How Debbie Harry Escaped from Ted Bundy

The popstar claims that she almost met a grisly end at the serial killer’s hands.

It’s not often, as a True Crime writer, that you’re lucky enough to share a survivor’s story from one of your favorite singers. Debbie Harry’s tale is nothing short of incredible. After accepting a lift from a man in the early 1970s, Debbie managed to escape from and later identify him as, the notorious Ted Bundy. Executed in 1989 for the murder of 30 women, Bundy no doubt had grim intentions for the young star.

The abduction of Debbie Harry

Since she hit the airwaves with American rock band ‘Blondie’ in the late 70s, Debbie Harry’s distinctive voice has made her popular across generations. With ‘Call Me’ the States’ top-selling single of 1980, and the album ‘Rapture’ spending two weeks at number 1, the band is adored by thousands.

It’s unthinkable that Blondie’s impressive and unique sound almost never made it to our ears. The why is simple — Debbie Harry was the chosen victim of the serial killer, Ted Bundy.

One fateful summer night, a chance encounter in New York’s East Village, almost cost Debbie Harry her life.

It was 1972, and Debbie was making her way to a late-night party only a few blocks away. As she was wearing her signature, max-platform shoes, she knew that walking wasn’t an option. As she attempted to hail a cab, a young man, with curly, dark hair, pulled up and offered her a lift.

Initially, Debbie ignored the man and continued for several minutes more trying to hail a taxi. Calm but persistent, the man asked her where she was going and claimed that her destination was on his way — he’d give her a lift.

Debbie conceded and, by chance, took a seat in the back of the car rather than the front. Quickly, Debbie began to feel uncomfortable.

The man didn’t make much conversation, despite having been charming when encouraging her into the car. It was also stiflingly hot inside the vehicle and the windows were open only a couple of inches at the top.

It wasn’t until Debbie instinctively reached to roll down the window, that she realized that all of the car’s window cranks were missing, as was the stereo. Most frighteningly, all of the car’s door handles had been removed. The car was entirely stripped.

Debbie was trapped.

Escape

A feeling of huge unease swept over her and Debbie decided that she was best off jumping from the car as it slowed at some lights or a junction. To escape the vehicle, Debbie thrust her arm through the gap at the top of the window, reached down, and pulled the door lever.

Just as she was about to jump clear, the man realized what Debbie was attempting and floored the gas pedal, launching the car forwards at speed.

As the car turned the next corner, Debbie was able to use the angle of the bend to propel herself from the vehicle — she landed hard in the middle of the road. The man in the car roared away— and Debbie never saw him again.

With no idea how close to death she’d come, Debbie went on to her party.

When Debbie saw his picture in a magazine, she recalls, “the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.’’

It wasn’t until Bundy had been apprehended (for the last time) and sentenced to death, that Debbie saw his picture in the paper. Debbie said:

I hadn’t thought about that incident in years. The whole description of how he operated and what he looked like and the kind of car he drove and the time frame he was doing that in that area of the country fit exactly.

My God, it was him. — Interview Magazine.

Criticism of Debbie’s story

After coming forward as an escaped victim of Bundy, Debbie Harry received a lot of criticism, with many people claiming it to be a publicity stunt or cry for attention.

Other doubters claim that Bundy had never been recorded in the New York area, that he didn’t begin killing until a few years later, and that Debbie’s description of his car wasn’t completely accurate. Debbie herself later confirmed that she’d looked at pictures of Bundy’s Beetle and that this wasn’t the car she was in.

That said, Ted Bundy did strip out his car interiors, removing window cranks and handles, exactly as described by Debbie — car stripping was pretty unique. Bundy also changed vehicles before he settled on his famous VW Beetle and he traveled widely in his hunt for victims. Bundy was also able to elude police numerous times, including escaping from the very prison cell that held him.

Takeaways

It seems likely that, in the early 1970s and before becoming famous, a young Debbie Harry was the victim of a failed abduction attempt.

In my opinion, no other explanation can be offered for a random man’s insistence that a young girl gets into his borderline escape-proof vehicle.

Furthermore, I see no plausible explanation as to why an honest man wouldn’t stop if the same young girl flung herself from his car and into the road — surely, a good citizen would be concerned for her safety.

It may be argued that the entire tale is fabricated, not just the man’s identity — I’ll leave this to you to consider. At the point in time when Debbie came forward, she’d already achieved fame and was worth millions. Arguably, claiming to be a Bundy victim could have boosted the sales of her next album, but this seems unlikely to me.

Whether the man was definitely Ted Bundy, is again, debatable. The abduction attempt carries many of the hallmarks of Bundy’s MO and his location on the evening in question can’t be definitively proven.

Regardless of the identity of this man, his intentions can’t have been good — the world is certainly lucky to still have such a talented singer as Debbie Harry.

Other stories from Jessie London:

Sources are all linked within the article.