November 25th 2023.
Kathy Kleiner Rubin had a lot to look forward to in January 1978. At just 20 years old, she had just returned from her Christmas break to Florida State University, where she was studying and enjoying the occasional frat party.
On Saturday, January 14, Kathy enjoyed a potluck dinner with friends. She left early to get a good night's sleep for the upcoming calculus test. Little did she know that her life was about to change forever.
That night, Ted Bundy, then 31, was watching young women dance at a nearby college bar. Bundy was a decade older than most people there, and had already murdered at least 30 women and girls in other states. When the bar closed, he followed three of the Chi Omega sisters back to the sorority house. He noticed the broken keypad lock and entered the building.
Bundy crept up the stairs and silently tried door knobs before entering the rooms of Margaret Bowman and Lisa Levy. He used a log from a pile of firewood near the door to beat them both to death. Margaret was also strangled with a pair of pantyhose, and Lisa was violated with a hairspray bottle and bitten.
Kathy heard a noise coming from her bedroom and looked up to find her attacker standing next to her bed with a piece of firewood raised above his head. He slammed the log into Kathy's face, breaking her jaw, shattering her chin, and nearly tearing her tongue in half. He smashed her roommate's head twice before turning back to Kathy, who was now scrunched up in a tiny ball, hoping he wouldn't see her.
Suddenly, the room lit up with a bright white light and Bundy ran out. Kathy was carried outside in a daze and taken to the hospital. She was scared and alone, but her fear was quickly replaced with relief when she saw a familiar face. It was the bride from earlier that day who had come to comfort her.
Bundy's rampage lasted just 15 minutes. He broke into another house and attacked another woman, but she too survived. Kathy was able to testify at Bundy's trial a year later. She walked into the courtroom and saw Bundy for the first time since the attack. She was not scared, but angry.
Kathy Kleiner Rubin survived the brutal attack at the hands of Ted Bundy and went on to give evidence against him. Her story is chronicled in her memoir 'A Light in the Dark: Surviving more than Ted Bundy', making her the first survivor to write a book about her experience. Kathy's courage and strength is an inspiration to us all.
Kathy Kleiner Rubin was just 20 years old when her life changed forever. January 1978 had been going great for Kathy; she had just returned from her Christmas break to Florida State University and was looking forward to a friend's wedding that Saturday. Little did she know that same day would end in a brutal attack at the hands of infamous serial killer Ted Bundy.
Kathy returned to the Chi Omega sorority house after the wedding festivities and settled in for a night of studying for an upcoming calculus test. Meanwhile, Bundy had been watching young women at a nearby college bar and followed three of the Chi Omega sisters back home. He saw the broken keypad lock on the door and waited until the women were asleep before slipping inside.
Bundy then proceeded to brutally attack Margaret Bowman and Lisa Levy in their bedrooms, beating them both to death with a log he had picked up from a pile of firewood near the door. Kathy, who was sleeping in the room next door, was awoken by the sound of her bedroom door brushing across the carpet as it opened. She was then hit in the face with the same log Bundy had used on Margaret and Lisa. The force of the blow ripped a hole in her cheek, broke her jaw, shattered her chin, and nearly tore her tongue in half.
Kathy then heard Bundy attacking her roommate, and as she lay there in a ball trying to remain unseen, a bright white light suddenly filled the room and her attacker fled. A few minutes later, he broke into a college house nearby and attacked another woman, who also survived.
Kathy was carried to the hospital in a daze, and there she was met by an angel—a nurse from her church who had attended the wedding earlier that day. After a few weeks of treatment and recovery, Kathy found herself in the same room as Bundy again—this time at a deposition, a grand jury, and finally at his trial. She was in shock but not scared—just mad.
Kathy Kleiner Rubin survived the savage attacks and later took the witness stand to testify against Bundy. She is a true inspiration and an example of the strength of the human spirit. Kathy recounts her story in her memoir, A Light in the Dark: Surviving More than Ted Bundy, and calls herself the "serial survivor."
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