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How I Survived Ted Bundy, One of the Worst Serial Killers in American History

Karthikeyan
10 min readDec 4, 2024

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Kathy Kleiner Rubin

You’ve probably never heard of Kathy Kleiner Rubin, but you have heard of the man who tried to kill her.

If there is anyone who can be considered a survivor in this world, it is Kathy.

Her first brush with death came at the age of 12, when she was diagnosed with lupus — a chronic autoimmune disease — and had to undergo chemotherapy treatment.

After recovering, while he was enjoying his life at Florida State University in 1978, one night a stranger entered the residence he lived in. It was serial killer Ted Bundy.

What happened next was a horrific attack in which two of her dorm roommates were killed, and Kathy and her roommate were seriously injured.

After the tragedy, Kathy was so determined to lead a normal life that her son didn’t even know Bundy had attacked her until he was 37.

Kathy has written a book about her life, with the collaboration of Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, called A Light in the Dark: Surviving More than Ted Bundy.

He spoke to the BBC World Service’s Outlook program about these events.

From a happy childhood to a mysterious illness

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Karthikeyan
Karthikeyan

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