The location where Ted Bundy was born

This is the location where serial killer Ted Bundy was born.

It is situated at 346 Shelburne Road in Burlington, Vermont.

Bundy was born here on November 24th, 1946.

At the time, this was the address of an old Victorian-style mansion that belonged to the Elizabeth Lund Home for Unwed Mothers. These days, the mansion no longer exists, as it was demolished in February of 1970 to make way for an office building.

During the first couple of years of his life, Ted had the surname Cowell. It wasn't until 1951 that his mother, Louise Cowell, met his stepfather, Johnny Bundy.

The identity of Bundy's biological father is still unknown.

Although there are reports that a man named Lloyd Marshall was listed on his birth certificate, Louise later claimed that his real father was a young Philadelphia-based sailor called Jack Worthington.

According to Louise, Worthington abandoned her soon after she became pregnant. In her own words, "He flew the coop."

This left her in a very difficult situation, as being an unmarried mother during the 1940s carried a huge social stigma.

To hide the family "shame," many women were sent to homes for unwed mothers, where they could give birth in relative secrecy and then put the baby up for adoption.

That way, both the woman and her family could continue living their lives as normal, untarnished by such an "indignity."

To spare her family the embarrassment, Louise lived at the Elizabeth Lund Home in Vermont for about two months until she gave birth. It is believed that she left the home shortly after Bundy was born.

After giving birth to Bundy and putting him up for adoption, Louise returned to her parents' house in Philadelphia by herself.

A few months later, her father, Samuel Cowell, learned that his grandson had not been adopted and that he was still being cared for at the unwed home in Burlington.

Consequently, he decided that it was time to take the toddler back to Philadelphia.

However, in order to avoid the "shame" of having an illegitimate child in the family, he opted to raise the boy as his own. Notably, in the 1950 US Census, Bundy is listed as Samuel's son, not grandson.

During the first couple of years of Bundy's life, his mother reportedly made multiple attempts to contact his biological father and ask him for financial assistance. However, he had zero interest in seeing his own son and refused to help.

When Bundy was 21 years old, he took a trip to the east coast. During this trip, he visited Burlington and got an extract of his birth certificate. It was only at that point that he learned for certain that he was an illegitimate child—a fact that he did not take well.

According to those who knew him, he was extremely bitter about his illegitimacy and the circumstances surrounding his birth. He also reportedly resented his mother for keeping it a secret from him.

While he was living in Pennsylvania in 1969, he attempted to track down his father, working on a "tip-off".

However, he was unable to find him.

To this day, the identity of Ted Bundy's father remains unknown.

Further information is available in the "Photos" section below.

Photos

Photos of the site and other related images.

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