Was Ted ever known to be over protective/jealous/possessive of any of his girlfriends?
He was extremely jealous and possessive with Liz. If you read The Phantom PrinceĀ (pdf link) youāll get a good idea!Ā
From Iām Not Guilty by Al Carlisle :
āDuring the early summer of 1973, Liz was growing weary of Tedās lack of commitment to their relationship. Liz accepted an invitation to help a man sail his catamaran followed by a bicycle trip in Victoria, British Columbia. Ted was extremely irate and depressed, and he wrote her a series of love letters, again telling Liz how much he loved her and needed her. Ted was distraught by Lizās lack of loyalty to him, despite his own unfaithfulness. He was extremely insecure and the thought of being alone terrified him. She called off the relationship with this other man and once more things seem to be all right with Ted.
When I conducted my assessment of him for the court in April 1976, Ted talked about this incident. It was one of only two or three times that I could see a definite change in his eyes and his facial expression. He said, āI felt terribly hurt. I went home and sulked. My world was destroyed. That was the last straw.ā He was quiet for a few moments, regained his composure, and then said that he and Liz made up and both cried. However, this widened a deep crack in his personality. It may have been around this time that he killed his next victim.ā
From The Phantom Prince :
āI liked his protectiveness of me and Tina, both emotionally and physically. I was naive about what goes on in the city, and sometimes I took unnecessary risks.
One night when Ted came over after dinner, I told him that Tina and I had stopped at Volunteer Park on the way home from work to swing, and that weād had the park practically to ourselves.
He was horrified. āDonāt you realize how isolated you are there in case of trouble?ā
āTrouble? What kind of trouble?ā
āYou name it and you can probably find it in Volunteer Park, especially at dusk. If you want to play in a park, come get me first. You understand?āā
A letter he wrote to Liz when she left without visiting him in 1976 :
If I sound bitter it is because I am. This is not your problem any longer as you well recognize. Perhaps I am too much of a sentimentalist but as difficult as it would have been I would have liked to say goodbye to you in person, kiss you one last timeā¦Sunday, as I sat on the bench in the prison yard, basking in the sun, the fear grew with each hour. What a pathetic creature I must have appeared to be. Watching, waiting. Then three oāclock arrived and three fifteen and three thirty and three fifty and finally four. I waited until the bitter end, I imagined you driving to the airport and boarding the plane just a few miles away and I was struck with the panic of a caged animal. I felt the suicidal urge to run at the barbed wire fence and run and run to say goodbye to you before the plane flew you away from me forever. Crying, trembling as the last minutes ticked away I kept pleading softly to myself, āPlease, Liz, please.ā Please donāt leave me this way, I thought. Sunday was the most demoralizing day of my life. Sunday I think I finally recognized how powerless and weak I am.
Another excerpt from The Phantom Prince :
āGreg and I planned a bicycle and ferry trip to Victoria, British Columbia. I told Ted about it one morning as we were driving to work. He blew up and started driving like a madman. At the first chance, I got out of the car. I had walked about four blocks when Ted darted out of an alley in front of me. When he saw me, he jumped back. Then he was behind me, following me. Just as I got to work he fell in step along side me.
āYouāre making a big mistake, Elizabeth. I love you very much, and youāre taking my love and destroying it.ā
āIām destroying it?!ā I couldnāt believe my earsā¦
The evening Greg was to pick me up, Ted came over early and refused to leave. He had been drinking and his tears flowed freely. He wished I wouldnāt go. I was steamed. I told him that Iād had enough, that I was sick of his words, words, words. If he wanted to stay and make a fool of himself, go ahead. He left. I went on my trip with Greg and we had a platonic good time. When I returned I found a letter:
Itās Friday evening. Youāre gone and Iāve never been so alone in my life. The memory of your face haunts me. The memory of our times together is so fine that the fact that Iāve lost you seems unreal. Iām perfectly stunned. Cigarette upon cigarette does nothing. Youāve left and I can think of nothing but that I love you. I love you now. i loved you in the past. Iāll love you as long as I draw breatheā¦. With tears in my eyes, I punish myself. Shaking my head, I canāt belive I have driven you to find someone else. Your smile, your hand in mine, your loving daughter, the three of us together, these memories are the fondest memories I can ever hold. My insensitivity has destroyed everythingā¦. I am looking inward as you told me. I love you. I want you. Forever.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Love,
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Tedā
