Old Orange County Courthouse (Florida)

Old Orange County Courthouse
Old Orange County Courthouse
General information
Architectural style	Beaux Arts
Town or city	65 East Central Boulevard; Orlando, Florida
Country	United States
Coordinates	28°32′32″N 81°22′40″W / 28.542179°N 81.377889°W
Completed	1927
Client	Orange County, Florida
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Murray S. and James R. King

The old Orange County Courthouse, located in Orlando, Florida, United States, serves as the home of the Historical Society of Central Florida and the Orange County Regional History Center.^[2] Constructed in 1927, the Courthouse stands in the vicinity of a number of previous judicial buildings. An earlier courthouse was built in 1892 and demolished in 1957. A Courthouse Annex was also constructed in 1960 which was demolished in 1998 because of asbestos.^[1]

Famous trials

The notorious serial killer Ted Bundy was tried for the murder of Kimberly Leach at the Orange County Courthouse beginning on January 7, 1980. Defense attorneys Julius Africano and Lynn Thompson attempted a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, but on February 7 the verdict of "Guilty" was issued.^[3]

The name "Ted Bundy" is carved into one of the tables in the historic courtroom. This was definitely not done by Ted Bundy himself. Bundy never set foot in that section of the building (his trial took place in the attached annex which has now been demolished), and many eyewitness accounts of the bailiffs whose care he was under confirm this.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Cook, Thomas E. "Orange County Courthouse (1927)". Central Florida Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 2009-05-30.
^ ^a ^b "Our History". The Orange County Regional History Center. Archived from the original on March 2, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-30.
^ Bell, Rachael. "The Ted Bundy Story". True TV Crime Library: Criminal Minds and Methods. Archived from the original on 2011-08-07. Retrieved 2009-12-22.