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This Saturday in Lifetime’s The Girl Who Escaped: The Kara Robinson Story, the true account of a kidnapped fifteen-year-old girl who was able to get away from her kidnapper will be recounted.
Robinson was abducted by a stranger who was later identified as serial killer Richard Evonitz. The fifteen-year-old kept her cool and used her intelligence to flee her kidnapper, who was planning to kill her. How did she manage this feat? Her survival instincts kicked in, as she likes to say. Here is everything to know about how Kara escaped the throes of death.
How did Kara Robinson devise a plan to escape?
Kara Robinson Chamberlain was only fifteen and watering plants in front of her best friend's house in 2002 when she was approached by a man handing out pamphlets. At that point, she had no idea that the man was Richard Evonitz, a serial killer who had already abducted and murdered three young women. Kara was going to be his next victim.
Before quickly drawing a gun and placing it to her neck, Evonitz asked her whether anybody else was in the house before forcing her to get into a large storage bin that was stowed in the back seat of the car. He kidnapped Kara and took her away to his apartment.
Kara's survival instincts kicked in, and she kept calm and counted all the turns he made while driving her. At his apartment, Evonitz physically abused Kara, but she pretended to be compliant and even offered to clean his kitchen.
She tried to put him at ease and make him feel comfortable by gaining his trust. Police later said that she was able to "manipulate" her attacker to obtain more information to identify him, something that police negotiators do. She controlled her emotions and her fear to the point that she was able to develop a plan which would help her escape.
All about Kara's escape
Kara Robinson was able to escape after a harrowing 18-hour ordeal after Evonitz dozed off. She managed to get one hand out of a pair of handcuffs, take a leg restraint off, and then quietly tiptoe to the front door, turn the handle, and race as far as she could for a car that was parked nearby. She asked the two people inside the car to take her to the police station, where she recounted in detail her near-death experience.
Kara Robinson also took the officers back to Evonitz's apartment using her powers of observation. However, Evonitz fled before the police got there.
Upon searching his apartment, the police found a locked foot-locker with newspaper clippings about the unsolved murders of three girls, Sofia Silva and sisters Kati and Kristin Lisk. They were also abducted as Kara and Evonitz killed them.
Evonitz was tracked down in Sarasota, Florida. He went over spike strips on the highway, prompting a police dog to attack him, ending the high-speed chase. But before authorities could get to him, Evonitz shot himself and was never brought to justice.
Catch the true story of Kara Robinson on Lifetime this February 11, 2023.
