Did Ted Bundy Ever Plead Guilty?

With the latest Ted Bundy portrayal by Zac Efron in Netflix's Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile debuting on Friday, it's only to be expected that many of us still have questions regarding the late serial killer. The new film briefly stated at the end that Bundy confessed to 30 murders days before his execution, but the details stopped there. So here's what really happened.

Did Ted Bundy Ever Plead Guilty?

While Bundy countlessly claimed he was innocent throughout his years in and out of jail between 1975 and 1989, the infamous murderer did confess to about 30 killings, give or take, the night before he was set to be executed. According to A&E, Bundy claimed the total of murders might've reached the "triple digits."

But although Bundy did start to come clean, it was too little too late. He had already been ordered to die by the electric chair during his 1980 trial, and was not able to plead guilty in court by the time he finally confessed about nine years later. It's believed Bundy didn't actually believe he'd be executed, and allegedly confessed only to save himself from the death sentence.

How Old Was Ted Bundy When He Was Murdered?

Bundy ultimately met his fate of the death penalty in the early hours of Jan. 24, 1989. He was 42 years old.

As shown in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, Bundy was shockingly offered a plea deal, which would see him avoiding the death penalty if he pleaded guilty to the murders of Lisa Levy, Margaret Bowman, and Kimberly Leach. But just as the movie depicted, Bundy refused the deal, not wanting to admit to the killings.

So ultimately Bundy did not plead guilty to the murders, but did confess to a large number of them just prior to his death. It's never been confirmed how many people he killed in his lifetime.