cowell, known as Ted Bundy.

Eleanor Louise Cowell, A Mother of A Serial Killer

Eleanor Louise Cowell was born on September 21, 1924, in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, USA. Her parents were Samuel (1898–1983) and Eleanor Cowell (1895–1971).

She was only 22 years old when she gave birth to her son, Theodore Robert Cowell, on November 24, 1946 at the Elizabeth Lund Home For Unwed Mothers in Burlington, Vermont.

Cowell was told to give up a kid because the shame associated with a child born out of wedlock applied not just to the unwed mother but also to the girl’s family. 

But to hide the stigma around it, Louise Cowel’s parents sacrificed their lives and accepted the child and fostered Theodore as their own.

To give the impression to the child, he was assured his entire childhood that her grandparents were his parents and her mother was his sister, which was not true.

Bundy moved to Tacoma, Washington, with Louise when he was just three years old. Where Louise met Johnnie Bundy, who was an Army hospital chef. 

Ted was allegedly envious of their marriage when they tied the knot in 1951. Ted was finally adopted by Johnnie.

He also took on the Bundy surname. However, Ted Bundy would frequently act out after their marriage, and the bond with his family was not ideal.

Who was Ted Bundy’s Real Father?

Nobody really, even Eleanor Louise Cowell, is certain of the name of the guy who impregnated her. 

So many rumors have circulated, citing that Louise had been seduced by a military veteran called Jack Worthington. And she once claimed that he left shortly after knowing she was pregnant.

Some members of the family suspected that Bundy was fathered by Louise’s own father, Samuel Cowell. However, DNA testing revealed that Bundy was not fathered by his own grandpa.

When Ted Bundy Discovered His True Identity

Bundy finally uncovered the truth, however, his memories of the events differed. He informed his girlfriend that after his cousin called him a “bastard,” a relative handed him a copy of his birth certificate. 

But, according to biographers Stephen Michaud and Hugh Aynesworth, he obtained the certificate firsthand. 

Ann Rule, who is a biographer and true crime writer, knew Bundy closely, said that he didn’t find his actual identity until 1969 when he uncovered his original birth certificate in Vermont. 

Bundy’s official birth certificate claimed an Air Force soldier named Lloyd Marshall as his father, but he never believed it though.

Instead, he held a lifetime grudge towards his mother Louise for never telling him about Ted Bundy’s mother never left him after he committed the crimes. the biological father and left him to figure out his true origins for himself.

Her Son, Growing into a Dreadful Personality

Bundy had worrisome tendencies from a young age. According to Biography, Sandi Holt (who grew up with Bundy) stated in the Netflix docuseries Conversations with a Killer that he used to scare people because he liked it.

She also opened up about how he used to injure girls by digging holes and covering them up, with at least one girl falling. He called them “tiger traps,” as per the Chicago Sun-Times.

Julia, Louise’s younger sister, recalls waking up from sleep to find herself surrounded by kitchen knives. It was a time when Ted was only three years old and used to stand beside the bed, grinning.

Bundy also began shoplifting, stealing and reportedly forging ski lift tickets in order to ski for free, according to Biography. 

He subsequently became a “peeping Tom,” which is a problematic psychological behavior and used to stalk strangers, as per A&E.

His whole family was not mentally okay. Louise Cowell and her younger sister had worrisome tendencies. Whereas Mrs. Cowell, Louise’s mother, suffered from debilitating depression and was treated with electroconvulsive therapy. 

However, Mr. Samuel Cowell, Louise’s father, was a belligerent, alcoholic man who was well-known throughout the city for his violent behavior.

Eleanor Louise Cowell Never Left His Son Even After He Committed Crimes

Eleanor Louise Cowell believed her son, Ted, was clean and denied committing the crimes he was charged with in several jurisdictions just like Bundy’s wife, Carole Ann Boone.

This was the statement, that she told The News Tribune in 1980. “Ted Bundy does not go around killing women and little children!” Louis said after Ted Bundy was convicted of the Florida crimes.

“And I know this, too, that our never-ending faith in Ted, our faith that he is innocent, has never wavered. And it never will,” she claimed.

Louise’s opinion allegedly changed when Bundy made a series of death-row confessions, according to the newspaper, however she remained in contact with Bundy right up to his execution. 

But she’d still come to his rescue as if he was wrongly convicted. She even spoke to him twice on the day he was executed in the Raiford electric chair.

Aftermath

After the execution of Ted Bundy in 1989, Louise Bundy lived in Tacoma and became an enthusiastic member of Tacoma’s First United Methodist Church until she got too unwell to attend in her final years.

Her son’s worries weighed heavily on her and she was deteriorating day by day. She remained a devoted mother to her four surviving children and a devoted spouse to her husband. Eleanor Louise Cowell passed away in 2012, at the age of 88.

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