Unseen - The Mom Who Seduced the Casanova Killer | The Case of Barbara Mabee Abel | UNSEEN

Episode Date: July 30, 2024

“Take me instead”-- On November 14th, 1974, Barbara Mabee Abel returns home with her 6-year-old son, Dale, but upon entering, something feels terribly wrong; moments later, an intruder emerges from hiding after waiting for the young family to arrive. Willing to do anything to save her son and herself, Barbara begs the man to kidnap her – what she doesn't know is that she’s been taken by one of most vicious & prolific serial killers in US history: the Casanova Killer.  Sources Discovery+ 11Alive  Discovery Channel 13WMAZ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

He says, I'm going to take your son. And I said, take me instead. This is Barbara Maby and her son, Dale. Barbara loved her son more than anything in the world. And just like most mothers, she would have done anything to keep him safe. But on November 14, 1974, their life took a disturbing turn for the worse when six-year-old Dale came knocking frantically at the neighbor's door. He was covered in blood with marks on his wrists and ankles.

His mother Barbara had been kidnapped. November 16th, two days later, Highway Patrol Trooper Charles Eugene Campbell identified Barbara's stolen car in Perry, Florida, nearly 400 miles from where she was taken. After telling dispatch he was pulling the driver over, Trooper Campbell was never heard from nor seen again. November 17th, the entire police force is in pursuit of a man named Paul John Knowles,

a suspected serial killer responsible for over 35 murders across the country. After Knowles crashed into a ditch, he ran off on foot, vanishing into the forest. When police examined the vehicle, they found no trace of the trooper, or Barbara. For over five months, the man they called the Casanova killer spreads terror across the U.S., killing faster and more viciously than anyone else in history. He might have gotten away with it if it wasn't for the woman who outsmarted him. the one who survived by making the Casanova killer fall in love with her. Barbara Mabelle was born a twin.

Although she and her sister were alike in most ways, doctors soon figured out something was wrong with Beverly, Barbara's sister. She had cerebral palsy. Throughout my whole lifetime, I always called her Bebby. We both knew each other's thoughts and inner feelings. She was the smart, funny person, and I was a serious person. Barbara shared a special bond with her twin sister, she also felt the impact of her limitations. Even when she was little, Barbara always made sure Beverly could live a full and happy life.

And when their father passed away, she took it upon herself to help her mom around the house. Barbara always had a positive outlook on life, and she was happy with the way things were. But everything changed in April, 1968. When I brought Dale home from the hospital, he was a light of my life. He was so very. beautiful. I couldn't get over hugging and kissing and singing lullabies to him. I adored my son. After a heartbreaking split with the father, Barbara decided to raise her son Dale in her mother's house. It was the best decision of her life. Everything was perfect. It's May 1974, when tragedy first strikes the maybe household, Barbara's mother dies. Both her and her sister Beverly are

distraught by the loss. But as the months past, they do their best to keep a lively home for young Dale, who is now six years old. What none of them know is that 1974 would become the worst year in all of their lives. Thursday, November the 14th, 1974 was like any other day to me. Got ready for work, Dale went and got ready for school. Beverly got her breakfast and was happy. After dropping off Dale at school, Barbara heads down to the radio station where she works as a copywriter.

When it was almost no-time, I tried to call my sister home and she didn't answer. And she always answered. At first, Barbara doesn't make anything of it and carries on with her day. After work, she drives home with her son, expecting to see her sister. As they both enter the house, they shout for Beverly, but get no answer. So I said to Dale, go look for Bev's and I'm going to go get some water, honey. As Dale goes across the house to look for his aunt, Barbara goes to her. to the kitchen and walks up to the sink.

All of a sudden I had this horrible feeling. I had chills going up and down my arms. Maybe it was instinct, fear, but I turned around. And I see this man with a sought-off shotgun. I was scared to death. At the same time, Dale runs into the kitchen and tells his mom, Bebby is in the bedroom and she's bleeding. And I said, I want to see my

my sister. I want to see Beverly. As the man takes Barbara through the house at gunpoint, she grabs her son by the shoulders and holds him away from the man. When they reach the bedroom, Barbara finds her sister Beverly hidden under the covers with a gag over her mouth. Once we'd loosen the gag. I put my hand on Betty's shoulder, bent down and kissed her, told her how much I loved her and that we're going to be okay. But when Barbara pulls back the covers from Debbie, she discovers her sister, is naked. That's when I lost it.

I said, did you rape her? Because if you raped her, I'm going to kill you. The man with the gun starts laughing. He says he tried to rape her sister, but couldn't. Carer flashes over Barbara's face for what her sister had to endure. I said, I just cashed my paycheck. I said, I have money in my drawer in my bedroom. And I said, I'll give you the money and I'll give you the keys to my car.

I said, just don't hurt us. And then... He says, I'm going to take your... son. No way would I let him take my son. And I said, take me instead. Finally, the man agrees. He says his name is Paul John Knowles, that he just escaped from prison and has no intention of going back. He tells Barbara if she does what he says, he won't hurt her. But after what happened to her sister, she knows the man is lying. All she's thinking about is keeping her son safe. I just had to get out of the house with John and make sure that

Beverly and Dale, we're going to be safe. Before they leave, the man who calls himself John ties up Dale in bed with his aunt. Barbara is terrified at the thought of leaving her family behind, tied up and helpless, but she has no choice but to follow what the man says. When he tied my son up, I told Dale to please act like a big boy. I said, we're going to be okay. The man grabs the car keys and the money and forces Barbara out the front door at gunpoint, As they drive away in her car with John in the driver's seat, Barbara is still worried about what might happen to her son and her sister, but she has no idea the danger she's put herself into.

Just a few miles away from Barbara's house, police recover an abandoned vehicle. It was stolen from a man named William Bates back in September. The man's strangled body was found months later in Ohio. Inside the stolen vehicle, investigators find credit cards and insurance cards that belonged to a man named Carswell Car Carswell Carr was also murdered in a double homicide along with his 15-year-old daughter Amanda in Georgia just days before Barbara was abducted.

It was the most bloody crime scene I'd ever seen. We figured a lunatic might have done it. The Carr's home was found ransacked on November 6, 1974, nearly 500 miles away from Barbara's house, the 15-year-old girl had been strangled, her father had been stabbed approximately 35 times. Back inside the vehicle, investigators also discovered the will of a man named Paul John Knowles. Little do they know, Knowles is a serial killer, driving aimlessly across the country, leaving bodies everywhere he stops. Old women, children, it doesn't matter to him. When he had their ears to kill,

whoever was there happened to be the victim. Noles is suspected to have killed over 30 people in the last five months, and while police are doing everything they can to catch the killer, the man who left them a treasure trove of clues inside the stolen vehicle, they have no idea that Paul John Knowles is already driving away with his next victim. We were driving along. After he heard the news, he started getting agitated. And he had me turn the stations, and I was wondering, why does he want to hear the news? And then he said, I've killed people.

I was terrified. So I started talking about the weather and anything that would come into my mind to get his mind off of the newscast And I started talking about movies, beautiful songs of the 70s I wanted to make him fall in love with him I was trying to save my life and get back to Beverly and Dale So I said honey, do you want a cigarette? And he said, why are you calling me? honey. I said, why not? You're not a bad guy. I said, you remind me of Robert Redford. He said, I do. And I said, well, you kind of do. You know, you're not bad looking.

After that, he was very responsive in the way I was treating him. He asked me what I did, and I told him I worked in radio, and he said, well, what are you doing radio? I said, I'm a copywriter. He said, oh, you know how to write? And I said, yes. And he said, well, you think you know how to write a book. and he told me that he wanted to be famous. And I said, what do you want to be famous for? And he didn't answer. And I didn't ask after that.

He kept saying, I've killed people. He was so evil. I just wish I had the guts to try to go and push him out the door, but I couldn't. I was too tired and too scared. Back at the house, more than 30 minutes have gone by since Barbara was kidnapped. When finally, six-year-old Dale is able to free himself from his bindings. He then entice his aunt before running to the neighbors to get help and call the police. When they arrive at the house, investigators fear the worst for Barbara. They have already gathered

enough information about Paul John Knowles to paint the picture of a disturbing serial killer with an insatiable thirst. They also know he's impossible to predict. It appeared that he was an interstate traveler. He had a car from one place, a license plate from another place, credit card receipts and names from all over. We had learned enough about Paul John Knowles to feel that there was not going to be that much hope of finding her alive. They have to act fast. They create roadblocks, establish a search perimeter around the entire West Palm Beach area. Everyone is on the lookout for Barbara's stolen car, a gold-colored Volkswagen, and easily recognized.

recognizable car. The problem is, Paul John Knowles has already taken Barbara beyond the perimeter. After driving northbound on Florida State Road A1A for nearly 70 miles, they arrive at a motel in Fort Pierce. John says he's too tired, and he needs them to stay there for the night. That's when all tell brokers. He parked the car in front at the office, and I said, you can drop me off and then leave with a car. You said, nope, you're coming with me. John points his sawed-off shotgun at Barbara and forces her out of the vehicle. Barbara is terrified. She knows she has to stay calm to make sure he doesn't get triggered. And he said, we're married. I'll think of a name when we get to the front desk,

he said, but we're married. At the front office, John puts his arm around Barbara's waist. His shotgun kept out of sight. He tells the clerk their names are Mr. and Mrs. Joe Smith. Barbara can see the clerk is suspicious in the way she looks at her. She has has to act fast because the motel employee has no idea she's facing a serial killer, so she puts her own arm around John's waist and pulls him closer. I wanted her to think that we were married. I figured if I said anything else, he might go ahead and kill her, and me too. Finally, the clerk hands John the key to room 10.

When they get inside, Knowles tells Barbara to get undressed. Right away, she tells him she doesn't want to do anything, but he doesn't care. That's when he decided that he had to rape me. I was thinking of Dale and Beverly and everything but being raped. As Barbara lies helpless, trying as best she can to get her mind away from what is happening, Knowles begins to get frustrated as he is unable to perform. It makes him so angry that he starts to become physically aggressive and violent towards her. She's convinced he's about to beat her to death.

I said, what are you doing? And he shook his head and said, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. Paul John Knowles is like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. One minute, he's calm. The next, he's out of his mind. Barbara can't tell from one moment to another if she's going to be killed. And then, Noel starts ripping the bed sheets into strips. He typed my wrist to the bedpost, and then he...

Went and got my ankles and tied them. I was terrified. And I was praying to the dear Lord that I'd get out of this. I said, let me get home to Beverly and Dale. And I was dozing off because I was so exhausted mentally and physically. And then all of a sudden I saw my mother. I saw my mother. My mother came to me in a dream.

She was like, you're going to be okay. You're going to be okay. with you. That's when I decided that I was going to do whatever I needed to do to survive. When Barbara comes to, she's woken up by the sound of the news on the television. John is sitting next to her, fixated with fierce intent on the broadcast. Barbara doesn't dare say anything, nor make a single sound, as he looks ready to strike her if she does. As she lifts her head to see the TV, she catches her picture showcased on the news as well as his.

as his, she hears about all the terrible things Knowles has done, which only makes her feel more terrified, and then she hears about Dale, and how he and her sister Bebby are both safe. I thought, thank God. I just started sobbed inside because I didn't want to upset Paul John Knowles. As John decides to go to bed for the night, he proceeds to tie Barbara's ankle to his, preventing her from making any sort of movements during the night. If she wakes him up, She knows she might be killed. Being tied up in the dark next to a killer, I couldn't get rid of the terror in my soul.

November 15th, Barbara has been missing for over 18 hours. Without a single lead on her whereabouts and her killers, the search for Paul John Knowles has gone national. Every news outlet is talking about the kidnapping of a Florida woman by a sadistic serial killer. There are many more murders making in my mind In my opinion, Paul John Knowles, the most heinous mass murder in American history. We put out a nationwide alert for that car with that license plate and the fact that it was

involved in kidnapping. Barbara's face is in every newspaper, but it might not be enough to save her. When John wakes up, Barbara has gotten little to no sleep during the night. Knowles proceeds to untie her and takes her out for a drive to a nearby restaurant. It was like a little diner. we get seated and I thought, well, maybe I can get loose. Barbara looks around for a way out, but quickly notices that John has put his shotgun beside him, hidden under his coat.

Her plan to make a run for it, vanishes. Then this elderly waitress comes over and waits on us. I was thinking to myself, why isn't anybody noticing us? We were on the news last night. I just couldn't believe that nobody had seen us on TV. And I knew at that time there was nobody to help me. She knows she has to keep on acting, because he has the gun, and Barbara would not risk anyone else getting hurt. If he was going to kill her, it would be her alone.

After breakfast, Knowles drives Barbara back to the motel and again tries to abuse her. Once more, he's unable to perform, which makes him more furious. This time, he is so angry that Barbara knows he is seconds away from killing her, so she does the uncertainty. She tries to calm him down. I had to do reverse psychology and make him think that he was really great. So he would calm down and not kill me. He says, I wish I would have met you before all this happened. After Barbara has successfully diffused him, Knowles ties her up to the bed once more,

saying he needs to go out and make a phone call. As he leaves, John locks the door and closes it behind him. Barbara tries her best to get rid of her ties, all the while praying for the chance to go home and see her son Dale again. This is when she notices something on the nightstand, the key to the motel room door. Knowles has locked himself out. When he returns, Barbara can hear him struggling with the doorknob. She's filled with excitement, but also with fear. She doesn't say a word and waits as the doorknobs shakes relentlessly.

And then, it stops. And after a few minutes, through the door, Paul John Knowles, said, when they pick you up, don't tell them that I hurt you, and I love you. And then there was nothingness. Barbara doesn't dare scream for help, afraid that Knowles might be standing outside the room, so she stays quiet and waits. But if she waits too long, there's a chance he might come back. November 16th, 7.30 in the morning, Barbara is still trapped in the motel room.

After what seems like an eternity, she resumes her effort to untie her hands as best she can. when finally she succeeds. Right away, Barbara calls the front desk. She tells them her name is Barbara Mady and that she's been kidnapped by a serial killer. Moments later, police arrived through the door. She is then brought to the front desk where a phone call awaits. It was Beverly, and she was crying and she says,

Oh my God, you're okay. We both started sobbing together and I said, How's Dale? He's right here. Mommy, mommy, mommy, he gets on the phone. I love you, I love you. When are you coming home? I said, I'll be there in a little bit. And I said, I love you to pieces.

He said, oh, thank God he didn't hurt you, mommy. I hung up crying and sobbing for the next 15 minutes. While Barbara is reunited with her family, she is terrified, knowing that Knowles is still out there somewhere. Until they catch him, she's afraid he's going to come back to her house and finish what he started. More than 200 miles north, in Perry, Florida, State Trooper Charles Eugene Campbell has spotted Barbara's stolen vehicle, and is pulling the driver over. When he approaches the driver's seat window, Officer Campbell is faced with John Paul Knowles,

who gets the jump on the officer, holding his sawed-off shotgun right at his face. Barber's gold-colored Volkswagen is left behind. The state trooper and his car go missing. The kidnapping of a police officer, state trooper was unheard of. That was national news. Shortly after, the patrol car is found by the side of the road. As investigators will later find out, Knowles used the sirens to pull over another driver, a man named James Meyer, a businessman from out of town.

He then switched cars once again, while keeping both hostages in the back seat. We're here trying to recover our missing trooper, which was kidnapped in the state of Florida, along with another hostage and brought into the state of Georgia. Lakeland, Georgia, 80 miles away from where the state trooper was abducted, police get a tip from a clerk at a local gas station. You got a civilian and you got a state trooper in uniform in the back seat with another individual. And the attendant thought something's not right about this. Right away, the entire police workforce goes in pursuit of the spotted vehicle.

Got a call. They got Knowles cornered in Henry County. Everybody from Metro Atlanta had a badge and gun was there. I'd never seen so many cops in my entire life. Police create a roadblock ahead of Noel's car, trapping him, forcing him to crash into the blockade. He then abandons the car and continues on foot with the cops chasing him through the woods. As police are closing in, gunshots are. fired. Yet, Knowles manages to get away until one young man out hunting in the woods spots him

leaning against a tree, bleeding from a gunshot wound. Paul John Knowles has given up, exhausted from the chase. You've met him with the shotgun guy? And he had a shot in the car. You said he could have killed you right in. Are you scared? No, not really. Although the serial killer is finally in custody, police are shocked to see neither of the hostages are inside the crashed vehicle, and Knowles refuses to tell authorities where they are. It was a relief to me when I saw it on the TV. I saw a magazine and a hat on there the picture of Paul John Knowles,

Casanova killer, and I'm like, you've got to be kidding me. The news comes as a relief to Barbara and her family, but more than anyone else, she knows the man who kidnapped her and held her captive for over 36 hours as escaped from jail before. She still doesn't feel safe.

I wound up one Saturday just losing it and scream bloody murder. And all I could hear in the distance was my son crying out to me and I came to. Barbara is struggling with the memories of her ordeal. She knows she needs professional help. But there's one person that, more than anyone else, she wishes to open up to. I met Jim in 1973, but he was a little bit. going overseas we decided to keep in touch you know I started having feelings for him really early but after everything happened I wrote him a letter telling him

several months later about the kidnapping when I received Barbara's letter really hit me hard I knew that she probably needed someone and then the way I felt about her anyway I was hoping that that person would be me that could help her through it but the one thing Barbara really needs is for Paul John Knowles to be stopped for good. December 18, 1974, one month after the kidnapping, Knowles has agreed to lead police to the murder weapon of both Officer Charles Eugene Campbell and James Meyer.

Their bodies were found tied to a tree in Pulaski County, Georgia, over 100 miles from where Knowles was captured. They were both shot with Officer Campbell's gun. Escorted by two police officers, Knowles guides them to where he claims to have dropped the weapon when he makes one final attempt to escape. to escape. They loaded Knowles up in the sheriff's car and were coming down I-20 into Atlanta. When Noel secreted a paper clip and picked his handcuffs on his belly chain.

The man got a handcuff off and he went for my gun and he got his hands on my gun. And, you know, you come to you on conclusion, but I'm pretty shook up. I know he would have taken my life. I began firing and continued firing until I was satisfied. that the danger had subsided to both Sheriff Lee and myself. It was one of the best days of Dale, Beverly, and my life when we found out that he was killed because he could kill no more. There were several times when I wanted to move

after being kidnapped. And then it dawned on me, this was Mama's house. And look at all the love. There are way more good memories in this house than there are bad. And so I decided to stay. And I built a life here for Beverly and Dale and myself. Barbara no longer thinks about Paul John Knowles anymore. She's written a book and gotten everything off her chest.

Today, she's married to the love of her life, and she has learned the most valuable lesson. You can choose to be a victim, or you can choose to be a survivor. I chose to be a survivor.