The mall where Ted Bundy abducted Carol DaRonch

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

It is situated at 6191 South State Street in Murray, Utah.

At the time, the building was home to Sears. These days, it is a department store called Dillard's.

On November 8th, 1974, DaRonch parked her maroon 1974 Camaro on the southern side of the mall.

That evening, the 18-year-old was standing outside Walden Book Stores when she noticed a man 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 had been seen breaking into her vehicle.

At that point, 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 that "they" had detained.

Once they returned to the mall, Bundy started looking around the hallways as if he were 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 the young woman to her death.

After failing to find the fictional suspect, Bundy led DaRonch out of the mall and across the street to a closed laundromat on 6100 South.

The laundromat was situated in a small, nondescript retail unit that Bundy pretended was a police substation.

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

After pulling at the handle and realizing that it was locked, he feigned surprise by walking halfway down the alley beside the building before turning around and coming back again.

While Bundy continued this charade, DaRonch remained on the public sidewalk, watching him from afar.

When "Officer Roseland" failed to open the door to the "police substation", she became so suspicious that she eventually decided to ask him for some identification.

However, Bundy had come prepared for such an eventuality. Before she could even finish asking the question, he whipped out an oval-shaped wallet and flashed her a silver police badge.

Upon seeing the badge, she immediately felt at ease. Consequently, she agreed to go to the main police station with him 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 the 18-year-old across the street to his car, which was a ratty Volkswagen Bug with no license plates on it. Although DaRonch thought that it was a strange vehicle for a police officer to be driving, she soon reasoned that he might be an undercover detective.

By that point, she had already questioned his identity and seen his badge. Therefore, it is likely that she was hesitant to doubt him any further.

Once they got into the Volkswagen, Bundy immediately started driving in the opposite direction of the police station. Then, about a half-mile away, he suddenly pulled the car onto a curb outside of 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 was beginning to flash before her eyes, and she started to envision a future where her parents would never know what had happened to her.

DaRonch's escape from Ted Bundy

Fortunately, the teenager refused to go down without a fight.

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

In an effort to scare her into compliance, he pulled out a small black gun and threatened to use it. However, DaRonch refused to bow to such a threat. Instead, she continued to scream and struggle with him until she finally managed to fall 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 then run away. At that point, she flagged down a passing motorist, who immediately stopped to see what was happening.

Meanwhile, Bundy jumped back into his Volkswagen and sped off, incensed that he had just let his target slip through his fingers.

Carol DaRonch was one of the few lucky women who managed to escape from Ted Bundy.

Sadly, his next victim, Debra Jean Kent, would not be so fortunate.

Photos

Photos of the mall and other related images.

Sears at the Fashion Place mall

This is a Google Street View image of the old Sears building at the Fashion Place mall in Murray. It was taken in August 2011.

The shopping mall opened in 1972—roughly two years before the abduction.

The department store closed its doors in 2013 after 41 years. In February 2014, the original building was demolished. These days, it is home to a department store called Dillard's.

Carol DaRonch

At the time of the attack, Carol DaRonch was an 18-year-old typist who lived at home with her parents.

After finishing work, she drove to the Fashion Place mall at around 7 p.m.

Bundy approached her while she was looking in the window of Walden's Book Store. Her first impression was that he was polite and sounded well-educated.

Laundromat

Bundy escorted DaRonch over to this building at 6100 South and pretended that it was a police substation. However, it was really just a closed laundromat.

She became suspicious of him after the door failed to open and he started pacing up and down the alley.

Coordinates: 40.638644, -111.887235

Google Maps

Kidnapping

This is the parking lot that Bundy drove to after he picked up DaRonch. The red circle highlights the exact location where he pulled his Volkswagen up onto the curb. It was here that he finally let his mask slip and attempted to handcuff her.

This lot is on the western side of McMillan Elementary School, close to the intersection between South Fashion Boulevard and 5900 South.

Fortunately, DaRonch put up a fight and was able to escape.

When she flagged down a passing motorist, the handcuffs were still attached to her wrist.

Coordinates: 40.643102, -111.882811

Google Maps

Lineup

When the Utah Highway Patrol arrested Bundy in 1975, a detective realized that his car and description matched the suspect in the DaRonch kidnapping 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.

After the attack

After DaRonch escaped, Bundy did a U-turn before turning left onto 5900 South.

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

The police realized that there was a link between the two crimes after they discovered a key belonging to the handcuffs in the parking lot of Kent's school.

2020

DaRonch retold her story in the 2020 docuseries "Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer."

She was one of the few lucky ones who managed to escape him.