KARA Robinson escaped the clutches of a serial killer when she was just 15 years old.
The harrowing tale is featured in the true crime thriller The Girl Who Escaped: The Kara Robinson Story — here’s everything you need to know.
Who is Kara Robinson?
Kara made headlines in 2002 after she escaped the clutches of a serial killer.
After her ordeal, Kara went on to graduate from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy.
She later began working with Richland County Sheriff’s department as a school resource officer.
What happened to Kara Robinson?
In 2002, Kara was watering flowers by herself in her friend’s front yard in the middle of the day when a man pulled up into the driveway.
The strange man asked then 15-year-old Kara if he could give her some magazines.
She opened up about what happened in the 2021 true crime documentary Escaping Captivity: The Kara Robinson Story.
“He leaned in to hand them to me,” she recalled in the two-hour special.
“As he was leaning in, I felt a red flag somewhere in my head, and the same time I felt that red flag, I felt a gun pressed to the side of my neck.
“He said: ‘If you scream. I will shoot you.'”
Her abductor then forced Kara into a plastic storage container in the back of his car.
While in the container she starting building information about her captor, including memorising the serial number of the box.
“At that point, my brain shut off my emotions,” she said. “I just went into survival mode.”
Kara was driven to the killer’s apartment where she was drugged and repeatedly sexually assaulted.
“In that apartment, I knew what this man’s intentions were for me,” she said.
“While I was being assaulted, it felt like something that happened to someone else. I kind of shut off my brain and left my body.”
While I was being assaulted, it felt like something that happened to someone else. I kind of shut off my brain and left my body
Kara Robinson
Kara recalled how she studied everything about her abductor and his belongings as she lay in his room with her hands and ankles bound.
“I can’t explain where it came from, there was just this voice that said my options were to do as I was told and to escape and to survive or to panic, to fight, and maybe die,” she said.
“So I strong-willed myself into remaining as calm as I could for as long as I could.”
At one point, Kara remembered that there was a gun nearby, but she thought twice before realising that “there was little chance I was going to win that fight”.
The next morning, as her abductor slept in a bed beside her, Kara managed to free herself from the restraints and ran out of the house.
Outside she managed to flag down a car and had the two men in the vehicle drive her to Richland County Sheriff’s Department.
How long was Kara Robinson in captivity for?
Kara was held captive by the killer for a total of 18 hours.
Looking back, the mum-of-two said her story was one of hope.
“Even the negative things that happen to us, we get to choose if that’s something that’s going to define us, or if it’s something that’s going to refine us,” she said.
“It’s about choosing your path forward, taking that power back into your own hands, and taking your life back.”
Who was the man who took Kara Robinson?
Richard Marc Edward Evonitz was the man who abducted Kara.
He was an American serial killer, kidnapper and rapist.
Evonovitz was responsible for the deaths of at least three teenage girls in Spotsylvania County, Virginia.
Where is Kara Robinson now?
Per her Instagram bio and website, Kara is a dedicated victims’ advocate, author, keynote speaker and executive producer.
She also posts information on TikTok about how to heal from trauma.
Kara also hosts A Survivor’s Guide to True Crime — a podcast about survivors, made by survivors.
What happened to Richard Evonitz
Evonitz fled to Florida after he realised Kara had escaped, but thanks to her testimony police were able to track him down.
After he was surrounded by police during a chase, Evonitz took his life at the age of 38.
Evidence from his apartment linked Evonitz to the abductions and murders of three girls — Kati Lisk, 12, Kristin Lisk, 15, and 16-year-old Sofia Silva.
Investigators also discovered notes in his apartment containing the addresses of other young girls, as well as their descriptions.
Where can I watch the Kara Robinson story in the UK?
You can catch The Girl Who Escaped: The Kara Robinson Story on Channel 5.
It airs on Saturday May 11, 2024 between 10pm and 11.40pm.
Fear not if you miss it — you can catch the movie on the channel’s streaming service My5 after it is broadcast.