Ted Bundy’s Aspen

I recently visited the small town of Aspen in the mountains of Colorado in an attempt to document and capture the place where Ted Bundy made his first escape from law officials. At the time, he had been found guilty of his attempted kidnapping of Carol DaRonch in Utah and was facing trial on the Colorado death of Caryn Campbell. Upon locating the courthouse from where he jumped on June 7, 1977, I was struck by how majestic it seemed. The stenciled lettering on the doors to the courthouse are reminiscent of the scroll from the 19th century. It seemed to give legitimacy to the fact that the building is located in the state of Colorado, a state that still feels like it’s part of the wild west in the 1800’s. Though I don’t know much about architecture, I was advised by local historian, Matt, that the sandstone used on the building was common among most of the buildings in the area. He also pointed out that Lady Justice above the entrance was, unlike other statues of her, not blindfolded. She is also made entirely of silver, which also seems to be suited by her location in Colorado. We discussed Bundy’s escape from the top left windows on the second floor and Matt lamented that people didn’t try to restrain him after seeing him jump. I concurred, but noted Bundy would have fought valiantly if someone had grabbed him, much like he did when arrested both in Utah and Florida.

Here is some video I took of the courthouse and some photos to give you an idea of how it looks. It is located in downtown Aspen and sits directly across from a stunning statue of St. Mary, a Catholic saint.

More footage