What makes serial killers so dangerous, apart from how they relish causing unimaginable pain and horror to their victims? The fact that these sociopaths are dangerously intelligent and shrewd to the point where catching them is next to impossible — the reason why it took so many years to nab Ted Bundy and why the Zodiac Killer was never apprehended. But for one serial killer, no amount of planning and ruthlessness could prepare him for his 15-year-old victim.
For an individual, who was abducted as a child and sexually assaulted for 18 hours while facing the threat of being brutally murdered, the incident is a scarring memory. But if that person managed to best their abductor, escape certain death, make their way to safety, and still have the willpower and senses to ensure that the killer is caught? Then they are more than a tale of caution and become an inspiration, something Kara Robinson Chamberlain remains to this day.
Officially the fourth target of serial killer Richard Evonitz — who claimed to have committed more crimes than the police ever found — Kara has never backed out of sharing the details of what went down on June 24, 2002, whether it is employing her past as means to empower and educate other survivors of horrifying incidents or sharing as well as answering questions about her ordeal.
That’s what she does in a recent TikTok video where she answers whether her kidnapping was a case of “wrong place, wrong time” and Evonitz was actually after her friend, from whose front yard Kara was kidnapped after the killer ensured neither her parents nor that of her friend were at the house. Kara admits that was probably the case, but it was someone else entirely that Evonitz was plotting to grab as according to her, he stalked his victims and observed their repeated “pattern of behaviour.”
But Evonitz was also ready to break his pattern and as Kara said, he found her working in the front yard and saw an opportunity. Unfortunately for him, the 15-year-old he chose to cruelly assault (and later kill like he had his other teenage victims) became his doom aka his “biggest mistake” as he didn’t anticipate Kara sidelining her fear in favor of letting her survival instinct kick in.
How did Kara survive and escape?
From counting the turns he took while she was locked inside the storage bin in his car, noticing details about Evinitz, managing the impossible and retaining calm, which then allowed her to keep her captor’s temper in check, to waiting for him to fall asleep before quietly breaking free of the handcuffs he had her in and escaping at dawn.
“I know he has the gun right beside him, and he’s going to see me running, and he’s going to shoot me in the back — that’s all I could think. And I was like, ‘You know what? It doesn’t matter because I’m out, and at least someone will be able to find him.’ My body was scared, but my brain was like, ‘OK, we’re just about business. We’re doing this.’ “
Kara to People
But even after escaping, Kara ensured that the police found his lair, though Evonitz had already fled and after being chased by the authorities, he shot himself. As stated by many in the comments, Kara “not only saved [herself] but potentially countless other young girls.”
Expecting a person in this situation to have the sense to calm down and think on their feet is irrational, especially when they are up against an evil that has perfected their routine and has done it far too many times to be outwitted. They prepare to kidnap, contain, and torture their victims, who barely get a moment’s notice to take any life-saving action. As per Stephan Harbort, a German criminologist and former police commissioner’s research, the chances of a victim surviving and escaping unscathed once the serial killer already has them is a small 15.9%.
Surviving thanks to the fight or flight response triggered by the kidnapping, Kara miraculously managed to do almost everything Harbor details in his study — being aware of her surroundings, noticing details, and allowing her intuition to understand the behavior of the killer, thus knowing that keeping him calm was very necessary for her. It was her bravery and presence of mind that ensured not only her survival but also saved the lives of countless others who would have been Evonitz’s future victims.
