MIAMI – Ted Bundy, the notorious serial killer, was tried in Miami 45 years ago for the killings of two college students from Florida State University.
Crime specialist Bridget Matter from Local 10 News interviewed Kathy Rubin Kleiner, a survivor, to gain insight into her experience.
As a young freshman at FSU in 1978, Kleiner was just 20 years old and pursuing her passion for interior design. Additionally, she was a proud member of the Chi Omega Sorority. She recounted, “My roommate and I had an excellent relationship until January 1978.”
According to Kleiner, he proceeded to room number eight, which happened to be my room. He walked to the next room with purpose. Ted Bundy was the attacker.
According to Kleiner, her roommate and she were fortunate enough to escape Bundy’s attack, as he got scared by a person who was being dropped off at the sorority house.
Kleiner is among the lucky few who survived the wrath of Bundy, a notorious serial killer who took the lives of at least 30 women across seven states. During the Miami trial against Bundy, she was set to testify about the night in question.
In 1989, Florida State Prison executed Bundy after he was found guilty in multiple cases.
As she sat in front of the television, Kleiner couldn’t help but feel that the coverage of the execution was an important step in her journey toward healing.
At the university, she never completed her degree and instead chose to get married and start a family. Unfortunately, at the age of 32, tragedy struck once again, as she discovered a lump and received a life-changing diagnosis.
She exclaimed, “Having breast cancer after all that I have been through may not seem fair, but it certainly won’t stop me.”
She currently resides with her husband in North Fort Myers, living a peaceful life.
In her book titled “A Light in the Dark: Surviving More Than Ted Bundy,” she shares her story. She not only wrote about surviving Bundy, but also about breast cancer and the women he killed.
She recounted her experience saying, “I lived in my own hell, where I was a victim one day and a survivor the next.”