Kathy Kleiner Rubin, a survivor of a brutal attack by serial killer Ted Bundy, courageously shares her harrowing story in her new book, “A Light in the Dark: Surviving More Than Ted Bundy.” Reuben’s story is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, as she not only survived the attack but also battled lupus and breast cancer.
In a candid interview, Ruben recounts the fateful night of January 14th, 1978. She had gone to bed like any other night, but her world was about to be shattered. She recalls, “What I next remembered is a noise where someone had tripped over something in my room and I looked up and I couldn’t see anything it was all dark and all I saw was a figure standing next to me holding up a log or something in his arm he had his arm lift up and something was in it the next thing I remember is he slammed that on my face and at first it didn’t hurt it it felt like hitting a a bag of potatoes it was a thud at didn’t last that way for long because then it was shooting pains and it was horrible it was horrible he hit me in my jaw and broke my jaw in two places broke my chin so that it had to be wired shut so that it would heal and also cut a gash in my face and I’m still um numb in my face.”
Kathy Kleiner Rubin, a survivor of Ted Bundy's attack, during an interview.
The attack left an indelible mark on Ruben, both physically and emotionally. She was a student at Florida State University and a member of the Chi Omega sorority in Tallahassee at the time. The attack on her and her sorority sisters sent shockwaves through the campus and the nation.
Ruben vividly remembers the terror of that night, “After I was attacked the first time he went to my roommate Margaret and attacked her and then I was still alive I was in my head I was screaming and yelling but all I was doing was making gurgling sounds because my tongue had almost been bit off and there was so much blood around me and in me and my face was sticky and I was just not not aware of what happened but when he came over the second time I made myself into the smallest little ball I could be because I thought well if he can’t see me he won’t hit me.”
Crime scene photo of a bedroom in the Chi Omega sorority house after Ted Bundy's attack.
Amidst the horror, a glimmer of hope emerged. A light shining from a car pulling into the driveway startled Bundy, causing him to flee. Two of Ruben’s sorority sisters, Lisa Levy and Margaret Bowman, tragically lost their lives that night. Ruben and two other roommates survived the horrifying ordeal.
One month later, on February 15th, the news broke that Ted Bundy had been apprehended. The news came as a relief, but it couldn’t erase the trauma. Ruben recalls her reaction, “When I did find out it was Ted Bundy I wasn’t familiar with his background and what he had done out on the west coast so I was kind of um not knowing and my parents shaded me and protected me a lot about what had happened.”
Ted Bundy sits in a courtroom during his trial.
Ruben had to confront her attacker face-to-face during Bundy’s trial. “He was very smart and he had a blue jacket on and just like we were wasting his time,” she remembers. Despite the trauma of the experience, she bravely testified against him.
Bundy, known for his manipulative charm and charisma, tried to project an image of normalcy. However, Ruben’s book aims to shatter this carefully constructed facade, revealing the true depths of his depravity.
In her book, Ruben seeks to give a voice to the many women Bundy victimized. She believes that by sharing her story, she can honor their memory and help others understand the devastating impact of Bundy’s crimes.
“A Light in the Dark: Surviving More Than Ted Bundy,” co-written with Emily Landau, is more than just a survivor’s story. It is a testament to the strength of the human spirit and a call to recognize and confront the darkness that can lurk beneath a seemingly charming exterior.
