Theodore Robert Bundy (born Cowell; November 24, 1946 – January 24, 1989) was an American serial killer who kidnapped, raped, and murdered numerous young women and girls during the 1970s and possibly earlier. After more than a decade of denials he confessed to thirty murders he committed in seven states between 1974 and 1978. Bundy's true victim total is unknown, and is likely significantly higher.