The Murder of Kimberly Leach
Kimberly Diane Leach was a 12-year-old schoolgirl, she was in the seventh grade. Kimberly, Kim to her friends, was described as a shy girl who worked hard at school.
On 8th February 1978, Kimberly was excited as her mother had said that afternoon she would take Kimberly shopping for a dress to wear to the upcoming Valentine’s ball. She arrived at school and ate doughnuts with her friend and went to her homeroom before leaving to go to her first class, PE. While in the homeroom Kimberly forgot her purse so went back to get it, she returned to the homeroom, picked up the purse and left, making her way back across campus- she never made it back to her lesson. Kimberly’s teacher assumed Kimberly had just gone to her second class and gave her books to her friend to put in her locker. Kimberly failed to show up at any of her classes that day, and her teachers grew worried and began searching for her. By 5pm when there was still no sign of Kimberly, the police were called.
Kimberly’s friends knew something was wrong immediately, they described how Kimberly never skipped class and was a shy girl who was unlikely to speak to strangers or go anywhere on her own. A witness had seen a girl walking towards a white van with a man he had assumed was her father, the man had brown hair and was clean-shaven and the girl matched Kimberly’s description down to the number on her sports jersey, the girl had looked unhappy but was not resisting. A schoolchild had also seen a slim man in his mid-thirties with brown hair standing near the school. Over 65 witnesses had seen this man in the vicinity of the school Kimberly attended.
In April 1978, about 2 months after Kimberly had gone missing her body was found in a pig shed wooded area, she had been raped and had lacerations to her neck.
Before Kimberly was found, Ted Bundy, a notorious serial killer and wanted fugitive was found when pulled over for a traffic violation. He had recently escaped from prison and was wanted for a string of recent murders of young women. Officers questioned him about Kimberly’s disappearance which he initially denied despite overwhelming evidence including fibres from the jacket he was wearing when arrested being found on her body.
In 1980, Bundy went on trial for the kidnap and murder of Kimberly Leach. He had previously been convicted for the murders of two sorority girls, Lisa Levy and Margaret Bowman, in the infamous Chi Omega attacks. During the trial for Kimberly’s murder, Bundy acted as his own council and asked Carole Ann Boone to marry him. He was found guilty and Bundy received a third death sentence for the murder of Kimberly Leach.
On 24th January 1989, Bundy was executed by electric chair at Florida State Prison. It is believed that Kimberly was his last victim.
