6 Cynthia Vigil Jaramillo

Jaramillo was approached by a police officer who placed her in handcuffs and said she was in trouble for solicitation. He was not an officer at all but was David Parker Ray. He sexually assaulted her for three days. When Ray left her with his accomplice who became distracted, Jaramillo managed to free her from chains and ran for help.

In 1999, Cynthia Vigil Jaramillo was approached by a “police officer” who said that she was in trouble for solicitation. He placed handcuffs on her and took her. The problem was that the man was not a police officer but was a sexual sadist named David Parker Ray.

He brought Jaramillo to his trailer which was filled with torture devices and photos of his victims. She was sexually assaulted for over three days by Ray and his accomplice, Cindy Hendy.

One day when Ray was out and had left Jaramillo in care of Hendy, she saw an opportunity to escape. She was chained but managed to grab keys from nearby tables and freed herself.

She stabbed Hendy in the neck with an ice pick and ran for help wearing nothing but a metal slave collar. Jaramillo reported the incident to the police. Ray had murdered more than 60 women, and he then was known as the “The Toy-Box Killer.” (1, 2)

7 Tali Shapiro 

On September 25, 1969, when Tali was walking to her school, she was approached by Rodney Alcala who offered her a ride and said he knew her family. She accepted it, and he took her to his apartment and sexually assaulted her. Luckily, a good samaritan saw Tali with Alcala and informed the police. When they arrived, they found her unconscious. Alcala was later sentenced to death.

Tali Shapiro was walking from her school to home on September 25, 1969, when she was approached by Rodney Alcala. He offered her a ride home which she first refused, but when he said that he knew her family, she accepted the ride. Rodney Alcala took her to his apartment where he sexually assaulted eight-year-old Tali.

Fortunately, a good samaritan saw Alcala taking Tali with him and reported police. When police arrived, Alcala fled the scene and they found Tali nude, bloody, and unconscious.

She spent months in the hospital. In 1971, Alcala was identified and was arrested for the rape and attempted murder of Tali. In 2010, when Alcala was on trial for the rape of five other women, Tali testified against him. (1, 2)

8 Larry Flynt

Larry Flynt of Hustler magazine was almost assassinated by Joseph Paul Franklin in 1978. Franklin shot Flynt because he was offended by the 1975 issue of Hustler that featured a White woman with a Black man. Franklin was a neo-Nazi and Ku Klux Klan member who spoke of being at war.

 In 1978, Larry Flynt was shot by Joseph Paul Franklin. Fortunately, he survived but was paralyzed from the waist down. Serial killer Joseph Franklin had killed over eight people between 1977 and 1980 across the United States and claimed to have murdered more than a dozen in an attempt to start a race war.

Franklin targeted Flynt because he was offended by his 1975 issue of Hustler picturing a White woman with a Black man. Franklin said that Blacks should marry Blacks, Whites should marry Whites, Indians should marry Indians, and Orientals should marry Orientals.

Franklin was convicted and sentenced to death, however, Flynt was against the execution and said that he wanted to do the same damage to Franklin as he did to him. In spite of his protests, Joseph Paul Franklin was executed in November 2013. (1, 2)

9 A woman managed to call the police for help when she was lying next to her captor, Shawn Grate. She was kidnapped and sexually assaulted by the man. She was tied up and somehow managed to call the police and stayed on the phone until they arrived. Two dead bodies were also discovered at Shawn Grate’s home.

An Ohio serial killer, Shawn Grate, abducted a woman, took her to a vacant place, and sexually assaulted her for two days. When Grate fell asleep, she took this as an opportunity to escape, but couldn’t because the gate was loud and creaky and would surely wake her captor. Instead of escaping, she called the police for help.

Although she didn’t know where she was, through the bedroom window she was able to give some details of her surroundings. She was on a call with police the entire time until they arrived and rescued her.

Grate was still sleeping when police came, they woke him up and arrested him. Police also later found two other bodies in his house. To this day, however, the woman’s identity remains confidential. (1, 2)

10 Jennifer Asbenson

In 1992, when Jennifer was walking to a bus stand, Andrew Urdiales pulled up in a car and offered her a ride. He seemed harmless so she accepted it, he dropped her off for work. When she was returning, he again offered her a ride and she accepted it again. Instead of dropping her off, however, he assaulted her and put her into the trunk of his car. She escaped from the trunk and found help.

In 1992, when Jennifer Asbenson was walking to the bus stop to catch a bus for her work, she missed it while buying some items from a store. Moments later, Andrew Urdiales pulled up in a car and offered her a ride.

She accepted it because he didn’t seem harmful. Urdiales dropped her at her work on time. When she got off work, he offered her a ride again, and without any hesitation, she accepted the ride.

But things were not the same this time. He tied her hands, put a knife up to her throat, and drove towards the desert. He assaulted her and forced her to perform sexual acts. He then tried to rape her.

He put her in his car’s trunk where Jennifer was desperately in search of an opportunity to escape. At the right time, she jumped out on the road and found help. Urdiales was convicted for the murder of two other women and was given the death penalty. Later, he was convicted of six more murders and was given the death penalty again. (1, 2)