A journalist who watched notorious serial killer Ted Bundy die in the electric chair has spoken out against sections of the media for portraying Bundy as 'charming and sexy' adding that it's the victims and families that deserve to be remembered.
Tim Swarens, an opinion editor and columnist, was one of the 42 people to witnesses Bundy's death by electrocution inside the execution chamber at the Florida State Prison on January 24, 1989.
Writing in the Daily Beast, Swarens hones in on the recent media interest and focus on Bundy, 30 years since his death.
Tim Swarens comments come on the back of a four-part documentary released by Netflix, called 'Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes'
'Bundy's sick and horrific story has again caught the attention of entertainers, journalists, and the public,' he writes.
'And I was appalled once more,' Swarens adds. 'This time because the cycle of media exploitation was happening again.'
Swarens comments come on the back of a four-part documentary released by Netflix, called 'Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes.' It aired on January 24, 2019, the 30th anniversary of Bundy's execution.
The documentary focuses on interviews with Bundy recorded by journalists Stephen Michaud and Hugh Aynesworth when he was on death row.
Swarens (pictured above) was present at Ted Bundy's execution on January 24, 1989
Netflix has also bought the rights to 'Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile,' a Hollywood film featuring Zac Efron, as Bundy, that has garnered favorable reviews at the Sundance Film Festival.
Swarens accuses Netflix of 'trying to work both sides of an ugly and exploitative street,' firstly by producing the documentary and then buying a movie featuring heartthrob Efron.
He highlights that the recent media focus on Bundy, 'isn't the first time that the entertainment industry and the news media have portrayed Bundy as charming and sexy,' referencing the two-part TV movie, The Deliberate Stranger, that stared Mark Harmon, 'the Zac Efron of his day.'
It was released in 1986 while Bundy was still on Death Row.
Bundy confessed to 30 murders, including the rape and murder of 12-year-old Kimberly Leach (pictured above)
Wanted Sign of Ted Bundy. Swarens highlights that Bundy was 'a sociopath' and a 'cruelly manipulative narcissist'
'Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile,' is a Hollywood film featuring Zac Efron, (pictured above) who plays Bundy
'He certainly wasn't as good-looking as the actors paid to portray him. His supposed charm was only one weapon he used to trap his victims. Sudden, overwhelming brutality was another,' Swarens says.
Swarens also notes that Bundy, a failed law student, 'wasn't particularly smart,' stating how he turned down a plea deal
