Ted and Ann: The Mystery of a Missing Child and Her Neighbor Ted Bundy

by Rebecca Morris

"This is the ONLY book to read to learn the full story of the disappearance of Ann Marie Burr in August 1961. Fascinating "Ann Rule, New York Times Bestselling Author "While Ted Bundy might be the greatest evil enigma ever, author Rebecca Morrisstrips away the layers of the greatest mystery of his life-what was his connection to the disappearance of Ann Marie Burr? This is an astonishing achievement, the missing piece that readers of crime have long sought. Bravo for Morris "Gregg Olsen, New York Times Bestselling Author At age three he was using knives to frighten his teenage aunt. By fourteen he was a thief, animal abuser, and peeping tom who liked to pull little girls into the woods to scare them. Ted Bundy killed at least thirty-five girls and women, and possibly hundreds. Was his first victim eight-year-old Ann Marie Burr who disappeared from their Tacoma, Washington neighborhood in 1961? Her body was never found and there were no clues, just two tenacious detectiveswho spent the rest of their lives trying to solve the case. Was Bundy telling the truth when he told a hypothetical story about killing Ann and dumping her into a muddy pit? With new information about Ted Bundy's childhood, interviews with those who knewhim best, and the memories of the Burr family, Ted and Ann is the story of one the 20th century's most fascinating cold cases. Rebecca Morris is an award-winning journalist who has worked in radio and television news in New York City; Portland, Oregon; and Seattle, Washington. A native Oregonian, her reporting has appeared in The Seattle Times, The Oregonian, People, Entertainment Weekly, New York Newsday, American Theatre, and many other publications. She lives in Seattle.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Serial Killer, Biography, Mystery, Audiobook

Kindle Edition

First published September 16, 2011

Reviews

[Misty Marie Harms · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the true tragic case of Ann Burr, 8 years-old, who disappeared in the middle of the night from her home in the summer of 1961. There has been speculation over the years if she was the first victim of Ted Bundy, who would have been 14 at the time. Bundy remained defiant until the end. Never fully claiming all his victims and spinning lies all the way to the electric chair.

Going by what is known about serial killers, I don't think she was killed by Bundy. He was still in the peeping in windows and killing animals stages. Once they work up to murder, that is what drives them from that point. I don't see him going back to just peeping for years until he kicks off his serial killing spree.

Ann's case is still open, even though half the case file is now missing. Her parents died never knowing what happened to their little girl.

[Sportyrod · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ann Marie Burr, a child, abducted from her home during the night while her family slept, 1961. Unsolved, yet to be found.

This is the case that beat the Tacoma Police Department most. The suspects were interviewed but the only evidence was a red thread and a partial shoeprint left at the scene. Not much to go by. Unless they found the remains or received a confession, it would be hard to solve. DNA from the red thread has yet to be linked to a match.

Much of the story investigates whether Ted Bundy could have been the kidnapper/killer as he lived in the neighbourhood at the time (as a 14, 15yo). One neighbourhood kid said that he knew the victim but information is more speculative than compelling. Police officers, authors and journalists from many states probed him about the case and he replied. Readers will have to read the book themselves to find out what was said.

A good focus on the case and family than a shameless namedropping book. Well-researched. Worth the read.

[CrabbyPatty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Initial rating: 4 stars in 2014

Reread in 2019: I reread this, in light of all the Ted Bundy-related stuff lately like the Netflix show and the upcoming movie with Zac Efron playing Bundy.

The author contends that Bundy's first murder was when he was almost 15 when he killed an 8-year-old girl in his neighborhood, Ann Burr. The book follows Ann's devastated family as they seek to find out what happened to their beloved child. Every other chapter details Bundy's family life and adulthood.

This is one of the few books I've read about Bundy that really delves into his dysfunctional family - his grandfather who was probably a sociopath, the possibility that this grandfather might also be Ted's father, Ted's abandonment at a home for unwed mothers after his birth, etc. The author mentions that Ted actually transformed when he went into his "Other Ted" mode - his blue eyes became black, he got a mark on his cheek, his body odor changed, he looked totally different.

Rebecca Morris very much puts to rest the idea of a charming, educated young Republican who just happened to kill women. Bundy was a stone-cold killer who - beyond all his issues with being bipolar, depressed, abnormal brain chemistry, etc. - just plain liked to kill.

4.5 stars.


Vist my new blog - I Love True Crime Books!

[MadameD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story 5/5
Narration 5/5
This book is very interesting, well written and very well documented.
I highly recommend it!!!

[Lady ♥ Belleza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some people were rather amazed that this is the first book about Ted Bundy I have read. For some reason I have made a conscience effort to not read about Ted Bundy.

It seems important to mention that because I may have liked this book more than others because there are many details about Ted Bundy I am not familiar with. That being said, I would say this book was not a ‘page turner’, but it was interesting. It dealt mainly with the aftereffects of the disappearance of Ann Burr. Mainly how her family coped with her disappearance, the investigation, how the police felt they had ‘failed the family’. Although there is no evidence to support it, there are some people who feel Ted Bundy is responsible for her disappearance and death. This is brought out and the reasons these people believe it.

This book also contains some historical information about Ted Bundy, his parents, his childhood habits and so on. I would recommend this book.

[Meaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent and very informative book and a worthy addition to the genre of literature about Ted Bundy. The author interviewed dozens of people for her research and many of the facts in the book are things I'd never heard of before. Ann Marie Burr was abducted fifty years ago and she's on my missing persons website. She may well have been Bundy's first victim; Morris makes a good case for that. But we'll never know for certain.

[Lynda Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was enjoyable in that it tells a lot more about Ted Bundy's early life than I've maybe read in the past. However, it was extremely hard going with the amount of formatting and editing errors throughout. If I hadn't been intrigued by the story I'd have packed it in.
There were heaps of missing spaces such as neverbeen or sevenyear and then chapter headings just dumped here and there in the text. I assume they're errors created in formatting to ebooks as I've seen them come up a lot before in other books but it's time authors paid better attention to what's being put out there in their names. There were also a lot of missing or missplaced apostrophes. On page 116 there was a whole paragraph that made no sense whatsoever however many times I read it !!
The Burr family I found to be quite strange, especially Beverley, their mother. I wasn't comfortable with their decision to sort of replace their missing Ann by adopting another daughter a few years after. In places I was convinced Ted had taken Ann yet at other times I wasn't sure. He didn't usually murder girls who he'd befriended and it seems he got on with Ann so I guess we'll never know for sure. I can't imagine the whole family's never knowing what happened to her all those years. Horribly sad.

[Valerity (Val) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting look back at a missing child case, with an eye towards the possibility that young neighbor Ted Bundy may have had some involvement. Kind of a patchwork quilt of many things I've read about Bundy, along with the story of the missing girl, Ann.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

SO-SO.

TED AND ANN: The Mystery of a Missing Child and Her Neighbor Ted Bundy is an okay read, but not really all that interesting.

Recommendation: Read Ann Rule's book, THE STRANGER BESIDE ME, instead.

" 'What's one less person on the face of the earth, anyway?' he [Ted Bundy] remarked when discussing his crimes."—screen 790/935

NOOKbook edition, 935 (iPad) screens

[Annette · Rating 2 out of 5]

The subject matter is compelling, if disturbing: Ted Bundy and his possible connection to the 1961 disappearance of an 8 year old girl in Tacoma. This book has facts galore- what it does not appear to have is an editor. There are typos and more than one sentence that makes absolutely no sense. The sequencing is puzzling with much repetition and back and forth. If properly edited, this book would possibly merit higher marks.

[Jane Morris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read many books about Ted Bundy and this qualifies as my least favorite. The story line is all over the place. Wondering if book had an editor!?

[Kayla Krantz · Rating 5 out of 5]

When reading about anything related to Ted Bundy, it’s easy to get swept up in his story and background and about his known victims. Before this book, I never took the time to really think about what an impact he had had on Seattle Washington. There were other people who went missing during the time of Bundy’s life, and the thought that the families will never know if their loved ones were part of his spree or not is haunting.

This audiobook covers one such victim. 8-year-old Ann Marie Burr went to bed one night and simply vanished. This book covers the possible reasons why Ted Bundy is a suspect but even at the end admits that there is no way to prove for sure exactly what happened. Decades have gone by, many of the people who remember Ann have died, and they are no closer to solving her disappearance then they day it happened. Truly sad story. Interesting insight though for fans of true crime.

Narration was perfect for the material.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting book about Ted Bundy's first possible victim, although the 8 year old girl's body has never been found, and Bundy himself waffled between admitting and denying the murder. He was 14 years at the time and the two did know each other. It is also true that Ted Bundy (Bundy being his stepfather's name) had a horrible and abusive upbringing. His sister, Eleanor Louise, was his mother, and his father was probably his own grandfather, Samuel Cowell. Samuel was feared and hated by his whole nuclear and extended family, including his six brothers. He was abusive, an alcoholic, and only God knows what else. To protect Ted and his mother, other family members moved them from Vermont to Tacoma, WA. Ted, or Teddy, as he was called, seemed to repress a lot of his childhood memories, had severe head trauma, and was abused by several adults. I have always thought serial killers, for the most part, are made, not born. This book alternates between Ann Marie Burr and her family's life and Ted Bundy, and his life and death. From a psychological standpoint, the book was fascinating, but very sad and sad for all the people who suffered horrible losses. Before I read this book, I knew nothing of this little girl, Ann Marie Burr, and her disappearance on August 30, 1961. Overall, the book was interesting, but terribly sad.

[Theresa Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be quite interesting and remarkable. This book is the true story of the abduction and investigation of Ann Marie Burr, missing from Tacoma Washington in August 1961. Imformation is given about the Burr family,the background of the family and their dealings with the police and media after losing their daughter..Ted Bundy,a childhood acquaintance of Ann,s who lived not far away from the Burr family who became a prime suspect in her disappearance since his incarceration and eventual execution on charges of murder. A lot of imformation that i did not know about Ted Bundy,s childhood is given in this most interesting book..I will not say too much more,as i do not want to give the case away to the reader,i highly recommend this book!

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did he or didn't he? Probably. I think so. But, sadly, we'll never know. Neither Ted nor Ann is here to tell us...and they're the only two that know. This book was much better than I was expecting. It's a very informative view of both Ted Bundy and Ann Marie Burr. I have read lots about Ted Bundy, but there was information in Morris' book that I'd never heard. I also learned about the Burr family, and the tragedy they endured - both with Ann's kidnapping, and throughout their lifetimes. It's a sad story, which leaves you with no definitive answer. Judge for yourself. Did he, or didn't he?

[Doreena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another story about Ted Bundy. This story sort of centers around a 7 yr old girl that he had taken and killed. Very informative. I knew he was a very busy killer, but I had no idea how busy. The book delves into Ted's early life and his family. There were a lot of issues there. Recently, I had read a novel by Anne Rule about Ted Bundy, and this book is along those lines. The author, Rebecca Morris, at one point, even mentions Ted's friendship with Anne. Very well written and informative.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorted????? Sorted pasts? I believe the word is "sordid".

[Kevin Potter · Rating 4 out of 5]

We all know the story of Ted Bundy. But while there isn't technically any new information here, having it presented together in such a way definitely makes a compelling case.

Lee Ann Howlett gives us solid audio narration. He voice is pleasant enough to listen to and well paced.

Now, in fairness, the conclusion presented in this book is largely conjecture. But then again, so are dozens of murders that are commonly attributed to Bundy.

This is part of the problem with dealing with a man with Bundy's brand of sociopathy. It's almost impossible to differentiate his truths from his half-truths and bold-faced lies.

Between all the details presented herein, I think the author makes a compelling case.

However, this isn't just a book about Bundy. This is a book about a troubled family who experienced one of the worst tragedies a family can ever suffer: the loss of a child with no closure on the issue, ever.

But more than that, it's about the aftermath and how that family survived their tragedy.

In the end, between Bundy's own words and too many coincidences to ignore, this book does present a very compelling case for Anne-Marie being an early victim of Ted's, if not his first.

[Kaela Turley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was good, but kind of misleading. The timeline was sometimes hard to follow because of all the jumping around. If you like true crime, you will enjoy reading this.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although it is never proven, it seems very likely that Ted Bundy's first murder was the primary-school-age girl in his neighborhood. This book is incredibly well researched.

[Bill reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ted and Ann is a frustrating read in that it never really gives a clear answer as to what happened to eight and a half year-old Ann Marie Burr in August of 1961. She vanished without a trace in the early morning hours and Ted Bundy lived nearby in Tacoma, Washington. Teddy was fourteen and a half at the time and had a newspaper route. Ann's parents did not remember the future serial killer but one contemporary recalled Ted being quite familiar with Ann. Bundy was born to Louise Cowell on November 24, 1946 at a home for unwed mothers in Burlington, Vermont. He remained there for the first three months of his life. She wished to give him up for adoption but her father Samuel took them in. Morris repeats Ann Rule's belief that Samuel was Ted's real father. Louise took the question of her son's parentage to her grave. I found nothing new here. Other sources had disclosed that Theodore enjoyed torturing animals, as did his grandfather. Much of the book tells of the Burr's troubled marriage, even previous to the abduction of their daughter. In the end, in his final days before meeting Old Sparky, Ted denied any involvement in Ann's disappearance. Unfortunately, Ted and Ann does not give us any additional information to help solve this troubling case.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a true-crime story as the title suggests. It's about Ted Bundy and a little girl who went missing at the age of eight and has never been found. Ann Marie Burr disappeared in the night from her bed in August 1961. From the start there were several suspects, including a neighbor boy whom she used to play with, but no one ever considered Ted Bundy. Bundy was a 14 year old boy who used to live nearby and used to play with Ann and her sisters before the family moved a bit farther away. He wasn't even on the police radar until the late 1970's and 1980's. He was never considered a suspect in the disappearance of Ann Burr because of his age at the time of her disappearance. And though Ted never admitted to being involved with the disappearance of Ann, there are plenty of people who thought otherwise.

This is a fascinating book, and it's told in an interesting style. The author goes back and forth with one chapter about the Burrs, and one about Bundy, weaving their tale together. She saves the most interesting part of both of their stories for the climax of the book: Bundy's final days on death row and the actual taking of Ann. This was a great true-crime book with enough details to tantalize but not enough to overwhelm the reader. I am giving this four stars. I liked it.

[Nat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm sorry to see comments about formatting errors because I didn't come across the as I listened to the story over audible and I was impressed. I know a fair bit about ted bundy and have read all other books on him, and found this one to have information I hadn't come across before. Fantastic. The author did a wonderful job conveying the family of Ann's anguish and experience at loosing a child and never really coping. I especially enjoyed chapter 13 I think it was with its basic info regarding personality disorders and psychopathy (as I'm a psych/criminology major) it was a nice touch to the book without being too much for readers, as in filtering it throughout the book. Well done, very much enjoyed it.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"No parent should ever face this!"
I was given this audiobook in exchange for honest review. It is a interesting story I had never read this book so it was very informative and well presented by the narrative talents of Lee Ann Howlett. She was professional in delivery on such a heartbreaking topic.

[Mary Glass · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long, strange trail of tears

So many possibilities, so many lives ended and even more altered forever in unremitting pain. The best insights into Louise, Ted's mother that I have seen yet. All interview subjects treated with kindness, but not kid gloves.

[Shelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very moving account of a very sad tragedy. The book is fast paced and full of interesting bits never heard before about Ted and Ann. Intriguing to hear from Ted's childhood friends and sister. Well written. I couldn't stop reading until it was finished. Highly recommended.

[Videoclimber(AKA)MTsLilSis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one gives a lot of background on Ted's childhood and adolescence. You won't find that in most books on him. As far as if he is guilty of Ann, I'm not sure. I feel so bad for her family. Sadly, if he was the killer, we will never know.

[Jill Crosby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting details make a cogent argument for what was possibly Ted Bundy’s first abduction and Murder, that of Tacoma resident, 8-year-old Ann Marie Burr, whose body remains undiscovered to this day.

[Fishface · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thought-provoking read. The author doesn't QUITE prove her case but she sure makes me wonder. Well-written and full of all kinds of new details about Ted Bundy.

[Shawna · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is quite a bit here that is derivative if you've read the original books she cites that were written by the people who knew Bundy and worked with him while he was alive.

There are nuggets here I hadn't heard before -- like the inference that Ted Bundy did the Dobson interview because Dobson had promised something to Carol Boone after his death and some other small details I either didn't know or that I may have read and forgotten.

She brings up the "knife incident" at least three times -- this being the time when Ted was three and he slipped butcher knives under the sheets of his young aunt's bed. Many authors bring up this incident to show that Bundy's "issues" manifested themselves from a very young age. (He wanted to scare her.) But personally, I never put much stock into that story. I remember as a child, doing things that adults misunderstood and ascribed bad intentions to when really I was just indulging some elaborate imaginary story I had conjured. I can remember feeling so hurt, and thinking, "but that's not what I meant!" But being unable to defend myself because I was too young.

Since this book was published we have gotten definitive DNA proof that Sam Cowell was not Ted Bundy's father. So fortunately that can be put to rest.

The reason I delayed reading this book for so long is because I didn't want to read an account where the author aggressively hammered that Ted Bundy killed Ann Marie Burr. Fortunately the author's tone was much more measured.

I've always believed, along with Bob Keppel, that Bundy did not kill Ann Marie Burr. As Bundy was apparently afraid of -- he has seemingly been suspected, if not outright accused of every murder, abduction, and attempted abduction, and missing person case that happened in his lifetime, all across the country.

The example that comes to mind immediately is the murder of Katherine Devine. Ann Rule eagerly listed her as one of Bundy's victims in "The Stranger Beside Me," but DNA evidence eventually led to another man. When Bundy was asked about Devine, he denied killing her. So I always had the impression he was being straightforward about who he had actually killed. (The other side of that argument was that he wouldn't admit to killing a kid that young because he feared retaliation if his life was spared. But then he admitted to drowning young Lynette Culver in Idaho so...?)

What I got out of my initial blitz read of Bundy books back in the 90s was that there were a whole lot of people making money, and careers off Bundy. Bundy was very, very bad, but was signing his death warrant so you could look tough on crime and win re-election or win a senate seat an unbiased act? Ann Rule made an entire career and got rich exploiting the tragedies of other people, was this morally neutral? In spite of the fact that people celebrated his death, Americans are continuing to make podcasts, write books, and make movies and documentaries about him for the simple fact that he makes them money, and he fascinate us still. Morris makes references to the police tactics of the principle investigators of Ann Burr's disappearance, and I had the thought, "I wonder how many innocent people they bullied or beat into a confession and a long prison sentence because they thought they were infallable?" And Dobson well--my utter loathing for Dobson was echoed by many when he died earlier this year.

What this book did do for me was to remind me of what the Burr family went through, and the toll it took on every member of the family. Knowing the case was never solved drained away any of the dramatic tension. Some members of the family sort of disappeared from the narrative, which made me wonder why. The adoption of the replacement baby was new information to me, and kind of took me aback.

I don't believe Ted Bundy was mentally ill, either with DID or manic-depression. I believe what Ted told Bill Hagmaier, "I just liked to kill. I wanted to kill." I can admit that my continued interest in Bundy probably stems from the fact that as a young woman, I identified with him far more than with the pretty, socially adept, well-off, popular, sorority girls that he killed.