She Was 15 When She Was Kidnapped From Her Friend's Front Yard By A Serial Killer

Kara Robinson Chamberlain was 15 when she was kidnapped in 2002 by a serial killer, and she surprisingly survived the ordeal. Kara's story has been the subject of a documentary and a movie, but she sat down on the 22nd anniversary of her kidnapping to retell it in her own words.

Kara and her best friend were glued to the hip when they were teens, and one evening, they had a sleepover. Kara and her bestie were figuring out what they should do the following morning, and they thought it would be fun to head over to the lake.

Kara's best friend called her mom before they left the house, and her mom asked them to please water the plants before going off on their adventure.

Since Kara's best friend wanted to hop in the shower, Kara offered to go water the plants outside so they could get done faster. Kara had no way of knowing something so simple would forever alter her life.

Kara had on a T-shirt and her pajama shorts when she walked out into her best friend's front yard. As she was tending to the plants, she noticed a car leaving the neighborhood before circling around and pulling into her best friend's driveway.

Kara paid attention to the car as it drove by; she was about to get her license, and she was constantly scoping out what car she would like to have one day.

Kara felt safe out there in the yard, as it was a neighborhood where the houses were close together, and it was the middle of the day. What could possibly go wrong?

A man climbed out of the car. He was in his 30s, white, and stood at 5'10" with a slightly heavier build. He didn't look scary and was carrying a binder.

The man mentioned he was handing out magazines and wanted to leave some for her parents. Kara told him this was her best friend's house, and he asked if her mom or dad was at home.

Artem - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only, not the actual person - pictured above is a girl with a bow in her hair

Kara replied that they were alone, and he was standing far enough away from Kara that she wasn't worried about him. He wasn't threatening or giving her any concerning signs that he was a predator.

But then he took a step towards her to pass the magazines and shoved a small gun up against her neck. He demanded that she come with him, and nobody could see that there was a weapon in his hand, which was draped around Kara.

The man pushed Kara into the back seat of his car and made her get inside a plastic container. The man put the lid on and drove out of her best friend's driveway.

Kara stayed calm and resolved to find out as much as she could about the man so she could identify him before planning her escape.

Kara took note of the music he was listening to, the serial number inside the plastic bin, and the kind of cigarettes he was smoking. As the man pulled onto the interstate, Kara knew she wouldn't be able to find out where they were going.

The man continued down the road for 15 minutes before pulling over, placing a ball gag in Kara's mouth, and tying up her wrists. He shut the lid back on firmly, drove for a couple more minutes, then parked and got out.

He carried the plastic bin with Kara inside up to the front door of his apartment, where he assaulted her.

"I was told we were going to watch the news to see if anyone missed me. I was told that he was going to let me go whenever he was done with me," Kara explained in her video.

"He was going to take me somewhere where I wouldn't know where I was, and he was going to let me go, and it was my decision if I went to the police or not, and if I was always known as the girl who was [assaulted]."

Kara focused on getting out of there, and then the man put her back into the bin to make a phone call. In her plastic prison, Kara had an anxiety attack.

The man told Kara to be silent, and he said he would take the lid off and the ball gag out of her mouth if she promised to stop making noises. He gave her a Valium as well, then went back to calling his wife, who was out of town.

Once the Valium kicked in, the man placed handcuffs on her wrists and tied her to his bedframe. He then tied her right leg to the bed. Kara fell asleep.

She spent 18 hours in that apartment, and when she woke up, she saw he was still sleeping. Kara managed to free herself from the bed, where the man was still fast asleep beside her.

She made her way to the front door, which had been barricaded with a bunch of belongings. She pushed them aside and made a run for it.

She spotted a single car at the other end of the parking lot of the apartment complex. Two men were inside, and she told them she had been kidnapped.

She pointed out the apartment she had escaped from, and they gave her a ride to the police department. Kara's mom was called, and her handcuffs were removed.

An investigator had her get in his car as they tried to find the apartment where the man lived. Kara couldn't remember which unit it was, as they all were identical, but then they found an employee on a golf cart, whom they stopped to speak to.

Kara told the man on the golf cart there was a woman with long, red hair who lived in the apartment, as she noticed a brush inside her kidnapper's home that had red strands stuck in it.

She remembered there were a ton of animals and the car her kidnapper drove, and the maintenance man mentioned he knew what unit that was.

Kara later identified her kidnapper through a photo lineup. He was the serial killer Richard Evonitz, and he went on the run. Investigators found a locked box in Richard's apartment with newspaper clippings about three murders from Virginia that took place in 1997 and 1996.

Before he could be taken into custody, Richard took his own life following a police chase. After his death, he was connected to the murders of the teen girls in the newspaper clippings.

Richard first murdered Sofia Silva in 1996 and two sisters a year later, in 1997: Kati and Kristen Lisk.

You can view Kara's video on TikTok here.