Rock musician who had a secret obsession with the US serial killer Ted Bundy murdered a teenager and lived a ‘double life,’ a court heard
- Man morbidly fascinated with US serial killer Ted Bundy has been jailed for a minimum of 30 years.
- Cody Ackland, a rock musician, attacked 18-year-old Bobbi-Anne McLeod with a claw hammer.
- A day after the murder of McLeod, Ackland went for pizza with a friend and attended band practice.
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A 24-year-old British man who was morbidly fascinated with US serial killer Ted Bundy has been sentenced to a minimum of 30 years ad 190 days, authorities said.
Cody Ackland, an amateur rock musician, murdered an 18-year-old woman in “a sadistic and prolonged attack,” Devon and Cornwall Police said in a press release.
He struck his victim, 18-year-old Bobbi-Anne McLeod, on the head with a claw hammer at a bus stop in Plymouth, England, on November 20, 2021, according to police.
Ackland then abducted her into his car, drove her into a forest, and repeatedly attacked her before murdering her, police said.
Police added that he stripped McLeod and dumped her body in the undergrowth on a densely wooded lane before joining a party with friends.
He confessed to the murder, turning himself into the police three days later, before pleading guilty to murder at Plymouth Crown Court on April 5, 2022. He was sentenced on May 19.
“happier than usual”
Ted Bundy’s popularity re-exploded after the release of a biopic with a Zac Efron playing Bundy as well as the release of several Netflix documentaries.
Ted Bundy/Inside Edition
The court heard that Ackland lived a “double life.”
He had a morbid fascination with several serial killers, particularly US serial killer Ted Bundy. Bundy kidnapped, raped, and murdered young women during the 1970s.
Ackland had photos of Bundy and the weapons he used on his phone, the press release said.
“Bundy approached his victims in public places and knocked them unconscious before killing them,’ said senior crown advocate Richard Posner in court, according to the press release. “It is not a coincidence that Bobbi-Anne McLeod met her fate the same way.”
Ackland also saved thousands of gruesome images of dead bodies and murder scenes.
“His interest in the macabre presents as deep-rooted; a fascination with death, murder and murderers and the means to commit murder,” Posner told the court, per the press release.
A day after the murder of McLeod, Ackland told police that he went for pizza with a friend, attended band practice, got a takeout meal, and drank for hours at a pub. Friends said he was “happier than usual,” per the press release.
Ackland took sole responsibility for the killing. He told police and said the murder was not on his mind because it was “so out there” that it almost felt like a movie, the press release said.
Following Ackland’s sentencing, McLeod’s family paid tribute to her. “I want Cody Ackland to know that he has taken away our world,” the family said in a statement. “We will never see her beautiful face or hear her laugh, see her get married or have the children she so wanted. So many everyday things have been taken away. Her not being here is still unimaginable.”