Dear Bob, 1984-1988
Added 2023-07-06 06:12:40 +0000 UTC“In your letter you constantly referred to or inferred about the cases in the mid-70s. I don’t blame you. However, I made it very clear in my initial letter to the Task Force that I was in no way interested in discussing these cases. I meant it. I wasn’t playing games with you. This initiative on my part was not and is not some subtle or subconscious way of easing into a discussion about the mid-70s cases or any other cases, except Green River…”
Ted wrote to the Green River Task Force in the fall of 1984, offering his unique insight into the recent series of murders in the Pacific Northwest. The Task Force strategically assigned Bob Keppel to be his liaison, and the two struck up an unlikely correspondence that lasted for nearly four years. Keppel, of course, couldn't help but try to leverage the situation to get Ted to talk about his own crimes.
Comments
Have you read the book? I did not watch the movie but the book was pretty good. Keppel has a summary at the second part of the book about Ted's profiling of the Riverman and he clarifies which things he got right and which he got wrong. He actually did really well and it explains partially why authorities spoke with Ridgway at some point about the LISK. In the late 70s the FBI interviewed many many serial killers to understand them and subsequently form their profiling methods. Going back to the book, it has some problems, mainly Keppel's obsessions about Bundy e.g the number of his victims, who the unknown vicitms were etc and annoyingly he did not correct some passages based on new information that came out before the most recent edition of his book for example that Kathy Devine was proven to be the victim of another killer based on DNA evidence.
Andrianne
2023-09-04 20:36:31 +0000 UTCI've always thought the whole Bundy "helping catch the riverman" story should be so more interesting that it actually was. The movie depicting it was certainly beyond awful. Out of everything about Bundy, it just doesn't capture one's interest in the same way, yet it really ought to. I found the stuff about Keppelll consulting a psychologist prior to the meetings to advise certain things, such as yawning overtly when Bundy began to speculate too much, interesting; not least as (according to Keppell at least) the tactics always worked and he'd say "sorry if I'm boring you", in a sincere way. Ted seemed insecure and a little weak during much of it, despite the grandiose plans of the "slasher film festival" and so on.
Joseph Wartke
2023-07-06 16:24:32 +0000 UTC
