A woman who was kidnapped by a serial killer when she was 15 has revealed how she managed to escape.
In 2002, Kara Robinson Chamberlain was watering some plants in her friend's driveway in Virginia, US, when a stranger pulled up and asked if she wanted some brochures for her parents.
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A split-second later, the man pulled out a gun and forced her into his car.
Kara was kidnapped and was subjected to horrific levels of abuse and violence before she was able to escape.
Her captor was Richard Evonitz, who, unknown to Kara, had already murdered three people by the time he snatched her.
Speaking to the BBC, Kara, now 34 years old, opened up about he ordeal and how she was able to get away.
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She said: "I went into the situation with a plan to escape
"The minute the gun touched the side of my face, I knew, I'm a tiny 15-year-old girl, this is a grown man, I can't fight him off, so what is my next best thing?"
Kara was forced into a plastic container in Evonitz's car and taken to his apartment, where she was sexually assaulted and given drugs.
She was held for 18 hours before she saw her opportunity to make a run for it the following morning.
Kara told the channel: "Eventually I was able to escape, the next morning while he was asleep, I undid the restraints on my wrists was able to slide out of the bed while he was asleep next to me and get out of the door where I ran for a car that was driving across the parking lot of the apartment complex.
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"I ran out in front of it with handcuffs dangling off my wrist. I told the men in the car I'd been kidnapped and asked them to take me to law enforcement which they did."
After realising that Kara had escaped, Evonitz went on the run.
"When police went into his apartment, they actually discovered some things that made them believe that there may be something more to the case," Kara explained.
"They started investigating and found that he was responsible for at least three other murders in the state of Virginia here in the United States."
Evonitz fled to Sarasota, Florida, shooting and killing himself after being surrounded by police.
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The authorities later discovered evidence that identified him as the person responsible for the murders of three other girls.
Kara, who went on to join the police, is now a mum-of-two and a public speaker who talks about her own experiences and the importance of understanding trauma.
She said: "I hate that we have to put the onus on ourselves for protecting ourselves, but until society changes, that's the way it is."
Featured Image Credit: InstagramTopics: killer, Police, US News, crime, No-Article-Matching, Murder, TikTok