Bundy claimed Clark shot a prostitute in the head while the prostitute was in the act of fellatio. That murder took place in a car parked behind a gas station in East Hollywood. Later, Bundy also admitted that she had been present during one of the murders for which Clark was charged. Bundy eventually confessed to that murder but claimed it was self-defense. Shortly before going to the police, Bundy, who worked as a nurse, had shot to death, stabbed and beheaded another lover, Jack Murray. Bundy claimed initially that she knew nothing of the murders, "only what (Clark) told me". All had been shot with a gun Bundy had purchased. The victims were young prostitutes or runaways.īundy, a divorcee with two children living in the San Fernando Valley, went to police claiming that her lover, Clark, had told her he had killed several young women.
Sunset strip killer victims series#
Bundy and Doug Clark became known as "The Sunset Strip Killers" after being convicted of a series of murders in Los Angeles during the late spring and early summer of 1980.
Sunset strip killer victims serial#
Bundy (Aug– December 9, 2003) was an American serial killer. Let's hope that Wicked City avoids that pitfall.Carol M. When borrowing elements from real life crimes, there's always the danger that the killers will be glamorized or given sympathetic treatment. After you leave you have the feeling something's been done to you.Īlthough Wicked City is fictionalized, there are undeniable parallels to these real life killers - so showrunners should tread carefully in their depictions of Kent and Betty. I made the mistake of spending too long a time with Doug and Carol. She described the experience as incredibly disturbing: I had a terrible time sleeping afterward. Louise Farr penned a book called The Sunset Murders in 1992 and she conducted jailhouse interviews with the couple as part of her research. Bundy pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison - but she died of natural causes in 2003. However, a week later she confessed to her fellow nurses and both she and Clark were arrested.Ĭlark was sentenced to death for six murders and is currently on death row at San Quentin Prison. In August 1980, Bundy told her former lover about the killings - but then she stabbed and decapitated him because she feared that she'd be arrested along with Clark. Several weeks later he decapitated one of his victims and brought the head home so Bundy could put make-up on it.Īccording to the Los Angeles Times, Bundy accompanied Clark as he prowled the city for victims - and she provided him with the gun that was used to kill a sex worker identified as Jane Doe.
That summer, Clark abducted, raped, and shot two girls and then tormented their friend by calling her to provide details of the murders. After they quickly became live-in lovers, she photographed him sexually assaulting children and listened to him when he spoke of his urges to kill. Like Carol Bundy (no relation to Ted Bundy), Betty is a nurse with an incredibly dark side of her own - and I'd venture a guess that what we know about Clark and Bundy will offer some clues about what may happen on this season of Wicked City.Ĭlark and Bundy met at a bar in January 1980, according to. Instead, they team up to commit atrocities together. When Kent first meets Betty, viewers assume that she'll be his next victim. But, his overall method of killing is his very own - he prowls the Sunset Strip looking for victims, calls in a song dedication to the local radio station, stabs them, and then sexually assaults their corpses. The Hillside Stranglers were a very real pair of murderous cousins who killed 10 women between 19 - and, on the show, Kent is using some copycat techniques in order to antagonize Roth. Jack Roth, the beleaguered detective assigned to the case, was recently a key player in apprehending the Hillside Stranglers - and his character is likely based on Sergeant Bob Grogan. Although ABC told Bustle that Wicked City is fictional, there's no denying the disturbing parallels between Kent and Betty and a real life couple that terrorized Sunset Strip in the 1980s - Doug Clark and Carol Bundy.īut, first things first. Then I wondered if perhaps I've simply been watching too much American Horror Story, and I felt hopeful that ABC's latest anthology is actually pure fiction - because these are some truly gruesome murders. Kent Galloway's modus operandi is so twisted and disturbing that my first thought after the show's premiere was that surely Wicked City is based on a true story.