In 1974, 18 year old Carol DaRonch was shopping at a mall in Murray, Utah, when a man approached her and claimed to be a police detective. He showed her what appeared to be a badge and told her that someone had tried to steal her car.
The stranger said he needed her help and asked her to come with him. Carol had no reason to believe that the man was lying, so she followed him to a Volkswagen Beetle, unaware that she had just entered a terrifying situation. Once they were inside the car, things began to feel wrong. The man drove away from the shopping area, and Carol soon realized that he was not taking her where she expected to go.
The man was Ted Bundy, a serial killer who had been targeting young women. He told Carol that she was under arrest and placed handcuffs on her, leaving her trapped inside the vehicle.
Bundy then pulled out a crowbar and attacked her. Carol fought back as hard as she could, realizing that she was no longer dealing with a police officer and that she needed to escape before it was too late.
Despite being handcuffed, she refused to give up. She struggled against Bundy and managed to open the passenger door of the moving vehicle.
Carol then made a desperate decision. She jumped from the car and landed near a passing vehicle, with one of the handcuffs still dangling from her wrist.
Her escape left Bundy behind, and Carol was able to get help. The experience was terrifying, but it also gave investigators something extremely important. Carol later identified Bundy in a police lineup. Her identification helped authorities connect him to the crime and led to his first prison sentence.
At the time, Bundy was not yet widely known as one of America’s most notorious serial killers. His ability to appear respectable and convince women that he was someone they could trust was part of what made him so dangerous. Carol’s case was different because she survived and was able to tell investigators exactly what had happened. Her testimony helped put Bundy behind bars, at least temporarily.
But that would not be the end of his story. In 1975, Bundy escaped from prison, and his killing spree continued.
Carol DaRonch’s decision to fight back ultimately gave her a chance to survive an encounter that could have ended very differently. She had been deceived, restrained and attacked, yet she managed to turn a terrifying situation into an escape.
