Lifetime's new true-crime title Kidnapped by a Killer: The Heather Robinson Story debuts tonight
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
'When I was reading it, I'm like, 'This cannot be real. Like, this is not real, right?'" actress Jana Kramer told ABC News about the script for Lifetime's latest true crime thriller, Kidnapped by a Killer: The Heather Robinson Story, which premieres on the cable network tonight, June 7 at 8pm Eastern Time.
And it is, shockingly, a very true story, about a Kansas City's teen whose whole world comes crashing down when she learns that her uncle is actually a serial killer responsible for the murders of multiple women in the area, including her biological mother.
Per the movie's official synopsis: "Heather Robinson (Rachel Stubington) grew up in a loving family in Illinois and, by the time she was a teen, had long known that she had been adopted as an infant by her parents. But in 2000, the then-15-year-old's world was shattered when she learned that the man she knew as her uncle, John Robinson (Steve Guttenberg), was actually a serial killer accused of murdering multiple women in the Kansas City area, including her biological mother. After her uncle's arrest, Heather learns the shocking truth about her birth mother's disappearance."
Along with Rachel Stubington as Heather and Steve Guttenberg as Uncle John, the cast of Kidnapped by a Killer: The Heather Robinson Story includes Jana Kramer, Ross Crain, Deja Dee, Jackie Sanders, Rose Decker, Sarah Hudson, Lily Talevski, Robyne Parrish and Molly Miller.
Guttenberg, known for his roles in classic comedies like Police Academy and Three Men and a Baby, spoke to Remind magazine about going against-type to play a violent killer in the new Lifetime drama. 'It's such a great opportunity to be able to go outside your wheelhouse,' he said. 'And I think that's the classic nature of acting — people want to see you pop up through different holes. They want to see you surprise them.'
'To me, it was a story about destruction and what one man can do, [how] one man can change so many lives [through his actions],' the actor added.
To tune into the premiere of Kidnapped by a Killer: The Heather Robinson Story tonight at 8pm, you're going to need access to the Lifetime network. Those with cable packages can watch on their local Lifetime channel, but even if you don't have traditional cable, cord-cutters can also tune in online via a live TV streaming service that carries Lifetime, such as Frndly TV, Fubo, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV and Philo TV. And if you miss the television broadcast tonight, don't fret: Kidnapped by a Killer: The Heather Robinson Story will also be available to stream on MyLifetime.com beginning tomorrow, Sunday, June 8.
Check out the official trailer for Kidnapped by a Killer: The Heather Robinson Story before tuning into the true crime flick tonight on Lifetime.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CBS News
33 minutes ago
- CBS News
Man killed in San Jose shooting on Camden Avenue
A suspect is behind bars and a man is dead following a shooting in San Jose late Friday night, police said. The San Jose Police Department responded to Camden Avenue around 10:40 p.m., finding a man suffering from at least one gunshot wound. Despite life-saving measures, the suspect died at the scene, police said. A suspect was taken into custody, but their identification has not been released. The shooting remains under investigation, including the motive. This marks the 11th homicide in San Jose this year.
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Miley Cyrus hid money she spent on drugs from accountant by calling them 'vintage clothes': 'The biggest cost'
Miley Cyrus is reflecting on her old strategy for hiding the money she spent on drugs from her accountant. While reminiscing about making her 2015 album, Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz, the "Flowers" singer said using drugs was a "super-important part" of her creative process. "The drugs were the biggest cost," Cyrus revealed in a new interview on The Ringer's Every Single Album podcast. "To hide those from my accountant, we called them 'vintage clothes.' And so she would get these checks of thousands of dollars' worth of vintage clothes." Cyrus said her accountant would then ask to see the merchandise the singer had purchased. "Every time she saw me, she'd be like, 'Where's that $15,000 original John Lennon T-shirt that you bought?'" she recalled. "It's like, 'Oh, it's upstairs. Would you like some?' So I bought a lot of vintage clothes that year." The pop star added that her approach to songwriting is different when she's not taking drugs. "I feel like the things that I was able to find — I can write songs as well [while sober], but I can't find things like 'Tangerine.'" After saying sobriety is "like my god" in a recent interview with Zane Lowe, Cyrus walked back her statement on Every Single Album. "I think that was a little dramatic," she said of the remark. "That was a little dramatic, because someone used that as a quote, and I was like, 'Okay, I wouldn't say it's my god. I'm not gonna go into — I don't do meetings or anything." Cyrus also said that after Dead Petz struggled to find commercial success and her 2017 follow-up album, Younger Now, didn't match the popularity of 2013's Bangerz, she felt pressure to perform more songs about drugs and alcohol on her 2019 EP, She Is Coming. "They ended up belittling me and putting me into songs like 'Unholy,' which is a song I don't like about being drunk and about being high," she said. "I was sober at that time, which made me feel f---ing like a big fraud." The singer went on to say that an associate even dissuaded her from publicizing her sobriety. "I remember at the time someone that shall not be named was like, 'It's okay if you're sober, but just don't tell anybody, because the kids won't think you're cool anymore,'" she said. "'Because when you had hits during Bangerz, your whole thing was being f---ed-up.' And I was like, 'But everyone was mad at me! And you particularly were mad at me!'"Cyrus' new album, Something Beautiful, is out now. Listen to her full Every Single Album interview above. Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Valerie Mahaffey, ‘Northern Exposure' and ‘Desperate Housewives' Actress, Dead at 71
Valerie Mahaffey, the Emmy and Obie Award-winning actress known for playing eccentric characters on shows including Northern Exposure and Desperate Housewives, died on Friday. She was 71. Her husband, actor Joseph Kell, said she died in Los Angeles following a battle with cancer, Variety reports. More from Rolling Stone Alf Clausen, Longtime 'The Simpsons' Composer, Dead at 84 James Lowe, Lead Singer of Psychedelic Band the Electric Prunes, Dead at 82 Kool & the Gang's Michael Sumler, Known as 'Chicago Mike,' Dead at 71 Mahaffey won an Emmy in 1992 for her supporting actress role in the dramedy Northern Exposure, where she portrayed the hypochondriac Eve, the wife of Adam Arkin's character, from 1991-1994. Mahaffey's recurring television roles include portraying the conniving Alma Hodge, the ex-wife of Orson Hodge (Kyle MacLachlan) on ABC's Desperate Housewives (2006-2007); recurring teacher Victoria MacElroy on CBS' Young Sheldon (2017-2020); and Lorna Harding, Jen Harding's (Christina Applegate) self-absorbed mother-in-law in Dead to Me (2019-2022). She recently appeared in Apple TV+ series Echo 3, and played Madame Reynard in the 2020 film French Exit, starring opposite Michelle Pfeiffer and Lucas Hodges, for which she received an Independent Spirit award nomination. 'RIP Valerie. One of our brightest stars was stolen from us yesterday,' Pfeiffer posted via her Instagram Stories on Saturday. 'Such a remarkable talent and human. You will be missed.' Born in Indonesia on June 16, 1953, Mahaffey launched her five-decade acting career onstage in New York City. She appeared on Broadway in six productions, including roles in Dracula, opposite Raul Julia in the late Seventies, and the Harold Prince-directed Play Memory in 1984. Mahaffey won two Obie Awards for her off-Broadway turns in Top Girls at Public Theatre and for Talking Heads at the Minetta Lane. She also appeared opposite Morgan Freeman in Othello and starred as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet with Tom Hulce. She played a variety of characters in scores of popular television series, including The Powers That Be, Seinfeld, Wings, ER, The Mindy Project, Glee, Hannah Montana, Cheers, Newhart, Ally McBeal, Law & Order: SVU, and CSI. Mahaffey's film credits include Jungle 2 Jungle (1997), Seabiscuit (2003), Summer Eleven (2010), Sully (2016) and No Pay, Nudity (2016). 'I have lost the love of my life, and America has lost one of its most endearing actresses. She will be missed,' Mahaffey's husband, actor Joseph Kell, said in a statement to Variety. Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Best 'Saturday Night Live' Characters of All Time Denzel Washington's Movies Ranked, From Worst to Best 70 Greatest Comedies of the 21st Century