BY TRACY LEE TATE
Special to the Times
Members of the Union County Historical Society had a real treat in their program for their last meeting, on Feb. 27, hearing a presentation from Bob Dekle concerning the trial of serial killer Theodore “Ted” Bundy, in which Dekle played a pivotal role.
Dekle is from Lake Butler originally but ended up in Lake City as the state attorney for Columbia County. He acted as legal counsel in more than 350 jury trials. He served as the lead prosecutor in the first-degree murder trial of Theodore “Ted” Robert Bundy in Orlando in early 1980.
Dekle has since retired and written a book about the investigation and trial of Bundy for the murder of Kim Leach, a young girl in Lake City. He outlined the events of the case for the historical society.
Bundy kidnapped Leach on Feb. 9, 1978, in a white van stolen from the media center at Florida State University, where he had assaulted four women in a sorority house in January. He killed Leach while driving between Lake City and Live Oak on SR-90, then took her body to Suwannee River Park and left it in a wooded area. He drove back to Tallahassee and had dinner. He had a run-in with a deputy on Feb. 11 but eluded arrest. The next day, he stole an orange Volkswagen and returned east, finally being arrested in Pensacola.
Bundy was tried for first-degree murder, found guilty, and sentenced to death.
“There was a perfect storm of evidence presented during the trial,” Dekle said. “There was a wealth of hair and fiber evidence in the van, from both Bundy and the victim, as well as the victim’s blood.”
Dekle said that the Bundy case stood out in his memory as the most vivid from his career, and prompted by these memories, he decided to write a book about it. He was asked several questions by members of the historical society, but many were concerning his coming from the county originally.
