The mall where Carol DaRonch was abducted

This is the shopping mall where serial killer Ted Bundy abducted Carol DaRonch.

It is called Fashion Place mall, and it is located at 6191 South State Street in Murray, Utah.

At approximately 7 p.m. on Friday, November 8th, 1974, DaRonch parked her maroon 1974 Camaro on the southern side of the mall.

That evening, she was standing outside a Walden bookstore when she noticed Bundy walking in her direction.

Officer Roseland

Bundy introduced himself as a policeman called Officer Roseland and asked her if she had parked her Camaro by the Sears entrance.

When she confirmed that she did, the "officer" told her that someone was seen breaking into her vehicle.

DaRonch agreed to follow him out of the mall. However, once they reached the car, she saw that it was perfectly fine and that none of her valuables were missing.

Although she assured the "officer" that everything was OK, he convinced her to follow him back inside and file a complaint against the suspect "they" had in custody.

Once they returned to the mall, Bundy started looking around the hallway as though he was searching for someone. He then claimed that "they" must have taken the suspect to the police substation.

In reality, there was no "they." Nor was there a police substation. Instead, Bundy was trying to lure DaRonch to her death.

After failing to locate the fictional suspect, Bundy once again led DaRonch out of the mall and across the street to a closed laundromat on 6100 South. The laundromat was in a small, nondescript retail unit that Bundy claimed was a police substation.

Once they reached the unlit building, he tried to open the side door.

When it failed to open, he feigned surprise and started walking up and down the alley beside the laundromat.

While Bundy continued this charade, DaRonch remained on the public sidewalk, studying him from afar. By this point, she was starting to feel uneasy, as she thought she had smelled alcohol on his breath.

Suspicious of his failure to open the door to the "police substation," DaRonch decided to ask him for identification.

Bundy had clearly come prepared for such an eventuality, as he quickly whipped out an oval-shaped wallet and held up a silver police badge.

Upon seeing the badge, she immediately felt at ease. Consequently, she agreed to accompany him to the main police station and fill out a complaint against the "suspect" who had reportedly broken into her vehicle.

Abduction

Sensing that he finally had his next victim on the hook, Bundy led DaRonch across the street to his car, which was a "ratty" Volkswagen Bug with no license plates.

Although she thought it was a strange vehicle for a police officer to be driving, she reasoned that he was probably an undercover detective.

She had already asked him to show his badge, so she was likely hesitant to question him any further.

Once they got in the Volkswagen, Bundy immediately drove in the opposite direction of the police station. Then, about a half-mile away, he suddenly pulled the car onto a curb outside McMillan Elementary School.

Realizing that something wasn't right, DaRonch started to "freak out" and demand to know what they were doing. However, Bundy seemed completely removed from the situation and did not respond.

While she was trying to open the door and escape, he suddenly grabbed her left arm and handcuffed her wrist.

At that point, her life flashed before her eyes, and she started to envision a future where her parents would never know what had happened to her.

Escape

The teenager refused to go down without a fight.

During the struggle, she scratched and hit Bundy, which prevented him from being able to cuff her other wrist.

To scare her into compliance, he pulled out a small black gun and threatened to use it. DaRonch, however, refused to bow to such a threat. Instead, she continued screaming and struggling with him until she eventually fell backwards out of the passenger door.

When she tumbled out of the Volkswagen, Bundy got out and pursued her with a crowbar. Luckily, she was able to kick at him, rise to her feet, and run away.

She then flagged down a passing motorist, who immediately stopped to see what was happening.

Realizing he had lost control of the situation, Bundy quickly got back in his Volkswagen and sped off, incensed that he had let his target slip through his fingers.

When DaRonch was brought to a police station, the handcuffs were still attached to her left wrist.

Following the attack, Bundy drove 20 miles north to Bountiful, where he kidnapped 17-year-old Debra Jean Kent from a high school play.

The police who investigated Kent's disappearance found a key in the parking lot outside her school.

Later, the key proved to be a match with the handcuffs that were attached to DaRonch's wrist.

In August 1975, a highway patrol seargent in West Valley City arrested Bundy on suspicion of burglary.

Following his arrest, a detective realized that his car and description matched the suspect in DaRonch's case. Subsequently, he was put in a lineup and identified.

On March 1st, 1976, Bundy was found guilty of kidnapping. A few months later, a judge sentenced him to 1–10 years in prison.