Evil Cody Ackland was obsessed with serial killer Ted Bundy, it can be revealed.
The 24-year-old musician brutally murdered innocent teenager Bobbi-Anne McLeod before dumping her body by the sea.
But it can now be reported that Ackland, who had never been in trouble with the police in his life, was fixated with American mass murderer Ted Bundy and may have wanted to emulate him.
Investigators fear Ackland was acting out these twisted fantasies on the night he kidnapped Bobbi-Anne, 18, from a bus stop near her home in Plymouth last year.
Mike West, Detective Superintendent and Head of Devon and Cornwall's Major Crime Investigation Team, told The Mirror: “There are clear parallels with Bundy because of the sort of individual that Ackland is."
He explained: “He had an unhealthy fascination with Bundy.
“Thousands of images of post mortems, murder scenes, dismemberment, soiled clothing, people in distress and other serial killers were found on his phone.
“That shows the level of obsession and certainly predilection for looking at those dark and emotive matters on the internet.
“It's an area that's been focused on by the prosecution team.
“It does go down to the manner of the killing, the way that Bobbi was approached, the fact she was by herself, the fact she was abducted and taken away from the scene of the initial assault and the general character of Ackland and I think that is why the parallels have been made.”
Bundy, who was sent to the electric chair in 1989, killed at least 36 young women in the 1970s.
But he was by no means the typical killer, charming, handsome and intelligent he was a monster hiding in plain sight.
He tended to target good looking young women before kidnapping them and bludgeoning them to death.
His methods and demeanour bore a chilling similarity to Ackland.
To outsiders he was the affable lead guitarist of a Plymouth-based indie rock group Rakuda.
He was also the main songwriter and had previously performed with his bandmates on BBC South West radio.
But despite being a good looking, seemingly popular local celebrity, Ackland led a deeply sinister double life online.
He had a secret, morbid fascination with serial killers from around the world, particularly Bundy, whose kidnap and murder of young women bore striking similarities to Ackland’s heinous crime.
Police found multiple pictures of Bundy and the weapons he used on his phone and in the days and weeks leading up to Bobbi-Anne’s death, Ackland searched the internet for information about serial killers’ crimes, their aftermath and the bodies left behind.
He also kept a huge supply of grisly images on his phone, depicting dismembered or dead bodies, post-mortems and murder scenes.
Investigators uncovered 3,216 images on Ackland’s phone, many of a disturbing and dark nature and reminiscent of horror films.
In the days and hours before the murder Ackland browsed for remote locations on Dartmoor and for potential weapons and clothing such as baseball bats and ski masks.
Poor Bobbi-Anne had just told her dad she loved him at the family home in the Leigham area of the city on November 20, 2021.
She was on the way to see her boyfriend Louie at about 6:15pm, when sick Ackland spotted her at the bus stop.
The monster pulled up into a secluded car park and crept up behind her before attacking her with a claw hammer in a brutal assault.
He told detectives he then returned to his car but noticed Bobbi-Anne moving so scooped up her slender frame and dumped her in the footwell of his car.
The fiend then took her to Bellever Forest car park on Dartmoor where he repeatedly attacked and and finally killed her.
He then went to popular Bovisand, a sheltered bay with a small beach near Plymouth, and stripped Bobbi-Anne dumping her body in undergrowth.
Chillingly the beach had often featured in his Instagram posts as a place he had partied with friends in previous years.
The next day he threw the hammer into the River Tamar and a carrier bag containing his and her blood-stained clothing into nearby allotments in Coombe Lane.
The claw hammer was never recovered despite a thorough police search.
Ackland then went for pizza with a friend, attended practice with bandmates in his rock band, got a takeaway and drank into the early hours of the next day with friends at a pub lock-in.
Friends recall him being ‘happier than usual’.
Ackland even went to the cinema the day after where he enjoyed the blockbuster Dune.
It is the sort of chilling behaviour that has haunted investigators like DS West.
He said: “He has been described as an erudite and considered person who keeps himself to himself which is something you often here about people like this.
“But what surprised me was for someone who seemingly showed little emotion for him to come across as so full of joy, being happy and joking, giving hugs out to friends, was exceptionally rare for Ackland and in my experience someone who has just committed such a terrible attack and murder on a defenceless female.”
Three days later on November 23 Ackland suddenly turned himself in to police and confessed to the murder, telling detectives where he had disposed of Bobbi-Anne’s body.
In interview he told the police that the killing was not on his mind because it was ‘so out there’ and extreme that it was almost like a film or fantasy, something that hadn’t really happened.
He admitted that he did not know how he felt about the murder, that it felt like someone else had committed the crime, but he knew deep down it was him.
Forensic evidence and phone location data gathered during the murder investigation corroborated Ackland’s account.
Crime scene investigators located the bag of clothes in the allotments. Ackland’s blood-stained trainers were also found in his wardrobe.
Bobbi-Anne’s blood was found in and around the car.
But Ackland was an unnerving figure in interview leaving detectives uncomfortable.
DS West explained that officers found the “level of detail” that he went into in relation to how Bobbi was attacked was “disturbing,
He said: “It was the lack of remorse, the fact he was more than happy to give is a level of detail in relation to what he did but not why he did it.
“The only time he showed any slight emotion were slightly watery eyes, I wouldn't even call it welling up, but that was it.
“No apology, no explanation as to why other than to try and blame absolutely everyone but himself.
“He felt hard done by. He claimed he was not understood very well as a youngster, claimed he did not have the same opportunities as others growing up, said mum and dad weren't overly interested, but none of it was a triggering event, none of it life altering and none of it in anyway an excuse for what he did to Bobbi- Anne.”
Chillingly Ackland revealed Bobbi-Anne bore a resemblance to previous girlfriend he had although police interviewed them and found no evidence of any sinister behaviour.
In fact Ackland had shown no red flags at all before his sickening actions although police are not ruling out he may have hurt others and would encourage anyone who thinks he may have harmed them to come forward.
DS West said: “Whether his desires would have been sated by the attack on Bobbi-Anne I don't know but all I can say is I am very glad we caught him when we did.
“There was no trigger event, there was no escalation of behaviour, there is no indication, whether it be police records or anecdotal information or evidence from anyone that knew him that there could be any suspicion or concern he could have done anything like this.
“It's concerning, but what I would say is as soon as he was arrested and certainly on him being charged the level of scrutiny that has been attached to absolutely everything that Ackland had done during his life we would have located any previous offending particularly anything that involved violence against women and girls.
“But that won't stop now, I want to make it very clear to anyone out there that if they have any concerns with how Ackland has interacted with them previously please let us know, we can always look back and open the book again.”
This morning Senior Crown Advocate Richard Posner told the court that Ackland’s interests were ‘sinister and relevant to his motivation’, saying: “His interest in the macabre presents as deep-rooted; a fascination with death, murder and murderers and the means to commit murder.”
He added: “There are numerous images of the American serial killer Ted Bundy in his telephone and images of weapons he used to kill his victims.
“Bundy approached his victims in public places and knocked them unconscious before killing them. “It is not a coincidence that Bobbi-Anne McLeod met her fate the same way.”
Ackland, from Southway, Plymoth, pleaded guilty to murder at Plymouth Crown Court on 5 April and was sentenced to life to serve a minimum of 30 years.
