Kathy Kleiner Rubin on Surviving Serial Killer Ted Bundy, and Why His Victims Should Be Honored and Remembered

It's January 15, 1978. Kathy Kleiner is a student at Florida State University and is asleep in her room at the Chi Omega sorority house. Unbeknownst to her, a serial killer named Ted Bundy has discovered the sorority house’s back door is accessible—the lock is broken. That night, he broke into the house, murdered two of her sorority sisters, savagely injured Kathy and her roommate, and changed so many lives forever. Today, Kathy gets to tell her story. It is harrowing and terrifying, and please be forewarned that this conversation contains graphic descriptions of violence that is very difficult to listen to. Bundy was ultimately convicted of murder in Florida and executed by electrocution on January 24, 1989; his total victim count is unknown, but it numbers over 30 women across seven states from 1974 to 1978. Kathy is the first confirmed survivor of his to write a book, and it is a beautiful one, though the subject matter is ugly. As Kathy put it, she didn’t just want to survive—she wanted to live. And that she has. This book is her offering to honor Bundy’s victims who never got the chance to tell their story. One of the most, if not the most, powerful conversations I’ve ever had.

A Light in the Dark: Surviving More Than Ted Bundy by Kathy Kleiner Rubin