A marriage proposal and groupies: The 5 most bizarre moments from Ted Bundy's trial.

From the release of Netflix documentary series Conversations With A Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes to new movie Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, Ted Bundy and his heinous crimes are back in the spotlight once again.

But long before the recent influx of Bundy-related true crime content, the serial killer became a “celebrity” in his own right – and an infamous one at that.

When Ted Bundy finally faced court after escaping prison not once, but twice, his trial became the first nationally televised court case in US history.

Watch the official trailer for Netflix’s Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile below. Post continues after video…

Around the nation, hundreds of viewers tuned in to watch as one of America’s most notorious criminals was tried for his horrific crimes.

But as new Netflix movie Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile starring Zac Efron has brought to life, the trial was filled with a number of truly mind-boggling moments.

From Ted Bundy’s groupies to his spontaneous courtroom marriage, here are the five most bizarre moments from the mass murderer’s numerous trials.

Ted Bundy’s defence.

As a former law student with a degree in psychology, Bundy decided to represent himself in a number of his own trials, despite having the counsel of five court-appointed attorneys.

In the Chi Omega double-murder trial in particular, Bundy often referred to himself in the third person as “Mr. Bundy”.

On the stand, the serial killer came across as incredibly confident. Even throughout a lengthy cross-examination, he continued to calmly grin as he maintained his innocence despite strong forensic evidence handed down during the trial.

“Ted believed he could lie his way out of anything and could charm the judge,” John Henry Browne, one of Bundy's former attorneys wrote. "He was wrong."

The televised trials.

From the trial of OJ Simpson to the trial of Oscar Pistorious, televised trials are a bit more common nowadays.

But in Ted Bundy's time, it was unheard of.

When Ted Bundy stood trial for the murders of two young women from Florida State University's Chi Omega sorority house in 1979, his trial became the first ever be broadcast nationwide in the US.

Within the month that the double-murder trial was broadcast on-air, Bundy became a household name.

"It's obvious the media's already convicted Ted before he's had his day in court," Carole Ann Boone told the press, under Bundy's direction.

"To broadcast it on a national stage, it's the first step in undercutting the judicial system, because it makes it about getting ratings, not about getting the truth."

In the end, however, the double-murder trial resulted in Bundy being convicted on two murders, three counts of attempted first-degree murder and two counts of burglary.

It was at Bundy's next trial, a trial for another murder he had committed elsewhere in Florida, that Bundy was handed his sentence – death by electrocution.

It was also at this second trial that Bundy got married.

The courtroom wedding.

In 1974, Ted Bundy met Carol Ann Boone while working at the Washington State Department of Emergency Services in Olympia.

Although the relationship initially began as strictly platonic, Bundy and Boone soon became romantically involved when the pair began exchanging long, elaborate love letters while Bundy was imprisoned in Utah in 1976.

As the years went on, Boone's devotion to Bundy grew even deeper, with Boone even testifying as a character witness on Bundy's behalf. Throughout it all, she always maintained that she believed he was innocent.

"Let me put it this way, I don't think that Ted belongs in jail. The things in Florida don't concern me any more than the things out west do," Boone can be heard saying in Netflix documentary The Ted Bundy Tapes.

Later on, while on trial in Florida in 1980, Bundy proposed to Boone in the courtroom.

Due to a loophole in Florida law at the time, the pair were able to get married in front of the judge on the spot.

After their courtroom wedding, it's believed they conceived a child behind a vending machine in the visiting room as a bribed prison guard turned a blind eye. 

Read more: The untold story of what happened to serial killer Ted Bundy's daughter, Rose Bundy.

"The Bundy Effect."

When Ted Bundy was finally put on trial, many people found it hard to believe he could be responsible for the attacks as he was "good looking" and "well educated".

In a movement which has since been described as "The Bundy Effect", Bundy was particularly popular among young women. While on trial, dozens of women would queue outside the courthouse in the hopes of getting a spot in the public gallery.

In a video taken from outside court, some female followers of Bundy shared why they had come to the trial.

“I’m not afraid of him. He just doesn’t look like the type to kill somebody," one woman said.

"Every time he turns around I kind of get that feeling, 'Oh no!' You know? 'He's gonna get me next!'" another added.

Bundy also received fan mail from women around the world.

"Ted's mail was as strange as anybody's mail could be. He got marriage proposals," Stephen Michaud, co-author of Ted Bundy: Conversations With A Killer told E! True Hollywood Story.

"Lots and lots of women sent him pictures, some sent him nude pictures, dying for Ted to get back to them."

The judge's last words.

When Judge Edward D. Cowart handed Bundy the death penalty for his crimes, he shared some unexpected positive words for the serial killer.

“Take care of yourself, young man. I say that to you sincerely; take care of yourself, please. It’s a tragedy for this court to see such a total waste, I think, of humanity that I have experienced in this court. You’re a bright young man," he said.

"You’d have made a good lawyer and I’d love to have you practice in front of me, but you went another way, partner. Take care of yourself. I don’t have any animosity to you. I want you to know that."

On January 24, 1989, almost a decade after the sentencing, Ted Bundy was executed via the electric chair.

Conversations With A Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes and Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile are both available to watch on Netflix now.

For more on this topic:

• The untold story of what happened to serial killer Ted Bundy's daughter, Rose Bundy.
• Liz Kloepfer met the love of her life in a bar. He turned out to be Ted Bundy.
• The little-known story of serial killer Ted Bundy's first girlfriend, Diane Edwards. 
• Molly Kloepfer was raised by Ted Bundy for six years. This is what her life looks like now. 
• The faces we should be remembering when we talk about Ted Bundy.