Narrator (3:15)

Fire with her attacker in the backseat. Donna drove to an atm.

Donna (3:20)

I parked my car, and he said, leave the baby, leave the keys. You go in, you don't bring any attention to yourself, and you get the money and come right back out. I said, please don't hurt my baby. She hasn't done anything. Please, just. I'll get your money. You're gonna get your money. Just don't hurt her. And he said, just get me my money.

Narrator (3:43)

Donna withdrew $500 from the ATM.

Donna (3:46)

And I took the money and I walked out, got back in the car, thrust the money at him and said, are you ready to get out now? You ready to go? And he said he wanted to go somewhere without any cameras. We turned out of the parking lot and turned onto a residential street, and it dead ended into a junior high school parking lot. A car pulls up a few parking spaces down in front of us, two ladies. Get out. Of course, I was scared to death. I didn't want any attention brought to the car at this point. School was in session. Kids were in that school. Now, not only is it my daughter, but it's other people's. He asked me how much my daughter's life meant to me and what I was willing to do to keep her alive and what I would do for him. And then he told me I was going to have to get in the backseat now. I hesitated. I gave a long heffy breath. And he said, oh, no. How much does your daughter's life mean to you? I had been married to my husband for 16 years at that point. And the thought of this person violating me in that way was sickening. In a school parking lot in front of my child. But he had a gun. He was going to kill my baby. We only had a little bit of time before the school we were in got out. And the kids started spilling out of that school. So I got in the backseat. I asked him, can I cover my baby with her blanket? It was a small thing, but it was the only thing that I could do to protect her. At least she wouldn't see. He said, sure. And then he sexually assaulted me. And he raped me. And when it was over, I asked if I could get dressed. While I was putting my pants on, Some people pulled up, and I was so scared that they would see in the car and think that someone was having sex in their car in the. In the school parking lot and become confrontational about that very disturbing action. They didn't notice, though, thank goodness. And so I finished getting dressed.

Narrator (6:27)

The man made Donna give him her driver's license.

Donna (6:31)

And he. He said, I know where you live. If you ever tell anybody, I will know it. If you report this to the police, I will know you did it. And I'll sneak around and I'll hide in bushes and I'll attack your husband, and I'll kill him before I come in the house and make you watch me kill your daughters and I'll rape you all night long. And then before I finally kill you, I told him, I'm not gonna tell. I'm not gonna tell anyone. I won't tell anybody. Then he indicated that he was ready to get out. So I got out, and as I turned back around, he swatted my butt and told me he needed a kiss and make it a good one. So I kissed him and he backed away. I get in the car, lock the door, start to pull out and see him standing there, just a few feet from where I was parked. Just standing, not moving, with this just cocky smirk on his face, watching me. The thought of running him down with my car passed through my head. He still had the gun. My daughter was still in the car, and we were still in the parking lot of a school that was in attendance. And I couldn't take my vengeance out. It wasn't the right place or way. So I got my daughter to safety.

Narrator (8:14)

Donna drove to a friend's store, and.

Donna (8:18)

I fell to my knees and started crying. They rushed to me and I said, I've just been robbed and raped. And that's when we called my husband and the police.

Narrator (8:29)

The police took Donna to the hospital for a forensic examination.

Donna (8:33)

The police ran the DNA that they got from the medical exam, and they ran it through the felony DNA database. About a month after my attack, they got a hit. The detective called me, and remembering that my daughter, my baby, was celebrating her first birthday that day, he said he had a birthday present for us. And then he told me that they had him in custody. While we were waiting for the trial to start, I received a telephone call from my detective telling me that the guy who had attacked me had sent a letter out in the jails, they call it a kite to friends that he has in LA putting a hit out on me and my husband, asking that they Killed us. That was terrifying. We were very scared. We were worried, obviously for our family, but also for our neighbors. During the trial, when I testified to what he had done to me, his attorney's defense was that it was a drug deal gone bad, that I was a drug addict and had stolen $800 from my husband to pay this drug dealer off with my baby in the car. Having not had enough money with the $800 for the drugs that I was needing, that I had sex with him to pay for the rest. It felt like I was being accused of being a criminal rather than the victim.

Narrator (10:27)

Donna endured two days of cross examination on the witness stand.

Donna (10:32)

People kept telling me I was a hero and that I was strong and they didn't think they could do it. They wouldn't be able to do it. I believe good people when they're pushed and have to do the right thing, it was the right thing. Not a heroic thing, just the right thing. I had to ride through it to get justice.

Narrator (10:55)

Donna's attacker, Anthony Ray Graham Jr. Was found guilty of rape, kidnapping and robbery. He is serving 50 years to life in prison, plus 21 years.

Donna (11:07)

I survived because I was able to stay calm and not focus on what was happening to me, but focus on getting my baby home alive. Every two minutes in America, someone is sexually assaulted or raped. 15 out of 16 rapists will never do jail time for Is important that we give a voice to this crime and we start talking about it and getting real about it so that we can end it. Rape victims need to understand that it's not their fault, they're not to blame, they're in no way responsible, and they need to report it so that it doesn't happen to other people. Law enforcement can be trusted. Victim service agencies can be trusted, and our judicial system works. It's hard to go through it, but as a victim surviving rape, you've already been through the hardest. Nothing they can do can be harder than what you've already survived.

Narrator (12:19)

Finding the one can feel impossible. And in today's world, it's even harder. False profiles, inaccurate pictures, incompatibilities, ghosting on dates. Is this sounding familiar? But if you're ready to make your move to a new place, it doesn't have to feel like dating. All it takes is a simple search on apartments.com to find your perfect match. Whether you're looking for a three bedroom condo downtown, a two bedroom duplex in a quiet neighborhood, a cozy studio in a walkable city, or even a single family home in a cul de sac, you can find a place that checks all the right boxes. So whichever stage of life you're in, settle down in your perfect home by using apartments.com. no more swiping and awkward first dates. Make it easier to get a place that gets you visit apartments.com, the place to find a place. It's July 2011 in Lake Huron, Michigan. Mike, who has been flying for three years, owns a small plane. The 42 year old dad of three plans to fly from New York to Wisconsin to visit family.

Mike (13:25)

My wife told me she didn't want me to fly my plane. She wanted me to get a commercial flight. But it was $922 for round trip flight there. And I was like, well, I can fly that for $400 in fuel. I said, no, that would be just fine. That my plane was safe and had a new engine.

Narrator (13:42)

Everything was good at the airfield. Mike completed his usual pre flight checks.

Mike (13:48)

I got in the air, got to 3,000ft. Everything was fine. I was right on schedule, on course. I really, I love flying. It's very peaceful, it's very quiet. You get to see things that very few other people get to see.

Narrator (14:04)

It was Mike's first flight over Lake Huron. Lake Huron is one of the largest lakes in the world.

Mike (14:11)

I had never flown over water before. The plane don't know it's over water, but I do. You know, it's kind of scary. It wasn't but a few minutes after that that I noticed a change in the pitch of the engine. As soon as something happens, you know when the engine pitch changed, you're like, oh no. So at that point I got on the radio and made a distress call. I told them where I was at. I'm over the water and my engine, I'm having trouble. Could you just keep an eye on me, please? Just make sure I get to shore. The engine never quit. It just slowed down as if you were pulling your throttle back. So I started doing some troubleshooting, but nothing was working. Everything I was trying wasn't bringing my motor back to life.

Narrator (15:03)

Mike's plane was now only 100ft above the water.

Mike (15:07)

I radioed Lansing one more time and said, I'm going in the drink. Come get me because I don't want to die. It's the last transmission I made. Now I'm 10ft above the water. Just before I hit the water, my engine came back to full speed, but it was too late. The windshield blows in the water just blasts through the cabin in my face. The plane was straight down in the water. I Went to get out of the plane. I had to reach back in and unbuckle my seatbelt. And then I swam out of the plane while I was already underwater. When I got to the surface, just the tail was above the water. Plane wasn't all broke up, it was all one piece. I put my hand on the tail and I said, bye, girl, and watched her fall down in the water just until I couldn't see it no more. I watched it for about 40 or 50ft. The water's really clear. And I watched it disappear.

Narrator (16:01)

Mike had made a radio call seconds before his plane hit the water.

Mike (16:06)

I expected the Coast Guard helicopter within five minutes. I thought they'd be right over me within a few minutes of the ladder. Smiling faces, you know, it'd all be good.

Narrator (16:14)

Mike's locator beacon had sunk with the plane hampering the rescue effort.

Mike (16:20)

I remember thinking, well, at least the water's warm. It was at that time that I got blasted by a big wave. I never realized how big the waves can get on Lake Huron or any of the Great Lakes for that matter. They had to be at least 10ft tall, maybe a little taller than that. And every time the wave would come down, it would crash on top and would drive you under the water. So I found myself struggling just to stay on the surface to breathe. And I was kind of choking and I was coughing. And the next wave came and water went down my throat. As I was taking a breath, I found myself throwing up in the water. And now this new sense of awareness comes over me like, Jesus, you just survived a plane crash, now you gonna drown in the water. So I kicked my shoes off to make my feet work as flippers a little better still. My parents were dragging me down. I was having trouble kicking my feet, so I took my pants off. I was in the navy when I was younger and they teach you how to make a flotation device using your jeans. You tie a knot in the bottom of your pants and you blow them up like an inner tube and you hang on to them. So I did that. I was like swimming in a doggy pedal position and I had a pant leg on each side. I was holding there. It was working somewhat alright. The next big wave came, it rolled me and it rolled that pants right around my neck. So Now I'm about 10ft underwater. The pants are choking me. I'm trying to swim, I'm trying to get the pants off my neck. And I remember getting back to the surface. I managed to get clear of all that I threw the pants I'm thinking about. That was stupid. I heard a ship coming off to my left, a great big freighter. And the waves off that thing were bigger than the waves in the water were. And that sent me for a while. I could actually feel the pulse of the propeller when it went by me. It was that close to me. It came within probably like 50 or 75ft of me. But they never saw me. I'm spooked a little bit now. You know, I'm scared and I don't know. I just don't know what to do exactly. And I swam back to my pants and took my wallet out of my pants. I took my left sock off, and I stuck my wallet in my sock and I stuck them in my drawers. That way, if they found my body, they'd know who I was. I started looking around. Well, where I'm at, I can't see land. I'm doing circles in the water, trying to figure out where I am exactly. I don't know which way to go. The sun's right overhead. I just kept swimming mostly on my back and paddling. I would roll over and do some hard swimming about for two minutes. I would rest for 15 or 20. And I was actually following the sun. It went down over the horizon and slowly got darker and darker. I could see the lights on shore. I was close enough. Now I can start to see shore. I had been swimming for four or five hours, and I was swimming and swimming and swimming, but I wasn't getting anywhere. I realized then, after about two or three hours of swimming, there was a current there. And then it wasn't going to let me get to shore. Some kind of a riptide or current was there. Frustration. That's what I was feeling now, because you've gone all this way. You almost got to shore. You're within two miles and you can't get to shore. I'm like, what in the world? Why? Why is there got to be a stupid current here? I knew I couldn't get to shore now, so I started heading down the shoreline. Because I could see a buoy in a lighthouse just down a few miles. So I started swimming through the night. I remember the first star coming out. And I made a wish on that star. And my wish was, just let me get home to see everybody one more time. I'm not ready to die yet. Not yet. Let me just make everything right. Let me just. Just one more time. One more chance. Please, One more chance. When you're laying there in the water, it's dark. There's not a whole lot to do. Your mind's working, your priorities change. If I get through this, I'm going to make family more priority, hopefully work less. That was a lot of what went on in my mind. That's one of the driving forces that keep you swimming.

Narrator (20:34)

Mike, who had no life vest, swam through the night to stay awake.

Mike (20:39)

Just before the sun came up, a fishing trawler went by, and it came within 75ft of me. I was screaming and yelling and waving and it went right by. Never saw me. I was thinking, you've got to come up with a better plan than this because you got to have somebody see you. I don't know how much longer, how much strength you've got left to do this, but you got to figure something out. I got my shiniest credit card out, and I thought I would reflect the sun to see one of the boats or something like that. They would come investigate what that flash was in the water. After about four or five boats had gone by, I started to lose hope a little bit. That boy. Time's going by and no one's finding me. I'm ready to cry, and something's got to happen pretty soon. I don't feel my left arm. I don't feel my hands no more. I was starting to cramp, and I was starting to shiver. I can see the top of a boat coming over the horizon. I was waving and screaming. Nothing was happening. They're just about alongside me now. I'm waving my sock. I'm flashing my credit card. I'm screaming, I'm screaming, please, please, please, please, please stop. Please stop, Please stop, Please stop. I'm looking down, watching them go. All of a sudden, the boat turned to the left. It was coming about at Comeport, and it was coming around, and I'm like, oh, thank God. Thank God. Come on, come on, come on. So I'm waving frantically now. Well, a guy in a boat waved back to me. Well, this emotion comes over you that you're not used to either. And I started crying in the water. And they came right alongside me and threw me a life ring. And they pulled me to the back of the boat. I said, hi, I said, my name's Mike. I said, my plane went down and I've been on here for a long time. I said. They responded, well, we know who you are. We've kind of been looking for you. She says, and just. I can't believe how lucky I am right now. What a great day to be alive. What a great day to be found. That's all I'm thinking. I'm happy nothing could bother me right now.

Narrator (22:46)

After Mike's 18 hour ordeal in the lake, he was hospitalized for three days.

Mike (22:53)

I had no specific bodily injury except I had ripped my muscles. When your muscles get ripped, they release this protein called CK. A normal person's level is 100 to 150. Mine was 34,000. This protein will actually clog your kidneys and make you go into kidney failure, which is a whole different ball game. Right now I am about 95% healed up from all the muscle damage. My CK levels are normal now.

Narrator (23:27)

The cause of the crash was found to be carburetor ice starving the engine of fuel.

Mike (23:32)

I did not pull the carburetor heater on soon enough to melt the ice. That's why when I did pull it on and just before I hit the water, the engine came back to full speed, it was pilot air. I just didn't recognize the problem in time.

Narrator (23:47)

Mike's plane remains at the bottom of Lake huron in over 200ft of water.

Mike (23:53)

I will fly again. I will probably rent a plane or fly with friends, but as for owning a plane, I will not own a plane again. I survived this whole ordeal just staying focused on the positive and realizing that I have a lot to go home to. I have a good life, a good wife, good kids. I'm not ready to die yet. And mostly they were in my thoughts and I just wanted to get home to all them.

Narrator (24:20)

This episode is sponsored by Better Help. With a new year coming up, I've been thinking, maybe we don't need a new us. Maybe what we need is a little less weight on our shoulders. Personally, I've been learning to let go of the pressure to be perfect all the time. It's tough, but once you start noticing where that pressure comes from, things get lighter. Therapy has been a huge part of that for me. It helps to see the patterns and motivations with a clearer lens. BetterHelp makes finding that kind of clarity more accessible. Their therapists are fully licensed across the US and follow a strong code of ethics. The matching process is simple. Fill out a short questionnaire and betterhelp does the rest with years of experience and one of the best match success rates out there. They usually get it right on the first try, but you can always Switch anytime. Over 5 million people have used BetterHelp and live sessions average 4.9 out of 5 stars from more than 1.7 million reviews. That's real, proven support from real people. Start the new year feeling a little lighter with better help. BetterHelp makes it easy to get matched online with a qualified therapist. Sign up and get 10% off@betterhelp.com survived. That's better. H lp.com survived I survived is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. You chose to hit play on this podcast today. Smart Choice Progressive loves to help people make smart choices. That's why they offer a tool called Auto Quote Explorer that allows you to compare your Progressive car Insurance quote with rates from other companies so you save time on the research and can enjoy savings when you choose the best rate for you. Give it a try after this episode@progressive.com Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates not available in all states or situations. Prices vary based on how you buy it's October 1985 in Kettering, Ohio. 17 year old Sheila is dating 23 year old Tim. Sheila is taking Tim to her high school prom.

Sheila (26:14)

All the girls were a little jealous because he was the older guy and he looked very sharp in a white tuxedo and I was very proud to be on his arm that night. It was soon after prom. He had asked me to marry him. He was very caring, very loving in the beginning. It changed a couple days after we had gotten married. I got back home. It was two hours later than I said I would be home, and when I came through the door, he jumped up from the chair, started screaming at me at the top of his lungs. I had never seen the sight of him before. He hit me so hard that my tooth went right through my lips. I ran to the bathroom crying and I was looking at myself in the mirror. I rationalized it, that he was worried about me and that he did it because he loved me. I should have been home on time and I blamed myself.

Narrator (27:23)

Five months later, Sheila came home one night to find the door locked.

Sheila (27:28)

So I banged on the door and Tim answered the door and he had a look on his face of shock and a little bit of anger. There were two girls sitting to the left on the couch and there was some strange guy who I had never seen before on the left side standing there with a beer in his hand. I asked him, what the hell are you doing? Who are these bitches here in my house? You need to get them out. I go in the bedroom and I slam the door. I could hear him out there telling them the party's over, you guys have to leave. I started gathering up some of my clothes. I was gonna go home, I was gonna go to my parents. My husband slammed open the door and the guy Was standing behind him. My husband lunged for me, grabbed me by my shirt, Spun me around and threw me on the bed. And he punched me so hard in the face, it felt like part of my face shattered. They got my shirt off. They got my panties off. And my husband held me down While this strange guy, who I have no clue who he was, raped me. As I was being raped, I could see into my husband's eyes, and I could see the hatred in his eyes, And I had no clue where it was coming from. I didn't recognize him at that point. It wasn't my husband anymore. Something had took him over and made him so angry. I don't know if he was tired of being married, if he felt like I was taking away his good times. I don't know. It looked like he hated me. And that scared me, because when a husband hates you, they are capable of doing anything to you. And I was petrified. I was really afraid, and I just turned my head. I couldn't even look at him at that point because of what was going on with me. I had to turn and look out the window and pretend like it wasn't happening. After the guy got off of me, I quickly just started grabbing for clothes. I was just trying to cover myself, get myself covered. And it was at that point that my husband told him, come out here with me. And they left the bedroom, and they left me there. I went to the window. I'm thinking, I'm getting out of here. I was just raped. There was a police department right up the street, and that's where I was going to head to. And I'm trying to jerk open the window, and it wouldn't open. So I run to the other window, and I'm trying to pull up on it. And it was probably at that point that the bedroom door was kicked in. They came through the door, the bedroom light went off. And through the moonlight shining through the window, I could see that my husband had a large kitchen knife. I started to shake. I thought to myself, this son of a bitch is gonna kill me. And this guy was just standing there behind him. I started screaming. I told him, please let me go home. I just want to go home. I want to go home. I'm done with this. And he said, shut up, bitch. He lunged for my neck, grabbed my neck, threw me back down on the bed. And that's when I saw the other hand go up and the knife come down. And I grabbed the knife. He yanks it out of my hands. And I hear my husband tell this Other guy, can't you hold the bitch? The knife came down and it hit me in the chest somewhere. I heard it hit bone, and it makes a real funny noise. It's like a dunk. I just felt the whole jarring through every bone in my body at that point. They're talking to each other. Grab her arm. Can she grab her other arm? Hold her down through all this. He is stabbing me. I could smell the blood. I could taste it. And it was at that point I really thought I was going to die. And something told me, if you play dead, if you just drop all at once onto the bed, they'll think you're dead and they'll leave you alone. And that's what I did. I dropped, closed my eyes, played dead. And it stopped. After I had dropped dead, the other guy said to my husband, boy, she was a feisty little bitch, wasn't she? I tried so hard not to make a noise. I was just not even breathing because I knew if he knew if I was still alive, he would finish me off. So I stayed as quiet as I could, and they started dragging me. I could hear my husband telling this guy, we're gonna throw her in the dumpster at the high school right behind our house. As they're pulling me out of the house and onto the little porch, my head hit, hit every single step. And these are cement steps. And I'm trying not to make a noise, not to make a sound, not breathe.

Narrator (33:22)

As the men dragged Sheila across the yard. She blacked out.

Sheila (33:26)

When I came to, I'm looking up at the stars, and they had just thrown me in the bushes right up against the building of the high school. And I could see the fence line where the houses were. And I started crawling towards the fence. I felt all this wetness down the front of me. So I stuck my hand up here to check the damage. And when I put my hand up here, my finger went right into a hole in my neck. I thought, oh. So I took the shirt that I had on and started stuffing it in the hole in my neck. I looked at the fence line and said, I can make it that far. I can make it to the fence. So I kind of just leaned over the fence and threw myself over, and I hit. And I could feel when I hit, some blood gush out. And the shirt came out. So I took the shirt, stuffed it back in, and I started to crawl through the yard. And I looked over and I saw my husband's car. I was in my own backyard. I started to panic. I started to freak out. I thought, oh my God, if he sees me, he's gonna come out here and finish me off. I'm crying at the same time, trying not to make a sound. I was like a frightened animal. I hunched down and crawled, tried to make myself as small as I could to get to the other side to pound on the neighbors house. So I crawled to the front of the house, crawled up the steps, and I started pounding on their door this way. And after a minute, I heard a man's voice come to the door and say, can I help you? It's late. And I said, please help me. I've been stabbed. You need to call the police. By this time, it's getting really hard to talk. He had asked me, who did this to you? I told him, my husband. We live next door.

Narrator (35:31)

Sheila was rushed to the hospital and.

Sheila (35:34)

My priest gave me my last rights because nobody really thought that I was going to pull through or that I was going to make it. And in comes my mom and dad. My mom comes in first and my mom looks at me, walks right by, turns around and looks at the nurse and says, where is she? And the nurse said, that's your daughter, ma'. Am. And I guess I was beat in the face so bad that they didn't. My own mom didn't recognize me when she saw me. Sorry. She broke. She started screaming, she started crying. That was getting me upset because I asked the nurse for a mirror and she wouldn't give me one.

Narrator (36:16)

As well as facial injuries and a punctured lung, Sheila suffered 17 stab wounds to her body. Sheila's husband, Timothy Queery, was charged with attempted murder.

Sheila (36:27)

I went to the jail where he was and I wanted to see him because I wanted to know why. Why did you do this to me? And the jailer came out and said, because there's going to be court proceedings, we can't let you visit him, even though you're still his wife.

Narrator (36:45)

Timothy Queery was sentenced to 20 to 50 years in prison.

Sheila (36:49)

After he received his sentence, he walked back from standing in front of the judge and kicked off his jail shoe and picked it up and glaring at me in the courtroom, started banging it, looking at me, coming right towards me. And the sheriffs in the courtroom just lunged for him to. Took him down to the ground and took him out of the courtroom.

Narrator (37:13)

Sheila's other attacker, Richard Doyle, was sentenced to seven to 25 years in prison.

Sheila (37:19)

For this to happen to me, for him to do this to me. I was in shock, and I was in shock for quite a few years. I think I survived. Pure will, determination, and my guardian angel. I don't. I don't think I would have made it if something hadn't said in my head, drop dead so they'll leave you alone. It was pure determination. Why I survived.

Narrator (37:53)

Finding the one can feel impossible, and in today's world, it's even harder. False profiles, Inaccurate pictures, Incompatibilities Ghosting on Dates Is this sounding familiar? But if you're ready to make your move to a new place, it doesn't have to feel like dating. All it takes is a simple search on apartments.com to find your perfect match. Whether you're looking for a three bedroom condo downtown, a two bedroom duplex in a quiet neighborhood, a cozy studio in a walkable city, or even a single family home in a cul de sac, you can find a place that checks all the right boxes. So whichever stage of life you're in, settle down in your perfect home by using apartment stock. No more swiping and awkward first dates. Make it easier to get a place that gets you visit apartments.com the place to find a place Pluto TV has thousands of free movies and TV shows. This is the mindset. Free.

Sheila (38:49)

This is the mantra. This is the.

Narrator (38:54)

With movies like Joe dirt, pixels and 50 first dates, this is awesome. And TV shows like Survivor, SpongeBob SquarePants, the Fairly Odd Parents, and Ghosts, Pluto TV is always free.

Sheila (39:06)

Huzzah.

Narrator (39:08)

Pluto TV stream. Now pay. Never.

Mike (39:11)

You're welcome.