I was watering plants in the front garden when a serial killer abducted me at 15, I was kept in a plastic box

Scottish Sun

3 days ago

CLOSE CALL I was watering plants in the front garden when a serial killer abducted me at 15, I was kept in a plastic box
WHEN KARA Chamberlain-Robinson chose to help a friend by watering the flowers in her front garden, she had no idea of the horror that would ensue.
Kara would soon find herself strapped to the bed with an unknown serial killer thanks to her good deed.
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Kara Robinson was abducted 23 years ago by a serial killer
Credit: Instagram
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Kara pictured as a young teen before her kidnapping
Credit: Instagram
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Robert Evonitz had already murdered three other young girls before Kara
Credit: FBI
She was just 15 at the time, and had spent the night at her friend's house when she decided to wake up early and help with some chores.
That's when she noticed a white car pull up and a well-dressed man walking over to her.
It was June 2002 in South Carolina, when Robert Evonitz approached her, claiming to be selling magazines.
He asked if her parents were home, and Kara said it wasn't her house but her friend's mum was inside working.
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Robert approached her, saying he would give her the magazines but as he stepped closer she noticed a pistol gun in his right hand that he held to her neck.
She recalled: "He told me if I screamed, he would shoot me.
"I was in disbelief, I couldn't really believe it."
Kara assumed people would see what was happening as she was on a neighbourhood street and made her way to his car.
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Inside, a large plastic container covered the back seats and he ordered her to get inside.
From that point on, Kara repeated one thing to herself 'gather information, wait for him to be complacent, escape.'
The Dull Truth About Serial Killers
She attempted to pay attention to each turn he made, but once they got on the motorway, she realised there was no point in keeping track.
Robert then drove off the motorway, pulling up at a secluded spot where he bound Kara's wrists, gagged her and placed the lid on the container she was squeezed into.
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It was the absolute worst feeling knowing that I'm in this container, this close to people and they have no idea that I'm here.
Kara Robinson-Chamberlain
"It was like a supernatural calm came over me and I was able to keep a level head," she says when recalling the kidnapping on I Survived.
"He wanted my fear and he wanted me to cry and he wanted me to yell and scream. And I wasn't going to give him that satisfaction."
Kara remembers that he began to drive again, stopping after 20 minutes and carrying the container, which she was trapped in, inside his flat.
"I could hear people like the sounds of people, cars, people talking. I could hear that outside of the container," she explained.
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"And it was the absolute worst feeling knowing that I'm in this container, this close to people and they have no idea that I'm here."
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Kara took note of her surroundings, hoping she'd escape and catch Robert
Credit: Instagram
HOUSE OF HORRORS
Once inside with the door locked, Robert lifted the lid of the container and untied Kara before taking her to his bedroom which was filled with S&M equipment and paraphernalia.
On the way, Kara did everything she could to memorise every detail of what she saw, from the magnets on his fridge to the caged animals he owned.
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Kara even disarmed him by offering to clean his flat, but it didn't work.
Instead, he ordered her to remove her clothes and to take a shower, then he sexually assaulted her.
With a gun next to the bedside table, Kara had no choice but to do what he said.
Robert often asked Kara why she was so calm and didn't seem upset, he even promised to let her go.
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What Kara didn't know at the time was that Robert had already abducted three other girls, and killed them.
As the hours passed, Kara was allowed in the bathroom and she noticed items a woman would use in there.
She studied each one, realising the hairbrush was filled with red hairs that weren't from Robert, but his wife's, who was on holiday at the time.
When she would call, Kara was under strict instructions to get back into the container and not say a word.
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"He put me in the container again and gagged me and tied me and put the lid on. I was in there for at least 30 minutes," she said.
"I began frantically sobbing at one point because I couldn't breathe. He came in there and was very angry and asked me, 'What is the problem? Why are you sobbing? I told you you can't make noise.'
'I told him it's because I couldn't breathe. So at that point, he took the gag out of my mouth and he left the top off. And he said, 'I'm going to do this, but you can't scream.' And so he went back and continued his phone conversation.
'And I didn't make a noise. And I just stayed there."
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After the phone call, he made Kara take Valium and cannabis with him before tying her to the bed by her legs and arms. He fell asleep beside her.
THE ESCAPE
Miraculously, Kara woke up before him in the morning and she thought: "This is it. This is the only chance you're going to get."
Kara worked carefully to free her wrists using her teeth to cut the ties and then was able to get her ankles free as well, all while Robert slept beside her in the same bed.
She moved to the living room, where she was able to put her clothes back on and grab her bag before unbolting the two locks on the front door and running.
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'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,' she told People.
'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.'"
As she rushed out of the block of flats, she saw a white car and flagged them down.
" I had handcuffs dangling from one hand and I had a leg restraint on one of my legs. I jumped out in front of the car and there were two men in it," she recalled.
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"They were bewildered. They looked at me like, 'What is going on? And I said, 'I was just kidnapped. I was raped. Take me to the police station.'"
Kara's mum was called and told her daughter had been found, 18 hours after the kidnapping, and quickly went to collect her.
But Kara's determination to live and find Robert meant she was able to take the police back to the apartment block and find him.
While there, they came across a maintenance worker for the block of flats, and she described what she saw inside, such as a woman with red hair and lots of animals.
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He knew exactly which flat Kara was talking about.
By the time police got there, Robert had fled, but he was caught three days later at a roadblock.
Instead of being arrested, a car chase ensued and Robert decided to evade justice by killing himself with a gunshot to the head.
At first, Kara was angry he wouldn't face the justice system, but after a few days realised it was better than having to re-live through what happened to her.
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As police searched his apartment, they realised Kara was not the first victim.
Who are the UK's worst serial killers?
THE UK's most prolific serial killer was actually a doctor.
Here's a rundown of the worst offenders in the UK. British GP Harold Shipman is one of the most prolific serial killers in recorded history. He was found guilty of murdering 15 patients in 2000, but the Shipman Inquiry examined his crimes and identified 218 victims, 80 per cent of whom were elderly women. After his death Jonathan Balls was accused of poisoning at least 22 people between 1824 and 1845. Mary Ann Cotton is suspected of murdering up to 21 people, including husbands, lovers and children. She is Britain's most prolific female serial killer. Her crimes were committed between 1852 and 1872, and she was hanged in March 1873. Amelia Sach and Annie Walters became known as the Finchley Baby Farmers after killing at least 20 babies between 1900 and 1902. The pair became the first women to be hanged at Holloway Prison on February 3, 1903. William Burke and William Hare killed 16 people and sold their bodies. Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe was found guilty in 1981 of murdering 13 women and attempting to kill seven others between 1975 and 1980. Dennis Nilsen was caged for life in 1983 after murdering up to 15 men when he picked them up from the streets. He was found guilty of six counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder and was sentenced to life in jail. Fred West was found guilty of killing 12 but it's believed he was responsible for many more deaths.
SERIAL KILLER
Robert had killed three other girls; Sofia Silva and sisters Kati and Kristin Lisk.
The girls, who ranged in age from 12 to 16, all went missing in the mid-1990s.
Richard kept newspaper clippings about their abductions in a locker in his apartment, and authorities later found both fingerprint and DNA evidence connecting him to the crimes.
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There was already a reward for anyone who could find information leading to the capture or the identification of who killed these girls.
Because of Kara's information that led to their killers' identity, she was awarded the £112,000 which she used to put herself through university.
LIFE NOW
Kara went on to become a sheriff in the police force after completing her studies, where she also met her husband, Joe Chamberlain.
She has since left the force and became a public speaker as she raises her three children.
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It's what made me who I am. And it led me to where I am today.
Kara Robinson-Chamberlain
Kara is also active on TikTok and Instagram, and hosts a podcast, Survivor's Guide to True Crime, with Kimberly Corban, who survived a sexual assault in 2006, per her website.
'I always knew that what happened to me was something that happened so that I could help other people,' Kara told People.
'I knew that if I wanted to help people, I needed to tell my story in a way that I was proud of.'
"Being kidnapped is a horrible thing, but it's something that happened to me," Kara adds.
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"It's what made me who I am. And it led me to where I am today. I survived because I was able to keep a calm demeanor."