Dawn was breaking when Evonitz fell asleep and Robinson recognized her chance to flee. However, little headway was made in the case until Robinson led police to Evonitz. He was tracked to Florida on June 27 and was involved in a high speed chase by police to Sarasota, where he was surrounded and subsequently shot himself in the standoff. She was. Known as Marc to avoid confusion with a paternal uncle also named Richard, he graduated from Irmo High School in 1980 at age 16. Metts said the girl led detectives to the apartment and picked Evonitz out of a photo array. Evonitz was born on July 29, 1963 meaning he was around 25 years old when he was married to Gower. 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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. "He was just a normal person on the outside," Lott said. "She was able to give us information down to the exactness of what was in the apartment.". [2], After high school, Evonitz worked briefly as the manager of a Jiffy Lube, before joining the United States Navy. Evonitz hid the souvenirs of his crimes in a locked footlocker in his bedroom. This confirmed to the police that Richard was the one who had sexually assaulted and killed Silvia, Kristin, and Kati in 1996 and 1997. Inside Evonitzs apartment, authorities made a chilling discovery. Hope Evonitz resided in Caroline County at the time, and she was aware of the slayings. 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. Yet, despite her traumatic ordeal, she kept an alert mind and noted all the details of her surroundings. It was then that Evonitz drove up and started chatting to her under the pretense of selling magazines -- before pointing a gun at her and forcing her into a Rubbermaid container in the back of his car, the New York Daily News reported in 2015. The film premiered on Lifetime on Saturday, February 11. He was the first of three children; two sisters, Kristen and Jennifer, followed him in 1968 and 1971. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Also Read: Actor: Arno Greeff Age, Parents, Brother, Wikipedia -Biography, Ethnicity, Family, Height, Net worth, Birthday. While searching his apartment, they found evidence connecting him to all three murders, "It is kind of scary that some guy was out there looking at me, one of the girls described in the notes told the, And while Evonitz was described by those who knew him as a well-respected, married Navy veteran who. The bridge was four miles from U.S. 1 and 31 miles from his home near Massaponax Baptist Church in Spotsylvania. The case never went cold, because the task force never stopped working. They will interview friends, co-workers and relatives and track Evonitz's frequent travels from state to state in a search for links to similar unsolved crimes in those areas. None of it contained telling DNA evidence. The pursuit ended when Evonitz ran over spike strips and was forced to exit his vehicle. Evonitz was in the Navy and was married twice to much younger wives, with both living unaware of his crimes. As per the news reported, Marie was a loyal wife to her husband. In Columbia, he worked at an air compressor company and lived blissfully with Hope, who doted on him. Evonitz reportedly abducted the teenager while his second wife, Hope Marie Crowley, was on vacation. Evonitz fooled everyone, including his family. Sisterhood Of Survival: Elizabeth Smart, Kara Robinson Spearhead New Oxygen Documentary, How Kara Robinson Tried to Cope with Trauma. But that brazen kidnapper, the one operating in the clear light of day, does exist. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. The Girl Who Escaped: The Kara Robinson Story. Bluebeard's wives were curious about the locked room and eventually looked inside. Her body was found five weeks later in a King George County creek. On June 24, 2002 Evonitz kidnapped 15-year-old Kara Robinson from a yard in South Carolina. He forcefully held Kara in his apartment and sexually assaulted her repeatedly for eighteen hours, but luckily, she escaped the following morning. While her friend got ready, Robinson was watering the front lawn. Kara Robinson was abducted by serial killer Richard Evonitz from her friend's yard in 2002. Later, when he fled from police after Kara's escape, he stole license plates and shaved his goatee to hide his identity. Credit: Disney. Police also were puzzled to find holes cut in the crotch of many of the pieces. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. Robinson escaped his apartment after being raped and notified police. Investigators said they might never have stopped Evonitz had Robinson not saved her own life, reported WISTV.com. 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. Popular: Who is Vessa Rockliff -Daly Cherry Evans Wife? He forcefully held Kara in his In 2010, Robinson graduated from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy. The conversation took place before he killed himself after a police chase in Florida. In an August 2002 interview, the young widow stated, He was my husband, he is still my husband, and I love him dearly. Once the investigation concluded, Hope chose to remain in South Carolina and stood by her husbands family following his death. But his crimes were "high-risk," in the sense that he abducted victims from busy suburban neighborhoods in the middle of the day. According to The Associated Press, the notes included the addresses and descriptions of two more young females. On June 24, 2002, 15-year-old Kara Robinson was at a friends house in Lexington County, South Carolina preparing for a day at the lake. After an 18-hour ordeal, the girl heard Evonitz snoring and was able to escape, authorities said. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. After two days, Kara launched her daring escape while Evonitz slept: Kara said: There was a solid 30 seconds of me looking at the door and thinking, how am I going to do this?'. "If he kept everything locked in there, maybe it wouldn't come out again," she said. At the police station, she spotted Evonitz's supervisor, Mike Augustine of Armstrong Compressors. She was 17 years old at the time and Evonitz was 36. . He forced her to watch the evening news to see if there was a report of her kidnapping. Kara said: That was probably the fastest my heart was beating the entire time I was there. As a result, it should be under $100,000 USD. Read More:Who is Kara Robinsons Husband? They were scenes of him, wearing the underwear and pleasuring himself. Through evidence discovered after Robinsons brave escape, Evonitz was tied to the Silva and Lisk murders. Three years after Bonnie Lou Gower left Richard Evonitz, he remarried Hope Marie Crowley. The film starred Katie Douglas as Kara Robinson, Cara Buono as Debra Robinson, and Kristian Bruun as Richard Evonitz. Crowley was working as a waitress at Aunt Sarah's . Gere, 73, is "feeling much better," Silva wrote. Age, Family, Husband, Net worth, Wiki, Bio, Height, Birthday, Following Robinsons escape, Evonitz left his residence and traveled to Florida. Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/ReutersAlex Murdaugh, the once-prominent member of a legal dynasty in South Carolina's Lowcountry, has been convicted of murdering his wife and son in June 2021.Murdaugh, 54, was found guilty of all four counts against him on Thursday in connection with the deaths of his 52-year-old wife, Maggie, and their 22-year-old son, Paul, near the . (function(e,t,n,r){var i=n.currentScript,s=null;if(i)s=i;else{var o=n.getElementsByTagName(r),u=o.length-1;for(var a=u;a>=0;a--)if(o[a].getAttribute("rel")==="skimlinks-ref-banner"){s=o[a];break}}s&&setTimeout(function(){var i=e[t]||(e[t]=[]),o={"imageUrl":"/banners/img/referral/higher_commissions/728X90.gif","wid":"07","creativeId":60710,"color":"grey","size":"728X90","domainId":"1601785","publisherId":137930,"bannerUrl":"/banners/js/referral/referral_banner.min.js","cdnUrl":"https://s.skimresources.com"};if(i.length===0){var u=n.createElement(r);u.src=o.cdnUrl+o.bannerUrl,u.async=!0,s.parentNode.insertBefore(u,s)}i.push({el:s,config:o})})})(this,"__skimlinksBanners",document,"script"); CONTACT US | ADVERTISE ON ITM She realized that a woman with red hair lived with Evonitz when she was abucted. The couple was in Mexico to celebrate Silva's 40th birthday when Gere was diagnosed with . There is not any information on how he spent his early day. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Big Changes Are Coming to Disneys Paid Genie+ Service, Michael Keatons Morbius Role Is an Easter Egg, Inside the Magic Your Ultimate Source for Themed EntertainmentCoverage, Watchmen Actors Family Speaks Out, Convinced He Was Murdered, Mandalorian Actor Facing Underage Sexual Assault Lawsuit, Woman Seen Handcuffed at Disneys Hollywood Studios, Iconic Disney Trains Left Brilliantly Vandalized at EPCOT. When it came to his net worth, he was just like the rest of us. Investigators soon found evidence that Evonitz was responsible for the murders of three girls in Virginia:Sofia Silva, 16; Kristin Lisk and her sister Kati Lisk, the Associated Press reported at the time. By the time he died, he had progressed from indecent exposure to murder. He had grown arrogant, police said. Richard Evonitz was reportedly married to Bonnie Lou Gower from 1988 to 1996. Police were puzzled by the underwear. "End of Trial Fails To End Uncertainty; Family Seeks Justice in '96 Va. Killings, While Man Wants to Clear His Name" Washington Post, September 4, 2005 Ian Shapira and Maria Glod, List of serial killers in the United States, "As Police Closed In, Evonitz Admitted Crimes to Sister", "Lifetime Partners Again with Elizabeth Smart on "The Kara Robinson Story", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richard_Evonitz&oldid=1142021837, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Pages using infobox person with multiple spouses, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, The Spotsylvania Serial killer, Lisk/Silva Killer, Bonnie Lou Gower (1988-1996), Hope Marie Crowley (1999-his death), This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 03:03. They will focus on possible links between Evonitz and unsolved crimes. And while Evonitz was described by those who knew him as a well-respected, married Navy veteran who was twice awarded the Navy Good Conduct Medal, the 38-year-old had actually been in trouble with the law before, for masturbating in front of a teen girl, The Washington Post reported. Consider serial murderer Richard Evonitz, the subject of the upcoming Oxygen special Escaping Captivity: The Kara Robinson Story, who kidnapped Kara Robinson. At that point, my brain shut off my emotions. Now, if you wish to learn more about Hope, heres what we found! To Evonitz, they were scouting expeditions. 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.. Does She Have Kids. Police describe his victims as "low-risk," meaning that they did nothing to put themselves in danger. Meanwhile, discovering her escape, Evonitz fled to Florida. He used his mother's car when he abducted Kara. On one of those trips in Hanover County, he discovered an isolated bridge over the South Anna River on State Route 738. To avoid confusion with a paternal uncle called Richard, he graduated from Irmo High School in 1980 at the age of 16. 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. Life is imitating art in East Palestine, Ohio, as the aftermath of a derailed train is drawing parallels with Netflix's White Noise. Inside the pocket was trace evidence that connected Evonitz to the Lisk sisters. 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. 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. Glod previously worked at the Montgomery Journal in Maryland. Deep within some of the tapes were scenes that Evonitz recorded. 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. She began working as an assignment editor on the local desk in 2011. After his crimes, Fredericksburg never seemed as safe. As Spotsylvania detectives await results of DNA and other scientific tests to determine whether Evonitz killed Sofia Silva, 16, in September 1996, and Kati Lisk, 12, and her sister, Kristin, 15, in May 1997, investigators are just now beginning to piece together the past of this seemingly normal man -- a husband who was twice awarded the Navy Good Conduct Medal during an eight-year service career -- to see if he really was a lifelong predator who kept his crimes secret. When he abducted and killed his first victim, Sofia Silva, his first wife was on holiday in California. In May 1997, 15-year-old Kristin Lisk and her 12-year-old sister, Kati, vanished from their front yard in Spotsylvania. Her loyalness was reflected when she disagreed with believing her husband's acts. On June 24, 2002, Hope and Richards mother were away on vacation at Disneyland, California. Bluebeard's wives were curious about the locked room and eventually looked inside. She began working with the Richland County Sheriff's Department as a school resource officer. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}. Evonitz abducted 15-year-old Kara Robinson Chamberlain three days before his death. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! Evonitz tried to start a new business in 1999, to manufacture wheel grinders for industrial tools, but he failed. Evonitz's criminal career reportedly started the year before he tied the knot with Bonnie Lou Gower. Age, Family, Husband, Net worth, Wiki, Bio, Height, Birthday, Season 41: Sara Wilson Age, Family, Net worth -Birthday, Height, Partner, Wikipedia, Bio. Richard had separated from his first wife, Bonnie Lou Gower, in 1996 and was considerably older than Hope. His mother described the moment she realized he had betrayed her: With her son on the run, she returned from Disney World to her home in Columbia. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). Police initially treated it as a missing persons case instead of an abduction -- until Silva was found about five weeks later, dead in a swamp. After his time in the U.S. Navy ended, he settled down in South Carolina and began. In other news, Celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday with these 37 heartwarming quotes. Authorities found the fingerprints of Krista Lisk inside one of his vehicles, further incriminating him in the heinous murders. As they released a police dog, he put the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger.. The footlocker also contained pornographic tapes and many pairs of female underwear, all sizes, from infant to adult. Richard Marc Evonitz was a devoted spouse who delighted in working with animals and amusing people. As he drove from his South Carolina home to Georgia and into Florida last week, Richard Evonitz knew he was only a few steps ahead of police trying to arrest him in the rape of a 15-year-old. Evonitz's criminal career reportedly started the year before he tied the knot with Bonnie Lou Gower. According to the New York Daily News, her elder sister was inside but had not heard anything. Inside Evonitzs apartment, authorities made a chilling discovery. WHERE TO WATCH FORGOTTEN ABDUCTION ON STREAMING, WHERE TO WATCH CLEVELAND ABDUCTION ON STREAMING, Celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday with these 37 heartwarming quotes, {{#media.media_details}} {{#media.focal_point}}. Evonitz took Robinson to his apartment, where he restrained her, drugged her, and sexually assaulted her. Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott describes Evonitz's particular compulsion as "The Monster." Usually, Evonitz was more careful. After his crimes, Fredericksburg never seemed as safe. ", One exception that investigators have focused on is Evonitz's 1988 conviction for exposing himself to a teenager and her toddler sister in Florida. His first wife was Bonnie Lou Gower and his second wife was Hope Marie Crowley. "When he feels the urge he drives around looking for a girl 18-19 years old short in height and has brunette hair.". WARNING: Content of a disturbing nature ahead. When he used that route, he passed hundreds of other potential dumping sites--country roads, farm fields and logging trails. When he was convicted for exposing himself in Florida at age 23, Evonitz told the arresting officer that he had uncontrollable urges. Maria Glod is the deputy Metro editor at The Washington Post. In 2010, Robinson graduated from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy, reported WISTV.com. The small village, near the border of Pennsylvania, was one of the filming locations used for the Netflix adaptation of Don DeLillo's White . According to the Washington Post, he contacted his sister along the way and confessed to killing someone and committed more crimes than he can recall.. 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.". So he deviated from his plan. Kristin and Katis bodies were found five days later, and the police reportedly found a strand of Sofias hair on the older Lisk sisters body. Lifetimes The Girl Who Escaped: The Kara Robinson Story is a gripping crime thriller movie that delves into the actual harrowing experiences of Kara Robinson. While searching his apartment, they found evidence connecting him to all three murders,according to the Free Lance Star. According to the New York Daily News, Evonitz pulled up and began conversing with her under the guise of selling magazines, before brandishing a gun at her and forcing her into a Rubbermaid container in the back of his car. Its never been established if Evonitz was involved in more than three murders. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. By then, Richard had already fled, but Kara could identify the hairbrush with Hopes hair, which became crucial evidence in the investigation. Still, Evonitz left no witnesses or clues. Following his service in the Navy, Evonitz worked for a number of companies that supplied compressors and grinding machines. According to the Associated Press, one of the females depicted in the notes told The Free Lance-Star, Its sort of alarming that this person was out there staring at me. Im curious as to why he didnt see me. There were additional guns, ropes, and other murder equipment discovered, as well as notes indicating that Evonitz was on the lookout for other victims. The kidnapper took Robinson to his apartment, where he repeatedly sexually assaulted her and held her captive for 18 hours. Authorities apprehended Evonitz in Florida three days after he kidnapped Robinson, and a high-speed chase occurred, culminating with Evonitz shooting himself and dying. When arrested a month later, he pleaded no contest to the charge of a charge of lewd and lascivious behavior in the presence of a child and was ordered three years of probation. His belongings connected him to the abduction and murder of three girls whod been taken from their homes in Virginia years earlier: Sofia Silva, 16, in 1996, and sisters Kristin, 15, and Kati Lisk, in 1997. In broad daylight, Robinson was abducted by a stranger who had pulled up in his car and approached her, ostensibly to hand her some magazines, she told Escaping Captivity: The Kara Robinson Story, a two-hour Oxygen special that premiered September 26 and is now streaming. the New York Daily News reported in 2015. the Associated Press reported at the time. 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. Watch Escaping Captivity: The Kara Robinson Tale for more information on this case and Robinsons story. Nevertheless, she embraced a life of privacy and continues to do so even today. You can cancel at any time. Make sure you join Kara Robinson Chamberlain after the premiere for a live conversation on her Instagram! Evonitz took the girl to his apartment, where they were alone because his wife and mother were vacationing at Walt Disney World, and carried the container inside. [6], On May 1, 1997, Evonitz abducted sisters Kristin, 15, and Kati Lisk, 12, from their front lawn after school. 2d ago Her sister Kati Lisk was just 12 and enjoyed playing the clarinet and drawing, local outlet. Richard Marc Edward Evonitz was born on July 29, 1963, at Providence Hospital in Columbia, South Carolina, to Joseph Evonitz and Tess Ragin Evonitz. During that time, she met 36-year-old Richard Marc Evonitz of Columbia, South Carolina, and love quickly blossomed between the two. Police are not sure. . In September 1996, Sofia Silva, 16, disappeared from her front porch in Spotsylvania County. I want to know why he didnt get me.. Other houses in the area where he lived will also be searched, he said. He filed for bankruptcy in 1997, unable to keep up with bills following a divorce, and had a house foreclosed in 1999 following a failed business venture, but at the time of his death, Evonitz had been working at an air-compressor company since moving to South Carolina a few years earlier. "He was somebody who felt everything closing in on him. Evonitz married Bonnie Lou Gower from 1988 to 1996, and then his second wife Hope Marie Crowley from 1999 till his death.
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