I was kidnapped at gunpoint at 15 by a serial killer rapist, I was gagged & tortured but still managed to flee

GAGGED, handcuffed and her legs bound with rope, tears sprang to 15-year-old Kara Robinson’s eyes as she desperately scoured her captor’s flat trying to figure out an escape plan. 

The school girl had endured unimaginable suffering - forced into a car at gunpoint, then sexually assaulted and tortured for 18 hours by evil rapist and kidnapper Richard Evonitz, 38.

If that wasn’t bad enough, she would have been even more petrified if she’d known Evonitz was already a serial killer - responsible for the rape and murder of at least three other young innocent girls previously.

The odds were undoubtedly stacked against her.

However abducting brave Kara, now 38, would prove to be Evonitz's downfall, as she would miraculously escape and consequently bring an end to the monster’s reign of terror. 

And how she did it was also remarkable.

Putting aside her terror and panic, Kara memorised even the tiniest details to help identify her attacker, even remembering the serial number on the inside of the plastic container he had forced her into. 

‘I just knew something bad had happened’ 

For Kara it was a chance encounter on June 24 2002 that changed her life as she knew it.

She'd spent the night at her best friend Heather’s house, and they had plans to go to the lake that day after completing some chores.

Kara started to water the garden while Heather took a shower. 

However when going out into the garden Heather discovered the hosepipe was still running - but there was no sign of Kara. 

Speaking on Hayu documentary, Escaping Captivity: The Kara Robinson Story, Kara's mum Debra says: “I was at lunch and I got a call from Heather and she told me Kara was missing. She said she was in the front yard and [then was] gone.

"Heather was completely hysterical. She knew Kara would not just walk away.

“When I was driving to Heather’s house I just really knew something bad had happened. I could feel it in my heart.” 

Recalling the events of that morning, Kara says: “I was outside watering the flowers and I noticed a car on the way out of the neighbourhood. 

“It was a green trans am - such a cool car. I kept watering the flowers and I saw the car come back into the neighbourhood.

“A guy gets out of the car. He said ‘hey, how are you doing? I have these magazines’ and then he asked if my parents were home. 

“I told him this was my friend’s house… and said her mum’s not home right now. 

“At that point the man asked if he could give me the magazines. 

“When I said yes he leaned in to give them to me and as he was leaning in I felt a red flag somewhere in my head. 

“At the same time… I felt a gun press to the side of my neck. 

“He said 'if you scream I’ll shoot you. You’re going to come with me'. I think I felt a moment of terror but I knew I just needed to do what he told me to do.

“I looked in the back seat and there’s a giant plastic storage container. He said ‘get in the container’. 

“At that point my brain shut off my emotions. I just went into survival mode.”

Heather called her mother, who reported Kara, who lived in Lexington County, South Carolina, missing to the local police.