Carol Bundy's early life was marked by hardship and trauma. Her parents, both struggling with alcoholism, subjected her to abuse throughout her childhood. Tragically, her mother passed away when she was young, leaving Bundy vulnerable to further harm. At just 11 years old, her father began sexually abusing her, compounding the pain she endured.

Following her mother's death, Bundy's father remarried and chose to place her in various foster homes. This unstable upbringing only added to the challenges she faced growing up. Despite the turmoil, Bundy managed to marry at the tender age of 17, tying the knot with a man much older than her, who was 56 years her senior.

As Bundy navigated her tumultuous early adulthood, she found herself in a cycle of abusive relationships. By the time she crossed paths with Doug Clark at 37, she had already escaped two previous marriages to abusive partners, with whom she shared the responsibility of raising two young sons. Amidst this turmoil, she engaged in a clandestine affair with Jack Murray, the manager of her apartment complex and a part-time country singer.

Attempting to manipulate the situation, Bundy even tried to bribe Murray's wife into leaving him, showcasing the desperate lengths she went to pursue her desires. Despite Murray's wife's intervention leading to Bundy's eviction from the apartment block, she persisted in seeking out Murray's performances. It was during one of these encounters, at a bar named Little Nashville in 1980, that Bundy's path crossed with Doug Clark's.

Their connection was immediate, and Clark soon moved in with Bundy. As they grew closer, they discovered a shared interest in dark and disturbing sexual fantasies, solidifying the bond between them.

On August 9, 1980, the decomposed body of 45-year-old John Robert Murray was discovered in a van near his home in Van Nuys. His body had stab wounds to the chest, and he had been decapitated. The police never found his head. Two days later, Carol Bundy called the police and confessed to shooting her lover, John "Jack" Murray, with her chrome Raven gun. She said she had killed him five days before his body was found.

On March 3, 1981, the incomplete skeleton of a young woman was found in a shallow stream bed near Bouquet Reservoir. Only a few bones were left, but investigators did find a skull with a bullet hole. This matched the story of a prostitute that Bundy and her partner, Douglas Clark, had picked up. According to their confessions, Bundy had shot the young woman in the head and made Clark drive to a location in Green Valley where they got rid of the body. Clark said that Bundy had even touched the dying victim. Bundy later told a fellow nurse about her involvement in these murders, but she claimed Clark had fired the shot that killed the woman.

Carol Bundy was arrested on August 11, 1980, at her home in Burbank, and Douglas Clark was arrested the same day. Two days later, Bundy was charged with the murder of John Robert Murray and held without bail. In court, Bundy admitted she had killed Murray to stop him from going to the authorities after she told him about Clark's crimes. She said she had cut off his head to prevent the bullets from being traced back to her. Bundy’s coworkers testified that she had admitted to being present during the murder of the young woman and helping to dispose of her body.

On May 2, 1983, Bundy surprised everyone by pleading guilty to the murders of Murray and the unidentified woman. She had initially pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. By pleading guilty, she avoided the possibility of a life sentence without parole, and the death penalty was removed in exchange for her testifying against Clark. Clark was sentenced to death but died of natural causes in 2023. Bundy was sentenced to 52 years to life for her crimes and died in prison from heart failure on December 9, 2003, at the age of 61.