Susan Davis

*This article includes details of sexual abuse, sexual assault, and/or rape. Discretion is advised.*

## Susan Davis

### Cause of death

Stabbing

**Susan Margarite Davis** (March 14, 1950 - May 30, 1969) was a young woman who, along with her friend, is suspected to have been murdered by Ted Bundy in Ocean City or Somers Point, New Jersey, on May 30, 1969. If Bundy murdered them, they would be his first and second known murder victims.

## Background

Susan was born on March 14, 1950, in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. Details surrounding her childhood are unavailable, but when she graduated high school, she enrolled in the Monticello Junior College in Godfrey, Illinois. At this college she met her friend, Ibby Perry.

In May 1969, the month of their murders, the girls graduated college. Susan, who got her art degree, intended to continue her studies in New York, while Ibby, who just finished her freshman year, chose to return to the college the next year.

## Disappearance

Ibby and Susan were on vacation in Ocean City, New Jersey, for four days. They were staying at a rooming house until May 30, 1969, when they left at about 4:30 a.m. to go to Susan's home in Pennsylvania. They told the owners of the house that they'd write to them when they were there, and that they'd return if the found themselves back in the area. The owners told them to be careful before they left.

There was a reported sighting of the girls in Somers Point, New Jersey, at about 5:00 a.m. They were driving in their dark convertible, when they picked up a hitchhiker. They pulled over for him, talked with him, and let him in the back seat, before driving away.

The girls were seen again at about 5:30 a.m. in Somers Point, when they stopped to eat at a nearby diner. It's unknown if the hitchhiker was present at the time.

## Discovery

On June 2, 1969, the girl's bodies were discovered, partially covered with leaves. They were tied to trees with their hair. Susan's body was nude, with her clothing and personal items beside her, while Ibby was fully clothed, apart from her underwear being missing. Ibby wasn't raped, but it's unknown if Susan was.

Both girls were stabbed to death, with Susan being stabbed in the neck and abdomen, and Ibby being stabbed in the chest, neck, and abdomen. An autopsy helped police determine that the girls died at about 6:00 a.m. on the day of the disappearance.

## Aftermath

### Initial Aftermath

The murders immediately recovered extensive media coverage, due to the brutality of the the crime. Despite this, the murders would remain unsolved. A composite sketch was released of the hitchhiker Susan and Ibby picked up.

The man was described as being college-aged, 5'7 and wearing a yellow pullover shirt and dark pants. He was carrying a satchel. It's unknown if this person was responsible for the murders, as he may not have been present at the last sighting of the girls.

Police also suspected the murders could be related to a string of murders in the Michigan area, likely committed by John Collins, but modern analysis doesn't connect them.

### Ted Bundy as a suspect

Just after his execution in January 1989, serial killer Ted Bundy became a suspect in the murders. He was attending college in Pennsylvania, and didn't move away until just after the murders. Bundy also told a forensic psychologist that his first victims were two women he murdered in the Philadelphia area.

If Bundy committed the murders, it's believed he did so using his "feigned-injury ruse," which he used on many of his known victims. Bundy's aunt has said he wore a leg cast on the weekend of the murders due to a vehicle accident, and couldn't have been the killer, but there is no record of this accident occurring.

Bundy is considered a strong suspect in the murders, but his involvement remains speculative.

## Sources

* Ted Bundy on Wikipedia
* Susan Davis at *Find a Grave*
* *Press of Atlantic City*
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* *The Daily Intelligencer* (subscription required)