Karen Sparks' house

Karen Sparks

In the past, Karen Sparks was referred to as Joni Lenz.

At the time of the attack, she was an 18-year-old college student who lived with three male friends.

We will never know how or why Bundy chose her as his first victim.

The most likely explanation is that he spotted her through the basement window while he was prowling around the neighborhood at night.

In the days leading up to the attack, she was reading in her bedroom when she thought that she saw a man peering through her window. However, he was gone so quickly that she put it down to her imagination.

She also didn't believe that someone would be brazen enough to enter a house with three males inside.

4325 8th Avenue NE

Image source: hiimted.blog

This is a police photograph of 4325 8th Avenue NE.

Sparks' bedroom is highlighted with a white circle.

At some point during the night, Bundy peered through this window and noticed the young college student.

After spotting her, it is likely that he started hanging around the outside and probing the exterior for an easy entry point.

The fact that he was able to get inside without waking any of the occupants suggests that he didn't have to force his way in.

According to King County detective Robert Keppel, there was a door on the left side of the property that was always left unlocked. Therefore, it is likely that Bundy noticed this while he was "assessing" the outside.

This may have been the exact moment when Bundy decided to cross the point of no return.

By that stage in his life, he was already an experienced voyeur. However, his deviant behavior was beginning to escalate. Recently, he had started following random women that he noticed on the street.

Although he never attacked the unsuspecting women that he shadowed from afar, it did mark a dangerous turning point in his development. The violent fantasies that had been with him since early adulthood were now beginning to materialize and take on a more physical form.

Essentially, he was now starting to push the envelope.

When he first began probing Sparks' house, he may have only been curiously toying with the idea of going inside. Although the prospect of attacking the young woman was almost certainly bouncing around in his head, he might not have been expecting to get that far.

However, when he carefully gripped the door handle and realized that it went all the way down, everything changed.

Sparks when she was younger

In 1974, Sparks was studying political science at the University of Washington.

Notably, she and her friends used to visit a local dive bar called Dante's Tavern.

Bundy and his first murder victim, Lynda Ann Healy also used to frequent Dante's. Therefore, it is possible that he spotted Sparks there at some point, followed her, and made a mental note of where she lived.

For all we know, he visited Sparks' house on a number of occasions during his nightly trips around the U District.

The Westwood apartments in Seattle

These days, the street is home to the Westwood apartments, which were built in 1985.

Bundy lived very close to Sparks

This map shows the locations of Karen Sparks' house, Lynda Ann Healy's house, Dante's Tavern, and Ted Bundy's rooming house.

As you can see, Bundy lived very close to all three of these places. However, he lived particularly close to Sparks' residence. To be specific, it was only 0.3 miles (550 meters) away, and it would have taken him roughly 5-7 minutes to walk there.

This raises the possibility that he was roaming around on foot when he decided to attack his first victim.

If this was the case, then it might explain why he didn't attempt to abduct Sparks. In other words, he might not have had his car with him.

Bundy was a habitual voyeur who liked to get drunk and prowl the streets at night, looking for things to steal and windows to peep through. During his interviews, he admitted that alcohol gave him the courage to engage in this kind of deviant behavior.

This would explain why he was daring enough to break into a house with three men inside.

The fact that he used a metal bar from Sparks' yard instead of bringing his own weapon suggests that this attack wasn't particularly well-planned. Instead, it was most likely a crime of opportunity.

The incredibly risky nature of the attack, combined with the fact that he didn't bring his own weapon, shows us that he did not put a lot of thought into it.

That night, Bundy was probably drunkenly creeping around on 8th Avenue when he noticed a light coming from Sparks' basement room.

Then, being the voyeur that he was, he decided to take a closer look.

Upon realizing that a young girl with long brown hair was sleeping in a basement room all by herself, his urges took over.

At that point, it is likely that he hung around the property for a while and waited for all of the lights to go off. It is also likely that he spent some time probing the outside of the property for an access point.

Once the house was shrouded in darkness and he had found an open door, he finally picked up the courage to make his move.

Bedroom

This crime scene photograph of Sparks' room shows the aftermath of the attack.

Numerous authors have stated that Bundy used a piece of metal that was taken from the bed frame. However, this is false. According to King County investigators, Bundy used a piece of metal rebar that he found in the garden of the property.

As you can see, there is no bed frame in this photograph, as the mattress was lying directly on the floor.

U District

This aerial photograph of Seattle's U District was taken in 1977.

The red dot at the bottom pinpoints Bundy's apartment. The red dot in the top left-hand corner highlights the location of 4325 8th Avenue NE.

Bundy habitually got drunk and roamed these streets at night.

The residential houses that lay to the west of his apartment would have drawn him in like a moth to a flame. At the time, he would have known that they were filled with college students.