EXCLUSIVE: Kara Robinson Chamberlain was 15 when serial killer Richard Evonitz kidnapped her at gunpoint and took her back to his home while his wife was at Walt Disney World Evonitz's two sisters grew up in the same household, and neither caused the heartaches he did. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Evonitz took Robinson to his apartment, where he restrained her, drugged her, and sexually assaulted her. She began working with the Richland County Sheriff's Department as a school resource officer. Evonitz fooled everyone, including his family. They had all gone missing in Spotsylvania County, Va., more than five years before Karas abduction. The small village, near the border of Pennsylvania, was one of the filming locations used for the Netflix adaptation of Don DeLillo's White . Escaping Captivity: The Kara Robinson Story,. Inside a lockbox in the apartment, they found the hints to the Lisk killings. ", ON THE WEB: For previous stories in this series, visit fredericksburg.com, To reach JIM HALL: 540/374-5433 jhall@freelancestar.com. Their bodies were found five days later. This confirmed to the police that Richard was the one who had sexually assaulted and killed Silvia, Kristin, and Kati in 1996 and 1997. Richard served as a Sonar Technician for eight years before receiving two Good Conduct Medals and an honorable discharge. "From what we've been able to discern, there were no signals, no signs," Lott said. However, until Robinson led investigators to Evonitz, little progress was made in the investigation. With his wife gone and their Columbia apartment empty, he could play out his fantasies of domination and control. ", But he added, "This is the best lead we've had out of the 12,000 leads to come out.". When he abducted Kara, he did so only after placing his wife and mother on a plane for Walt Disney World. Police records in Clay County say he "confessed both orally and written to his guilt. We are not able to find his account on social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram. Kristian Bruun stars as Richard Evonitz in the terrifying film. 20052023 JAK Schmidt, Inc. All rights reserved. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! She was reportedly 17 years old. After graduating high school and briefly working as a Manager for Jiffy Lube, he joined the Navy. Evonitz's wife was still at The Most Magical Place on Earth while the entire sordid situation unfolded. In other news, Celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday with these 37 heartwarming quotes. Neighbors in Columbia said he was friendly and quiet. Evonitz hid the souvenirs of his crimes in a locked footlocker in his bedroom. Tess Ragin had been told of her son's vacation but did not believe it. Kara now a 35-year-old motivational speaker miraculously escaped, ultimately leading police to the would-be murderers Columbia, South Carolina apartment. This February, a derailed train carrying hazardous materials has upended the lives of those living in East Palestine. On June 27, 2002, police finally caught up with him in Florida, where he led them on a high-speed chase, and finally cornered him,, . Smith said detectives found evidence in their South Carolina searches that Evonitz was stalking other girls in Spotsylvania. But authorities and former co-workers said even those closest to Evonitz had no indication that he might have been hiding something. Richard Gere's wife, Alejandra Silva, shared more updates on the actor's health after he was hospitalized during the couple's vacation in Mexico. She joined The Post in 1997 as a two-year intern covering policing and courts in Loudoun County, Va. She later covered local and national education. While searching his apartment, they found evidence connecting him to all three murders,according to the Free Lance Star. [3], Richard Marc Edward Evonitz was born at Providence Hospital in Columbia, South Carolina, to Joseph and Tess Ragin Evonitz. Because I felt like, Wow, Im actually giving these families something that they never wouldve gotten without me. Just the closure of knowing that the person responsible for their daughters death is no longer here.. Related:Watchmen Actors Family Speaks Out, Convinced He Was Murdered. Later, he worked at companies that manufactured compressors and grinding equipment. Sensing no way of escape, Richard shot himself dead before he could be arrested. On September 9, 1996, Richard abducted 16-year-old Sofia Silva from her homes front yard in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. On September 9, 1996, Silva, a 16-year-old who had dreams of going to cosmetology school, sat on her family's doorstep doing homework when . Furthermore, the police found a lockbox containing news clippings and notes related to Kati, Kristin, and Sofias murders, along with writings mentioning the locations near their houses. Later, authorities identified him as the LiskSilva killer. Her body was found five weeks later in a King George County creek. When she explained that her friends mum wasnt home, Evonitz moved closer and said he was handing out brochures. The pursuit of Evonitz began when the 15-year-old he kidnapped at gunpoint managed to escape from handcuffs and slip out of his apartment in Columbia on Tuesday morning. Three years after Bonnie Lou Gower left Richard Evonitz, he remarried Hope Marie Crowley. The kidnapper took Robinson to his apartment, where he repeatedly sexually assaulted her and held her captive for 18 hours. As they released a police dog, he put the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger.. Elizabeth Smart serves as an executive producer.[10]. Today, 19 years after her harrowing ordeal, Kara Robinson Chamberlain is married with two sons -- and 219,700 fans on TikTok, where she seeks to spread hope and encouragement to other survivors, she notes at kararobinsonchamberlain.com. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. In 2010, Robinson graduated from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy. You can cancel at any time. "If he kept everything locked in there, maybe it wouldn't come out again," she said. Yet the water seemed to draw him. She was 17 years old at the time and Evonitz was 36. Evonitz's criminal career reportedly started the year before he tied the knot with Bonnie Lou Gower. Life is imitating art in East Palestine, Ohio, as the aftermath of a derailed train is drawing parallels with Netflix's White Noise. Kara said: At the same time he put a gun up to the right side of my neck and to come with him or he would shoot me., Related:Woman Seen Handcuffed at Disneys Hollywood Studios. After sexually assaulting them, he strangled the sisters and dumped their bodies in the South Anna River. But perhaps that pain will be bearable if these newly revealed facts help us to understand how a man capable of performing these misdeeds could live among us. Through evidence discovered after Robinsons brave escape, Evonitz was tied to the Silva and Lisk murders. [6], On May 1, 1997, Evonitz abducted sisters Kristin, 15, and Kati Lisk, 12, from their front lawn after school. The Associated Press stated at the time that investigators quickly discovered proof that Evonitz was responsible for the killings of three girls in Virginia: Sofia Silva, 16, Kristin Lisk, and her sister Kati Lisk. She shared with People: It was one of the most important things thats ever happened to me, she says. . According to the Free Lance-Star, they discovered evidence linking him to all three killings while investigating his residence. He was a stranger to them. The case was first regarded as a missing person case rather than an abduction until Silva was discovered dead in a marsh five weeks later. Robinson spoke to Elizabeth Smart from Crime Watch Daily about her kidnapping and how she managed to escape Evonitzs clutches and helped the police catch him. In Spotsylvania, Maj. Howard Smith said the Lisk-Silva Task Force -- composed of FBI agents, state police and Spotsylvania and King George County deputies -- has been doubled in size and also will try to learn "everything this guy has done in the last 10 or 15 years.". This four-part series is based on interviews with investigators and members of Evonitzs family, and a review of public documents from Florida, South Carolina and Virginia. Crowley remained in South Carolina after Evonitzs death. [2], After high school, Evonitz worked briefly as the manager of a Jiffy Lube, before joining the United States Navy. Steve Dempsey of the King George County Sheriff's Office and a member of the task force that investigated the 1996 and '97 slayings of three Spotsylvania County girls: Sofia Silva and Kristin and Kati Lisk. pic.twitter.com/PJBCnblMux. For more on this case and Robinson's story, watch"Escaping Captivity: The Kara Robinson Story.". Florida Man Arrested After Threatening to Blow Up Homes of Disney Executives, Mother on Flight From Disney World Told to Glue Mask to Childs Face. Based on Karas testimony and the evidence obtained from the apartment, the police began tracking Richard and located him in Sarasota, Florida. Richard Marc Evonitz, was born on July 29, 1963 in Columbia, South Carolina. Hope Evonitz wonders if the trophy box was her husband's way of trying to keep his demons under lock and key. Evonitz was cornered by police in Florida where he then killed himself. Age, Family, Husband, Net worth, Wiki, Bio, Height, Birthday, Season 41: Sara Wilson Age, Family, Net worth -Birthday, Height, Partner, Wikipedia, Bio. She suffered a panic attack when Evonitz put her back in the container while he called his wife, who was at Walt Disney World with his mother. When it came to his net worth, he was just like the rest of us. They also found evidence he was stalking other girls in Virginia, according to The Associated Press. Nevertheless, she embraced a life of privacy and continues to do so even today. The film starred Katie Douglas as Kara Robinson, Cara Buono as Debra Robinson, and Kristian Bruun as Richard Evonitz. Age, Wife, Family, Net worth, Salary, Wiki, Bio, Why did FedEx fire him. However, little headway was made in the case until Robinson led police to Evonitz. In 1987 he ran into trouble with the law when he exposed himself to a 15-year-old girl and he was arrested one month later when his ship returned to port. . In the late 90s, Hope Marie Crowley was a 17-year-old waitress working at a pancake joint in Massaponax, Virginia. As she looked at them, he forced her at gunpoint into a green plastic storage container in the car's trunk. 0. He was honorably discharged and received medals, including the Navy Achievement Medal, which is given for leadership. After Kara escaped from Evonitz in Columbia, police realized that they had never heard his name before. According to The Associated Press, the notes included the addresses and descriptions of two more young females. Richard Marc Evonitz born July 29, 1963 was a serial killer, kidnapper and rapist responsible for the deaths of three girls in Spotsylvania County, Virginia and the abduction and rape of a 15-year-old girl in Richland County, S.Carolina. Police now know that Evonitz spent hours traveling the back roads of South Carolina and Virginia. She never misses Jeopardy and alternately wishes she lived in Beast's castle or was making the Kessel Run in the Millennium Falcon. Evonitz did not have any children with either wives. Oxygen Network created a documentary about Karas ordeal and incredible survival. Evonitz was born on July 29, 1963 meaning he was around 25 years old when he was married to Gower. Evonitz was the most dangerous of all predators--an invisible one. Actually, he, too, had taken a week's vacation, a secret break. Kristen and Jennifer, his two daughters, were born in 1968 and 1971, respectively, and he was the first of three children. As per the news reported, Marie was a loyal wife to her husband. Based on the evidence collected from his apartment, the police concluded that he had killed Silvia, Kristin, and Kati and intended to do the same with Kara. Her decomposed body was found five weeks later in a creek in King George, Virginia, yet the police could not comprehend the cause of death and the killers identity. As they released a police dog, he put the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger.. Robinson explained to Crime Watch Daily that Evonitzs wife was a key to identifying him. Once the officers accompanied the 15-year-old to the apartment complex, a maintenance worker pointed them to Richards apartment. Two Richland County deputies and one FBI agent formed a team today that will work full time to reconstruct Evonitz's life. Only when he was ready did the safe Henry Jekyll become the wicked Edward Hyde. Ginny and Georgia star Katie Douglas stars as Kara Robinson. His first wife was Bonnie Lou Gower and his second wife was Hope Marie Crowley. When Virginia officers looked through his Columbia, S.C., apartment, they searched for an afghan they knew he owned in Spotsylvania. Kara said the driver didnt seem creepy or scary as he approached her and asked if her parents were home. Throughout her multi-day abduction, Kara gained her captors trust by learning details about him, including: finding out he was in the Navy, memorizing the addresses of his dentist and doctor from magnets on his fridge, and realizing a woman lived in the apartment with him. On September 9, 1996, Silva, a 16-year-old who had dreams of going to cosmetology school, sat on her family's doorstep doing homework when Evonitz kidnapped her. Inside were trophies so damning that he risked all to retain them. This included one of Richards sisters, to whom he reportedly confessed the three murders. Law enforcement officials spent three hours today searching the house where Evonitz lived in Spotsylvania in 1996 and 1997, Smith said. Metts said the girl led detectives to the apartment and picked Evonitz out of a photo array. If she had picked the simple lock, as police later did, she would have found evidence of her husband's crimes. Kara was forced into a storage bin, where she amazingly kept her wits about her, remembering the turns the vehicle, a green Pontiac Firebird, took and even memorizing the storage bins serial number. At the time of Kara's abduction and subsequent sexual assault, Evonitz's wife of three years, Hope Marie Crawley, was visiting Walt Disney World Resort. She was 17 years old at the time and Evonitz was 36. By then, Richard had already fled, but Kara could identify the hairbrush with Hopes hair, which became crucial evidence in the investigation. Cara Robinson later became a police officer. By Daniel S. Levine - February 26, 2023 03:04 pm EST. Law enforcement officials said he was born and raised near Columbia and attended Irmo High School before joining the Navy. With the help of two men in a car in the apartment complex, she reached the nearby police station and reported everything. We don't want to rush things. Besides, the DNA samples collected from the apartment also matched the ones found on the three victims. RELATED: WHERE TO WATCH FORGOTTEN ABDUCTION ON STREAMING; Richard remarried Hope Marie Crowley. Three years after Bonnie Lou Gower left Richard Evonitz, he remarried Hope Marie Crowley. Kristin Lisk was a 15-year-old who was finishing up her first year of high school and like playing soccer. "No signs of the monster.". To learn more about Kara Robinson, watch Escaping Captivity: The Kara Robinson Story, on Oxygen. Later, when examining Evonitz's pornographic tape collection, they found out why. PRIVACY POLICY. While her friend got ready, Robinson was watering the front lawn. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.

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