A woman who survived serial killer Ted Bundy’s murderous attacks has shared advice on how to help trauma victims.
Kathy Kleiner Rubin was a 20-year-old sorority sister at the the Chi Omega house in Florida State University when Bundy crept into her dorm room at 3am on January 15, 1978, and beat her and her roommate, Karen Chandler with a club.
While she and her roommate survived the attack, two of her sorority sisters named Lisa Levy and Margaret Bowman died in their beds.
Rubin, now 65, is sharing the question people should refrain from asking attack survivors.
Kathy Kleiner Rubin was a 20-year-old sorority sister at the the Chi Omega house in Florida State University when Bundy crept into her dorm room at 3am on January 15, 1978, and beat her and her roommate, Karen Chandler with a club
Prior to attacking Rubin and Chadler in the two-story ranch style house, Bundy had already viscously beaten and murdered Levy and Bowman in their room
Rubin suffered severe facial injuries including a broken jaw in three places due to the attack
On the fateful day, Rubin had gone to bed at 11.30pm and Chandler had soon followed.
But a few hours later, she woke up to the sound of Bundy bashing her head with massive force with an oak log.
Rubin’s cheek ripped open, her jaw shattered in three places and she almost bit her tongue in half. After he attacked Rubin, he hit Chandler in the head twice.
In her memoir, A Light in the Dark: Surviving More than Ted Bundy, she wrote: ‘Bundy gripped the oak log he had grabbed from the firewood pile by the back door. I saw him raise his left arm into the air. He slammed the log onto my face with tremendous force.’
Prior to attacking Rubin and Chadler in the two-story ranch style house, Bundy had already viscously beaten and murdered Levy and Bowman in their room.
Ultimately, he ran away from the house when a bright light from a car pulling into the parking lot shined through Rubin and Chadler’s bedroom window.
‘There was a car bringing home a date late that night, and the light had shown up into our room. He started stumbling around and just ran out the door.
‘He probably would’ve killed me, and gone back and killed my roommate. He could have gone down the hallway opening and closing a door and attacking women. We don’t know how far it could have gone, but it ended at my room,’ Rubin told People.
Bundy was executed on January 24, 1989 after he confessed to killing 30 women in seven states and escaped custody twice. Many believe that his actual murder count could near 100.
While she and her roommate survived the attack, two of her sorority sisters named Lisa Levy and Margaret Bowman died in their beds
Bundy was executed on January 24, 1989 after he confessed to killing 30 women in seven states and escaped custody twice. Many believe that his actual murder count could near 100
As a consequence the attack, Rubin went through months of physical recovery including multiple jaw surgeries to have her face return to normal.
During this time, she said people including her parents had no idea what to say to help her heal and often advised her not to talk or even think about the attack.
But after releasing her memoir, which goes into deep detail about her attack, her battle with childhood lupus and early onset breast cancer, she has one advice to give to people trying to help trauma victims.
The 65-year-old suggests that questions such as ‘Aren’t you over it yet?’ should not be asked while talking to survivors.
Rubin explains:’ It makes the survivor think they are not getting better in time and that other people don’t want to listen anymore when there is still so much healing to be done.’
She further argues that survivors need to heal at their own pace and it is important to not suggest the person is failing because they are still processing what happened to them.
The 65-year-old suggests that questions such as ‘Aren’t you over it yet?’ should not be asked while talking to survivors
In 2019, critics had slammed Zac Efron’s portrayal of the mass murderer in the movie, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.
But Rubin disagreed and said she did not have ‘a problem with people looking at it, and as long as they understand that what they’re watching wasn’t a normal person’.
She also said she believed that the heartthrob was the perfect fit to play the character.
She told TMZ: ‘I believe that in order to show him exactly the way he was, it’s not really glorifying him, but it’s showing him, and when they do say positive and wonderful things about him … that’s what they saw, that’s what Bundy wanted you to see.’
But she conceded that the movie ‘does glorify him more than I think he should be.’
She added: ‘I think everyone should see it and understand him as what he was, even when he was the perfect son.
‘I think hopefully it will make… more women take care of their surroundings and be cautious.
‘He had different tactics that he used to help people to help him get in cars or do things and in your gut if you feel like something doesn’t feel right, just say no.’