Morbid - The Unbelievable Survival Story of Holly K. Dunn

Episode Date: September 25, 2021

Alaina brings us the tale of Holly K Dunn who survived a brutal attack at the hands of an evil, deranged man. Holly’s survival tale is incredibly inspiring but also heartbreaking because through it she lost an amazing boyfriend, Chris Maier. Chris Maier and Holly had recently begun dating and were just enjoying an evening stroll by a set of railroad tracks when a man came out of the dark in front of them and attacked them. What Holly didn’t find out for two years was that this man was one of the most notorious serial killers. Check out Holly's book! Sole Survivor by Holly K. Dunn Holly's House Gabby Petito's family. has asked that in lieu of flowers, if you can, please send donations to the Future Gabby Petito Foundation through the Johnny mac Foundation at: https://johnnymacfoundation.org  As always, thank you to our sponsors: Hello Fresh: Get up to fourteen free meals—including free shipping!—when you use code morbid14 at HelloFresh.com/morbid14 Best Fiends: Download Best Fiends FREE today on the App Store or Google Play Scribd:.  Go to try.scribd.com/MORBID for your free 60 day trial. Curology: You can start your Curology journey just like I did with a free 30-day trial at Curology.com/MORBID.  Monday.com: Tap into the magic of your team with monday.com Work OS, sign up for your free two-week trial at monday.com today! Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash KelleyListener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra LallyListener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey, weirdos, I'm Ash and I'm Elena. And this is morbid. It sure is. Morbid on the weekend. That's right. Well, by the time you guys hear this, it will be the weekend. Yeah, exactly. Because, wow, what a week. It's been a shitty week, guys. Yeah, it's been a shitty week. Has it been a shitty week for you guys too? Because I feel like I keep seeing people being like, yeah, my week was shitty too. You know what scary is if this was a shitty week? Because it was a shitty week for you and your fans. And then I had like a meh week. week. Yeah. And I'm like, then I got to thinking and I was like, oh, is Mercury in retrograde? And of course. The Google machine was like, no, it's not, but it will be on Sunday. Sunday going into Monday. Wow. Mercury retrograde starts. So I was like, was this just like life's warm up for us all? Like it was just like take a lap and then go off into your shitty retrograde. I'm hoping that maybe we just have it wrong and Mercury retrograde just ended and we're beginning a new time of a, uh, correct grade.

We're all going to be. Correct grade. We're all going to forward grade. And we're all going to be fine. And everything's going to be great because my stove broke randomly yesterday. I burned all of my fingers on molten hot caramel. Yeah. Like literally have,

at the very least, second degree burns on one of my finger. Like I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to go to the doctors for that one just to make sure that I don't get infected. Homemade caramel gets. so hot. And it was like my own stupidity, but it was like my own stupidity that was happening because of the universe, I'm pretty sure. Like, I don't know what the atmosphere was that like making me stupid. We, no, that's not stupid. Like the caramel like plopped up and burned you. Why is that your stupidity? Because usually I'm much more careful with that and I should have been more careful. But you're in like, you're in like a bad relationship with caramel. I am. I really am in a toxic relationship with caramel.

But you know, whatever. But either way. And then like everybody's been sick. I can feel the sickness creeping in. I'm trying to keep it at bay, but I have a scratchy-ass throat right now. I know. It would be a wonder if I didn't get sick because I've been covered in snot and all kinds of fun things. I have been a shit aunt. I have come here to report and then said, bye little sweeties. No, you're smart.

You're smart. Usually I stick around, but I just don't feel like getting sick. You didn't feel like getting sick this time. I just don't feel like it right now. Sometimes aunts just don't feel like I'm sick. It's cool. I pulled my aunt card. I was going to say you have that right.

Yes. You have that right till you're a parent. It's true. And pulled that card right out of my pocket. And I would never shame you for taking that right. And I rarely pull that card. No, you never pulled that card. I know.

But yeah, it's just been a shitty week. I'm just hoping, like, that next week is cooler for everybody. Fuck you in the butt. I'm hoping that Mercury retrograde is like just a party for everybody this time. It is a body. I don't know. Let's hope. I just think it's been a shitty week.

On top of that, there hasn't been a shitty week. You know what? It's been a shitty week, guys. I'm tired, too. On top of that, because my youngest pandemic baby doesn't sleep. And when she's sick, she really doesn't sleep. Which means none of us sleep. That's the problem with pandemic baby.

Yeah. She's, we, oh, I can't tell you what we call her because it's her name. But it's a variation on her name. We use her name backwards because we think that that. her as a demon. Yeah, because that's her demon name. My demon name is, and I want you all to know that. But anyways, that's the problem with pandemic baby is she's a little demon who doesn't sleep or anything, but then she's like, Mama. But she's the cutest thing you've ever seen. Yeah, I just love her. Just want to eat her. Even in the middle of the night, I'm like,

you're just so freaking cute. I can handle it. I literally pretend to eat her face so often that she's started pretending to eat my face. It's a good thing to teach her. You know, but you know, we'll all get through this together, guys. We're all going to get through it together. And on top of that, you know, there hasn't been any movement in the Gabby Petito case. We've been keeping up with that pretty closely. I hope all of you follow Brian Enton because he's where it's at. Oh, actually, I wanted to, I meant to say this to you even before we started recording. So I did see this TikTok today, which like, you know, not an article, but a TikTok. Let me throw a huge giant chunk of salt at you really quick. Salt, not a grain. Oh, well, you. Well, you're just going to say, but a tick-tock. I'm just going to

So I was like, what? Takes us with a giant chunk of salt. Yeah, yeah, of course, of course. But it is interesting. This woman was saying she was like, obviously, like, the police know way more than like they're letting us know, which, yes, 100%. Of course, in every investigation they are. And that's awesome.

Yeah. And then she was saying there's cameras in that reserve that they're searching. And then they narrowed down the search to like a very small area. The whole reserve is like 25,000 square feet or acres or whatever. And she was like, I wonder if like the cameras caught him. in one part of that. So that would be interesting. There is a possible. Well, they've been, they looked at one of the cameras because somebody claimed that they had a picture of him on one of the, like, trail cameras or one of their

specific cameras. And it was somebody who literally looked nothing like. It was like a bald white dude. Then it was like, the same girl made another TikTok and was like, guys, this isn't Brian Laundrie. Yeah. This isn't Brian Laundrie. Like he can't. Not every bald white dude is Brian Laundrie. Like as much as we wanted to be him, I understand everybody. just wants to catch him. Of course. Of course, because it's officially a manhunt. I guess that's one of the updates. It's officially a manhunt now. The FBI did officially issue a warrant, not for murder, but for his arrest based on like unlawful usage of, you know, what we think is like a cell phone. I know he was using an ATM debit card that didn't belong to him. We don't know it belonged to Gabby,

but that's all we know so far. But I'm just waiting for like concrete, let me know what's going on. And that's it. So hopefully we'll get some of that. I know Brian Enton is like still camped out at the laundry house. I was going to say again, if you didn't listen to the last episode, every morning that I wake up, I refresh Brian Anton's Twitter. He's there. Every morning there's bigger, small, some kind of update. Yeah, he's there. He's there like 24-7. He's like really, he's really committed to this. So hopefully, you know, we get something out of it. But I think there's been a couple of like, you know, go-fund-mees that have popped up and all the money is going towards like, you know, like domestic violence charities and like other really good things that I think, I feel like, you know, would be good to do in Gabby's memory. You know, like do something good if you can, even if it's like a buck that you can give to somewhere like that, I think it would just be a nice thing to do if we can all just try to. And actually, Gabby's father tweeted yesterday.

Her funeral service, I believe, is happening today. But he said, in lieu of flowers for the service, please send donations for the future Gabby Petito Foundation through the Johnny Mac Foundation at johnny macfoundation.org. Oh, that's good to know. Obviously, like, that's somewhere that's close to the family's heart. Yeah, that's right from her dad. You want to send donations there like in lieu of flowers or just because you want to send a donation there if you're able to.

That's where they'd like it to go. Yeah, for sure. And we'll link it in the show notes so that you guys can find. it easy again because I still see people wondering where the show notes are so I'll just take it as many times as I can for you in the description of the episode just hit show more boom that's where all the links are wherever you listen wherever you're listening so today let's get to our case our case here this one is wild it's a survival tale okay okay which we haven't had in a while we have I don't even remember the last one we did let's have you know we we love a happy ending

yeah let's go girls This one is going to be a survival tale today. But then my next episode, which will come out next week, is going to be an extension of this where, because this person's survival was a part of something much bigger and pretty awful. So we're going to be covering the killer who eventually attacked this woman. Okay. And she survived. But I want to start with her because, wow, she's amazing. Her name is Holly K. Dunn, but she now goes by Holly Dunn Pendleton because she is remarried.

Yes, for all. Well, not remarried. Married. I don't know why I said remarried. She's married. Well, you'll know once I start talking because she had like a very significant other at one point. Okay. But she's amazing.

So I just felt this whole story should start with her because she's like, she like endlessly just like made me. drop my jaw off. Like astounded. Yeah, she's truly like one of the most inspirational people, just the way she was able to move forward from this experience that I'm about to tell you, because when you hear it, you're going to be like, I'm sorry, what? Oh, God. She wrote a book about this, and it's called Soul Survivor, the inspiring true story

of coming face to face with the infamous killer. I'm not going to say it yet because I want to give you like a... She wants to do a big reveal at the end. I want to do a big reveal at the end. But find her book. It's Holly Kay Dunn's Soul Survivor. And it's, it'll like blow your eye. I blew through this book because I couldn't put it down.

I like just could not stop. I love that. Now, as a young girl, she lived in Evansville, Indiana. And she was already a badass as a young girl. Let's go. Now I'm going to give you as much information as I have about her life and about her boyfriend at the time's life. there's not a ton out there, but I'm going to give you what I can. She was determined when she was

little to become the first female president of the United States. Yes. So like, get it, girl. It's not too late because guess what? We still haven't had one. We still have an ad one. So I have no doubt she probably still could because with her spirit, strength, intelligence, determination, she's insanely admirable. Like I said, like if she was running for president, I'd be like, hell yeah. You got it. She's just, she's a badass. But I'm really, really glad that she has actually chosen to write down this story because for a while, obviously, it must have been insanely hard for her to even retell this story. But I'm glad she did this because it's so empowering to take this and turn into such a show of strength and a show of love.

Like this story really shows you like when you like people caring about each other. Yeah. Like when I was reading this book, I was like, wow. It re-sements your values in humanity. It does. And it makes you think about all the people that. that you really care about in your life. And you're like, damn, I'm lucky to have these people. Did you think about me? I might have thought about you a little bit. I might have thought about you a little bit.

But, you know, and I'm telling you, if you read this book, you're just going to be like, damn, I just want to hug everybody that I love in my life. I don't like hugs. It really is. I'm not a big hugger today. But it's going to make you think, like, maybe we could just just air high five. We can do like a side hug. Yeah.

Or like a finger guns. Yeah. That's what we'll do. But so they can bring you back to like this very serious place. Holly lost the person she cared about the most at the time. And she lost him in front of her. And she lost him in one of the worst ways imaginable. Okay.

This is a really sad tale. I want to give a quick trigger warning. This is really, it's tough to listen to. There's rape involved in this. It's a tough, tough, tough case. You're really testing us all lately. But I'm telling you at the end of this episode, at least, somebody comes out good in the end.

Justice. We'll take that at least. But she survived. She thrived. She carries on his legacy with her today. And she like turned it into something pretty beautiful. And like, it's really amazing. I just want you to read that book.

It's really inspiring, it sounds like. Read the damn book. It's so good. That's Elena's Google Review. It really is. Like I never, after I read this book, I never wanted to complain again. Wow. It was just like, it was like reading the Michelle Knight.

book when you're just like, damn, I just, what am I doing? I don't have a bad at all. I just spent the first half of this episode complaining about a bad week. Fuck that. Yeah, it wasn't a bad week. Fuck that. It wasn't that bad week. You got to eat the caramel that fucked you over.

I got to eat the caramel. Everybody's relatively healthy. We're coming out of the crap. The stove works again. The stove works again. It's like, I just can't complain after me. It puts a lot of things in perspective. So that's good.

This horrible thing took place August 28th, 1997. And I saw an interview. she did with the news station and they were trying to paint this picture of this year 1997 when Ash was one. And they were saying it was the time of Puff Daddy. Yeah, bitch. And the time of Biggie. Yeah, bitch. And I was like, yeah, that stuff was great. But she was like, I was into like Benfolds Five and like Bare Naked Ladies at the time. Benfolds Five. You just awakened me. I love Benfold five. Yeah. And as soon as I heard Benfolds Five, I was like, yes. The sad, the super sad one.

The sad one. Oh my God, yeah. I can, like, hear like the beginning. The luckiest. Yes, the luckiest. Oh, my God. Yeah. I might start crying right now, just hearing the luckiest.

Like, very college, like, very college core. Yeah. The luckiest. You know, I wanted that as my wedding song. Yes, I remember that. And John heard it and was like, this is so sad. No. Literally the saddest song ever.

But it's so beautiful. But it's so beautiful. I could see why you would want it. Anyways. Well, anyways, that's a great. Also, biggie, biggie, biggie. There you go. Yeah, lifting up.

But this was the year that she was a junior at the University of Kentucky. Okay. And she was a member of the Kappa Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority. She was majoring in accounting. She later changed to finance. But she wanted to follow in her father's career in the hotel business. And she talks about her father in the book. And she says that he was just like a really great example of being a highly successful

business person, but also making time for his family. And she was like, I really wanted. that life. I wanted to make sure I was successful, but I wanted to make sure my family was like my number one priority. Those are like the best two priorities to have as a junior in fucking college. Like get it. Yeah. And it's like her family, it just sounds like such like a close knit. Like just a delightful family. Like you just, when you're reading about it, you're like, damn. I just want to like hang out with you guys. Can I come over for Thanksgiving? But at the time, she was newly dating a guy who she really liked and his name was Christopher Myers.

They had met in a college bar called Buffalo Wild Wings and Weck. Buffalo Wild Wings. Yeah, it's not the same one. And Weck. And Weck, yeah. But she had been celebrating her best friend and roommate Annie's 21st birthday that night. And the way they met was while she was talking to another guy. They were like that, this was like a dive bar.

And I guess it was only their little group and then like a group of dudes from the college in this bar. Sounds like the actual. Yeah. So exactly. So she was talking to another guy, and Chris just walks up to her and is like, hey, we have the same toes. And she was like, what the fuck? And he was like, look. And she was always wearing silver nail polish on her toenails.

And it was in the summer. So they were both wearing sandals. He had silver nail polish on his toes. And I'll explain that after. That's hilarious. But what a great pickup line. You walk up and say we have the same nail polish on our toes. That's amazing.

I mean, like, I'll go home with you. Like, hell yeah, dude, we do. Nice nail polish. My standards are loud. I love that. I'm totally kidding. Like, I will nail polish? That's great.

Let's go. So Christopher Thomas Mayer was 21 years old at the time. He was from Canton, Ohio, and he was also a junior at the University of Kentucky. He was really close to his parents, Tom and Anna, or excuse me, Tom and Ann Mayer. And he was very close to his older sister Elizabeth. They were, like, best friends. He was a member of five. Kappa Psi fraternity and he was majoring in lighting design in the theater department at the school.

Fai Kappa. Sigh. He was tall. He was. He was six foot five, which I was like, I get it, Holly. I get it, Holly. No, John's how tall? Six foot three.

Oh, okay. So he was six foot five. He's taller than John. Taller than John. I've never met anyone taller than John. Right. It's crazy. So in Holly.

said she was like as soon as I saw him I was like hello I'm a climb you like a tree I was like I get it and and I guess everybody who was there that night when they got in the car like all her friends were like who's that really tall guy he was really cute and she was like fuck you guys he's mine girls love a tall man I love that so they ended up inviting him and his friend that night to a party at their apartment the following evening because they were having a party for her roommate Anna sure so they decided they were going to come. A 21st birthday. Take me back. So that night that they were at the party at their apartment, Chris and Holly spent the entire night talking. They immediately just were like, whoop, like bonded right away. This is going to ruin me, isn't it? Yep, it is. It's a very

terrible story, but Holly is a fucking badass. Okay, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. So they really bonded that night. They ended up going for a walk outside alone together to like really talk. some more. This is when they found out they had like very similar families. They came from similar upgringings. They were both super close to their older sisters. Chris was like really close to his older sister Elizabeth, like I said. And Holly had an older sister, Heather, who was only 18 months older than her. Irish twins. So they were like twins. And they like really were best friends. And in fact, she considered her rock. Like when she was interviewed later by the police when all this shit goes down, they were like, you can have one person in the room with you, and she said her

sister. I would want you. Because she was like, she's who I need. Like, I need her. She was the first person that she told the entire story to. I mean, she was like right there. That's like my you. It really, like gave me. I was like, oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. I love your sister Bond. But she, so her family was like super close and loving. His family was super close and loving. So I think they both had like Catholic upbringings in like the Midwest. So it was just like, They were just, like, vibing about all this. They were like, oh, hell yeah. You know exactly how all this goes.

Oh, I love this. Yeah. And she said one of the things she loved about Chris immediately was that he had a ton of women in his life that he respected and was close to. Hell yeah. His sister, his mom, he had a lot of friends that were girls that he was, like, very respectful of. Good.

He had two female roommates, in fact. It was just him and them. Yeah. And she, like, jokes in the book about three's company. I know, right? And that's why his. toenails were silver because they had painted his toenails. Oh my God, I love that. And I love that he was like, go for it. Yeah, like, just do it. Now, according to Holly, Chris also loved the outdoors, huge outdoors guy.

He was a big hiker, bicyclist, and he was a super, he was like a hippie. I love that. Like had the homemade, like the DIY necklace, you know, like with the the big knots on it. He was, he would walk around barefoot all the time. Me too. Like, he loved fish. The band. Oh. Maybe he loved the animal as well, but he loved the band. And he had been planning, actually, at the end of the summer. To go follow fish.

To go to Maine because he was going to the fish festival in Maine. And he was, like, super excited about that. He had family out there, too. I feel like there was always a boy in college who loved fish. Oh, there was more than one boy in college. You don't just love fish. If you love fish, you don't, like, just love fish. Like, you are fish.

No, you love fish. Like, there, you become fish. Everybody, I feel like everybody knows somebody that is fish. Yeah. And they're usually just like, the coolest people. You're just like, hell yeah. Or I know one person that's like, not the coolest. I'm not fish.

But Chris was a cool dude. And he was also an artist, which is probably not shocking. No. Considering like he seems like just like a super vibey, like cool dude. And Holly says his apartment was like covered in his own creations. Oh, cool. He could pull out supplies and make something beautiful like, boom. And in Holly's own words in her book, she said,

quote, he would turn a rainy day into an adventure, splashing in puddles and shaking droplets from the trees. If the sun was shining, he'd be flying kites against the wind. Chris had an irrepressible infectious energy. When I was with him, he made me feel like the most important person in the room. He was always smiling, and he would always greet you with a hug. He gave the best hugs. My heart literally just like grew in my chest.

If you look at pictures of this dude, too, he's adorable. Like he has the best smile. He just seems like he's one of those people that you would just like be happy being around. And by all accounts, he was. Like everybody who knew him, this isn't like, you know, everybody jokes about that whole like, like there's that meme that goes around that's like, why is it always like they she lit up a room when she walked into it? You know what I mean? Like this is genuinely one of those things where I have not come across someone, not just saying he was a good guy. they're all like he was one of the best.

Like one of the best, it's, it really is. It sounds like it. Like you can just tell. Yeah, and you can. Like how she speaks about him. People don't just talk about people like that. Like people gush about him. And when you see what his like friends did afterwards and stuff, you can really see how much

she was cared about. He was adorable. And she's gorge. Yeah. And he's, it's so sad. But one of the things, too, she talks about in the book and again, read the book. Because her recollections of everything. things, like, it'll just take you to a place.

It really makes you just like, oh. I want to read this book, but I'm also like, I don't want to have my life be ruined. But she made, she did it in a way that makes you just like fall in love with them. Yeah. As a, as a unit. And then it makes you sad, but it also, like, brings you back up. Of course. So she really did an amazing job with it.

But there was one instance she said where she, like, sat down on this couch with him. And he just pulled out a paper and like a bunch of, like, art supplies and was like, let's make art together. And she was like, yeah, I don't know how to do it. She's like, I can't draw. Like, I don't know what to do. And he was like, that's fine. You don't have to.

He was like, just do what you want. Right. And she said together, they drew this like crazy, like, abstract, just colors everywhere and stuff. And they did it together, like this whole collaboration. And later in his, because I mean, Chris Myers, unfortunately, was killed. Later, when, during his funeral, they had a pamphlet with like a bunch of pictures of him and his art and stuff.

and in the middle of it was a picture of that painting that they did together. Yeah. So he did get to go to Maine. He got to go to Maine. Good. He got to go to the Fish Festival. He had an amazing time. And he, like, called her and was like, this is so amazing.

I bet he, like, called her during, like, a song. Remember, people would do that. And they'd be like, you love this song. Like, I'm going to call you during it. John did that to me once. He did that at a 3-Eleven concert during Amber. Like, shut up. When you were dating.

I love that John is a fucking hippie but won't admit. He wouldn't admit when we were dating, he did that and I loved it. But while he was there, he bought, so he came back and he gave Holly this ring that he had got there. And it was kind of like a fun little ring. It was like something you would find in like those little machines in the grocery store. And I think that's like probably where he got it. But it's special. And it was like a daisy, a purple daisy with like glitter all over it.

And it was like adjustable. So 90s. And it was so 90s. And I think it's like the cutest. And she said it. She was like, it was just that he thought of me. Yeah. He thought of me.

He probably passed by that machine and was like, I'm going to get Holly something. And it's like that was all I needed. Like, that was nice. Oh, my God. I fucking ruined me. I love love. And they're just like, their love or their like relationship was such like a wholesome. It's like a young adult novel.

Kind of just like, man. So Thursday evening, August 28th, 1997. Chris and Holly planned to go to a party off campus on suburban court. which is in Lexington, Kentucky. The party was for his fraternity, and they had been planning this date for a few days, so they were excited about it. It was a big deal. And the next day on Friday, they were planning to have a picnic together.

So they had got a ton of supplies for it, like, we're ready to go. In her book, you can, like, feel during this part to the excitement at this, like, of this relationship at this time. And it made me remember, like, the first phases of dating. someone you really are into and how exciting and new everything is. She said she was wearing brown corduroy pants that she was like her favorite pair of pants, a brown belt and a white t-shirt. And she said she also had her favorite Birkenstock clogs on. Oh my God, iconic. And three rings on her fingers. One of those rings was the daisy ring that Chris had given her. I love rings. Now, when he picked her up that night, he had a megaphone mounted to his car. I called it. And he literally

called out into the house for her. Like, I'm obsessed with this man. Like, I love him. Like, he, too good for this world. Too good. Too good. And the party, like, they went. The party was fine, but they got, like, kind of bored. They were like, all right, it's kind of like winding down. And at this point, it was like, close to a little after midnight. And they were just like, all right, we're kind of over this. Nothing good happens after midnight. No. Well, Chris said, you know, he was bored too. And he was like, you know what? He had actually lived in that house before, like he moved into the fraternity house. So he was like, when I lived here, I used to go walking along the railroad tracks

because I loved watching the trains go by. And so he was like, do you want to leave with me and we can go take a walk together and just have like a time together? And she was like, that sounds really romantic and great. And it was the Norfolk Southern Railway is the railroad track that they were at. And his two friends, Ryan and Mike, were like, hey, can we join you too? So they went out with them and they were like, okay, cool. And it's funny because she's like,

I wanted to go alone with him, but like, whatever. Yeah. She's like, that's fine. She's like, you guys are... But you guys are third and fourth wheels, but thank you. Now, Chris had carried a backpack into the party with some beers in it, like all college people do. I just heard the clang of it all. And he had like a six pack in the bed.

A PBR. He carried this backpack with him when they went to the tracks that night, too. Because they were all just going to, like, drink beers and walk down the tracks. And probably, like, head out afterwards. Yeah. And they were all hoping to, like, see some trains, just walk along. have a nice time. Yeah, that sounds cool. Yeah, but after 30 minutes, no trains came. And they were like, this is annoying. Like, now it's just really dark down here and we're all just walking. Right.

And Mike and Ryan were like, you know, we're going to head back to the party and probably get going like, you guys do what you want. But Chris wanted to keep walking a bit more because he was like, now I want to walk with just Holly. Right, of course. Because he was clearly as smitten with her as she was with him. And he was like, let's have a romantic stroll. So they did. They had like a nice romantic stroll. They walked the tracks for a bit. They talked. They held hands. Like, just two college kids digging each other. I can like feel this night. Yeah, right? Reading this, you're just like, oh my God, I feel everything. Especially if you're in love with somebody that's like even half as amazing as Chris sounds, which like I think Drew is amazing. Like you relate it

to things that you did when you were first dating. Oh, all I could think of during your research. All I could think of was dating John. That's all I could think of. And like the first couple of dates where you would do shit like this. And I just was like, man, like I hate that you didn't get more, you know, like of this. But it just makes my heart hurt these like last moments together that they had. Or like I'm glad they had those kind of moments. But it's like, oh.

Now you can't fathom what happens next. So they began to walk back to the party because they were like, okay, it's getting late. Let's go back to the car. Let's go home and the night. As they're walking back down the tracks, they passed by a large electrical box on the right side of the tracks. It's pitch black out there, by the way. There's very few lights, so it's really dark. From behind the box, suddenly, out of nowhere, a man stepped out.

Oh, God. He had obviously been crouched behind it waiting for them. And he just stood in front of them on the tracks and said, where did your friends go? So he had been watching them this entire time because he knew that they had left. He knew they had friends with them. He must have been watching literally the entire time. Oh, my God, that's terrifying. He then demanded money. And they were like, okay. And she was like, so she was like, I immediately was like, get a good look at him. Just get a good look at him. And she said, quote, he had olive skin and black wavy hair. Plain khaki pants, a shirt about the same color. There was nothing particularly descriptive about him, but his eyes were what unnerved me. No irises, just blackness framed by square glasses. he also had a thin mustache she said now holly said she didn't notice quite yet but chris had clearly seen that this man was carrying an ice pick in his hands uh chris was trying to be like very chill with him

and like and holly at first was like why is he just like not like going like you know because he was like he's six foot five why isn't he going after this too like or like just being like fuck off right but he saw the ice pick and he was like yeah i'm not going to fuck around with this and the guy said get down on your knees. Ice pick. Oh my God. Oh, my God. And he did. And Holly knelt next to him. And they both told him, we don't have any cash. And it was the truth. They didn't have cash on them. Right. And they

offered this man, Chris's car keys. They were like, you can take, Holly was like, take my ATM cards. You can have it all. I'll give you everything. And but he didn't want any of that. No, of course not. He was not there for that. He was not there for cash. He wasn't there for anything except to cause them pain and suffering.

Now, he used the straps of Chris's backpack to tie. his hands behind his back, and then used Holly's own belt to tie hers. Now, this entire time, and until he took his last breath, Holly maintains that Chris fought for only her. Oh my God. He didn't even care about himself. He kept saying, don't hurt her and do whatever you want with me, please just let her go. Oh, my God. And he kept saying, like, you can do whatever you want to me, just please let her leave. Like, that's all he kept saying. What an amazing guy. And the man attacking them seemed anxious to Holly. Like, seemed, he kept screaming at them to,

shut up and like kept saying don't look at me stop looking at me like anytime they looked at his face and throughout the entire ordeal he was pacing and like very fidgety and like holly said he it felt like he was like hopped up on so like very adrenaline or like some kind of drug because he was like scary wired right and like very anxious do we find out later if this particular person was on anything um not for sure but it's pretty safe to say he probably was okay he ended up dragging chris away the ground, which was covered in rocks and broken glass, by the way, because this is right next to a train tracks. And as he's doing this, Holly was following on her knees, like, trying to get to him. And she had loosened the belt around her hands, around her back. And, yeah,

oh, let me just put it out here. You're going to be like, excuse me, Holly? Like, why are you this, like, her fucking smart thinking. Right. Thank goodness for it. Now, so she's following on her knees behind them. She's getting her wrists undone out of that belt. And throughout this entire ordeal, she has had the presence of mind and quick thinking to think, what do I leave behind? How do I get out of here? What's my next thing? I need to look at his face. I need to know what's going. Like she thought of everything you're supposed to think of, but probably would never even consider thinking of that. So he then threw Chris down into a ditch next to a fence. It was like a small ditch. He made both of them lie down next to each other and then screamed at them to be

Wyatt. He told them that he had a friend with him. And he was like, my friend left to go get something, but he's coming right back. So don't even try to go anywhere. Okay. And he ran back to the electrical box. He did this several times. And he had a bag behind there, obviously. Yeah. And so he runs back to the electrical box that he like slithered out from behind. And he was ripping fabric. And so Holly's, what the fuck are they doing? So while he's doing that, Holly and Chris are trying to like come up with some kind of a skate plan. Right. But he's so fast when he keeps going back that they can't get anything together.

Like a coherent one. So he comes back and he ties both of their ankles very tightly with a piece of fabric. To each other or just their ankles together so that they can't run. Okay. He then also takes fabric and he puts them around their mouths. He gags them. But Holly said she immediately stuck her tongue out when he wrapped it around so that it wouldn't be tightly around her face.

Right. And so she could immediately, she was able to pull it down right away when he went back. Good. And which, how do you think of that? Badass. How do you think of that? I would never think of that. They're still continuing to try to formulate some kind of escape plan here, but he's too

quick each time he goes back. Right. And she did get her hands completely free and was able to get her gag down and she was able to get Chris's gag off. Now when he came back, he was pissed because she had gotten out of the gags. Of course. And he told them, quote, I just broke out of jail. See, you're going to see me on the news. I have a gun and my friend is on his way back. Don't even try to escape. Oh, my God. Which, what the fuck do you say to that? What do you do? And he retied them. He kept yelling at her to stop looking at him. That was like the thing he got like, didn't want her looking at his face. And so she said she made it a point to stare into his eyes, like would not look away from him. And she said the main focus was getting out. out of there with as much information as possible about this asshole. And she noticed a tattoo of a black

snake that like wrapped around his arm. And she made note of that immediately. And again, just so much awareness. And in the middle of the pitch black. Yeah, in the middle of the pitch black. And that's when he left again to go back to the electrical box. And Chris said the last words he would ever say. Oh, God. He turned to Holly and he said, just stay calm. Everything's going to be okay. Oh, my God. And when the man returned, he was carrying a massive rock, weighing over 50 pounds. Oh my God, no. He walked up to them silently and just dropped the rock on Chris's head.

Oh, my God. Right next to Holly. Oh, my God. Then she said he kept, he picked it up and kept hitting him over and over with it, right next her. Oh, my God. Yeah. I literally can't even fathom that.

I can't imagine that happening to you next to you with a stranger who. who you didn't know. But somebody you care about deeply? And you're like falling in love with this person, like actively falling in love with this person. I can't. I literally can't. Now, when he was satisfied that he had killed Chris, he went to Holly and started untying her ankles. Oh, no.

And immediately she was like, what the fuck is going to happen here? And she said immediately she knew he's going to rape me. It's going to happen. So she fought him hard and he took the ice pick and stabbed her in the neck with it. Oh, my God. And then whispered in her ear. see how easily I could kill you. Oh my God. When she expressed, and so this is happening to her. She's actively just got stabbed in the neck. With an ice pick. With an ice pick. And she said she

heard Chris like a noise coming from him. And she said it was like a gurgling noise. And she said, she looked at the guy and said, can you please just move his head so he doesn't choke on his own blood. Oh my God. That's what she's thinking after she just got stabbed in the neck. Not even thinking about herself. Like, that should tell you how much, like, they cared about each other. Obviously. And I guess the guy went over to Chris, looked at him and then said, he's gone. You don't have to worry about him no more. Oh my God. How are you that fucking evil? And what she, what she can do that. And she found out later that he was not alive at that point, that that was like a death rattle. Like, that was not him actually, like, actively breathing. Right. He then raped her on the tracks as the first train

in hours went by next to them. That must have just been so horrifying in every way imaginable. Like the sensory overload. And it's like when you hear about people who like blast like music when they do these horrible things. You know how I always say like the thought of that to me? Because I just fucking hate loud noises. And think of how a lot of fucking train is. It amplifies the terror on every level.

Just the irony too of like they went out there looking for trains and didn't see any. that comes by is happening while. And no one saw. No one saw. And the thing is like blaring its horn as it goes by and everything. Yeah. And the entire time this is happening, she's going through this. She's ripping her own fingernails pieces off.

She's digging into him, pulling the like cuticles off her finger, digging her fingernails into him, making marks on the ground because she said I was leaving my DNA. I was leaving evidence that I was there in case he brought me somewhere. else. I wanted people to know I was there when they found Chris. And she also tried to humanize herself to him as much as she could because she thought this is my only option. Right. What am I going to do? She was like, I tried fighting. That didn't work. Right. We're going to try something else here. So she said, as this is happening, she said, my name's Megan. What's yours? Wow. That's not her name. Right. And she was like, I don't know why I thought of that name. It just popped into my head.

And he said, my name is James Whitford. It wasn't. Uh-huh. But he, he's. But he, he's, he's, He told her, I won't kill you. Okay. And she said, I believed him. Okay. Like, as weird as that is, I believed if I could just keep humanizing myself, that he would keep that word. And then after everything was done, she even convinced him to pull her pants back up and put them on for her. Wow.

And so she's sitting there thinking, it's working. Right. Whatever I'm doing is clearly working. And he said, my friend has been watching the entire time. And she was like, okay. and before he left he took one of her earrings out of her ear and then took a ring from her finger as a trophy not the not the daisy one right no but he she found out later that that ring fell off during the struggle somewhere and she lost it yeah doesn't that suck no and then he covered her and chris

with leaves and branches and just walked away and she was like okay holy shit so she remembers thinking like, wow, okay, so she said out loud, I said, thank you for letting me live. Like that's all she could think of? Like she was like, okay. Before she could even think, he had come back with a board and begin beating her ruthlessly with it. Oh my God. Over and over. He broke her jaw, fractured her eye socket, and opened huge lacerations on her head. She blacked out multiple times during it. And she said she doesn't even remember the pain. because she said it was just, like, there was so much going on that she had numbed out. Do you think he was going to do that anywhere?

Do you think her saying, like, thanks for letting me live, pissed him off? I think he was going to do it anyway. I think so. I think he was leaving her there to go get something to hit her with. Oh, my God. Because he's an absolute fucking monster. There's no way that dude was leaving anybody alive intentionally. No.

Once you've, we'll get into it with the next episode where I cover him and everything else he has done. And that's when you'll be like, yeah, he wasn't going to. to leave her because he is he's fucking ruthless he's a monster clearly even in an absolute monster this case yeah he's an absolute monster so then he just left because he thought she was dead obviously thinking he had murdered them both yeah thinking he murdered them but he didn't holly was in and out of consciousness like waking up and blacking out and one of the time she came to she said she looked towards the neighborhoods near the tracks and saw light from a tv on inside one of the houses on edison drive and she just started walking there. Wow. Covered in blood, broken, beaten, raped. She walked to

this house. A broken jaw. Later, she said her hair was so covered in blood and she was blonde. She said that later her dad was convinced that she had died at red. He could not believe that that was blood in her hair because it was so red. She somehow made her way to the house. She barged through the front door, just walked right through the front door. And apparently, It was like an off-campus apartment, like our off-campus housing. Yeah, yeah. And it was like shared by four guys from the university. But only one of them was awake.

His name was Chad, which it really was named Chad. Of course, the college guy's name was Chad. It was Chad. And he was sitting in a chair watching TV and just doing homework in the living room. Literally probably shot himself. He was like, holy shit. And he said when he was interviewed later, he said, quote, she walked in. I was alarmed at first because I thought somebody might be coming after me.

Right. He was like, I thought somebody was coming in after her and was going to, like, get me. And he said, quote, she came in and she was screaming hysterically crying. She screamed, someone raped me and my friend is still out there. So he was like, holy shit. She's like, please call 911. He immediately was responsive to her. And like, Chad's a fucking, he's an MVP here.

He's a thumbs up guy. Yeah, he really is. I was literally doing a thumbs up. You can't see it. But he's an MVP here. He had her sit down. And apparently when he was like, sit on the chair here. She was like, no, I'll ruin your couch.

I'll stay in your couch. And he was like, it's okay. I literally don't care. He was like, it's totally fine. And he called, he like got her, like, he was trying to get her like comfortable. He was calling 911. It was 2.48 a.m. by this point. Oh, my God.

I just keep thinking of a broken jaw. Oh, and in the book, she references it so many times and it made my face hurt. She said she had to like hold it up. Because she keeps saying that she could barely talk and that her jaw was just going like side to side. Oh my God. I know. And every time I think of it, I'm like, huh, because she's, she's sitting there with a broken fucking jaw. Among everything else. Trying to tell him what's going on. And her jaw is literally just like unhinged. Oh my God. And they're waiting for police and an ambulance. And Chad apparently, like, came over to her with scissors and was like, there's something around your neck. Do you want me to get it

off of you? Yeah. Because he didn't even care like, this might be evidence. Like he was just like, I need to make you comfortable. And so apparently it was the guest. And so apparently it was the guest. that she had gotten off. It was like looped around her throat, but it had tightened a little bit. And it was covered in blood. Yeah. So he cut that off for her just to make her comfortable. And I think he also said, quote, when I first saw her, I was sure she was going to die. I had never seen anybody in that condition before. No. Well, how would you ever? And like, kudos to him, because he really like was there. Like, good on you, Chad. But the ambulance and police came and were directed to Chris because she was like, he's out there. She told them where they could find him again.

She has the presence of mine to tell them. Seriously. And he was declared dead on the scene. Oh, I hate that so much, dude. Yeah. Now, her parents were immediately notified and this would have been like a few hour drive for them to get there. Her father, though, is a private pilot. Oh, bitch. And had a small plane and was able to fly out there, like really quickly. Wow. What a stroke of luck. Seriously. And Holly had to go through the horrendous procedures of a rape kit. And yeah. And they had to give her like, you know, emergency contraception at the hospital. After just being raped, having to do a rape kit must just yeah. The most like painstaking experience. And it's like all necessary. Of course. But I can't imagine having to go through it after so much trauma. It's just that must, I can't fathom it. And to anybody who's

had to, damn, I'm sorry. Like that it's so necessary, but such a, I wish there was a better way to do it. Yeah. I really do. She also tells this anecdote about how when the first detective who was on the case, Detective Craig Sorrow, he was like really invested in this case till the end. He was like a badass detective. She was, she said his like dedication to this case just made her in awe.

Like blew her mind. And when she first met him, he came to her bedside. It was like, hi, I'm Detective Sorrow. I'm going to be on this case. And she looked over at him and projectile vomited all over him. Oh my God. Yeah. She's like, welcome.

And she was like basically just trauma, pain kills and whatever else was coming out. But she was like, he took it like a real champ and was very nice about it. But she was like, I literally projectile vomited on him the second he said her name, which I was like, wow. That's one of the things too in this book you'll see. She has a fucking sense of humor. And she says it many times that she uses humor to get through things. So she was like many times during this whole thing. Like her dad walked in and to diffuse the whole thing.

she was like, dad, this sucks. Like, she just literally was like, fuck. I love it. Humor is one of the best things you can use to get through a situation. Like her friends would walk into visitor and like she looked terrifying. Like one of her left eye was swollen shut. Her hair was like shaved in part. She had 16 staples in her head.

Her jaw was being wired shut at the end. And like she looked scary. And so people would come in and be like, uh-huh. And she said, I just go, I feel like shit. every time so my God. And I was like, I love people who use humor to diffuse situations. And to find the humor in a situation. Yeah.

Like that. Because it just means you're just like one of those people. You're a great. Like, yeah, you're just like salt to the earth human. But it was the next day that she was informed that Chris had been killed. She knew it. And she's like, I knew it. But I'm sure she was holding on to like the very last string of hope.

Exactly. She was like just hearing it was like a weight crashing down. And she said she immediately at that time knew that she was meant to survive for a purpose. Yeah. Which I was like, wow. Yeah. And the police treated it initially like it was a one-time attack because they, so they held a press conference the next day. And Lexington, Kentucky had a pretty, like, low crime rate at the time.

So this was huge news. One, for that reason, and two, just the brutality of this crime was terrifying. That's why you would think that, like, it's not a one-time attack. Well, they figured they were thinking of it as maybe it was a mugging gone wrong, you know, like something bad that was past. And it was on the railroad tracks too. So they were like, this could just be someone passing through. Right. Random crime.

They're gone. So they did say, I think, like, we don't think there's any, you know, danger to the community. They were wrong. But Chris's own parents actually put up $10,000 in reward money for information for anything to find this guy. And anonymous donors added on to that, and eventually it was up to like 20 grand. Wow. When she finally was interviewed at length, because obviously they were letting her like recover a little bit.

And her jaw was wired shut for a bit. Exactly. And she was interviewed by Detective Sorrel, and she said that she was like, you know, and he picked up the rock and he just hit Chris with it. And then he kept hitting him over and over and over. And Detective Searle was like, no, actually. he dropped that rock once. Like the autopsy confirmed that it was only once

because it was over 50 pounds. And it was from a great height. He was holding it up and dropped it on him. And so what they realized was she was like, I had just seen it happen over and over in my mind. I just thought it was happening over and over. But they said it was one blow and that's all it took. But that just like is interesting to find out that like...

That your brain can do that. Her poor memory was going over. over and over and over the same thing. It's almost like a, you know, you hear of like spirits being trapped in this like continuum of something happening over and over. Right. She was just reliving this one thing over and over again to the point where she thought it had happened a million times.

Right. It's probably like a PTSD kind of thing. Oh, for sure. It's a total shock trauma thing, but it's just like, damn. And I mean, over 50 pounds a rock. That's unreal. Yeah. And one of the things she said they kept questioning her about was her assertion.

that he was wearing glasses. They kept being like, are you sure? Because Chris was wearing glasses that night, too. And apparently he wore contacts, but she was like, I don't know why he was wearing glasses that night. I don't know if it's like he just didn't have contacts or something. Like he didn't always wear glasses, but he was. And so they thought she was maybe confusing that and thinking that the guy did.

But she was like, no, I kept saying, no, I know he had glasses. And they were like, uh, turns out she was right. Yeah. He was wearing glasses. I mean, she sat there. during all of that and picked out very distinct purposeful things. Yeah, exactly.

And they were able to determine that the piece of cloth used to gag them didn't come from their clothing or the backpack, but was from a white shirt with snaps on it that didn't belong to either one of them. So that was pretty impressive evidence. Yeah. Especially for 97. Yeah, but

remember, he's still not caught. He's out there. Yeah. They don't know who this guy is. They have no idea who he is, where he is, anything. So they're living in fear now that he's going to come back or strike again. Her dad started like patrolling their home with a gun at night and in the morning. At night, it was like a nightmare. And they thought, you know, did he jump on a train and leave?

Or is he hanging around maybe coming to finish the job? Right. We don't know. Because obviously it made news that she survived. Yeah. And it's, it's, oh. Now, there was no hit on the DNA recovered from her rape kit yet. So they were just having to hope that that was going to come through.

They also had her do a work with a sketch artist to come up with a composite. The composite is very impressive compared to him. She was also dealing at the time, though, with an immense amount of survivor's guilt. I can't even. I literally can't even imagine. Yeah. And one of the things she said that she was having a really hard time dealing with was the fact that although she had tried so hard, whenever the attacker left them alone,

she couldn't get Chris's hands free from the backpack straps because she was like, I tried so hard and they were like so tightly tangled in each other. But she said she felt like it was her fault that he couldn't get away or that if she had gotten his hands free, he could have protected himself. Like she was wracked with guilt about this, which I can't imagine. No. Luckily, she did end up speaking to Chris's parents and she had never met his parents. and she had never met his parents because I hadn't dated long enough for her to meet them yet.

Right. And it took her a while to talk to them because she was worried that she was like, I don't want them to hate me because their son isn't alive and I am. Right. Like that's, and she said when she did talk to them, they helped her get through this guilt because they became like a second family to her and her whole family. They were clearly meant to cross paths in some way. They really were.

Not like this, obviously. No, but they were meant to be in each other's lives. So she was so scared they were going to feel angry that, you know, she was the survivor. But they were the exact opposite. They sent cards to her, flowers. They were there to talk to her. It seems like we said, like two amazing families. And her sister said, or excuse me, his sister, Chris's sister, said the last time that they had spoken to each other, her and Chris, that he had just gotten back from Maine, the trip.

And he ended their conversation. She said he talked about Holly a ton and was like so happy. And then he ended the conversation with her by saying life is good. And that comes back later. Like later that you, because I guess he used to say that a lot. He would say life is good a lot. But she was like, it's such like a Chris way to like that's the last thing he said to me. It was like life is good.

Oh, God. That's like haunting all at the same time. And she ended up good. This is nuts. Holly ended up going back to school. What? Yeah. She's that.

determined. She was like, I'm going to start my life again. Wow. I survived. Chris didn't, so I need to live for both of us. That's how she felt. Badass. She even got a part-time job at the time at an outdoor like in ski place because she said she hadn't been able to really explore an adventure enough with Chris. And she was like, he loved the outdoors so much and he made me love it so much that I wanted to like immerse myself in this. For him. For him. In there, you know, she's healing through this. Months are going by. She met this guy that she worked with named Jacob Pendleton.

They became friends. I don't know if that last name sounds familiar, but they became dating. They became dating. They began dating. I don't know why I said that. They became dating. I was like, they became the act of dating. That was hilarious.

I don't know what's happening, man. It's been a long week. But they began dating. is what I actually wrote. Like it's in front of me. Oh, I do that all the time. I didn't write became. I just said it.

Have you ever heard me tell her case because, wow. Other what? You know, whatever. So Holly and Jacob, they began dating. Maybe they became dating later. They are dating. He was apparently amazingly comforting, like very respectful of what she was going through. But eventually, she realized that she was having a lot of trouble healing.

And she was having, she needed more time. And especially the rape. Yeah. Like she was like, I just couldn't get close to him. I was very uncomfortable with all of it. So they ended up breaking up for a while. Don't worry, though. That last name, like I said, should be familiar.

Personally, I think the best couples break up and get back together. Yeah, I agree. Right. You know? I don't speak from personal experience or anything. No, of course not. But, you know, you got to go through it. Now, she ended up finding, like, real healing through.

First of all, she had like her faith. Like her faith was a big part of it. Yeah. And she also found this place called Bluegrass Rape Crisis Center in Lexington. And they really helped her work through it. At first, she said she like wasn't into it. She was like, this isn't going to help me. Yeah.

But by the end of it, she was like I really felt like, it was like an eight week thing. And she really felt like. Usually those are the things that like help the most when you're like, when you're like, this isn't going to help. Yeah. She even moved into an apartment on campus. following spring by herself. Wow. Alone. And she said she was basically just determined at the time to be okay and feel normal. She probably wanted to like prove it to herself. Yeah. She said she was kind of

forcing it upon herself. Good for her though. She was understandably traumatized and worried that this man was going to come back. Yeah. Because again, still not fine. No one knows where it is. She said she slept with a butcher knife and she said, quote, I was trying to be this big, strong person, but I really wasn't. No girl, you were. And she said I couldn't be at the time. time. No, but you were. Seriously, in every way imaginable. She also just had like friends and family constantly around like in her house all the time. She was like, I just never wanted to be like alone of course not. She had actually, like I said, missed Chris's funeral because she was recovering. Right. She was in the hospital. And so the following year, she and a ton of their friends went to

this place called Red River Gorge and they sprinkled some of his ashes there. It was a place he loved. Yeah. They then divided up. He had very close friends, and they divided up, like, obviously, his family, like, allowed this to happen. Just so, like, it's not confusing. Full transparency. Whatever was left after they had put some of the ashes out there, they divvied it up among his best friends, and they kept them in these, like, little artsy boxes. Wow. Because he always carried this artsy little box with him that he would keep things in. Yeah. Like a trinket box. When they had actually found that box with his belongings and they kept it, like the one that he kept forever, and they also threw that over the gorge when they threw him because it was just like part of him. Yeah.

So they all got similar boxes and they kept parts of his ashes in there and she still has hers today. And she said, like, I just see the box and it makes me smile and think of him. Which is like, man, he just had like, not everybody has that many people who want their ashes and boxes. No. Like, you know what I mean? Like, you have to be a pretty fucking awesome person for multiple people in your life to want a piece of you forever. Right. Like, I just think that really speaks to who he was as a human.

Absolutely. In, like, a very short 21 years of life. Oh, it's so sad. Now, it would be another two years before they finally got the name of her attacker. Two fucking years she had to go through. Two years she lived not knowing who this was where they were. They were able to match the DNA after he killed three people in Texas. Oh, no.

Yep. And they were near railroad tracks. So it was December 16th, 1998, when a pediatric neurological researcher named Dr. Claudia Benton was found raped and beaten to death with a bronze statue and stabbed with a kitchen knife in her home. Oh my God. Her home was in West University Place in Houston. There are more horrific details about this crime that I will get into when we're going to cover this in full in the next episode. But weeks after this murder, there was another murder, and it was actually a double murder. This time near Houston and San Antonio, so pretty close. And it was a couple. This couple was a pastor named Norman Skip Sernick and his wife Karen Sernick. They were found beaten to death in their bed. A sledgehammer from their own shed had been used to do it. Oh my God.

And in their bed. Yeah, in their bed. And she had been raped as well. DNA from these crime scenes matched. each other so they were able to connect those three and eventually it was matched to holly's case wow uh and it was detective sorrel that showed up at her house and said i have a name amazing which i was like what if what a movie i was just gonna say like knocks on the door and is like we got a match i have a name like let's go and it was because of his he would not give up on this and she says that in them because

i guess they had to they had to um test the DNA differently for her case than they did in the three other cases. So he, I guess they weren't going to do it at first. They were like refusing. Yeah. And he forced to the issue. Like he made sure this DNA was tested and compared. Right. He really didn't let this go. Now, the person who the DNA belonged to had 30 aliases under his criminal record and a very extensive criminal record. In prison past, he was just, yeah. And he was officially the subject of a manhunt now. And at the time, he was. And at the time, he was going by Raphael Resendez Ramirez. You may have heard of him as Angel Resendez or the railroad killer.

He's a pretty well-known serial killer. Yes. We're going to get into his entire case in the next episode. And I'm going to get into what happened next in the next episode. But I wanted to end this episode because this one I really wanted to be about Holly. Yeah. Holly, I want to tell you what she's doing now. And again, in the next episode, I will go from that point. But Holly is married with two boys. Yes. Yes, she eventually married Jacob Pendleton. They got back together. In 2005, they got married. Again, they have two sons together. Their first son, his middle name is Christopher. Oh, like I felt like you were going to tell me that. And that literally just like warmed my entire soul. Does it just give you like? oh she's a very big now she's a badass she's done so much good since all of this it's outrageous she's a big proponent of self-defense she says it herself i'm a big proponent of self-defense

she says uh you always have your body you may not have like a six-foot-five boyfriend next to you but like you always have your body to defend you so she's very much like go take self-defense class this whole thing made me want to yeah like learn how to get out of these restraints learn how to think quick, all that. And in 2008, she founded a nonprofit called Holly's House in Evansville, Indiana, where she's from. And it provides, from where I found it, it says it provides a safe place for both child and adult victims of intimate crimes to tell their stories and get connected to resources. And to date, it has provided refuge and support to three, over 3,000 adults and children in Evansville, Indiana.

Wow. Yeah. She also gets together with Chris's friends, their friends annually, and they call themselves the Life is Good group. Shut up. Yep. In 2006, she received the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award for Public Surface, and that's one of the nation's highest honors for humanitarian and philanthropical work.

Yeah. And in July 20th, 1999, there was a scholarship put together at the University of University of Kentucky to honor Christopher T. Mayor. Good. From the website, it says, quote, and this was in 1999, nearly $7,000 has already been raised for the scholarship endowment among mayor's friends and the University of Kentucky Theater Department patrons and associates. Additionally, a member of mayor's fraternity, Phi Kappa Sai, has agreed to match the first

$5,000 contributed to the scholarship endowment by a member of the University of Kentucky chapter of the fraternity. And it says, sorry. And then the president of the Kentucky chapter of that fraternity said, quote, Chris was such a kind, spirited person, and I want to see that quality honored each year through these scholarships. And these scholarships are going to support and be awarded each year to university, Kentucky theater students who, quote, have a passion for theater, generosity of spirit, a caring attitude towards all. as well as a zest for life. Wow.

And that is the end of Holly's tale. But she, and again, she wrote this book detailing everything. She's phenomenal. Like you read about her and she's, there's been, you know, 48 hours about this that I watched. There was, you know, all these different shows like, you know, date from hell, I think one of them was. Which is I'm like, I don't know about that. But she went on there and told her story, Chad. was on there telling that from his thing, like she's been on all of these things talking about

this. And she said, the reason I'm talking about this is I want people to know you can get out of these scenarios. I want people to be inspired to, you know, do great things out of tragedy. To hear Chris's tale, too, is so important. She's just a badass. And everybody involved in this besides the obvious people are just seemingly genuinely awesome people. Like all his friends, the family's involved. It's just like, man. Life is good. Yeah. Tribe.

I love it. So that is the survival tale of survivor. Holly K. Dunn. Hell yeah. And wow. Next week is going to be a lot. Yeah. Next week, not going to be as uplifting as this week.

But sorry. Well, I feel like we can't tell this story without telling the other victim stories, the victims who died stories. No, of course not. Well, we hope you. keep listening and we hope you keep it weird not that weird keep it weird like christed yeah keep it holly and chris weird because they were the best kind