10 Murder Trials That Shocked The World

10. Ted Bundy (1979) - A Serial Killer, Kidnapper, Necrophile And Rapist Who Committed At Least 30 Murders

One of the most-infamous serial killers in history, American Theodore "Ted" Bundy assaulted and murdered at least 30 young women during the 1970s across seven states - and was eventually executed for his crimes in January 1989.

First arrested in August 1975 after being pulled over in a routine traffic stop, Bundy was released after no incriminating evidence could be found despite the fact police suspected his involvement in the disappearance of Debra Kent. First sentenced for the kidnap of DaRonch, Bundy was discovered hiding in the bushes of the jail yard in Utah State Prison carrying an "escape kit".

Then charged with Caryn Campbell's murder, Bundy was transferred to Aspen but escaped from the Pitkin County Courthouse by jumping off of a second-storey window. Amazingly, Bundy then managed to escape from jail in Glenwood Springs after acquiring a hacksaw, and he fled to Florida where he committed further rapes and murders.

Finally arrested again in February 1979, Bundy stood trial for two homicides in Miami in June - with 250 reporters from five continents covering the first-ever trial to be televised in the US. Bundy handled his own defence - and due to the fact he was considered handsome and arrogant and that he loved to showboat, he made worldwide headlines.

His bizarre decision to refer to himself in the third person made the case particularly interesting. Two death sentences followed this case, and another came about in a separate trial in Orlando six months later, but Bundy maintained his innocence until he initiated a series of interviews with media personalities.

This again captured the public's imagination because Bundy spoke in the third person to avoid "the stigma of confession" - and he admitted sexual assault fulfilled his need to "totally possess" his victims, and that although murder at first was "a matter of expediency to eliminate the possibility of (being) caught" it later became an "adventure". He claimed "the ultimate possession was, in fact, the taking of the life".

Bundy also referred to himself as "the most cold-hearted son of a bitch you'll ever meet". Due to the fact Bundy's trial was televised and he was box office himself, this was the first real murder case that brought about the idea of psychopathic killers. The world became shocked, yet at the same time fixated, by this man who had killed at least 30 people - and he remained a fascinating figure long after he was executed by electric chair on January 24, 1989.