00:00:05
NARRATOR: On the 11th of August 1980, 37-year-old nurse Carol Bundy called the LAPD, claiming her boyfriend was the infamous Sunset Strip
00:00:16
Killer. CAROL BUNDY (ON PHONE): Hello. Some time back, you were having a series of murders involving
00:00:21
prostitutes in Hollywood. POLICE OFFICER (ON PHONE): Uh-huh. CAROL BUNDY (ON PHONE): OK.
00:00:24
Would you like to have your man today? I've only been involved with perhaps eight or nine of them.
00:00:30
JOHN STALBERG: She even say co-conspirators understating it. She actually got the victim in the car and handed him the gun.
00:00:37
NARRATOR: Her boyfriend was 32-year-old Doug Clark, a boiler engineer from Pennsylvania.
00:00:44
Clark's dark fantasies had culminated in a sexually motivated killing spree, targeting
00:00:50
sex workers on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. FRANK GARCIA: The things that they did
00:00:57
were unheard of quite frankly. And Doug and Carol gave a whole new meaning to the term sexual deviant.
00:01:05
NARRATOR: Between May and July 1980, Doug Clark brutally murdered six women, mutilating one of his victims and decapitating another.
00:01:16
It wouldn't be long before Bundy spurred on by Clark committed murder herself. POLICE OFFICER (ON PHONE): Doesn't that
00:01:23
make you feel bad, though, that you killed somebody? CAROL BUNDY (ON PHONE): Would you really
00:01:27
like to know the honest truth? POLICE OFFICER (ON PHONE): For sure. CAROL BUNDY (ON PHONE): OK.
00:01:29
The honest truth is, it's fun to kill people. And if I was allowed to run loose,
00:01:33
I'd probably do it again. NARRATOR: The depraved actions of this deadly duo sent a wave of terror through the city of Los Angeles
00:01:41
during the summer of 1980, making Doug Clark and Carol Bundy two of the world's most evil killers.
00:01:50
[MUSIC PLAYING] On the 13th of November 1980, 32-year-old Doug Clark went on trial at the superior court of Los Angeles charged
00:02:20
with first degree murder. His accomplice and jilted lover Carol Bundy was also accused of murder.
00:02:29
Veteran homicide Detective Frank Garcia was assigned to the task force dealing with the investigation.
00:02:37
He interviewed Carol Bundy at length. FRANK GARCIA: She was the key to Clark. We knew it.
00:02:45
She knew it. Clark knew it. And he would do his damnedest to get her to turn and back up his story.
00:02:55
NARRATOR: Psychologist John Stalberg assessed 38-year-old Bundy while she was awaiting trial.
00:03:02
JOHN STALBERG: My impression was she was a frumpy, 40-ish bespectacled female. And she didn't look like she was capable of murder.
00:03:11
NARRATOR: But by the time the case got to court, it was clear to prosecutor Ronald Coen
00:03:17
just how dangerous these killers were. RONALD COEN: It was one of the most gruesome cases in terms
00:03:23
of the crimes that were committed, in terms of the personalities of the killers.
00:03:28
I've had a lot of heavy cases. This ranks right up there with the top. NARRATOR: The killers' story begins on August 26, 1942
00:03:41
Carol Bundy spent much of her early years in California. Her mother was a tap dancer.
00:03:47
And her father worked in cinemas across the state. KATHERINE RAMSLAND: Young Carol started
00:03:52
out as a fairly cute kid then she began to develop a severe astigmatism. So she ended up with very thick glasses.
00:04:02
And she had a kind of a lumpy, dumpy body. So as she's growing up, she doesn't look so attractive anymore.
00:04:11
In 1957, when Carol was 14 her mother suffered a fatal heart attack. ELIZABETH YARDLEY: After the death of her mother,
00:04:20
Bundy began to be sexually abused by her father. So she has this very ingrained idea about what
00:04:28
she should be as a woman. She should be subservient to a man. NARRATOR: At the age of 17, Bundy married a man
00:04:38
almost 40 years her senior. The marriage didn't last. And during the 1960s, a further two times and had two sons.
00:04:49
But all of these relationships proved unstable and never lasted long. ELIZABETH YARDLEY: Some of these marriages were abusive.
00:04:56
She was abused by the people that should have been caring for her. So she's constantly learning.
00:05:03
She's constantly having that idea reinforced that women are there to serve men. NARRATOR: By 1979, she was on her own
00:05:12
again and a regular at the little Nashville bar in North Hollywood. It was here at Christmas, she met 31-year-old Doug Clark.
00:05:24
KATHERINE RAMSLAND: It was Christmas season. And she didn't have anybody. And she was at the little Nashville drinking.
00:05:30
And that is when Doug Clark entered the bar, saw her. And she was an easy mark for a guy like him.
00:05:40
NARRATOR: Douglas Daniel Clark was born in Pennsylvania in 1948. He had a transient childhood.
00:05:49
KATHERINE RAMSLAND: He had a privileged upbringing. His father was an officer in the Navy,
00:05:53
and then became an engineer, traveled around the world. As a result, Clark was sent to prestigious schools.
00:06:03
ELIZABETH YARDLEY: I think the military connection is an interesting one because he's learned from an early age
00:06:08
that aggression and violence is something that is valuable for his masculinity. GEOFFREY WANSELL: To be honest, he's seen by his fellow people
00:06:16
as arrogant, not prepared to work hard. And he also begins to have a bit of a reputation
00:06:24
as a sort of sex addict. ELIZABETH YARDLEY: So he would invite girls back to his dorm room and he would audio record
00:06:31
himself having sex with them. He wants to humiliate these girls. So he shared these recordings with his friends.
00:06:38
So he really got off on demeaning women. He really thought he had a right to do this.
00:06:44
NARRATOR: By the age of 20, Clark had left school and joined the Air Force. But after only two short years in the military,
00:06:53
he was discharged and moved to Los Angeles. Here, he settled down to a seemingly normal life.
00:07:01
KATHERINE RAMSLAND: There's a concept compartmentalizing being able to pass as normal when in fact you harbor
00:07:08
a very deviant, dark fantasies. He learned pretty early to hide that stuff until he found somebody who wouldn't judge him.
00:07:18
NARRATOR: By 1979, Clark was on the lookout for a partner who would indulge his sexual fantasies.
00:07:26
On the 20th of December, he met 37-year-old licensed vocational nurse and mother of two, Carol Bundy.
00:07:35
KATHERINE RAMSLAND: Bundy took Clark home pretty quickly. He, apparently, spent a lot of time pleasing her sexually.
00:07:43
He pretended to like her boys. He, himself, acted like a little boy and won her heart.
00:07:50
ELIZABETH YARDLEY: Literally after their first date, he's moving some of his stuff into her apartments.
00:07:56
He really is making himself at home there. But she won't be looking at this thinking whoa,
00:08:01
this is going too quickly. She'll be looking at this thinking, this is great. NARRATOR: The relationship was intense.
00:08:08
But it wasn't long before Clark's behavior began to change. KATHERINE RAMSLAND: He began to have issues with the kids
00:08:15
being there. And at this point, Bundy was all in. She had to keep him. So she gave up her sons.
00:08:24
ELIZABETH YARDLEY: She really wants to please him. She wants to be the standout woman for him.
00:08:29
I think there's also a sense in which Clark is exciting. He's the kind of character she's never met before.
00:08:35
He's the extreme end of the spectrum. NARRATOR: During the investigation, veteran homicide Detective Frank Garcia
00:08:44
built a disturbing picture of the pair's chaotic relationship. FRANK GARCIA: It didn't take long before he told her
00:08:52
this is really getting boring. So they started bringing in third parties. She would get prostitutes for him and have a threesome.
00:09:01
But most of the time, she would get cut out of the action. NARRATOR: It wasn't long before Clark's desires
00:09:07
took a more sinister turn. FRANK GARCIA: They met an 11-year-old girl that lived across the breezeway of the apartment buildings.
00:09:14
And Carol lured that 11-year-old over to the apartment. And it wasn't long before they were taking nude pictures,
00:09:21
showers together. Doug was touching her and kissing her. ELIZABETH YARDLEY: It begins with presents, and with gifts,
00:09:28
and making her feel included and wanted. Gradually, she begins to get involved with activities that probably did make her
00:09:36
feel uncomfortable at first. But because she felt that sense of obligation to this couple,
00:09:42
she would have gone along with it. She was a child who was exploited by them. He later dropped her and tried to rape her.
00:09:49
So by the time that it reaches that level of violence, that level of abuse, this individual
00:09:54
has been completely brainwashed by this couple, completely unable to reach out for help.
00:10:02
NARRATOR: Over the next six months, the depraved actions of Clark would continue
00:10:07
to spiral out of control. GEOFFREY WANSELL: After Clark moves in with Carol Bundy,
00:10:13
he increasingly tries to sexualize her. He wants to introduce her to torture. He wants to introduce her to all manner of other things.
00:10:19
But there's another extra potent thing in the mix, and that is Clark says he wants to have
00:10:26
sex with a dead body or bodies. Whether that offends Bundy, I'm not sure. But there's no doubt that necrophilia is now on his menu.
00:10:37
KATHERINE RAMSLAND: What Bundy doesn't know Clark is also trolling around looking for women
00:10:43
that he wants to victimize. NARRATOR: On the 27th of April 1980 whilst driving the streets of Los Angeles,
00:10:51
32-year-old Clark picked up a sex worker. KATHERINE RAMSLAND: When she was giving him oral sex,
00:10:58
he began to choke her with the intent of killing her. It was much more difficult for him.
00:11:05
And I think he anticipated. So he pulled out a knife and started to stab her and then slash her over and over and over.
00:11:14
FRANK GARCIA: He was going to try to kill her. And she pushed away, fought him [INAUDIBLE]..
00:11:18
She was fighting for her life. She got out of the car somehow. And she got away.
00:11:23
NARRATOR: Obsessed with his necrophiliac fantasies and determined that his next victim would not escape,
00:11:30
Clark convinced Bundy to purchase two guns. KATHERINE RAMSLAND: Bundy went into a shop
00:11:36
and got a set of 25 caliber Raven automatic handguns. Now, Clark had a way to ensure whatever woman he picked up,
00:11:47
if he wanted to kill her, he could. NARRATOR: Trying to prove that she was a worthy partner,
00:11:53
besotted Bundy referred to the guns as the toys and started convincing Clark to take her into his confidence.
00:12:04
ELIZABETH YARDLEY: So they have conversations about sexual fantasies and all of that kind of thing.
00:12:08
And the conversation turns to murder. Now you think that this would send her running
00:12:13
in the other direction. But this is somebody who wants to please her man. She wants to be liked.
00:12:19
She wants to be loved. She wants to be included. NARRATOR: However, controlling Clark operated alone.
00:12:26
And within four weeks of purchasing the guns, he was on the hunt for his next victim.
00:12:32
On the 12th of June, the bodies of two young girls were discovered dumped by the freeway.
00:12:39
Both victims had been partially stripped and shot in the head. They were identified as stepsisters,
00:12:46
15-year-old Gina Marano and 16-year-old Cynthia Chandler. ELIZABETH YARDLEY: They'd run away from home essentially.
00:12:54
They've been kind of pushing the boundaries as teenagers. Their parents were having a bit of a nightmare
00:13:00
keeping them under control. NARRATOR: 32-year-old Doug Clark had convinced the sisters to get into his car whilst
00:13:09
out trolling alone. FRANK GARCIA: He picked them up and he took them to some parking lot someplace.
00:13:15
And he talked the blonde into performing oral sex on him. He told the brunette, Gina, to look away.
00:13:23
And it was at that point that he shot Gina first because she was looking away and then he shot Cynthia.
00:13:30
ELIZABETH YARDLEY: He sees all women as sex workers. These were just two teenage girls.
00:13:35
And both of them ended up dying. GEOFFREY WANSELL: He takes their bodies to a garage
00:13:40
and rapes them after their death. NARRATOR: Doug Clark had succeeded in fulfilling his deprave fantasy
00:13:49
before taking the girls bodies and dumping them on the freeway. Carol Bundy discovered what Clark had done.
00:13:57
KATHERINE RAMSLAND: This is the point at which Bundy basically says, I want to be part of this with you, not just a fantasy
00:14:05
life. If you're doing this, I want the full intimacy. I want us to be one mind, one soul, one body.
00:14:15
ELIZABETH YARDLEY: Bundy is very much feeding off the kind of things that he's telling her.
00:14:19
She really wants to please him. So she completely buys into this murder narrative.
00:14:26
NARRATOR: Detectives quickly identified the two girls who'd been reported missing
00:14:31
by their worried parents. However, finding their killer was going to prove difficult
00:14:37
in the teeming city of angels. FRANK GARCIA: In 1980, in June, when the Clark-Bundy case went
00:14:44
down, we were at a pace to either tie or break a homicide record in the city of Los Angeles.
00:14:51
That year, we had over 1,000 homicides. RONALD COEN: Law enforcement had the best of the best.
00:14:58
But they were stretched to the limits. ELIZABETH YARDLEY: Serial killing teams, they have to be chameleons.
00:15:02
They have to blend into the background. So nobody looking from the outside in would think that these two were capable of this.
00:15:10
NARRATOR: Desperate to prove that she was a worthy partner, 38-year-old Bundy put together a kill kit for the couple to use.
00:15:19
Kill kit consisted of a bag, certain items in it, the gun, she and Clark had matching guns,
00:15:27
and a boning knife. NARRATOR: She told 32-year-old Clark to use the knife to mutilate the bodies.
00:15:36
ELIZABETH YARDLEY: As their relationship progresses, she wants to be the standout woman for him.
00:15:41
She wants to go further than other women have gone with him. And she's almost trying to kind of
00:15:46
shock him and say, look at me, aren't I dangerous and exciting? NARRATOR: On the 20th of June 1980,
00:15:55
Clark took Bundy out with him on what was supposed to be her first kill. RONALD COEN: The MO was to go hunting for prostitutes, people
00:16:05
that did not have family. Get a prostitute to enter the car on the guise of sex,
00:16:10
kill, and utilize the bodies. JOHN STALBERG: If a serial killer wants a woman to get in his car, who
00:16:19
gets in the car in an LA area? It's prostitutes. ELIZABETH YARDLEY: They pick up a sex
00:16:25
worker on Highland Avenue. And the plan is that Bundy will shoot this woman. But if she doesn't want to go through with it,
00:16:33
there will be some kind of code phrase that she uses. But I think Bundy got so excited at this situation
00:16:41
that it didn't go to plan whatsoever. Bundy didn't shoot this woman. Clark did. And there was a real kind of fumbled handover
00:16:49
of the gun that was used to kill this woman. NARRATOR: The victim, known only as Cathy,
00:16:56
was stripped of clothes and belongings, anything which could help identify her, and dumped beside a dirt truck.
00:17:04
Having failed to prove she was a worthy accomplice, Bundy was once again cut out of the action.
00:17:12
Shortly after 3:00 AM on the 23rd of June 1980, almost two weeks after the bodies of stepsister Gina
00:17:20
and Cynthia were discovered, detectives were called to another gruesome crime scene.
00:17:27
FRANK GARCIA: The decapitated nude body of Exxie Wilson showed up in the parking lot.
00:17:34
NARRATOR: Exxie Wilson was a sex worker working the Ventura Boulevard in Los Angeles.
00:17:40
Whilst out cruising alone, Clark picked her up. GEOFFREY WANSELL: Clark takes Exxie Wilson,
00:17:47
gives her a lift in his car. He shoots her in the head. He takes her to a parking lot and cuts off her head, which he
00:17:57
puts in the trunk of the car. And he dumps her headless torso in the parking lot.
00:18:05
NARRATOR: Doug Clark took the severed head home with him. ELIZABETH YARDLEY: So Clark tells Bundy
00:18:11
that he has this head and it's in the freezer. Now, he won't show it to Bundy immediately
00:18:18
because I think he gets the Bundy is quite excited about this. She's like a little child, essentially.
00:18:23
He delays the length of time before she sees him. JOHN STALBERG: He spent a lot of time
00:18:28
putting on makeup, lipstick, and making up the head. And I think Exxie might have been more pretty
00:18:34
than some of the other ones. ELIZABETH YARDLEY: He then takes the head into the shower with him and allegedly sexually
00:18:41
pleasure himself with the head. NARRATOR: The same morning that Exxie's headless body
00:18:46
was discovered, investigators receive reports of yet another victim. FRANK GARCIA: That same morning, Karen Jones
00:18:55
was discovered on a street near the Burbank Studios with a head shot. Exxie and Karen Jones were both prostitutes from Arkansas.
00:19:06
They had come to Los Angeles together to work the Sunset Strip area. NARRATOR: Clark was worried that Karen,
00:19:13
who'd seen him with Exxie, would identify him to the police. GEOFFREY WANSELL: He goes back and entices Karen
00:19:20
into the car with a simple intention of killing her too, which she does, even though he's got Exxie's
00:19:29
head in the boot of the car. These are actions of the most extreme depravity. They defy any kind of moral ground.
00:19:39
NARRATOR: With the discovery of Karen Jones's body, detectives started to think these killings might be linked.
00:19:47
They did the autopsy on Karen Jones. And at that point, it was kind of a feeling already.
00:19:53
It took the slugs out of the head. And it was immediately sent to ballistics. And they got a match that the slugs in Karen Jones
00:20:01
were the same as the two sisters, Gina and Cynthia. Now, we know we have a serial killer.
00:20:09
NARRATOR: All three victims had been shot with the same gun. One week later on the 27th of June 1980,
00:20:19
Exxie Wilson's head was discovered. KATHERINE RAMSLAND: Bundy went out and bought an ornate box.
00:20:25
They wrapped the head in clothing, dumped it in the chest, put the chest into an alley.
00:20:32
FRANK GARCIA: It was, I guess, four or five days later, the head was discovered by a motorist about 1:00
00:20:38
o'clock in the morning. And he hit this little wooden box that looked like a treasure chest.
00:20:45
He got out, looked at it, and he saw that it was a human head. NARRATOR: The head was positively
00:20:51
identified as Exxie Wilson. FRANK GARCIA: That head was taken immediately by the coroner.
00:20:59
The slugs were removed immediately to ballistics at the crime lab. That came back positive [INAUDIBLE]..
00:21:07
So now, you have a full blown serial killing investigation. NARRATOR: A depraved picture was starting to emerge
00:21:17
surrounding these killings. And a new wave of terror flooded the streets of LA. Local press calling the murderer The Sunset Strip Killer.
00:21:27
FRANK GARCIA: In this particular case, we were thinking that was just one killer
00:21:31
responsible for all these killings. All the ballistics came back to the same gun.
00:21:36
It was a 25 caliber Raven, semiautomatic. So in our mind, it was the same killer committing these crimes.
00:21:43
NARRATOR: With conclusive evidence they had a serial killer on the loose in LA, detectives started a task force dedicated to catching
00:21:52
The Sunset Strip Killer. Then on the 30th of June, a snake hunter out in San Fernando found the body
00:22:00
of another woman in the ravine just off the freeway. She'd been shot. FRANK GARCIA: She was decomposed.
00:22:08
But they took one or two slugs out of her. And those slugs were matched to Marano, Chandler, Exxie
00:22:18
Wilson, Karen Jones, and Comer was the fifth one to have a match. NARRATOR: The victim was identified as Marnette Comer.
00:22:27
She was just 17 years old and was last seen on the 21st of May in 1980. It was Marnette's T-shirt that Exxie Wilson's head
00:22:37
was later found wrapped in. ELIZABETH YARDLEY: She was a vulnerable child, somebody
00:22:41
who wasn't able to consent. And Clark can sniff out vulnerability. He is a predator.
00:22:48
He knew that it would be really easy to get this young woman into his car and do with her
00:22:53
whatever he wanted. NARRATOR: Marnette had been Doug Clark's first victim. The discovery of her body over a month
00:23:01
later came as a reminder to 37-year-old Bundy that she was not yet in on Clark's act.
00:23:09
In a bid to take control, Carol Bundy would soon take matters into her own hands.
00:23:16
With five victims conclusively linked to The Sunset Strip Killer, the police were
00:23:22
desperate to solve the case. On the 9th of August, another headless torso was discovered.
00:23:30
This time, however, the victim was male. RONALD COEN: The murder of Jack Murray was one of the most brutal murders that I've encountered.
00:23:41
NARRATOR: 45-year-old Jack Murray was a country and Western singer, who often performed at the little Nashville
00:23:48
in North Hollywood. He was also one of Carol Bundy's old flames. RONALD COEN: Jack Murray was known
00:23:56
as the Australian Tom Jones. And although he was married, Jack Murray and Carol Bundy
00:24:04
were having an affair. NARRATOR: Carol and Jack met in early 1979. But the honeymoon period didn't last long.
00:24:13
The following year, things turned sour. FRANK GARCIA: Jack got tired of her pestering him.
00:24:19
And basically, it was the type of thing where Jack told Carol don't bother me I'll call
00:24:24
you when I need you type thing. Doug was over here. Carol would still go back to Jack off and on, off and on.
00:24:33
NARRATOR: On the 3rd of August 1980, Bundy told Jack that she'd been helping her new boyfriend Doug Clark killed sex
00:24:41
workers from the Sunset Strip. FRANK GARCIA: He didn't believe her. She showed him the guns.
00:24:47
He said, oh, my God. You're not kidding. Carol goes home tells Doug what she had done.
00:24:53
That's when Doug tells her you're going to have to take care of Jack. JOHN STALBERG: Nobody really wants to go to jail for murder.
00:25:00
So she realized also oh, gee, I really screwed up. What am I doing telling somebody that I'm
00:25:05
involved in some murders? So she was going to solve that problem, too. NARRATOR: In the early hours of the 4th of August,
00:25:13
Bundy went back to the little Nashville and lured Jack Murray away with the promise of sex.
00:25:21
ELIZABETH YARDLEY: I think there's a sense in which he has that expectation of women anyway,
00:25:25
even this woman who's just confessed this horrendous crime to him. But that was to be the downfall of Jack.
00:25:34
RONALD COEN: Murray owned a van. Carol Bundy took Jack Murray into the van on the guise
00:25:39
that he would orally copulate her. And as he did this act, she shot on the side of the head.
00:25:44
And then she had to get rid of the bullet and the evidence. So she cut his head off.
00:25:51
NARRATOR: Five days later, his body was discovered. FRANK GARCIA: I wasn't there at the crime scene.
00:25:56
But some of the people that we talked to afterwards said you couldn't see through the glass
00:26:02
because the flies were so thick. And that's what the neighbors reported the smell.
00:26:08
Well, that was Jack Murray. KATHERINE RAMSLAND: So when Jack's body was found and police questioned people in the bar,
00:26:17
they mentioned that he had been seen with Carol Bundy. She was brought in and Doug Clark came with her.
00:26:26
And she answered the questions. Yeah, she had seen him. They were friends. She didn't give anything away, but Doug Clark
00:26:35
sweated and sweated. ELIZABETH YARDLEY: The fact that he goes along with her that is an acts of control.
00:26:42
And I think the police will be quite well aware of that. And they are looking at this guy who's come in with her.
00:26:47
And he has no reason to be agitated or sweating. So that's what gets their radar pinging,
00:26:54
that perhaps, he could have something to do with this too. NARRATOR: With insufficient evidence to charge either Clark
00:27:01
or Bundy, the police let the couple go despite their mounting concerns. Carol was a basket case.
00:27:10
It was getting to her. She went to work. She was a licensed vocational nurse at the hospital.
00:27:17
She was having problems with her supervisor because her mind wasn't in work. KATHERINE RAMSLAND: She feels horrible.
00:27:23
She doesn't know what to do. She started telling co-workers what she and Clark had been doing together.
00:27:31
She just wouldn't stop talking. They were shocked, horrified. And they called the police.
00:27:41
By the time the detectives arrived, Bundy had fled. But later that morning, she called the LAPD herself.
00:27:50
CAROL BUNDY (ON PHONE): Some time back, you were having a series of murders involving
00:27:53
prostitutes in Hollywood? POLICE OFFICER (ON PHONE): Uh-huh. CAROL BUNDY (ON PHONE): OK.
00:27:56
Would you like to have your man today? POLICE OFFICER (ON PHONE): Yeah. CAROL BUNDY (ON PHONE): I can give you your man today.
00:28:00
NARRATOR: Desperate to be taken seriously, Bundy started giving details only somebody
00:28:06
involved in the murders could possibly have known. CAROL BUNDY (ON PHONE): He was, well, you don't know
00:28:11
it because you weren't there. But the head was decapitated. I did that. He was stabbed several times in the back.
00:28:17
POLICE OFFICER (ON PHONE): Doesn't that make you feel bad though that you killed somebody?
00:28:20
CAROL BUNDY (ON PHONE): Would you really like to know the honest truth? POLICE OFFICER (ON PHONE): For sure!
00:28:24
CAROL BUNDY (ON PHONE): OK. The honest truth is, it's fun to kill people. And if I was allowed to run loose,
00:28:28
I'd probably do it again. It really would seem to be quite bizarre behavior for somebody to drop themselves right in it
00:28:37
like this. But here's somebody who wants to be validated. They want to be liked.
00:28:41
They want to be recognized. And she literally can't contain herself. I'll be-- there's a restaurant called the Gristmill,
00:28:48
which is in Burbank. I'll be there at 2 o'clock. My name is Carol Bundy. NARRATOR: The center of attention
00:28:56
at last and determined to remain in control, Bundy arranged to meet detectives at a local restaurant.
00:29:04
But before she got off the phone, officers following up on the earlier report from her work colleagues were knocking at her door.
00:29:12
Bundy hurriedly began grabbing items of evidence to take down to the police station with her.
00:29:19
KATHERINE RAMSLAND: She has several pair of women's panties that she hands over and says these belong to the victims
00:29:28
of The Sunset Strip Killer. She also shows them the photo album of the sex acts with the 11-year-old neighbor
00:29:38
and admits that she killed Jack Murray, but says most of the murders were done by Doug Clark.
00:29:51
NARRATOR: Detective Frank Garcia conducted the initial interview with her when she was in custody.
00:29:58
FRANK GARCIA: It was a typical police interview, where you sit down, introductions, everything's
00:30:03
nice, and how are you? Can we get you coffee or water? You know that type of thing.
00:30:07
NARRATOR: 37-year-old Carol Bundy appeared happy to discuss her crimes. FRANK GARCIA: She went into minute detail
00:30:15
on her killing Jack Murray, how she had trouble cutting his head off and all the other things she did to his body
00:30:21
because she told us she wanted to make it look like some sex pervert that killed him.
00:30:26
CAROL BUNDY (ON RECORDER): I don't have any regrets over having done Jack. As far as Jack himself is concerned,
00:30:35
he really got off kind because he was dead before I did anything else to him. RONALD COEN: I remember hearing the tape recording
00:30:43
of the entire confession. And I was a veteran prosecutor. I had many, many cases of homicide on nature.
00:30:53
And my chin hit the desk when I was hearing her statements. NARRATOR: But her astounding confessions would continue
00:31:01
to shock investigators. The frumpy nurse from Burbank, Los Angeles wouldn't hold back on the details.
00:31:09
And she would turn the tables on Clark. She told investigators that her boyfriend
00:31:17
was The Sunset Strip Killer. CAROL BUNDY (ON RECORDER): It doesn't matter if it's
00:31:22
prostitutes or whatever. These are young girls. If he can get them in the car, his criteria,
00:31:30
believe it or not for whether or not they die is whether or not they give a decent blow job.
00:31:34
NARRATOR: With Doug Clark accused of being Bundy's partner in crime, a warrant was quickly issued for his arrest.
00:31:43
But unlike Bundy, he wasn't going to admit anything. So Clark suggests that Bundy has
00:31:49
completely set him up for this. He makes her out to be the mastermind, which is pretty incredulous.
00:31:57
And the police will be very skeptical of this from the outset because they will be able to see that Bundy is clearly very easily influenced.
00:32:05
So they know that yes, she's the puppet. But the Clark is the puppet master. NARRATOR: With both killers in custody,
00:32:14
the city of Los Angeles could breathe a momentary sigh of relief. But Bundy's confession alone wasn't going to be
00:32:23
enough to convict Doug Clark. FRANK GARCIA: After the arrest, we had obtained a search warrant for the garage
00:32:29
that he had rented, which was in Burbank. We went to the location of the garage,
00:32:34
I would say roughly 10:30, 11 o'clock that night. And the garage was small. It was very dusty.
00:32:41
We lit it up. And you could see with the lights that there was like drag marks on the smooth concrete surface
00:32:47
of the floor there. NARRATOR: The drag marks made sense to Frank. They fitted with an explanation that Bundy had provided.
00:32:56
CAROL BUNDY (ON RECORDER): He took them bodily out of the car, put them in a rental garage
00:33:00
that he had that had a single bed in there. And he used them sexually. DETECTIVE (ON RECORDER): Excuse me, you're
00:33:06
talking about after death? CAROL BUNDY (ON RECORDER): After death. He tripped out on social activities
00:33:13
with dead and dying people, necrophilia and stuff. FRANK GARCIA: The drag marks led to the corner of the garage,
00:33:20
which coincided with what Carol had told Broda and myself that Doug had told her about taking the girls to the garage
00:33:28
and placing them in these sexual positions. And apparently, at one time, there was a mattress in that corner, which
00:33:35
would have been the outright that was on the floor. NARRATOR: The forensics team confirmed
00:33:40
the drag marks were blood. FRANK GARCIA: We noticed there was a boot print. We asked the technician if there was something
00:33:47
he could do about that. He said if I lift the print, it'll destroy the blood that's under there.
00:33:54
[INAUDIBLE] we need that print. NARRATOR: Detective Frank Garcia was convinced this
00:33:58
was a vital piece of evidence. He was also convinced that boiler engineer Clark had hidden the murder weapons, the matching guns,
00:34:08
at his place of work. Frank paid a visit to the Jergen's manufacturing plant, where Clark was employed.
00:34:15
FRANK GARCIA: I talked to the manager of the plant and I said, here's what the deal is with that boiler.
00:34:21
And the boiler is a huge thing. It's like 2 and 1/2, 3 stories tall. And we found out later that the temperature in that thing
00:34:28
reaches like 4,000 degrees. NARRATOR: But searching Clark's work place was going
00:34:34
to prove easier said than done. FRANK GARCIA: The manager said it'll take a minimum of three days for that thing to cool off to work.
00:34:41
It can be inspected and searched. Once that's done, it's going to take another three or four
00:34:47
days to get it back online. We're looking at over a week. And I go, I suggest that you have
00:34:53
somebody search that boiler room every nook and cranny. Because if guns don't turn up, we're going to have
00:35:01
to shut that boiler down. I don't think it was quite two days, we got a call. And he said, hey, guess what?
00:35:09
They found the guns. NARRATOR: Things were looking up for Frank and the rest of the team.
00:35:14
At around the same time as the guns were discovered, they made another important discovery.
00:35:21
We're robbery homicide in the squad room and they bring Doug Clark up. So we're sitting there talking stuff.
00:35:28
And Doug in this real cocky, arrogant way puts his feet up on the desk and [INAUDIBLE] and I go like this.
00:35:41
It's the boot print on the boots he was wearing. We literally ran up to him. Take your boots off.
00:35:49
NARRATOR: Forensics confirm Clark's boots matched the prints lifted from the garage.
00:35:54
With the evidence mounting up, both Clark and Bundy were charged with murder. Whilst awaiting trial, 38-year-old Bundy underwent
00:36:04
psychiatric assessments. John Stalberg was the psychiatrist tasked with interviewing and building a rapport with her.
00:36:14
I was court appointed and it was a confidential report only to be sent to her attorney.
00:36:20
And the issues that he wanted addressed by me or whether she was competent to stand trial.
00:36:26
And the second one was whether she had a psychiatric defense, such as insanity or diminished capacity, which could
00:36:34
have perhaps reduced the crime from first degree to second degree. NARRATOR: The experienced clinician was shocked
00:36:41
at Bundy's candid confessions. JOHN STALBERG: I remember her telling me that she would pass on the gun.
00:36:47
He would reach back and she give him the revolver. And then just when he was having an orgasm
00:36:53
from the oral copulation, he would shoot the prostitute in the head. And I remember joking with Bundy that I said,
00:36:59
he's got to be a good shot at [INAUDIBLE] man who would shoot that close to his crotch a gun, you know.
00:37:05
But she laughed about that. NARRATOR: John spent three hours assessing Carol Bundy.
00:37:12
As far as any personality characteristics like psychopathic, or dangerous, or obviously anti-social
00:37:19
in nature, no, she was quite passive and cooperative with me. She wasn't obstructionistic or passive-aggressive.
00:37:27
She was actually probably pleased about the attention actually now looking back.
00:37:32
NARRATOR: John concluded that Bundy was fit to stand trial and she did not have grounds for an insanity plea.
00:37:40
She did not want to go to death row. I remember having that discussion with her.
00:37:45
Bundy does a plea deal with prosecutors in Los Angeles. NARRATOR: In return for taking the death
00:37:53
penalty off the table, she would plead guilty. But Bundy's damning confessions would still
00:38:00
have a hand in Clark's fate. After two years of pre-trial hearings, his trial began on the 9th of October 1982.
00:38:11
34-year-old Clark was eager to represent himself. And unexpectedly, the judge granted his request.
00:38:20
JOHN STALBERG: When Clark acted as his own attorney, it shows me, number one, that he was very narcissistic,
00:38:27
that I don't need an attorney. I can handle it. And this might be the main reason.
00:38:31
He, of course, knew that Bundy was going to be the main witness. And he thought that he would really give her a very, very
00:38:37
bad time when she testified on the witness stand in front of the jury. KATHERINE RAMSLAND: The problem was he got angry.
00:38:47
He yelled at the judge. He was vulgar. He slammed on tables. He was very dramatic to the point
00:38:55
where they had to restrain him. You cannot represent yourself doing that. NARRATOR: On the 20th of January 1983,
00:39:07
Doug Clark was found guilty of six murders. He was also convicted of sexual contact with human remains.
00:39:16
KATHERINE RAMSLAND: He started yelling at the judge right away. Just get to the sentence!
00:39:19
Get to the sentence! You know, I want to die. I want it over with. The presiding judge, Mr. Ricardo Torres
00:39:29
sentenced Clark to death. I mean, if anybody deserves the death penalty, it's Doug Clark for what he did.
00:39:38
NARRATOR: Even after Bundy and Clark were safely locked up, the body count attributed to the deadly duo grew.
00:39:45
In the spring of 1981, another body had been found in the Santa Clarita Valley. Bundy claimed this woman was the sex worker
00:39:55
Kathy, who she'd failed to kill on her first trip out with Clark. CAROL BUNDY (ON RECORDER): Oh, we had a hell of a time
00:40:01
with Kathy. First of all, he was on the passenger-- do you want the detail for this or not?
00:40:06
DETECTIVE (ON RECORDER): Absolutely! CAROL BUNDY (ON RECORDER): I'm not boring you, am I?
00:40:09
DETECTIVE (ON RECORDER): Not at all. CAROL BUNDY (ON RECORDER): OK. DETECTIVE (ON RECORDER): You have my undivided attention,
00:40:12
believe me. CAROL BUNDY (ON RECORDER): She got in the car and she said, you know--
00:40:15
oh. first, she said my name's Kathy. And she says pleased to meet ya! just like that!
00:40:22
Dumb old bitch. Anyhow, she is kind of cute. NARRATOR: Carol Bundy went into great detail
00:40:28
about the encounter with Kathy. CAROL BUNDY (ON RECORDER): If I did not want to make the hit,
00:40:33
I was to give him a particular signal. If I wanted to do the hit, I was to say, "Boy, am I having a blast!"
00:40:42
He had the ultimate decision whether or not to go ahead and do it one way or the other.
00:40:47
We had to silent arguing back and forth between the two. Do you want me to do it?
00:40:52
Do you want me to do it? He kept shaking his head no. And she was getting uptight.
00:40:56
And finally, he reached out his hand like that. So I took the gun. And I slapped it in his hand.
00:41:00
NARRATOR: Clark shot Kathy in the head. CAROL BUNDY (ON RECORDER): So I jumped out, ran up front, and jumped into the seat and pushed her.
00:41:08
Her head was in my lap. She bled like a stuck pig all over my blouse. NARRATOR: As the couple were driving around looking
00:41:16
for a suitable spot to dispose of Kathy's body, Clark had more instructions for Bundy.
00:41:23
CAROL BUNDY (ON RECORDER): All the time he's telling me, "Strip her. Strip her down.
00:41:26
Take everything off. So I got all of her jewellery off. DETECTIVE (ON RECORDER): You're doing this on the front seat?
00:41:30
CAROL BUNDY (ON RECORDER): Uh-huh. Underneath the jacket. And if you don't think it isn't a bitch
00:41:34
to get a dress off of a dead girl who wasn't cooperating in the least bit. Anyway.
00:41:41
NARRATOR: On the 31st of May 1983, Carol Bundy was sentenced to life for Kathy's murder,
00:41:49
despite claiming she hadn't pulled the trigger and for the murder of Jack Murray.
00:41:55
ELIZABETH YARDLEY: I think in Clark, she met somebody who was a master manipulator, who
00:41:59
was able to make her feel loved and wanted, and have that sense of belonging in those early stages
00:42:06
of the relationship. And I think that was quite intoxicating for her because she was constantly trying
00:42:10
to get back those feelings that she's had in the early days. And if that meant killing, well, that meant killing.
00:42:17
NARRATOR: Bundy died in prison on the 9th of December 2003, age 61. Carol Bundy was not very healthy.
00:42:27
She was never going to survive prison in any event. And she did die in prison. So in a sense, she received the death penalty.
00:42:35
If anyone deserved it, she deserved it. NARRATOR: Doug Clark remains on death row
00:42:41
in San Quentin State Prison. FRANK GARCIA: As a homicide detective, not a lot of things
00:42:47
surprise you, astonish you. But these two guys, they were something else. RONALD COEN: Carol Bundy was evil to the day she died.
00:42:57
Douglas Clark is evil. NARRATOR: Douglas Clark and Carol Bundy's chaotic partnership terrorized the streets of Los Angeles
00:43:08
in the summer of 1980. Their depraved and deviant sexual fantasies knew no limits
00:43:16
and saw them target vulnerable women, teenagers, and even a child. This makes them two of the world's most evil killers.
00:43:28
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