I SURVIVED: I Could Hear His Footsteps Getting Closer and Closer

Summary

Cold Case Files: "I SURVIVED: I Could Hear His Footsteps Getting Closer and Closer"

Hosted by Paula Barros | Released March 29, 2025

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Cold Case Files delves into some of America's most harrowing and unresolved criminal cases, shedding light on the relentless pursuit of justice by investigators and the resilience of survivors. In the episode titled "I SURVIVED: I Could Hear His Footsteps Getting Closer and Closer," host Paula Barros narrates three intense survival stories that showcase the human spirit's capacity to endure unimaginable terror. Below is a comprehensive summary capturing the key moments, discussions, and poignant quotes from each narrative.

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1. Ron and Jill’s Night of Terror in Fort Worth, Texas

Timeline: September 2008
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Survivors: Ron and Jill
Intruder: Hiradio Ibarra

A. The Intrusion

The episode opens with Ron recounting the harrowing experience of a violent home invasion. On a seemingly ordinary night, Ron and his wife Jill were overseeing their neighbors' property using a four-wheeler. After ensuring everything was in order, they settled in for the evening, unaware of the impending danger.

Ron (03:25): "I was trying to convince him to follow me into the kitchen area, get him away from where my wife was sitting."

B. Escalation of Violence

The intruder, masked in green and armed with a pistol and a pipe, forced his way into their home. His violent actions quickly escalated as he assaulted both Ron and Jill with brutal force.

Ron (05:04): "It was just violent rage that went through me. How dare you come into our home and attack us and our sanctuary?"

C. Ron’s Heroic Efforts

Despite sustaining severe injuries—including a broken jaw and shattered teeth—Ron remained composed, drawing on his training as a firefighter and paramedic to navigate the crisis. He attempted to de-escalate the situation by offering money and valuables, hoping to appease the intruder.

Ron (19:49): "We survived because we were able to take it one step at a time in the situation. We didn't let our emotions run away from us."

D. The Climax and Rescue

In a desperate bid to protect his wife, Ron engaged in a physical struggle with the intruder, ultimately disarming him despite his own grievous injuries. As the situation spiraled, Ron and Jill were left fighting for their lives until emergency services arrived.

Narrator (20:04): "Ron just looking at me and saying, we're gonna be okay, babe. We're gonna be okay. That's what got us through."

E. Aftermath

The intruder, Hiradio Ibarra, was later found dead from multiple stab wounds. Investigations revealed that Ibarra had been surveilling Ron and Jill's property for an extended period, adding a chilling layer to the case.

Jill (19:13): "My biggest fear wasn't so much for myself. But I was afraid of what he was going to do to my wife."

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2. Randy’s Electrical Accident in Rowley, Iowa

Timeline: October 2007
Location: Rowley, Iowa
Survivor: Randy
Incident: Electrical Shock While Working

A. The Call to Action

Randy, an electrical lineman, received an after-hours call to address a blown fuse on a power pole servicing a small rural town. Despite the looming storm, Randy prepared for the task with meticulous safety measures.

Jill (22:07): "Being a lineman can be extremely dangerous. There are so many different facets of the job that you have to be concerned with that could kill you or seriously injure you."

B. The Catastrophic Shock

While attempting to rectify the electrical issue, Randy experienced a severe electrical shock of 7,200 volts. The sudden surge left him suspended 35 feet above the ground, immobilized and in excruciating pain.

Jill (24:12): "My body locked in that position for what seemed like forever."

C. Struggle for Survival

Trapped and in agony, Randy struggled to regain control of his body. His attempts to move only intensified the pain, and he faced the terrifying reality of potential respiratory failure and blood clots in the brain.

Jill (27:16): "I knew I couldn't hang in that position for very long as well."

D. The Rescue Effort

Desperation fueled Randy’s determination to survive. Using his cell phone, he managed to call for help despite his limited mobility. The local fire department responded promptly, providing the critical assistance needed to extract him from the perilous situation.

Jill (30:18): "The fireman that came up the ladder... it was just incredible to have that support."

E. Recovery and Reflection

Randy's recovery involved extensive medical intervention, including amputations and nerve surgery. He credits his survival to his training, family commitment, and unwavering faith.

Jill (31:19): "I think I survived this that night because of my training, because of my commitment to my family and my desire to still be dad and all those things and my faith."

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3. Julie’s Fatal Encounter in Charlotte, North Carolina

Timeline: September 1987
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Survivor: Julie
Attacker: Paul (Ex-Boyfriend)

A. The Broken Relationship

Julie had recently ended a tumultuous four-year relationship with Paul due to his increasing alcohol abuse and abusive behavior. Despite her efforts to remain friends and even offer support through programs like AA, Paul became increasingly obsessed.

Intruder (32:19): "I wanted him to stop. I just was trying to get it through his head that there was no future and he needed to stop and go find somebody else."

B. The Fatal Confrontation

One fateful night, Paul confronted Julie under the guise of saying goodbye. The situation quickly deteriorated as Paul brandished a knife, leading to a violent struggle. Locked inside, Julie fought for her life, managing to stab Paul multiple times, which inadvertently caused severe injuries to herself.

Intruder (35:48): "It was just, get out, get out, get out."

C. The Chase and Final Attack

After an initial scuffle, Paul fled, only to return and continue his assault on Julie. An off-duty police officer heard her screams and intervened, allowing Julie to escape. The confrontation left Julie critically injured but ultimately alive.

Narrator (38:45): "An off duty police officer who lived nearby had heard Julie's screams. She came out with a gun."

D. Medical and Legal Aftermath

Julie endured 36 stab wounds, with nine being potentially fatal, including a life-threatening spinal injury. Her attacker was apprehended, sentenced to six years in prison, and subjected to a permanent restraining order. Despite surviving the attack, Julie continues to grapple with physical pain and psychological trauma.

Marissa Pinson (39:37): "Julie's attacker was later arrested and sentenced to six years in prison. Julie has a permanent restraining order against him and has moved to another state."

E. Julie’s Testimony

Julie attributes her survival to sheer willpower, adrenaline, faith, and the timely intervention of the police officer.

Intruder (40:11): "I survived because the will to live, fight, adrenaline, God and the police officer who was awake with her sick dog."

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Conclusion

"I SURVIVED: I Could Hear His Footsteps Getting Closer and Closer" is a testament to human resilience in the face of life-threatening adversity. Through the harrowing experiences of Ron and Jill, Randy, and Julie, the episode underscores the importance of courage, composure, and the relentless will to survive. Each story not only highlights the terrifying encounters these individuals faced but also celebrates their strength and determination to overcome unimaginable challenges.

Cold Case Files continues to bring these gripping narratives to light, honoring the survivors and emphasizing the relentless pursuit of justice in the darkest of circumstances.

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Notable Quotes:

• Ron (05:04): "It was just violent rage that went through me. How dare you come into our home and attack us and our sanctuary?"

• Jill (31:19): "I think I survived this that night because of my training, because of my commitment to my family and my desire to still be dad and all those things and my faith."

• Intruder (40:11): "I survived because the will to live, fight, adrenaline, God and the police officer who was awake with her sick dog."

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Disclaimer: This summary is based on the transcript provided and aims to encapsulate the key elements of the episode for those who have not listened to it. All personal stories are treated with confidentiality and respect.

Transcript

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[Marissa Pinson]

I'm Marissa Pinson and if you're enjoying this show, I just want to remind you that episodes of I Survived as well as the A and E classic podcast, Cold Case Files, City Confidential, and American justice are all available ad free on the new A and E Crime and Investigation channel on Apple Podcasts and Apple plus for just $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year. And now onto the show. This episode contains subject matter that may be disturbing to some listeners. Listener discretion is advised.

[Ron]

He hit me across the side of the head with the pipe and this time he broke my jaw in two places and shattered my teeth.

[Jill]

Real people 35 foot up a pole was not the place that I wanted to die.

[Marissa Pinson]

Who faced death?

[Intruder]

And he said shh, I love you. I love you and if I can't have you nobody else will and I.

[Marissa Pinson]

Will meet you in hell and live to tell how.

[Narrator]

Can't end like this for Ron and I. You know, we haven't done everything yet we thought we'd do.

[Marissa Pinson]

This is I survived. It's September 2008 in Fort Worth, Texas. Ron and his wife Jill live on a rural property.

[Ron]

The community is a very close knit community. You tend to know the people that live close to you. You tend to know everybody that's around you.

[Narrator]

Our neighbors had gone out of town and they had asked us to watch their house. So we got on our four wheeler, checked our cows, rode the four wheeler over to our neighbors and just made sure everything was okay over there. Got back about 7ish, got my mom to bed I guess about 8:30.

[Marissa Pinson]

Jill's elderly mother had lived with the couple for many years.

[Narrator]

Ron had finished his shower, came out, he was going to check his email and I said, well I'll flip this movie on, and I heard something. I wasn't sure what it was. I thought Ron was asking me something, and the tv, you know, I just didn't hear exactly what he said. And I remember I looked over at Ron, and there was somebody standing there.

[Ron]

We never heard him come in. And I didn't know he was there until he hit me on the head with a pistol. The hit wasn't so hard that it knocked me to the floor or anything of that nature, but it was enough to get my attention. And I jumped up out of my chair to turn around and see what it was that hit me. And I was confronting a man who was standing behind me who had a pistol pointed at me, and he was wearing a green mask. I thought it was a sick joke, but I asked him, what do you want? He said, I want your money.

[Narrator]

Give me your big money. He just kept saying that over and over. And I remember looking at Ron thinking, oh, my God, this is not real.

[Ron]

I was trying to convince him to follow me into the kitchen area, get him away from where my wife was sitting.

[Marissa Pinson]

Ron led the intruder into the kitchen.

[Ron]

I got my wallet and took the cash that I had in my wallet out and said, here it is. And I was trying to reach it out and hand it to him, and he just ignored me. He had a length of pipe in one hand and a pistol in the other. I was thinking if I could just get him to set one of those down and take the money, it would kind of relieve some of the tension, or perhaps, maybe even I could grab the other, whichever one that he wasn't. But he kept backing away from me as I was trying to hand him the money. And he backed. And he backed up, and he kept that distance between us until he actually got behind the chair where my wife was sitting.

[Narrator]

And I remember just keeping my eyes focused on Ron, thinking, it's kind of, you know, if I just watch Ron, it'll be okay.

[Ron]

And without any forewarning, he struck my wife in the head with a pop.

[Narrator]

I felt this. Like my head had just got jammed down to my shoulders. And I heard this noise. And I remember throwing my hands up to my head, going, damn, what was that? And then I saw blood coming down my shoulders, and I was like, oh, my God, this man just hit me. I don't. I'm just sitting here. I'm not trying to get him. I'm. He just hit me. And he hit me again. And I'm just like, God, is. This can't be real.

[Ron]

It was just violent rage that went through me. How dare you come into our home and attack us and our sanctuary? But my training as a firefighter and as a paramedic told me I can't express that. I have to keep that part bottled, and I have to approach him in a calmer, saner manner. And I knew that I couldn't help Jill if I lost my temper.

[Marissa Pinson]

Jill was bleeding heavily.

[Narrator]

And then I heard Ron saying very calmly, mister, you don't want to do that.

[Ron]

And I said, now, you wouldn't do that to a man. You're sitting there hitting a woman. You know, that's really making you tough. But it's not. I was trying to appeal to anything that would get his attention. And he nonchalantly told her or waved her away from the chair and told me to sit down. And I thought that this is better. Now she's got an opportunity. She's away from him, and it's going to be me getting closer to him. And whenever I went to sit in the chair, I figured that I could grab him from behind me and just pull him into me, and we'd be on the ground wrestling. But I didn't get that opportunity.

[Narrator]

He hit Ron for the first time, hard on the head. And I remember thinking to myself, my God, it's so loud. It literally sounded like it echoed in our house. And blood went everywhere.

[Ron]

My hands went numb and my legs went numb, and it sounded like someone was talking to me through a tunnel. My wife was screaming, and I was on the ground, and I thought he had shot me. It was so loud, and I could see the. The blood was just literally flowing from my face and dripping to the floor. And I turned around and told him, then, you know, what would your family think of you doing something like this? He said, I don't care about my family.

[Narrator]

When you're a mom, you have a mom look. It's what I call my mom look. And I remember trying to look at him like, this is my mom look. You're supposed to say, I'm sorry. I'm doing this wrong. And he didn't. He just looked at me. And I knew then it was bad, because there was no nothing in his eyes. Absolutely nothing. Ron always is always taught, don't panic. If you panic, it's not gonna help anybody. Don't ping. Don't ping off the walls. Gotta stay cool. And Ron tried everything. He. He was like, take the little cash we have. I'll take you to an atm. We'll clean any account out we have. I think at that point, we Realized if we would have given him a million dollars, he wasn't leaving. He made us go back to our bedroom.

[Ron]

And I thought I saw an opportunity at that time. I had a handgun in my closet. If I could just duck into the closet very quickly, I could have the gun. The only problem at that point was is that he had my wife between me and him, marching us down the hallway. And I knew that if I ducked into there, she was going to be vulnerable.

[Narrator]

Ron hands him the jewelry box and he throws it on the bed and starts using the pipe as, like, a tool to go through my jewelry. I had a necklace in there that my son had made me when he was in, like, the first grade. He took that, you know, he left silver bracelets and he takes that. Just stuff that didn't make any sense.

[Ron]

Jill was closer to the door that led out to the patio, and it was cracked open just a little. That's how we knew how he got in. That door was closed, and it was just open. He never closed it. And it was an opportunity for Jill to run. I made eye contact with her and tried to look at the door to tell her, you know, this is your opportunity run out.

[Narrator]

And I remember thinking to myself.

[Jill]

I.

[Narrator]

Could run out this door, but then I probably would hear Ron get shot.

[Ron]

At that point, after he got what he wanted in the jewelry, he said that his hand's getting awfully tired of holding this gun. He may just end up shooting one of us right there. And we told him that, again, you know, there's nothing worth harming someone for in this house. We will give you the whole thing. You can take whatever you want. My wife even offered up our laptop computers and her personal car, which was new. He asked, where are the keys? And she said, the keys are in the car. I'll take the keys after I kill you. That's when we knew that we were in a no win situation. There was going to be no talking this man down. He was so resolved in what he was doing. He had already planned what he was doing to the point that we were not going to walk away from this thing alive.

[Narrator]

One of the things I remember thinking is, can't end like this for Ron and I. You know, we haven't done everything yet we thought we'd do.

[Ron]

He marched us back into the kitchen, at which point I tried to turn towards the butcher block and get a knife to fight back. He stepped around the corner very quickly with the gun and told me no.

[Narrator]

He made Ron sit back down again. That's when he Became a very violent, horrible. I am going to beat the hell out of somebody. And it didn't bother him at all to do it. Did not bother him at all. It just was like another day in the office.

[Ron]

I saw him draw back with the pipe. He was coming to hit me with the pipe again. I was able to throw up my arm, my left arm, to block the blow, and it broke my arm. I could feel the arm break as soon as I jerked my arm back down. He drew back again, and before I could even get my arm up again, he hit me across the side of the head with the pipe. And this time he broke my jaw in two places and shattered my teeth. And I was losing my balance. Everything was starting to go upside down.

[Marissa Pinson]

The blow had broken bones in Ron's inner ear, affecting his internal balance.

[Narrator]

Only thing you could see on Ron were his eyes, because everything else was bloody. I'm talking from his head to his toes. He was covered in blood, and he hit the floor, and he's crawling to get back up again. I had a clay pot on the mantle. I just picked it up and I flung.

[Ron]

Was the only time in the entire incident that he ever took his eyes off of me. And he threw his hands up to protect himself.

[Narrator]

And I ran toward him. I ducked my head down, thinking, well, if he shoots, maybe he'll shoot over me. And I ran toward him. Ron, on the other hand, I don't know how he did it. Came over the couch, around the couch, but he hit him about the same time I did, and we all went sailing.

[Ron]

I took his gun away from him, and at that point, he broke away from me a little bit and rolled over onto his stomach and started to try to crawl and get back up. And I jumped onto his back and was hanging onto his shirt. And I had his pistol in my hand and him by the shirt. And I actually put the gun to his head, said a quick prayer, forgive me, and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. The gun didn't go off, and I was so shocked that he had been able to hold me at bay this long with a gun that didn't have a bullet in it and to take such a beating.

[Narrator]

The next thing that I remembered was they're on the floor and they're up by the desk.

[Ron]

I was able to take the pipe from him. I tried to hit him with it, but instead of hitting him, I hit the desk that we were next to, and I had pain shoot all the way up to my shoulders. He was punching me in the chest. He was punching me in the. He was punching me in the face. I think I hit everything. But what I was aiming for was my balance being off so bad. The only thing that was going through my mind at this time was, we've got to survive. My wife's got to survive. I've got to survive. We have too much to live for, to give up, to die for something so silly, something so meaningless. It wasn't like I was dripping blood. I was flowing so much blood that it was ridiculous. I couldn't see for the blood that was on my face. I could feel my teeth in my mouth as I was talking. Pieces of them were falling out onto the ground. I just wanted to hold him down. I wanted the police officers to get there. I wanted to find out why. More than anything, I wanted to have a day in court with this man. I wanted to be able to look at him in the face and have him explain to me what was going through his mind.

[Narrator]

And Ron's hollering, get a knife. We gotta slow him down. Cause I can't hold him much longer. So I ran in the kitchen, got the knife out of our butcher block and I ran back in there. And at first I think I went for his upper body, but I realized I will stab Ron because their arms and legs and everything. And Ron's like, just get him in the legs, get him in the legs as best you can. I kept thinking, it's hard to get the knife to go down into his leg. And I remembered at one time I had to use both my hands to push it down to go through his leg. And I remember trying to stab him in the groin.

[Ron]

His mask had come off and I could see his face and he was staring at me and it was just empty hatred. How do I describe that? I don't know how to describe that kind of look in a person's face.

[Narrator]

I remembered where my cell phone went flying, so I grabbed it.

[911 Operator]

911, we're being robbed. I've got a guy by knife and it's a robbery in progress. We have to got the guy down. I have stabbed him several times. Hurry up. No, ma'am, we're just holding him down. Please, please, please. Gotta hurry. Don't. Don't try to injure him any further. Just try and keep him. But yeah, don't use any more weapons.

[Marissa Pinson]

Jill's elderly mother had been asleep in a nearby room during the entire incident.

[Narrator]

I was on the phone with 911 operator and my mom opened the door and she hollered, cut that out or Turn that down or what's going on? And I hollered, mom, go back in your room and close the door. I knew mom was safe as far as if we could keep him down. He's hollering stuff at us like, I want to die. Let me die. Just craziness.

[911 Operator]

Don't move, mister.

[Narrator]

No, I'm not killing you and Ron's, you know. No. And I remember telling the guy, we don't want you to die. We want you to go to jail. We want you to answer for what you've done.

[911 Operator]

No. How do you think you just made us feel, Cal? How did you pick us? Why did you do this to us? Yeah, aids. Great. What is he saying? Who's got aids? He just told us he has AIDS and we're all covered in blood.

[Ron]

The shock to hear something like that was enough to completely take me aback. I wanted to be away from him. We've exchanged bodily fluids. We've been bleeding together. My wife is bleeding. You know what's going to happen to us now? This guy has aids. He's brought it home to us.

[911 Operator]

What's your name? Jill. Are you trying Rob?

[Marissa Pinson]

Leaving?

[911 Operator]

Who all is there with you? My husband, my mom. How did he get in? I have the stooge. Yours. Hurry, ma'am. We're all bleeding.

[Marissa Pinson]

The emergency crew arrived to find Ron still wrestling with the intruder on the floor.

[Narrator]

They started to pull him off of Ron. They put me in the kitchen and sat me in a chair. And Ron is sitting in a chair next to me. And you can see it on all their faces. It was bad. We must have looked pretty bad. And I hear the sheriff say he's dead.

[Ron]

No, no, he. No, he was just talking just a second ago. He just told me he had aids. He's not dead. He's not dead. Check him again. I said, no, he's dead.

[Narrator]

I couldn't understand how could he be dead? But I didn't care. And that's terrible sounding. I didn't want him to die. But I didn't ask him to come into my house either.

[Marissa Pinson]

The coroner's report found that the intruder, Hiradio Ibarra, had died of multiple stab wounds.

[Narrator]

This guy came in and changed our whole life. Things aren't the same anymore at our house.

[Marissa Pinson]

Abarra did not have AIDS as he had claimed. Police found evidence that he had been watching Jill and Ron's house for some time.

[Ron]

My biggest fear wasn't so much for myself. How do I say that? But it wasn't so much for myself. I was afraid of what he was going to do to my wife. Jill's not only my wife, she's my best friend.

[Narrator]

Ron always had told us, don't ping in a situation. Don't panic. And I can remember when it was all over and a month or two or three down the road, I told Ron, at least, I didn't ping, babe. You know I didn't ping. And he was, yeah, you didn't ping, babe.

[Ron]

We survived because we were able to take it one step at a time in the situation. We didn't let our emotions run away from us. We focused on the task at hand and went one step at a time.

[Narrator]

Ron just looking at me and saying, we're gonna be okay, babe. We're gonna be okay. That's what got us through. That's what got me through. I survived because Ron was there. If my husband hadn't been there, I wouldn't have made it. And probably my mom wouldn't have made it.

[Marissa Pinson]

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[Marissa Pinson]

It's October 2007 in Rowley, Iowa. Randy is an electrical lineman.

[Jill]

Being a lineman can be extremely dangerous. There are so many different facets of the job that you have to be concerned with that could kill you or seriously injure you. It doesn't take very much electricity, for instance, across your heart, to screw the rhythm up or even stop it.

[Marissa Pinson]

Randy got an after hours call to a small rural town. A fuse had blown on one of the power poles that serviced the town.

[Jill]

There was a little bit of lightning storm in the area, Little rain. It was getting dark. So the first thing I did was I took a spotlight back into the backyard. Couldn't get the truck to it. It was something I'd have to climb. I put my climbing equipment on. We have to wear strap spikes to each leg and you wear a belt with a strap. It appeared that one of the wires was actually touching the pole and thereby blew the fuse in the fuse holder. So I climbed to a position where I had felt that I could push the wire out of the way. It was 35ft to the transformer on the pole.

[Marissa Pinson]

Randy secured himself to the pole with a strap on his belt.

[Jill]

The belt has two rings on it on either side of your hips. When you get in position to do your work, you take the strap around the pole and hook it into the other side. I realized that I couldn't quite reach the the wire that was touching the pole. So I readjusted a little bit. I had to step over another wire on the pole in order to get in a better position to push it. And at that time, I felt the sensation of getting shocked. It was like my whole body just kind of locked in the position it was in. I can remember kind of tipping my head back and thinking, there's no way this is going on. This isn't happening to me. I couldn't move. I was just frozen in that position. I felt a lot of heat. I saw a blue flash.

[Marissa Pinson]

Randy was held to the pole by his safety belt.

[Jill]

I don't know how long the shock lasted for sure. It felt like an awful long time. The energized line carried 7200 volts, so I'm assuming that the shock involved at least that much voltage.

[Marissa Pinson]

There was lightning in the area that may have struck the line.

[Jill]

I've been asked how to describe that feeling of sensation of being shocked. And it's difficult to put into words. The best I can do is there's a scene from the movie the Matrix where One of the characters picks up a phone and he's drawn into it, and there's kind of a staticky noise as he speaks and is sucked into this phone. And that's the way it felt. My body locked in that position for what seemed like forever. But I'm sure it was at least several minutes. And I was just totally at the mercy of the electricity at that moment. So after what seemed like several minutes of being shocked, I was thrown away from whatever caused the shock in the first place. I had a strap around the pole that prevented me from falling all the way. And one wire ran between my legs. So my left knee kind of caught that. I was dangling towards the ground, very aware of how quiet and how dark it was. That seemed to last for several minutes. I didn't have any control over my body at that point. I couldn't move. I desperately wanted to get stood up again. Could not do that. I couldn't sense myself breathing. I couldn't sense my heart. At that time, I had no sense at all of how I'd gotten in the position I was in or how I was going to get myself out of that position. It crossed my mind that I had either died or was in the process of dying at that point. Being in rural Iowa, in a little town of 200, in the dark, 35 foot up a pole was not the place that I wanted to die. Not the place that I wanted to leave my family behind. After hanging there for a while, several minutes, I'm sure my body started to convulse. I remember the sensation of my arms flopping around and like a fish out of water, I then started to regain some mortar control over my arms and hands. I could move my head around. I could see I was still. It was still dark out, and I could look down at the ground and see the spotlight shining up at me. I grabbed a hold of the guy wire again and tried to pull myself up. Just. I didn't have the body strength to upright myself.

[Marissa Pinson]

Hanging upside down put Randy at a risk of blood clotting in the brain and respiratory failure.

[Jill]

I knew I couldn't hang in that position for very long as well. All the blood rushing through my head and all. I knew I needed to at least upright myself somewhat. So I was able to throw my left arm over the wire that was running between my legs and kind of hang to the side. I tried to assess where I had feeling at in my hands and what I had control over. My legs were kind of pinched in the position they were in. So there Wasn't any movement there. There was severe pain in my hands and my left wrist. To even attempt to move it at all just sent waves of pain up my arm. I could feel my heart racing.

[Marissa Pinson]

Randy was suffering an irregular heartbeat caused by the electric shock.

[Jill]

I could really begin to smell the burnt flesh. And one of my fingers on my left hand, I couldn't seem to move. And it was straight when I first got into that position. But the longer I hung there, it kind of curled up underneath my hand. At that moment, I decided I wasn't going to get myself down by uprighting, climbing down. So I started screaming for help. There were several houses within a couple hundred feet of where I was hanging at. So I screamed for what seemed like an hour or two. I'd screamed my name, who I worked for, what had happened, that I needed help. And I just. I couldn't get anyone to respond to that. I was really shocked that nobody responded to my screaming. And I realized that I was probably gonna have to help myself out a little more to get out of this situation. So I kind of considered what my options were. I tried to stand up again. I figured that was the only way I was gonna get down. But I just could not draw enough strength to do that. I had a knife with me. I considered maybe cutting my belt and swinging out away from the pole. Didn't consider that too long. Cause being 35ft up in the air, I figured probably wasn't the smart move for me at that point. So. And I realized I brought my cell phone with me in a small pouch on my left side. Got enough strength to get my left arm over the wire again and hang from that side. And then I was able to reach across and access that pouch with my right hand. So I got my cell phone out. I put the holder in my mouth. I used my mouth in my right hand, trying desperately not to drop it while I was up there. Got it out, dialed my dispatcher, and I said, I just got burnt. I need help.

[Marissa Pinson]

The local fire department arrives a few minutes later.

[Jill]

The fireman that came up the ladder, all he did was he balanced me with his shoulder in the small of my back and just kind of supported my weight at that time. And it was just incredible to have that support and that. That human connection again. At that point, if I'd have been able to, I'd have hugged the guy because I was just so happy to realize that I was going to get off this pole. One of the things about my job is you have to be able to stay Calm. When unexpected things happen, the choices that you make can either add to the danger of the situation or protect you at that moment.

[Marissa Pinson]

Randy's irregular heartbeat settled down the day after his accident with no lasting effects. He had one finger amputated, skin grafts on both hands, and nerve surgery on his arm.

[Jill]

I think I survived this that night because of my training, because of my commitment to my family and my desire to. To still be dad and all those things and my faith. That night saved me.

[Marissa Pinson]

I survived. Is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Shifting a little money here, a little there and hoping it all works out well, with the name your price tool from Progressive, you can be a better budgeter and potentially lower your insurance bill too. You tell Progressive what you want to pay for car insurance and they'll help you find options within your budget. Try [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates Price and coverage match limited by state law. Not available in all states. It's September 1987 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Julie had just ended a difficult relationship.

[Intruder]

I dated Paul for approximately four years and decided the relationship was not going to be the one for me. And he had been drinking and that abuse had increased quite a bit. So I told him I would be his friend. You know, we needed to move on. I offered to go to AA with him as a friend, but, you know, we could not be together anymore.

[Marissa Pinson]

Paul continued calling Julie and leaving her flowers.

[Intruder]

I wanted him to stop. I just was trying to get it through his head that there was no future and he needed to stop and go find somebody else. One night he asked me to go for a ride for him and talk. And he said he wanted to tell me goodbye and that would be that. So I said, no, I will go for a walk with you because we lived in the same neighborhood. So I said, we can go for a walk and you can tell me what you think you need to tell me. And then you promise you'll leave me alone? And he said yes.

[Marissa Pinson]

Julie finished work at 1:30am and met Paul at his house.

[Intruder]

He was in the kitchen and he said, come here a minute. And I stood up and I looked at him and I said, why? What are you doing? What's going on? He said, come here and give me a hug. But he had his hands behind his back and he was acting a little odd. So I said, what do you mean? What do you want? And when I hesitated and wouldn't go, he brought a knife out from behind his back. When I Saw the knife, I thought, oh, I am in deep trouble. He has gone off the deep end. And, you know, I think your instinct, survival kicks in. That's the fight or flight and the adrenaline rush. And my instinct at first was flight. I've got to get out of here or I'm going to get hurt. When I ran for the door, I discovered it was locked. And the first lock I undid was a deadbolt. While I was unlocking that one, he stabbed me in the back at least twice. And it's sort of like, you know, when it's a sharp pain and a thud sort of all at the same time, I guess from the force of the knife going in, but kind of caught my breath and took it away.

[Marissa Pinson]

Julie struggled to open the heavy wooden door.

[Intruder]

I was holding onto the side of the door just as hard as I could. And when I finally let go, we tumbled to the floor. He was sitting on top of me and the knife was like in his hand right above my face. And I just focused on grabbing the hand, the wrist that had the knife in it. And when I grabbed one hand, he would switch the knife to the other hand and back and forth for, you know, five or six times. And I guess at one point I missed and the knife came down and went into my chest. I was flailing and hitting and bucking, trying to get away. And I believe I made contact with his neck because he gasped for air and rolled off. And I didn't even feel pain at the time. I think the adrenaline was just flowing so much.

[Ron]

It.

[Intruder]

It was just, get out, get out, get out. He was kind of laying there in a ball sort of. And that's when I took off for the door. When I got to the middle of the road, I started screaming, fire. Because if you call for help, you know, statistics show that no one helps you.

[Marissa Pinson]

It was 2am and the streets were deserted.

[Intruder]

I remember it sort of like a slow motion movie. You know, I'm running, I can't breathe. I'm thinking, why do I smoke? I could breathe if I didn't smoke. Not realizing my lung was collapsing. And that's why I was having such a hard time running. I'm thinking, if I can just get home, I just need to get home, I can call an ambulance. I can be behind a locked door. I was just, you know, tunnel vision to the house, to the house, to the house. And I could hear his footsteps getting closer and closer and closer and I couldn't run any faster. And I'm thinking, I'm not going to make it. I'm not going to make it. Just keep going, keep running, keep running. He caught up to me and tackled me, and we both went down. And at that point, I just started screaming bloody murder. And he was stabbing me wherever he could, you know, in the arm, in the shoulder. And he put his hand over my mouth to stop me from screaming. And he said, shh, I love you. I love you, and if I can't have you, nobody else will, and I will meet you in hell. I bit his hand very hard and, you know, wiggled my face to get away, to scream. And I got to the point where I couldn't fight anymore.

[Marissa Pinson]

Julie's throat was then slit.

[Intruder]

I was losing a lot of blood, and I was to the point where I could not see. You know, I was going into shock and I couldn't see. So I finally had to. I rolled over to protect the front of me, and I put. He started stabbing me in the back of the neck. So I put my hand over my neck to protect my neck. And I just was crying, please, someone help me. He's killing me. I know. One of the stab wounds hit my skull and it, like, cut a sensory nerve. And it went numb, like, you know, I could feel it going numb down my head, down my neck. And I really thought, okay, I'm either dead or paralyzed.

[Marissa Pinson]

Julie sustained permanent damage to the nerves in her face.

[Intruder]

And I'm going to be laying here in the gutter with grass in my mouth, dead. What is my mom going to think, you know, how horrible. Right about then, when I thought that was it, I was gonna be a goner, you know, I thought, I am going to die in the gutter with grass in my mouth. And I know cheers were pouring and I just could not fight anymore. I hear, stop, police.

[Marissa Pinson]

An off duty police officer who lived nearby had heard Julie's screams. She came out with a gun.

[Intruder]

At first he ignored her. And I know he stabbed me two or three more times. And she yelled, stop, police. Again, he ran away. I could hear his footsteps running away. Next thing I knew, I hear two gunshots. So I'm like, oh, I guess she shot him. Maybe I'm safe. Maybe I'm going to be okay. Then we hear his car start up. So my thought at that point was, great, now he's going to run over me.

[Marissa Pinson]

Me instead. Julie's attacker drove off at high speed. The police officer called for emergency backup.

[Intruder]

She said, help is on the way. Help is on the way. I've called it in. Help is on the way. And in the distance, I could hear sirens.

[Marissa Pinson]

Julie was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

[Intruder]

I was stabbed 36 times. Nine of those wounds were potentially fatal. One in my spine, actually. When they did the MRI, it came so close to nicking the spinal cord. The surgeon said he didn't think in surgery with a scalpel he could come that close and not do any damage.

[Marissa Pinson]

Julie's attacker was later arrested and sentenced to six years in prison. Julie has a permanent restraining order against him and has moved to another state. She still suffers physical pain and nightmares.

[Intruder]

I survived because the will to live, fight, adrenaline, God and the police officer who was awake with her sick dog.

[Jill]

Pluto TV has all the shows and movies you love streaming for free. That means laughter is free with gut busting comedies like the Neighborhood Boomerang and Ferris Bueller's Day Off Bueller Mystery is free with countless cases to crack from Criminal Minds Tracker and Matlock.

[Ron]

I'm a lawyer like the old TV.

[Jill]

Show and thrills are free with heart pumping hits like the Walking Dead and Pulp Fiction Correct the mundo Feel the free Pluto TV stream now pay never.