Cold Case Files: "I SURVIVED: The Doctor Said You’ve Been Stabbed 14 Times"

Host: Paula Barros
Date: November 29, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of Cold Case Files presents gripping, firsthand survivor accounts of three life-threatening attacks—an abduction and sexual assault, an industrial accident, and a brutal stabbing by a trusted acquaintance. Each story centers on the moment of crisis, the victim's fight to live, and ultimately, hard-won justice or healing. The episode weaves together interviews and narration with an unflinching tone that’s at times raw, matter-of-fact, and deeply personal.

Key Stories & Discussion Points

1. Angela: Abducted from a Mall Parking Lot (Chicago, 1996)

• Set-up:
  Angela, 17 and freshly graduated, is grabbed at knifepoint after her mall shift. Despite initial embarrassment at being seen singing, she’s quickly thrust into terror as a "creepy" stranger restrains and kidnaps her.
• Details of Abduction:
  The assailant’s chilling method—blindfolding Angela with bandages and sunglasses, binding her wrists with zip ties—signals prior experience. Angela’s internal alarms are blaring:

  “He was so practiced. I knew that he had done this before.” (03:56)

• Desperate Observations:
  Mentally cataloging details about her captor and the car, Angela clings to the hope of bringing him to justice.

  “If I get out of this situation alive, he’s not getting away with it.” (13:21)

• Attack & Escape:
  Driven to a remote forest at knifepoint, Angela is coerced to undress and wear a satin gown:

  “To feel all you were there for was just a thing, an object, was traumatizing.” (23:13) After a sexual assault, he drops her at another parking lot and orders her to count to 100.

• Aftermath and Justice:
  Angela struggles to convince police, facing skepticism and victim-blaming:

  “Are you lying? ... Sometimes girls get themselves into situations.” (30:18) Her persistence leads to two dedicated detectives, a composite sketch, and the arrest of Robert Capo—already a convicted killer.

• Trial and Empowerment:

  “It took four years for my case to come to trial... but I wouldn’t take the experience back.” (39:06) Capo is convicted and sentenced to life. Angela attributes her survival to listening to her instincts. “We can’t choose what happens... but we can choose our response. I survived because I listened to my instincts.” (39:40)

2. Pat: Trapped in a Combine Harvester (Auburn, NY, 2010)

• The Accident:
  Pat, a seasoned farmer, ignores protocol in his haste to fix a combine. While reaching past a running shaft to remove a safety lock, his hand and coveralls are caught.
• Fight for Survival:
  Pat’s horrifying situation grows dire as the machine tightens around him, burning and crushing his flesh.

  “The only way you’re gonna get loose is to rip your hand off. And I go, I don’t know if I can do that.” (14:00)

• Self-Amputation and Escape:
  With excruciating effort, he tears his own hand free, but remains entangled by his clothes:

  “All I had left... was two bones that used to hold my hand. And I see my half hand flying around on this shaft...” (19:48) Miraculously, he stops the machinery by burning off a belt, extricates himself, and staggers for help.

• Rescue and Recovery:
  Pat’s cousin, a fire chief, is stunned by his appearance—bloodied and half-naked. Medics airlift Pat to the hospital, where surgeons cannot reattach his hand.
  • Notable quote on resilience and luck:

    “Whatever I got, I’m happy with. I’m happy to be alive. I survived because I’m not ready to go yet.” (37:40)

  • On supernatural intervention:

    “They say you have guardian angels. I think I have a few watching over me.” (38:06)

3. Tricia: Stabbed by a Friend (Houston, 1991)

• Betrayal:
  At age 14, Tricia is ambushed at home by Steven, a familiar face. After odd behavior—including self-harm with a knife—he attacks her suddenly and brutally.

• Violence and Survival:
  Tricia’s ordeal is relentless: stabbed repeatedly, she endures her throat being slit as she desperately tries to call 911:

  “He went from guilt ‘I’m sorry’ look to ‘I’m gonna kill you.’” (15:49) “He just, repeatedly, just came after me over and over again.” (16:45) Grabbing the blade, she severs tendons in her fingers; at various points, she blacks out from blood loss.

• Escape and Rescue:
  Semi-conscious, Tricia drags herself toward her front door and collapses outside, where neighbors summon help.

  “My white nightgown is now red... I reached up with my hand and put it into my neck and my hand was inside my neck...” (27:22)

• Medical Miracles & Aftermath:
  She is airlifted for open heart surgery:

  “The doctor said you’d been stabbed 14 times in all, and we did eight-hour open heart surgery on you to repair your heart.” (34:18) Her attacker flees—living under a new identity for over a decade. He is ultimately caught and confesses.

• Relief and Ongoing Struggle:

  “I’m so relieved... to know that I don’t have to fear... that there’s going to be bars between him and I.” (35:33)

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• Angela, on abduction realization:

  “It’s not your money that I want. And that line made me realize that this was a very serious situation.” (02:56)

• Angela, on the assault:

  “He dressed me up just like a doll… Am I going to be raped? Am I going to be killed? Is this it?” (18:59 – 19:25) “He wipes the tears off my face with the same handkerchief he used to clean himself… that was just so repulsive.” (23:20)

• Pat, reflecting on survival:

  “You have guardian angels. I think I have a few of them watching over me.” (38:06)

• Tricia, after surviving:

  “I looked up and he was standing on top of me. He proceeded to kick me in my stomach and he kicked me in my head and I passed out.” (22:47) “He wasn’t anybody that I knew. And he was out there.” (34:49)

Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:39 –Angela’s abduction begins
• 04:50 – Pat’s combine accident starts
• 07:28 – Tricia’s attack begins
• 11:28 – Angela details being abducted, cataloguing facts
• 14:06 – Pat’s hand is pulled into the combine
• 15:47 – Tricia is repeatedly stabbed
• 17:34 – Angela driven into the forest, coerced to wear gown
• 19:48 – Pat self-amputates to escape combine
• 21:48 – Tricia’s throat is slit while dialing 911
• 23:08 – Angela assaulted in the car
• 30:14 – Angela dismissed by initial detectives
• 35:33 – Tricia expresses relief at attacker’s arrest
• 37:40 – Pat on surviving and gratitude
• 38:53 – Angela’s case leads to arrest and conviction
• 39:40 – Angela’s note on survival and instinct

Episode Tone & Style

The survivors and narrators speak directly, often graphically but always earnestly, inviting listeners into their terror and resilience. The episode never sensationalizes, instead focusing on the process of survival, the psychological toll, and the slow, uncertain journey toward justice and recovery.

Conclusion

“I Survived: The Doctor Said You’ve Been Stabbed 14 Times” offers three unforgettable survival stories—each unique in circumstance but sharing threads of trauma, resourcefulness, and determination. Whether fighting a machine, an attacker, or disbelief, each survivor ultimately finds a way through, and—despite devastating wounds—reclaims some measure of power over what’s happened to them. The episode’s blend of raw narrative and procedural detail gives listeners both emotional impact and insight into how cold cases—and cold survival stories—move from horror to resolution.