Nita Neary

Nita Jane Neary (born 1957) is an American artist and woman who was the key eyewitness in the trial that led to the conviction of serial killer Ted Bundy. Her identification of Bundy fleeing the Chi Omega sorority house at Florida State University (FSU) provided the crucial link between the physical evidence and the defendant during the 1979 "Chi Omega" trial.

Early life and education Nita Jane Neary was born in 1957, in Florida. Neary was an art student at Florida State University (FSU) in Tallahassee, Florida, during the late 1970s. She was a member of the Chi Omega sorority and resided in the sorority house on campus. Neary returned from a date at 3:12 a.m.

Neary noted the intruder was holding a heavy oak club in both hands. Bundy, who acted as his own co-counsel, cross-examined the lead investigator about Neary's hypnosis, attempting to discredit her.

Personal life Following the trial, Neary retreated from public life to maintain her privacy, though she remains one of the most cited witnesses in American legal textbooks regarding eyewitness reliability. She is married and has children.

In popular culture She is a primary figure in Ann Rule's true crime classic The Stranger Beside Me. She also inspired the character "Pamela" in the 2023 novel Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll. Neary's actual trial footage is used extensively in the Netflix documentary Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes.