I SURVIVED: I Knew She Was Going to Kill Him

Summary

Cold Case Files: I Survived – I Knew She Was Going to Kill Him

Introduction

In the gripping episode titled "I Survived: I Knew She Was Going to Kill Him," host Paula Barros delves into three harrowing true stories of survival against unimaginable odds. From violent kidnappings to deadly wildlife encounters and intense hostage situations, each narrative showcases the resilience and courage of individuals who faced life-threatening dangers. This summary captures the key points, discussions, and emotional journeys shared in the episode, enriched with notable quotes and timestamps for a comprehensive overview.

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Jennifer’s Ordeal: Surviving a Deadly Kidnapping

The Fateful Night

In May 2005, Jennifer was driving in Lufkin, Texas, when her life took a sudden and terrifying turn. While picking up her cousin Anna from a babysitting job, Jennifer was struck by a shotgun blast from an armed assailant, Eric Parnell.

• Initial Attack:
  • Jennifer: “I was driving and she was in the passenger seat and we were laughing and having a good time. And all of a sudden... was the biggest loudest bang you've ever in your whole life heard.” ([01:16])
  • Narrator: Jennifer was traveling at 70 mph when a gunman fired at her car, resulting in Jennifer sustaining severe injuries and Anna being tragically killed.

The Struggle for Survival

After the initial attack, Jennifer was forced into the gunman’s vehicle, where she faced further brutality, including sexual assault. Despite her dire injuries, Jennifer used her wits to survive.

• Desperate Decisions:
  • Jennifer: “I couldn't tell them where actually I was located. And he actually got on the phone with the 911 operator two different times...” ([12:06])
  • Narrator: Jennifer managed to communicate with emergency services, leading to the eventual rescue by a SWAT team. Eric Parnell was apprehended and sentenced to two life terms for his heinous crimes.

Aftermath and Resilience

Jennifer’s survival is a testament to her strength and determination. Despite enduring eight surgeries and living with over 30 shotgun pellets lodged in her body, she remains committed to honoring her cousin Anna’s memory.

• Reflection:
  • Jennifer: “I survived to honor my cousin's name. I was determined to do what I had to do to make it out of there, and I would come out of this alive.” ([15:17])

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Jim and Nell’s Battle with a Mountain Lion

A Peaceful Hike Turned Nightmare

In January 2007, Jim and Nell, a retired couple from Oreck, California, were enjoying a serene hike in a state park when they encountered a life-threatening danger—a six-foot mountain lion.

• Encounter with the Predator:
  • Jim: “I saw a mountain lion right smack in my face... I don’t have any plan how to fight a mountain lion.” ([19:02])
  • Narrator: The mountain lion attacked Jim, causing severe injuries and placing him in mortal peril.

Fighting for Life

Nell’s quick thinking and unwavering courage played a crucial role in their survival. Armed with only a log, Nell relentlessly defended Jim against the relentless predator.

• Heroic Efforts:
  • Nell: “I just started screaming. I told him, fight, Jim, fight.” ([20:49])
  • Jim: “I survived because my wife is a very wonderful person and very devoted... we fought together to survive.” ([30:50])

Rescue and Recovery

After a fierce struggle lasting half a mile, Jim and Nell managed to reach safety. Their bond and mutual support were instrumental in overcoming the terrifying ordeal. The California legislature honored Nell as Woman of the Year for her bravery.

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Tammy’s Courageous Stand During a Hostage Situation

A Routine Morning Shattered

In June 2005, Tammy’s ordinary morning escalated into a nightmare at the Bigfoot gas station in Shelbyville, Indiana. After witnessing a violent crash, Tammy found herself taken hostage by the perpetrator, who had a history of criminal violence.

• Hostage Taken:
  • Tammy: “He grabbed the back of my hair, put the gun to my head and told the cops to back off or he's going to kill me.” ([35:10])
  • Narrator: The gunman, recently released from jail, held Tammy captive for over 18 hours, taunting and threatening her life.

Negotiation and Survival Tactics

Throughout the ordeal, Tammy employed psychological strategies to maintain her composure and influence the gunman’s actions. By connecting on a personal level, she sought to humanize herself and appeal to his emotions.

• Strategic Communication:
  • Tammy: “Please don't do this. I have five kids... I need to be there for them.” ([35:58])
  • Narrator: Tammy’s ability to keep her cool and think strategically was pivotal in her survival.

Rescue and Reflection

The intervention of the SWAT team ultimately saved Tammy's life by neutralizing the gunman, who tragically took his own life during the confrontation.

• Aftermath:
  • Tammy: “I survived because I kept my cool... I survived and I’m alive today to be with my kids.” ([43:06])

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Insights and Lessons Learned

Each survivor’s story offers profound insights into human resilience and the instinct to survive:

• Jennifer’s Determination: Demonstrates the power of mental fortitude and quick thinking in life-threatening situations.

• Jim and Nell’s Teamwork: Highlights the importance of partnership and mutual support when facing extreme dangers.

• Tammy’s Psychological Strategy: Illustrates how maintaining composure and rational communication can influence otherwise volatile situations.

These narratives collectively underscore the extraordinary capacity of individuals to endure and overcome severe trauma through courage, ingenuity, and unwavering hope.

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Conclusion

"I Survived: I Knew She Was Going to Kill Him" is a compelling episode that delves deep into the human spirit’s ability to withstand and triumph over adversity. Through Jennifer’s harrowing kidnapping, Jim and Nell’s brutal encounter with a mountain lion, and Tammy’s intense hostage crisis, Paula Barros expertly weaves stories of terror, resilience, and ultimate survival. These accounts not only honor the victims’ strength but also provide listeners with inspiring examples of perseverance in the face of unimaginable challenges.

Transcript

[Jennifer]

1, 2, 3, 4. Those are numbers.

[Tammy]

But you already knew that.

[Jennifer]

If you want to know what number.

[Jim]

You'Re going to pay each month for.

[Tammy]

Your car, use Kelly Blue Book My wallet on autotrader.

[Nell]

They're really good at numbers.

[Jennifer]

Auto Trader.

[Narrator]

This episode contains subject matter that may be disturbing to some listeners. Listener discretion is advised.

[Jim]

I'm laying face down in the dirt and the lion's on top of me, and how do I fight? You know, I can't even move my arms real.

[Jennifer]

I remember trying to decide, okay, should I try to grab this gun and use it?

[Narrator]

Who faced death?

[Nell]

Uppermost in my mind was getting her off of Jim because I knew she was going to kill him. It was down to split seconds and.

[Narrator]

Live to tell how.

[Tammy]

He grabbed the back of my hair, pulled me up towards the front of the counter, put the gun to my head and told the cops to back off or he was going to kill me.

[Narrator]

This is I survived. It's May 2005 in Lufkin, Texas. Jennifer drives to pick up her cousin Anna from a babysitting job.

[Jennifer]

It was Approximately, probably almost 2 in the morning and very few people around and on the highway at all. I was driving and she was in the passenger seat and we were laughing and having a good time. And all of a sudden, I guess from out of absolutely nowhere was the biggest loudest bang you've ever in your whole life heard. It was very, very, very loudest noise and just startling out of nowhere.

[Narrator]

Jennifer was driving 70 miles per hour when she heard the bang. Anna saw what happened from the passenger seat and screamed.

[Jennifer]

And here I was trying to tell her, it's okay, you know, I'll be okay. A drunk driver's hit me. A drunk driver's hit me, you know, and it took me forever to put it all together, what had happened, you know, and this man, I mean, somebody had shot me, you know, with a shotgun.

[Narrator]

An armed man had driven up alongside Jennifer and fired at her car window.

[Jennifer]

He held the shotgun out the window like this, and he shot like. As he was driving at 70 miles an hour down the road, he shot my vehicle. And that's the shot that hit me in the arm. There was so much blood and glass, and the only thing left of my arm was there was a small piece of skin left. I mean, it was. I mean, the whole thing was shot completely off and it disintegrated my bone, everything.

[Narrator]

Jennifer pulled over to the side of the highway. Inside the car, Jennifer's cousin Anna was terrified.

[Jennifer]

She kept screaming, oh, my God, go, go, Go, go, go, go, go. When, of course, I couldn't go, I couldn't see. There was blood everywhere and glass. And I handed her the phone out of my lap, and I told her to call 91 1. And so she did.

[Narrator]

The girls did not see the gunman pulling behind their car.

[Jennifer]

He walked up to the driver's door, and he just said, hello, girls, like, and just was laughing. And he reached over across me and took the cell phone out of her hand that she was talking on and said, hello, you know, and just threw it in the ditch. And a fear, I can't even explain it, just come over me, you know, he walked up to the driver's door and he reached over across me and took the cell phone out of her hand that she was talking on. And he just backed a few feet away from the vehicle. Probably not even two feet, I guess, away from the vehicle. And he lifted the end of that shotgun up and just looked through the barrel of it. She's screaming, go, go, go, go. And I. He just shot the gun. This bullet came out into that shotgun of that barrel and followed me like a tracer right in front of my eyes and, you know, and of course, hit her right in the temple in the head and, of course, killed her.

[Narrator]

Jennifer's Cousin Anna was 17 years old.

[Jennifer]

He drugged me to his vehicle and threw me in his vehicle, went back to my car with a duffel bag he had and was apparently, I guess, going to try to take her body or take her with us. And before he came back, I had taken the shotgun that he had, and it was in the seat of the truck. And here I'm thinking that, you know, I'm just gonna get rid of the only weapon he's got. I took it and threw it out the window, and it landed on the highway.

[Narrator]

Jennifer then noticed several other guns on the floor of the truck. The gunman left Anna's body behind in Jennifer's car and got back into his truck.

[Jennifer]

He spit off, of course, from that scene and drove me probably about 90 miles an hour down the highway to a back road right there off of the main highway. I remember trying to decide, okay, should I try to grab this gun and use it or should I? I'm gonna die regardless. I mean, there was no way that I was gonna. He was gonna kill me for sure, and so should at least go for it. Or, you know, what.

[Tammy]

What do you do?

[Narrator]

Jennifer was bleeding profusely. She decided not to grab the gun.

[Jennifer]

He would hit me, and then he would rage, and then he Would just laugh, start laughing. I was trying to think maybe I knew him from somewhere. I mean, where did this man even see me from? And what did we do to him? You know, was he mad or think we were somebody else?

[Narrator]

They were now 20 miles from the nearest town.

[Jennifer]

He took me down to this back road. I was thinking maybe a car will pass or maybe somebody will hear me scream or, you know, but there wasn't a house around, not one house around, not one light. I mean, it was just black. And he drugged me out of his truck and drug me to a little embankment right by the truck. And he then sexually assaulted me. After he sexually assaulted me, he then was like a totally different person. He would start crying and then he would start, oh my God, what happened to your arm? And then he would go back to just screaming and ranting and raving and it was just, you know, and I kept telling him, I said, well, don't you have children? And I kept checking, talking to him about my little boy.

[Narrator]

Jennifer has a six year old son. She is a single mom. Bleeding profusely and fearing for her life. Jennifer tried to win over the gunman.

[Jennifer]

And at that point we had gotten back in the truck and then I just started rubbing all over him. I rubbed his leg and was kissing on him and telling him that that was great and that was wonderful and, and thank you for, you know, this good time, being affectionate to him and rubbing on him and I mean, pretending to really, really enjoy what had happened. And that I could definitely tell was working. The first time he ever said, what happened to your arm? Oh my God, you're bleeding everywhere. I said, well, I know you just picked me up and you were going to take me to your house, remember? And he just looked at me just like I was crazy or something. And he said, well, no. And I was like, well, yeah, thank you so much. I was like, you didn't see that guy John that just shot me. I was like, you know, I was like, that man just shot me and was gonna leave me out there on the highway and thank God you came along and you saved me. I shortly found that he started believing what I was saying, you know, and I just kept telling him, you know, I mean, aren't you gonna let me use your phone because I'm losing a lot of blood here. And he kept saying, I know you're bleeding everywhere.

[Narrator]

Jennifer was naked and her arm was nearly severed. She used the T shirt in the gunman's truck as a tourniquet.

[Jennifer]

He's like, well, I really have warrants out for my arrest. I really don't need to go back to my house and let you use the phone. I was like, well, listen, I'm gonna die. And I know another car saw that guy shoot me, you know, so I really need to use the phone because somebody's gonna get to looking for me, you know, I don't really know where that came from. I figured there would be somebody around. And he told me prior to that, he told me that he lived with his brother and his family all live around the same area.

[Narrator]

The gunman lived in the woods by a cemetery 20 miles from town.

[Jennifer]

And I was like, yeah, well, go ahead and take me back to your house, you know. He said that his family was out of town and that for me to stop acting bad, that I would end up like other people have ended up, and then he won't be responsible for what happens with me. He kept finding all sorts of reasons, you know, why not to take me to his house. But he did take me back there. And when we pulled up to his house, there was not a soul. There was a cemetery. I was just very, very, just horrified.

[Narrator]

Jennifer was naked except for the T shirt she had tied around her arm as a tourniquet. The nearest town was 20 miles away.

[Jennifer]

I'll never in my life forget the walk from the cemetery down the hill to where his home and two other trailers are sitting. We went in the house and I used the phone and I called 911 and I told her who I was, and I was very calm.

[Nell]

9 1. Mom, what is your emergency?

[Jennifer]

Somebody shot me, and this man here helped me on the side of the road.

[Nell]

Someone shot you?

[Jennifer]

Uh huh. And my arm is in half right now. And this man right here, this man right here in front of me helped me out.

[Nell]

Okay, where are you, ma'am?

[Narrator]

Please hurry.

[Nell]

Okay. Are you from this area, ma'am? Uh huh. Okay, let me, let me speak to.

[Jennifer]

That gentleman that's helping you. Okay, how do you get to. I've got another gunshot wound. Same one, same one, same one, same one.

[Nell]

You're the, You're.

[Jennifer]

Ha ha ha. Please hurry. She tells somebody in the background, there's been another shooting. And I said, the same one. And that's all I said. He's sitting here looking at me. And she just got quiet.

[Narrator]

By this time, police had found Jennifer's cousin Anna's body on the side of the highway. The operator now realized that the man with Jennifer was in fact the gunman who killed Anna.

[Jennifer]

The guy had already told me that he could only have one ambulance, and that was it. That was all that was coming to his house. No law enforcement, nothing. And I was like, well, okay, that's fine. They're going to be so happy that you have saved my life. You know, you're going to be the hero of the day.

[Narrator]

The gunman made Jennifer put on his shorts and a T shirt for when the ambulance arrived.

[Jennifer]

I'd lost so much blood that I was very weak and lightheaded, and I was not able to tell them where actually I was located. And he actually got on the phone with the 911 operator two different times and actually was talking to her and gave her exact directions to his home.

[Nell]

Do you think they can find it.

[Jennifer]

If it's a long driveway.

[Tammy]

You know.

[Jennifer]

I don't know if they can or not.

[Nell]

That's why I want to walk to.

[Jennifer]

The end of the road.

[Narrator]

Okay.

[Nell]

I don't know.

[Tammy]

It's right before the cemetery.

[Narrator]

Okay. They should be able to find it.

[Nell]

It's kind of a wave out there.

[Jennifer]

Then it takes them a few minutes to get.

[Nell]

And how's she doing?

[Narrator]

Is she getting pain or anything?

[Nell]

I know.

[Jennifer]

She said she lost a lot of blood.

[Nell]

Yeah, it's completely okay, but does she.

[Jennifer]

She's scared out of her wits.

[Nell]

Yeah. Because I'm the one that picked her up, and I'm scared that because I got blood from head to toe.

[Jennifer]

We are doing a great job.

[Nell]

Okay. The ambulance is not far from me.

[Jennifer]

All right? And it was just like, he had not done anything, and he really believed that this other man had shot me. And. And he kept saying, where'd your friend go? And I would tell him, she's at the car. Remember? She didn't want to come. You were just gonna bring me. Remember? It was the most strangest thing. And I was thinking the whole time, this man is going to wake up and he's gonna. He's fixing to cut my throat.

[Narrator]

Fifty minutes later, paramedics finally find the gunman's isolated home.

[Jennifer]

He actually walks up to the ambulance at one point and tells him, hey, she's riding down here. Why don't y'all come get her? And he just walks back in the house and says, well, the ambulance is down there, but I don't know what they're doing.

[Narrator]

With police and paramedics in place, the operator told Jennifer to exit the house.

[Jennifer]

When I walked outside, he was right behind me. And I remember fixing to walk up this hill, and I wasn't for sure if it was trees or something, like moving Kind of. And I thought, well, maybe I'd lost so much blood that I was seeing things.

[Narrator]

A SWAT team had been concealed in the woods a few yards from the house.

[Jennifer]

All of a sudden, they were just people everywhere surrounding him. He went down fighting with him. So I was able to, you know, get up the hill a little ways, and the ambulance was there. I've never been so happy to see people in my life ever, ever, ever. I mean, you know, because I figured the last days of my life, I mean, my son's not going to know what happened to me. My aunt's not going to know what happened to Anna. This man's going to get away with this. And that's mostly what I kept thinking about, you know.

[Narrator]

Eric Parnell received two life sentences for capital murder, aggravated assault, and kidnapping. He had a long history of criminal violence.

[Jennifer]

I know that God has a definite purpose for me here. I should not have made it through that night whatsoever. I mean, that is by a miracle that I'm standing here, breathing here and living right now.

[Narrator]

After eight surgeries, over 30 shotgun pellets remain lodged in Jennifer's arm, chest, and neck.

[Jennifer]

I survived to honor my cousin's name. I was determined to do what I had to do to make it out of there, and I would come out of this alive. I'm here and that, and I'm going to be okay.

[Narrator]

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[Nell]

We had gone at approximately six miles. It was getting late that day, three o'clock in winter time. It gets dark early, so we decided we better go to the parkway and head down the road because that way we'd get to the car earlier.

[Jim]

One of the things we referred to going down was how lucky we were to be able to be up in such a gorgeous area and to be able to be enjoying it.

[Narrator]

Jim was walking behind Nell when he heard A faint noise behind him.

[Jim]

I was just following Nell and we were hiking along. And then I said, you know, that noise is closer. You know, it's a strange sound. I should check. When I said that, the sound was real loud in the gravel behind me. And as I turned I expected a bike. But instead I had a mountain lion right smack in my face.

[Narrator]

The six foot mountain lion charged straight at Jim.

[Jim]

I was like in shock, but I ducked and I turned to my left as best and fast as I could. When I did that, it went over the top of me. It had both paws out and it was going to hit me right smack in the middle of my back. It missed. It went, it fell on its face and caught itself, turned around and faced off at me. I was so shocked that I'm facing a mountain lion and I know that I'm in extreme trouble, but I don't have time to even yell out. I've got to figure out what to do. And I don't have any plan how to fight a mountain lion. The only thing I know to do is what I would do if I had to fight a dog. So when the mountain lion lunged, I jammed this arm into its mouth.

[Nell]

The first thing I heard was this horrible scream. And I turned and Jim was on the ground with the mountain lion on top of him. I just started screaming. I told him, fight, Jim, fight.

[Jim]

When the mountain lion lunged, I jammed this arm into its mouth. It grabbed it so it had me right there, its paw that was up, come over and got this arm, tore a big hole into here, tore me across here. And the other arm, Paul was down. So I swung over top of the claw to hit it in the head. I did, but it just touched it because it caught underneath my arm and ripped my arm open through here. Then it was hanging on my arm and started at me with all four feet of claws, which naturally I couldn't hold it. So I went down and it tore the top of my scalp off. That must be when I screamed out because that like stunned me.

[Narrator]

Jim was now face down on the ground with the mountain lion on his back.

[Nell]

I just started screaming. I picked up a log that must have been right there. I don't remember looking for a log or anything. And I had one that was about 4 inches in diameter, about 8ft long, and it was wet, so it was heavy. And I picked it up. It was all I could do to lift it. And I thought sure that one blow to her, the lion would be the end of it. But I just learned very quickly how tough and strong that a wild animal is because I just kept hitting her and hitting her, and she didn't even flinch. I couldn't hit the lion in the head because it had to hold a Jim. And I was afraid. This big log, you know, I could have hit him. So I just picked the biggest part of her, which was her body, and just started hitting her.

[Jim]

I heard Nell screaming, fight, Jim, fight. And then I feel that she's hitting it. And I'm saying, how? Because I'm laying face down in the dirt and the lion's on top of. And how do I fight? You know, I can't even move my arms.

[Nell]

I saw something white laying beside Jim at that moment. I didn't have any idea what it was, but it scared me terribly.

[Narrator]

A portion of Jim's scalp was lying on the ground.

[Nell]

I wasn't sure if his skull had been crushed at that point or what. But my instinct took over that there was just no way I was going to let that lion do that. And I wasn't sure, you know, you don't have time to think that. I just kept hitting her and hitting her. And finally I told Jim, I said, it's not working, Jim. No matter how hard I hit her, she wouldn't let go. And all this time she had a hold of Jim on his face, his scalp, his head. I knew he'd lost a lot of blood. I was afraid to look at his head. It was awful. I told him it didn't work, Jim. And I just didn't wait for an answer or anything. I got the log again and just started hitting her. It's all I had. Then he started talking to me. When he started speaking to me, it was like there was a lot to fight for, that he was going to be okay if we could just get her off of him. I told him, fight, Jim, fight.

[Jim]

So I went around and I found his nose. He didn't care that I even stuck my fingers in his nostrils. And so I stuck them in and twisted it, just like thinking of a bull hurting his nose. And I twisted it with everything I had. And it really got mad with that. It did not like that at all. It jumped, took a hold of me in the mouth in the same place, grabbed me, and its teeth and mine were gritted together. Then its eye is this close to me, its pupil is round, and it turns into the cat's eye thing. But it's glaring at me as it did this. Then it shook its head from side to side and it tore both here and here, here and Here, Split them on both sides out. Tore the inside of my mouth down under my. To my chin, down below, all loose. Immediately it went right back onto my head. He's trying to crack my skull, and I kind of realized that, but it's a she. And she's also pausing just to lick on my head.

[Narrator]

Running out of options, Jim decided to go for the lion's eye.

[Jim]

So with this hand, I lunged with every ounce of strength I had because I was going to shove right through that eye. And I mean, it really hurt. Even though the adrenaline was flowing, My thumb really hurt when I did that. And it made it so mad. It was furious with that. And it let go of my head and it grabbed my neck. But I had shoved the pack, and I had the pack pushed up into straps into my neck. So it had the strap or part of the backpack and part of my neck. It punctured my neck and it was shaking my neck, trying to break my neck. That's when I told Nell to take my pin and put it in his eye and shove it in.

[Nell]

He said, nell, get the pen out of my pocket. Stab her in the eye. So I said, what pocket? By then I'm desperate because I know we don't have a lot of time left. So he said, my right one. So I got the pen and I tried to push it in her eye. Her eyes were closed, but I thought sure it would go right in her and that would do it. But the pen went in about an inch, and then it was like you had hit rock. It just broke the pen. And it didn't bother her at all. And she would not let go. She just kept her eyes closed. She was clamped down, and uppermost in my mind was getting her off of Jim because I knew she was going to kill him. It was down to split seconds.

[Jim]

It's desperate that I get it off my head. So then I thought, okay, I'm going to put my hand in its mouth and get it to bite on my hand so it's not biting on my head to buy time while she's hitting it. And hopefully something's gonna, you know, catch. So I did that, and it starts chewing on my hand, which satisfied it fine, but it hurt something horrible. And then I remembered from being with dogs, if I grab its tongue, it can't bite. So I grab itself tongue and stop the bite. But I can't do that indefinitely with it like I could with a dog. So I have to release it and let it bite and then hold it. And it keeps wanting to Break my skull. And I know that it's doing this, and it's trying to go further down on my neck and get a better grip. So I told Nell, then I says, you've got to do something, something different.

[Nell]

So I took the log and went straight at her and took the chance of hitting Jim. And as it was, it hit her right in the head, right in the snout. And with that, she jumped to the side of Jim and she glared at me, and she was in attack mode. The ears were down. She had Jim's blood all over her, all over her chest and her face. And I said to Jim, I was screaming, I said, jim, she's got me. She's got me. And he raised up on his elbow. And then I looked at her, and I raised the log as high as I could and just screamed as loud as I could. And miraculously, she just looked at me and walked off. I knew we were lucky that he was still alive, but I also knew we had to get out of there. I could not leave him alone and go for help because all the blood around, I knew she'd come back. I went to him real fast. I said, jim, get up, get up. He said, I'm tired, I'm tired. I said, I know, but we've got to go. We've got to get out of here. And I had no idea how far Jim was could make it.

[Jim]

I was up to jog for a moment or two, enough that I could feel the piece of my scalp that was back there banging on me.

[Narrator]

Jim was rapidly losing blood, but the couple hiked half a mile to reach the main road.

[Nell]

I laid him down a few feet from the road, and I said, cell phone won't work. We're just going to have to wait until a car comes. Finally, a car did come, and I ran out in the middle of the road, and I pointed to Jim and I said, I need help. I said, please, it's a mountain lion attack. Please, I need help. And he just overwhelmed me and went on. And I said, you know what, Jim? I said, the next car that comes, they're gonna have to run me down, because I'm not gonna let the next one go by.

[Narrator]

Nell flagged down a worker crew who sent for an ambulance. Jim was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery on his face, neck, scalp, and hands.

[Jim]

Well, if it wasn't for Nell, I wouldn't be here, because there was no way that I was going to survive that on my own. With her, I knew I had a chance. So with the two of us. And that's the way she always puts it, that the two of us fought together to win the fight and, you know, to survive.

[Narrator]

Jim and nell celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in the hospital. The California legislature named Nell Woman of the Year.

[Jim]

I survived because my wife is a very wonderful person and very devoted, and that's how I survived with us fighting together as a.

[Narrator]

This show is sponsored by Better Help. Imagine standing at the edge of a new year with all its potential stretching out before you like an uncharted landscape. Where will you go? How will you prepare? What if you could navigate this terrain with a trusted guide, Someone who helps you map out your emotional journey and discover paths you never knew existed? Like an experienced cartographer, therapy helps you explore the hidden valleys and unexpected peaks of your inner world. It's not about drawing straight lines, but understanding the nuanced terrain of your emotions, marking the landmarks of your experiences, and charting a course towards personal growth and understanding. I found therapy to be extremely beneficial in my life. It's a way of getting a better view of my life that isn't always easy to see on my own. It's like being able to see the full map instead of just a small section right in front of me. BetterHelp is fully online, making therapy accessible and convenient and serving over 5 million people worldwide. With a network of more than 30,000 credentialed therapists and a wide range of specialties, you can find the right match for your inner needs. And if you ever feel like you need a change, switching therapists is easy and comes at no extra cost. Chart your journey. Visit betterhelp.com survived to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp.com survived. 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 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 it [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates price and coverage match limited by state law. Not available in all states. It's June 2005 in Shelbyville, Indiana. Tammy is leaving her house for a court appearance.

[Tammy]

It was 8 o'clock in the morning. I woke my husband up and told him that I had to go to court for a traffic ticket. And I kissed him goodbye and said, I love you and I'll be back. I went to the Bigfoot gas station to get me and him some sodas or whatever to take home. And I was gonna run in real fast. There's two women at the front registers and I was getting ready to pay and walk out. Me and the women heard a commotion outside like it was an accident. And so like, we're like, what's going on? What's, you know, what's happening outside?

[Narrator]

A man had crashed his van into a truck in the gas station lot. Two police cars were parked beside it.

[Tammy]

His car was wrecked. He hit a truck. And so we're just thinking, you know, we're still calm about it. We're still, you know, well, he got in an accident and he jumps out of his car, starts shooting at the police that was already out there and then ran into the store and then told everybody to get out or he's going to kill everybody.

[Narrator]

An hour earlier, police pulled the gunman over in a residential area on suspicion of burglary. As officers approached his car, the gunman shot at them and sped off. He led police on a high speed chase before crashing into the gas station lot.

[Tammy]

I ran towards the back of the store and he says, hey, you, you get up here up front. And I come up front. So me and the manager was behind the counter and he told him to go lock, go around the counter to go lock the front door.

[Narrator]

Tammy and the manager were the only ones left in the store.

[Tammy]

So he actually locked the door, came back around to the back and ran out the back door, left me all alone in there.

[Narrator]

When the store manager fled, the gunman became enraged.

[Tammy]

He got really mad. He grabbed the back of my hair, pulled me up towards the front of the counter, put the gun to my head and told the cops to back off or he's going to kill me. There was police everywhere outside. They were all aiming guns in at us too. There were SWAT teams out there. And just the way he was shooting at police like it was nothing really scared me. He just seemed like that's what he was used to doing. I told him when he had the gun to my head that, please don't do this. I have five kids and that's all I could think about was my kids and my husband and trying to figure out a way to get out of this.

[Narrator]

The gunman had served six years in jail on burglary and weapons charges. He was released from jail three months prior to taking Tammy hostage.

[Tammy]

He wasn't saying anything to me. He just put the gun in my back and led Me back to the back room and there wasn't any windows. It was very compact. There was only enough room for two computers and chairs. He told me to sit in one of the chairs. Then he started barricading the back door and covering the cameras that was in there. I just sat in the chair thinking what I should do now. What's he gonna do? How do I get out of here? Wondering when or if my husband even knows I'm in there. I just told him, please don't hurt me. I have too many kids to take care of. They're my life and I need to be there for them to be their mother.

[Narrator]

The police began negotiations with the gunman via telephone. The gunman paced back and forth, becoming frantic.

[Tammy]

He says, do you want her alive? Do you worry about her life? He says, I could kill her any minute. The negotiator on the phone with him, he just kept talking about me. Let's get Tammy out. He says, just put your gun in a bag and have her bring it out to us. And he says, no, I'm not doing that. I'm not letting go of my gun. I told him my name and that I have all these kids.

[Narrator]

Tammy has four young sons and an 11 year old daughter.

[Tammy]

I showed him a picture of my daughter as a cheerleader and he said that she was beautiful. He says, I don't have any pictures of mine, but she's with her mother. So I was thinking right there that I could use this to my advantage. I said, don't you want to get out of here so that you can be with your daughter that needs you? He says, well, I'm not going to jail.

[Narrator]

The gunman was released from jail three months prior after serving six years for burglary.

[Tammy]

I was scared, you know, of course he had the gun in his hand the whole time. But we started to talk and I was hoping, okay, maybe I'm getting a bond with him. Maybe, you know, I'm just thinking of survival.

[Narrator]

After six hours, the gunman finally stated his demands.

[Tammy]

He wanted to see his mother's grave. And he won a beer. And they told him that they would do that for him if they would just. If he would just let me go. He says, well, I'm not ready to let her go. And they asked him, well, what kind of a time period is this gonna be? He said, it's just whenever I'm ready and she's not, I'm not gonna let her go.

[Narrator]

Tammy has been held at gunpoint for over 12 hours. The gunman refuses to Surrender and is becoming more agitated.

[Tammy]

He was sitting there tapping that gun on his head. And I asked him, what are you thinking about? And he says, I'm just thinking about my life. And I asked him if he was scared and he didn't say anything.

[Narrator]

The gunman asked negotiators to switch Tammy out for his girlfriend. They refused.

[Tammy]

I started trying to push him myself to say, I need to get home, I have a family, I need to cook dinner. I have so many things I need to be doing at home rather than being in here, so just let me go. And he says, I'm not ready to let you go. You are my security blanket. You are what's keeping me alive. After he said that I was keeping him alive, really scared me. And I had a lot of emotional emotions running through my head, like worried that the police will come in shooting at us. I was praying to God, please don't let me die. Just get me out of here. I told him that in case something happened, I would, I'd like to write something to my husband and my kids. He allowed it, but he watched what I was writing. So I made it very short and simple. I just wrote all my kids names all over the paper and said, I love you all forever.

[Narrator]

Tammy has been held at gunpoint for over 18 hours. Police run static over the phone line, forcing the gunman to require a cell phone. Police offered to supply one on the condition that Tammy be sent out to retrieve it.

[Tammy]

He agreed to let me go out to get the cell phone as long as the police would back up. He put the phone down and started banging on this vacuum cleaner.

[Narrator]

The gunman tied a vacuum cord around Tammy's waist and tied the other end to himself.

[Tammy]

I opened that door, I saw a cell phone right in front of the door. I had enough time just to grab it. The SWAT team was trying to come for me, to grab me. They couldn't get to me. He pulled me back into the store. He shot over my head towards the swat and I told him, stop shooting over my head. I hear the side, back door explode. The SWAT team come bursting in the front door and the back door at us, shooting. And I'm trying to lay down as far as I can and try to cover my head, but what I was holding on to had holes all in it. And I just kept screaming, stop shooting, stop shooting. I'm right here. I'm right here. After I got done saying that, the gunfire stopped. And I looked down and he's laying on my right leg with a bullet wound that I could see in his neck.

[Narrator]

The SWAT team shot the gunman in the arm, leg, buttocks and chest. The gunman shot himself in the neck, killing himself.

[Tammy]

The scariest moment of the whole ordeal was having a gun at my head, not knowing if he's gonna pull that trigger. And immediately it was my kids faces that showed up in my head and my husband.

[Narrator]

Tammy was unaware her family had been at the scene for the entire 20 hour ordeal.

[Tammy]

I survived because I kept my cool. I thought of survival, how to bond with a hostage taker and it worked. And I'm alive today to be with my kids.

[Narrator]

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[Jennifer]

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[Narrator]

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[Jennifer]

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[Narrator]

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[Jennifer]

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[Tammy]

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[Narrator]

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[Jennifer]

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[Narrator]

Pluto TV Stream now pay Never. Hi, I'm Stassi Schroeder. On my podcast, I share candid updates from my personal life, chat with some of my best friends about what's going on in our lives, give commentary on the latest pop culture headlines, and sometimes deep dive into random topics. I'm obsessed with like, human design. It's a bit all over the place, but that's how I like it. And you will too. Listen to my podcast Stassi. Wherever you get your podcasts.