The Tik Tok Star who Outwitted a Serial Killer
Now she teaches others to escape capture
Kara Robinson Chamberlain was just 15-years-old when she was kidnapped, held captive, drugged, and raped. Miraculously, she managed to escape and help the police identify serial killer, Richard Evonitz. Now Kara’s mantra is ‘survive and thrive,’ as she works with law enforcement, supports victims, and teaches survival skills on Tik Tok.
Kara’s abduction
June 24, 2002, was bright and sunny and Kara Robinson Chamberlain was looking forward to a day at the lake with her friend. Kara arrived at her friend’s home a little early and offered to water some flowers as her friend’s family prepared for the trip.
As Kara gardened, a man pulled onto the driveway and asked if he could give her a brochure. Thinking nothing of it, Kara let the man approach her. Before she knew what was happening, Kara had a gun to her throat and was bundled into a large container in the rear of the vehicle.
Evonitz drove Kara to his apartment where she was bound to the bed and endured a series of sexual assaults.
Showing enormous strength of character and presence of mind, Kara took in her surroundings, memorizing every detail, and planning her escape. Kara was able to recall extraordinary levels of information that she garnered by observing objects on the man’s nightstand and stuck to the fridge. Soon, she knew his dentist, his doctor, where he shopped — she even memorized his fridge magnets.
The great escape
Chillingly, Evonitz slept next to Kara after he’d finished raping her.
It was at this moment that Kara began working at her bonds. Wiggling free, she crept from the apartment and ran into the street, launching herself at a passing vehicle. The motorist took Kara straight to the police station.
After waking, Evonitz realized that his victim had outwitted him. He fled the state, but now, the police were on his trail.
Pursued to Sarasota, officers soon had the killer surrounded.
Rather than face justice, Evonitz shot himself.
Following his death, police were able to identify Evonitz as the killer of Sofia Silva, 16, in 1996 and Kristen Lisk, 15, and her sister Kati, 12, in 1997. Sadly, there may be more victims waiting to be identified.
What is certain is that Evonitz would not have stopped killing.
Kara’s impressive escape and survival instincts may have saved countless lives.
Survive and thrive
Kara wasted no time in turning her horrific ordeal into motivation. Just a year after her attack, Kara began working with victim services and, for the rest of high school, in the DNA lab. Kara went on to join the police academy and enjoy a successful career in law enforcement.
Following the birth of her two sons, Kara left the police but continued her valuable work with victims. In 2019, Kara joined five other survivors of kidnapping and sexual abuse, including Emma Smart, Gina DeJesus, and Katie Beers, for a Lifetime special called Smart Justice.
Kara went on to begin filming her own videos and shared them on social media. One such video, in which Kara describes her experience in police academy where the instructor unwittingly used Kara’s abduction as a class case study, went viral and now has 4.1 million views.
Today, Kara has over 213,000 followers and 2.7 million likes on her Tik Tok channel.
As well as broadcasting hints and tips for escaping capture, Kara also promotes positivity and victim awareness.
Kara does all of this as her two adorable sons play in the background.
Her bio reads:
Let’s build each other up! Not. defined.
It seems that Kara really did survive and thrive.
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