Cold Case Files - I SURVIVED: I Started Praying to God Just Let Me Live

Episode Date: August 17, 2024

Audrey is attacked by her estranged husband with a knife, a hammer, and gasoline. After a diabetic episode, Todd gets lost in an Idaho snowstorm traveling cross-country with his dog Lola. Kim is attacked by a stranger in her new home shortly after her husband leaves for the day. Huggies: Head to Huggies.com to learn more! Progressive: Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Prolon: Go to ProLonLife.com/Survived to get 15% off your 5-day nutrition program! Viator: Download the Viator app now and use code VIATOR10 for 10% off your first booking in the app! Find the perfect travel experience for you! Do more with Viator. 

This episode of I Survived is brought to you by Huggies. Baby butts rejoice! New Huggies Skin Essentials are here. A brand new dermatologist-approved line of diapers, wipes, and pull-ups training pants. All designed with baby's sensitive skin in mind. This program contains subject matter that may be disturbing to some listeners. Listener discretion is advised. Chris felt like he wasn't worthy of someone as beautiful as he perceived me to be.

Real people. I had to digest two serious facts, and that was one, no one knows where I am, and two, no one's coming for me. Who faced death. The blood was everywhere. I had never seen anything like it. Blood was everywhere. And lived to tell how. I start praying to God. God, just let me live. Just let me live. That's all I want. Just let me live. This is I Survived. It's November 2009 in Apollo Beach, Florida. Audrey meets a man through an online dating site. She's intrigued to learn that he is a New York homicide detective.

His job was something that did attract me to him because he was sort of this accomplished guy that knew what he wanted out of life. After about six months of us dating, He was sort of this accomplished guy that knew what he wanted out of life. After about six months of us dating, we decided together that it would be best for me to move to New York City in order to take our relationship to the next level. It was a year and a half after we were dating that he decided to propose to me. And instantly I said yes, was thrilled, and we began, you know, planning our future for our family.

After getting engaged, the couple soon welcomed their first child. After our first son was born, I was very eager to get married. But there was sort of this lurking problem that I never really understood. And I didn't find out until after three weeks of our first son being born that it was because he was in fact married. And was still married, had been married. I never even knew he was married. Audrey realized Chris was a compulsive liar. Things start out with one little lie about him being 35 when he's really 38.

And that leads into him not being married ever in his life. That leads to other things such as lying about where he is because he's actually out gambling or lying about who he's with because he's actually out cheating. Audrey gave Chris another chance, and they married. But after their second child was born, his behavior worsened. He sort of started revealing how obsessed he was with me and how obsessed he was with other things in life, such as gambling. It was when he gambled away for the umpteenth time all of the money for the bills that I decided I had had enough. And I just came right out and said, you know,

I want a divorce. We stayed together and lived in the same home but in separate rooms for a matter of weeks before his first act of violence struck me. One night, Chris forced himself upon Audrey. Before I knew it, I was somehow on the bed. I don't even remember him like throwing me or pushing me. I can't remember exactly how I even ended up there. But I'm on the bed and he's above me now trying to remove my pants. And I had been raped as a young girl and I started going into this flashback. I start crying, half crying, screaming, confused, what are you doing?

What's going on? Oh my God, stop it. And he puts his hand over my mouth and tells me to shut the F up. I go into the car, load the kids, drive to the clubhouse in the community and immediately call 911. I left that night and got my own place four days later. There was a number of days that Chris and I did not communicate at all and finally we got to a point where he had convinced me to go in and drop the charges against him and that we were

going to be civil, that he was going to give me child support without a court order, that he was going to help me child support without a court order, that he was going to help me care for the children so that I could continue going to school and working full-time. Despite their agreement, one day Chris refused to look after the children. I came to his house after school. My kids were with their godmother and just sort of stopped in to get something to eat, get something to drink, do some homework, and go for a run. And it was when I came back that I ran into my next-door neighbor and just sort of that chit-chat, hey, how are you, how are the kids, everything's great,

and went to enter the home a second time. As soon as I entered the home, he was there, stark naked, with a butcher knife, so his goatee is completely shaved, his chest and his stomach is completely shaved and his arms are shaved. Everything is shaved. And he just comes rushing at me.

I instantly freeze. I turn for the door and as I'm grabbing the doorknob, he's scooping me up from behind. And the butcher knife actually accidentally cuts me so I begin to look down at the floor and I see the blood dropping and hitting the floor and this is when I say to myself this is very real what is going on and how am I going to get out of this he takes me immediately into the garage and there is this blanket placed there, oddly yet strategically placed.

And he puts me face down on the blanket and begins trying to sexually assault me from behind with a butcher knife to my throat. So I begin saying anything that I think will pacify him. Chris, stop. I love you. I love you. What are you doing? I've been thinking about it. I wanted to be back with you. Just stop right now. And eventually he does stop and then stands about three feet away from me and starts questioning me. And he's questioning the paternity of our oldest son. And I'm confused by this. Like, how could he? This is a child that was planned. But I start trying to buy myself time, and I'm thinking in reality about how the hell I'm going to get out of this. And I finally say to him, you know, we planned him. What are you talking about?

He's yours. We planned him. And he says to me, I'm going to give you one chance to tell me or I'm going to gut you like an effing pig. That's the point where in those moments or in a moment like that, you start trying to buy yourself time. And you're thinking of how you're going to escape. And then he puts the knife down and picks up a hammer. I never noticed the knife. I never noticed the hammer. I never noticed a knife. I never noticed a hammer.

I never noticed a candle. I never noticed any of these things that were strategically placed and ready. So he switches to a hammer. He stands above me and strikes me in the head with a hammer two times on each side. And I can feel the blood running down the side of my face as I'm still laying there.

And I'm like, this is it. And I remember looking back at the garage door, and it was unlocked. So I'm laying there, and I start saying my final prayers. God, just forgive me for my sins. Take care of my children. Let me go to heaven. And then something comes over me, which is the image of both of my children as teenagers alone without either one of us.

And I, of course, as as a mother cannot stand that thought. So something changes in me and he picks up this container which I can't even recall what it was in and just tosses gasoline on me. Out of reaction your body is that natural as it's coming at you. And I remember it hitting my hands. I remember it going into my mouth and me swallowing it.

And this is how I know that this is, in fact, gasoline, that this man that I once loved and swore he loved me is throwing on me. And I'm realizing that he doesn't want to just kill me. He wants to destroy the trophy wife that he chose. And I start praying to God, God, just let me live. Just let me live. That's all I want. Just let me live.

And the look that Chris gives me before he tosses that candle at me is one of finality. And he just tosses it at me, and I instantly go up in flames. All I remember is the urgency to get out. So I run for the garage door, and I lift it lift it up like just enough to escape from underneath. And I can't even see, like I'm engulfed completely and I can't even see where I'm going. And I just drop immediately. But the problem is, is that every time I roll one way, I'm hitting the tree. And then when I roll the next way, I'm hitting the concrete. So it's not really helping.

A neighbor, Veronica, heard Audrey's screams and ran to help. I can hear her screaming, Audrey, oh my God, oh my God. And she's running to me and starts hitting me with her son's jacket and gets me out fairly quickly. And then Veronica is overcome by shock. This woman is screaming and trembling. And I'm screaming to her, Veronica, 911, 911. And she finally gets them on the phone. And they ask her if I can walk to her house and get into the shower to just stand under

this water. And she's like helping me peel these clothes off of my body that are already melting to my skin. I'm just standing there with the water running over me until the ambulance comes and I can hear the sirens. And they put me on to the stretcher mind you I'm naked and my skin is literally melting off of my body the adrenaline and the shock of everything is completely wearing off and I say to

him we need to go we need to go now we need to go now. We need to go now. And I'm repeating. And I don't understand why I'm in an ambulance and I'm stationary and I'm on my way to death's door. Despite burns to 80% of her body, Audrey survived after extensive hospital care. After a failed suicide attempt, Chris was taken to the same hospital where he was arrested. During the trial, he actually accused me of attacking him along with a masked man, that I had been the one that tried to murder him. It's like the ultimate disrespect. It's the slap, the final slap in the face. Something that I knew pretty early on is that Chris felt like he wasn't worthy of someone as beautiful as he perceived me to be. And I think that he chose fire because he knew that if I survived, that he would have ruined me and no one else would want me. Christopher Haney was sentenced to life imprisonment for attempted murder.

He received another 30 years for arson and 30 years for aggravated battery. All of it was a facade from day one. This tough cop guy that's out there in New York City fighting crime on the streets was never who he really was. He was a coward the entire time. I survived because of two reasons. Number one, I was smart enough to pray in that moment and God wasn't ready to take me. And because thinking about my two children growing up

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slash survived for this special offer. That's ProlonLife.com slash survived. With school starting this week, we wanted to squeeze in one last experience as a family to cap off summer vacation. On Viator, I found an incredible guided tour of the Griffith Observatory, and we absolutely loved it. Our guide used to work at the observatory, so she had answers to all of our questions, and we opted for the additional planetarium show, which was amazing. If you're looking for things to do on vacation or closer to home, Viator is a tool you can use to plan and book travel experiences around the world. Their app and website make it easy to explore 300,000 plus travel experiences

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planned. Download the Viator app now and use code Viator10 for 10% off your first booking in the app. Find the perfect travel experiences for you. Do more with Viator. It's April 2012 in Sun Valley, Idaho. New Yorker Todd has type 1 diabetes. Todd decides to move west for a new job. I wanted to move out of New York because I was basically tired of my life there. Growing up for 30 years in New York, I'd had my run of it.

I had a job opportunity waiting for me in Sun Valley, Idaho, and I took it. I packed my dog. She's my co-pilot. And so I basically had my life stuck in this little Audi and, you know, I set off for the West. Todd decided he would take a route to Idaho he had never driven before. Taking the northernmost route in this type of drive is not the smartest decision simply because there's just unknown weather and you've got to go through desolate areas. The night before all this happened to me, my third night driving, I drove through Yellowstone in a blizzard where I couldn't see the end of my car.

And I was actually the most scared I'd been probably ever. Todd came across a checkpoint in the middle of the wilderness. I don't know whether it was military or U.S. government or Idaho government, but they told me I was lost. I agreed. And they told me I had to go back and take my first left, and I've just followed that road, which I did. I turned around, went back, took a left, and it was right about that point where I began to notice that I wasn't all there. As a type 1 diabetic you can have what's called a hypoglycemic episode. When that happens you have too much insulin in your system and therefore you have a low blood sugar. When you have a low blood sugar you become disoriented, you're described as punch drunk. And you're basically disconnected from reality.

Todd had a diabetes tester kit containing one sugar shot for emergencies. I called my girlfriend at the time just to tell her what was happening. I had never experienced anything like that. And she said, you sound funny sound funny Todd so I tested my blood sugar it was at 69 which is the very beginning of a hypoglycemic episode so I started drinking the one soda I had in the in the car regular soda because it has sugar in it and that was the last thing I remember my GPS was programmed for the fastest route which unbeknownst to me, took me on a closed mountain road. I had no idea, and being in a hypoglycemic state,

not aware of my surroundings, I just followed what my car said. So my car ended up taking me onto this unbelievably dangerous mountain pass that is closed, and I had no idea. Todd began blacking out, but managed to steer his car off the road. It wasn't until I came to a couple hours later where I realized I'm in, you know, a situation here. I'm in four feet of snow, my car is still running, and I can't move it. I was basically stuck in a period, in a part of

the mountain where there was no cell phone reception and my navigator or navigation system did not have the wireless connection to make a distress call. I then had to digest two serious facts and that was one, no one knows where I am, and two, no one's coming for me. Todd made the decision to leave his car to find help. He packed minimal clothing and his emergency diabetic drugs. My GPS told me I had 20 miles to get to someplace in Sun Valley. Probably take me about 15, 17 hours to walk the 20 miles. And, you know, once I get there, I'll just be real tired. But hey, at least I'll be there.

And I thought, I'll wait till the snow melts and come back and get my car in the spring. So we started walking and I didn't, I let Lola run because the snow was kind of hard packed, but I noticed she was just running back and forth thinking this was just a rest stop and that she'd get back in the car and go to sleep. And I kept trying to tell her, don't waste energy, stop wasting energy. But you know, she's a dog, she's not listening to me. So it wasn't until we got into the woods and out of the road, basically, we are now entered from what was kind of the open part of the valley now into the condensed and covered part of the forest where we started sinking.

The snow was so soft that Todd sank deeper with every step he took. The frustration that you feel from not being able to do something as simple as walk plays with you. Because after about two hours, I had gone nowhere. The amount of energy you waste just trying to get your foot out of trouble so that then you can put it in more trouble was unbelievably taxing.

I'm not on a nice walk through the woods anymore. I'm now on a trek that I am now going to be fighting for my life. After 11 hours, Todd has only traveled a mile and a half. So at about 11 p.m. on the road, I noticed to the right and down about 150 feet was an opening. So I said, Lola, that's where we're sleeping tonight. Well, it's, you know, we'll get cover. So I went down there.

I took one of my T-shirts off and I wrapped it around a big stick and I used my lighter and lit it on fire. I then collected all the pine needles I could find to create kind of a mattress slash bed. You know, it's not comfortable, but I'm not on the cold ground. That was the whole point. My mind was racing. I was nervous. I was scared. But I probably slept a couple hours.

I'd say maybe three to four hours. The next day, Todd had to walk another 19 miles, carrying Lola to reach safety. I was trying to traverse a very narrow, steep part of the trail. An avalanche had kind of made the road impassable at that point, so I had to go around all the debris. And all of a sudden, I felt all the weight on my back, which was Lola and the supplies. I just felt a release. I turned around. I tried to catch the bag, but I couldn't. I wasn't fast enough. And Lola, in her travel bag, went tumbling down, I want to say, almost down to the river. So I want to say it was a darn near 2000 vertical feet. I immediately panicked. I did not know what was happening or what had happened to her. Todd scrambled down the rocky slope to the bottom of the valley. When I got down to Lola, I had ripped the back out of my corduroy pants and I could feel myself bleeding.

My backside, my rear end was bleeding almost profusely and uncontrollably, but that was the least of my worries. I expected to open the dog bag and see Lola with a paw on sideways or just a broken leg or broken neck. Unbelievably, she had survived. At this point, I was really scared because now we were off the road. We were now down in basically the gully of the mountains, and I had no idea how to get back up to the road.

I tried to walk next to the river and it just was the same thing. I was potholing again, but this time the snow was even softer so it was even harder. I jumped in the river. The river is probably 37, 38 degrees. There was still ice and snow on top of it at certain points that I had to break. But I knew if I was there and my feet could touch earth, if I could touch ground, that I would be able to make more progress than if I were potholing in five feet of snow. I fell twice, soaked myself thoroughly. My feet are, again, freezing. My pants were ripped open from trying to get to Lola. So occasionally in the deep parts of the river, water would come into my pants and touch,

you know, just bare skin. After about five hours of walking the creek, I realized I was shaking and I was shaking uncontrollably and I didn't know if I was having a low blood sugar again, which when you do have a low blood sugar your general result is if you don't take care of it you pass out. I knew if I passed out I'm dead. I tried to test my blood sugar with my glucose meter. The glucose meter was frozen and was unable to test. Do I run the risk of running another low blood sugar or do I take my glucagon shot and just pump myself full of sugar to make sure I'm okay. So I took my glucagon shot out,

which is about a booster needle that you would see at a doctor, and I just stuck it through my pants into my leg and gave myself all of it and just said, I'll just run a high blood sugar. I don't care at this point. As night fell, Todd's high blood sugar level depleted his energy. I pulled off, again, tried to collect as many pine needles as I could to create a bed where I wasn't just sleeping on the snow. My lighter no longer worked. There was no way for me to start a fire.

There wasn't even enough dry branches for me to produce kindling. I could feel my body shutting down. I could feel my heart slowing. For sure at this point, we're both going to die. Lola lay on Todd's chest throughout the night to keep them both warm. That morning, I was so depleted of energy. I could barely even stand, but I got to my feet. And right then I look up and you could begin to see the road descending from its perch on the mountain. So I said, Lola, if we can get on that road by noon, seven hours, we'll be sleeping in a bed tonight. I'll probably be in a hospital bed, but we'll be in a bed tonight. That third day was the toughest day for me because as a diabetic, I had now gone about almost 70, 70 plus hours without eating.

I remember at one point I collapsed on the side of the road. I was basically fighting to stay conscious. In his delirious state, Todd heard noises. I started to hear dogs barking. And at this point, I am staving off delusion. I am staving off hallucinations. So when we start hearing this howling and barking, I wasn't sure what I was coming upon.

Were it the wolves? Was it mountain lions? Was it basically something that was going to eat me? Or was it, you know, a person with their pets? We came around to Ben. And I tell you, I've seen a lot of stuff in my day. But nothing was more attractive to me than the sight of another human being. It was a woman. They call her the pet nanny in Sun Valley.

She had 12 dogs with her. She called 911. We had to walk about another half mile to get to a place where the ambulance could actually drive up to. And then I got in the back of the ambulance and basically almost started crying at that point. It was a sense of relief, a sense of I'm not going to die, a sense of I'm alive. And not only am I alive, my dog's alive. We did it. When Todd was admitted to the hospital, his body was in critical condition. They ran these tests on me, and their conclusion was I had about five to six hours to live.

I thought for sure I was going to lose toes, my feet. And unbelievably, I didn't. I went through 12 bags of fluid to rehydrate and rejuvenate my body. But I didn't even have a cold. I didn't even sneeze. After three weeks recovery, Todd was able to start his new job in Idaho. I survived because I refused to die. And I also survived because a 10-pound piece of fur that I call Lola, that I love, was a good enough dog to lay on my chest and keep my heart warm in freezing temperatures to make sure I was able to walk out of there.

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discounts not available in all states or situations. It's August 1988 in San Francisco, California. Kim and Daniel are newly married. My husband and I had been married eight months, just moved into a new apartment, looking forward to, you know, the new things associated with being newlyweds. One August morning, Daniel left for work, leaving Kim alone in the apartment. I had to be at work at 8.30, so it took about a half hour for me to walk to work. It was about 12 blocks away, about a mile. So I would typically leave the house around 8.

Walking towards the door, and I reached out and grabbed the doorknob, and I turned, and that's as far as I got. Once I turned the doorknob, he was in, in the house. The next thing I knew was there were hands at my face. This man's hands were punching me in the face, scratching at my face. He started to guide me with his arm and with his hand, started to guide me into the living room. And he asked where the stereo was. And at that point, I was very relieved because I thought he

wanted to rob me. So he said, take me to your stereo. Well, he started whispering in my ear. He said, I'm in control here. And he said a number of times, as we're walking walking I'm in control here don't scream don't yell I'm in control here and while he was saying this he started punching me in the side it was at that point when he started punching me that I thought no he doesn't want to rob me there's more to it than this that's when the idea of the rape came into my mind maybe he wants to to rape me. We walked, again, as if we were one. He kept pace with me, always kept behind me. We walked into the living room, and he turned the stereo on,

and then he turned it up full volume. My mind started racing. I wasn't sure what his plan was at that point, but I was thinking. I knew I couldn't overpower him. I knew I couldn't sure what his plan was at that point, but I was thinking. I knew I couldn't overpower him. I knew I couldn't fight him. But I was thinking about what I could do. But I wanted to wait to see what he was going to do.

I might have been able to gauge what his plan was if he did yell, if he did grunt, if he did raise his voice. But none of that, none of that. He was so calm, it was kind of scary. I did tell him that I had some money, and I did. I had a few hundred dollars in one of my shoes, and he didn't react. The intruder directs Kim to the bedroom. We're still walking together. He's still punching me in the side. And we walk into the bedroom, and we walk past the bed. So we walk to the corner of the bedroom, and there was a window there. My thought at that point was, I've got to get someone's attention. It's 8 o'clock in the morning.

Someone has still got to be in this building, and I need to start getting someone's attention. So I lashed out and broke the window, and I started screaming. Loud, long, kind of shrieky screams. It did nothing to him. He didn't react. He said, get on the bed, get on all fours, face the wall, and don't turn around. He pounced on the bed, and he was behind me the whole time. He made sure that I really never got a good look at him. And from behind, he was scratching at my eyes. Because, you know, when someone's scratching your face, your eyes are closed.

And yet he was still able to get my contact lenses out. A knock came at the door. A neighbor had been alerted by the noises coming from Kim's apartment. What he did was he took one of the pillows that was in front of me and he stuffed it into my face. And at that point, I wasn't sure if he was trying to kill me or if he just wanted to quiet me down to, you know, hoping that the neighbor would go away. The knocking would stop and the neighbor would go away. Kim could not breathe with the pillow smothering her face. I stuck my arm up into the pillow to provide a little air pocket because I wasn't sure what he was doing.

I didn't know if it was temporary or... And so we waited. He stopped. He never said a word, just pulled the pillow up into my face. He was still behind me. And of course, the neighbor went away. I'm squirming. I'm fighting. I'm trying to get out of his grip. And we're just doing this all around the bed. At one point, I fell onto the floor. And we had hardwood floors. And I started pounding on the floor with both of my hands. I can imagine I looked like a little child throwing a tantrum.

But I was hoping that the pounding on the hardwood floors would get someone's attention. That was still my goal. And at that point, I tried to talk to him. I said, why are you doing this to me? And he said, I'm doing this to you today, and someone's going to do this to me tomorrow. At one point, he fell in front of me

and fell back onto his butt. His legs were open, and his crotch was exposed. And my first thought was, let's try to give him some pain too, you know. And so I reached for his crotch. I can't tell you what I was going to do, but I wanted to do something. But his pants were extremely tight, and so I really couldn't do what I wanted to do something, but his pants were extremely tight. And so I really couldn't do what I wanted to do. I really wanted to put some pain to him like he was putting to me. At that point, he was reaching for the iron.

So he hit me in the back of the head, and he hit me again. One of them was to my forehead, one of them was to the side. One to the arm, I put my arm up, he broke my arm. One of them was to my forehead. One of them was to the side. One to the arm. I put my arm up. He broke my arm with one of them. And one of them, he damaged my left ring finger. The blood was everywhere. I never lost consciousness, never.

And I thought I had to be driving him crazy. He's probably thinking, what do I have to do? He hit me seven times total. And the iron broke. The plate, the face plate fell right off. He dropped the iron and said, now you're going to get it. He's going to the kitchen to get something sharp, to get a weapon, something to finish me off with since the iron was broken.

I don't know if he's coming back. I don't know if he's coming back. I don't know if he's rummaging through the drawers in our kitchen looking for a specific instrument. I don't know what he's doing. But my thinking was, I have to get out of here. I pull myself up into the windowsill, and I raise the window, and I see my neighbor. I'm yelling at him, call the police, call the police.

And his response was, don't jump, don't jump. I said, I don't know if this man is still in the apartment. And so I popped up into the window sill, turned around, and I hung there from my fingertips. And I thought to myself, if I just hung there, the distance between my feet and the concrete would be shorter. It wouldn't be such a bad fall. So I ended up letting go, and I dropped. Kim fell 20 feet onto hard concrete, breaking her leg. She spent three months recovering from the injuries inflicted by her attacker.

I think when couples experience something traumatic like this from that point on, it can go either way. But in our situation, it brought us closer together. And we're still together today. Despite extensive police investigations, Kim's attacker has never been found. I survived because not long after the attack started, the will to live kicked in. And I took advantage of small windows of opportunity. And that's why I survived.

A true crime podcast. It got me upset because this is someone's kid and someone knows she's gone. That takes a different approach. It was shocking for something like this to happen in our little town. Focusing on the communities affected by life-shattering crimes. It made news throughout the entire region

that these two people had been shot while they slept in such a safe community. To give a new perspective on the devastation crimes can cause. It was shocking for something like this to happen in our little town. Featuring cases from quiet towns to bustling cities and interviewing the people closest to the case.

My first thought was that it's an unusual location for us to have a homicide. Listen to the true crime podcast, City Confidential, and step beyond the yellow tape to learn just how far a crime can reach. There are certain cases in the history of Boston that I think sort of define the city. I think this is one of them. New episodes of the City Confidential podcast are available every Thursday, available wherever you get your podcasts. It's summertime and with Pluto TV's Summer of Cinema, the streaming is easy. Stream hundreds of free movies on all

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Watching endless movies. Tell me that's not the deal of the summer. Summer of Cinema on Pluto TV. Stream now. Pay never.