Kara Robinson Chamberlain Used Her Teeth To Escape a Serial Killer's Bed at 15: 'I Knew What This Man's Intentions Were for Me'

Kara Robinson Chamberlain was 15 when she used her teeth to free herself from a serial killer’s bed. Now, she’s telling that story again in a docuseries.

Robinson Chamberlain escaped Richard Evonitz after being held captive by him for 18 hours in 2002, and she joined forces with Evonitz’s first wife, Bonnie Lou Gower, in Investigation Discovery’s The Serial Killer Connection, which premiered on Wednesday, October 7.

On Monday, June 24, 2002, Robinson Chamberlain was watering plants in front of a friend’s house in West Columbia, South Carolina, when Evonitz approached her. He forced her into his car at gunpoint and hid her inside a plastic storage bin, then drove her to his apartment and sexually assaulted her.

“In that apartment, I knew what this man’s intentions were for me,” Robinson Chamberlain has said. At that point, Evonitz’s second wife was away on a trip to Walt Disney World. Robinson Chamberlain has said she tried to remain as calm as possible and paid attention to every detail that could help police locate him, according to a report.

At about the 18-hour mark, Evonitz fell asleep while Robinson Chamberlain remained restrained in his bed. With her teeth, she loosened the clip holding one of the handcuffs to the bed, and she released another restraint around her leg and quietly slipped out the front door of the apartment.

Deputies then took her to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. There, she gave a detailed enough description of the apartment complex that deputies could locate it, and she positively identified Evonitz in a photo lineup. However, before law enforcement arrived at Evonitz’s apartment, he had fled.

Police found evidence connecting Evonitz to the 1996 kidnapping and murder of 16-year-old Sofia Silva and the 1997 kidnappings and murders of sisters Kristin Lisk, 15, and Kati Lisk, 12, all of whom were abducted in Virginia. Richard took his own life in Sarasota, Fla., as police moved to apprehend him just days after Kara escaped, and authorities officially closed all three murder cases in August 2002.

Kara collected a $150,000 reward for her assistance. She has said she was angry that Richard never faced her in court. “I wanted him to look at me and know that choosing me was the biggest mistake he ever made,” she said.

A year after being kidnapped, Kara started a summer job at the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, and she later became an investigator of s-- crimes and child abuse. She’s now married, has three kids and advocates for survivors, according to a report.

In The Serial Killer Connection, she and Bonnie Lou, who was married to Evonitz for eight years and had no idea about his crimes, use Richard’s photographs, notes and travel history to see whether he’s linked to other unsolved cases. Kara has also shared her experience on social media.