I SURVIVED: I Was Hoping He Would Just Think I Was Dead

Summary

Cold Case Files - Episode: "I SURVIVED: I Was Hoping He Would Just Think I Was Dead"

Release Date: December 7, 2024
Host: Paula Barros
Podcast: Cold Case Files
Description: This gripping episode of Cold Case Files delves into harrowing true stories of survival against all odds. Hosted by Paula Barros, the episode features testimonies from individuals who faced life-threatening situations, exploring their experiences, the psychological turmoil they endured, and their ultimate triumph over adversity.

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1. Introduction

Paula Barros sets the stage for the episode, emphasizing the perilous nature of the stories to be shared and advising listener discretion due to the disturbing subject matter.

“This episode contains subject matter that may be disturbing to some listeners. Listener discretion is advised.”
[00:26] – Marissa Pinson

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2. Brandy’s Nightmare

Location: New Philadelphia, Ohio
Date: May 2000

Overview:
Brandy and her friend Liz are preparing for their high school graduation with a sleepover. Their evening takes a terrifying turn when a stranger approaches them, leading to a violent confrontation that results in Liz’s death and Brandy’s miraculous survival.

Key Events:

• Initial Encounter:
  Brandy and Liz agree to give a seemingly harmless man a ride home. The encounter quickly escalates as the man threatens them with a gun.
  “He just said that he needed a ride home... We thought it was safe.”
  [01:35] – Brandy

• Hostage Situation:
  The assailant ties Brandy's hands to the steering wheel and aggressively maneuvers them to a deserted riverbank.
  “I was hoping he would just think I was dead and then leave me there.”
  [01:29] – Brandy

• Attempted Strangulation:
  On the bridge, Brandy endures a brutal attempt to kill her, leaving her barely conscious and injured.
  “He was banging me up against the railing... I couldn't breathe.”
  [10:37] – Brandy

• Miraculous Escape:
  By feigning death and capitalizing on the environment, Brandy manages to evade her attacker by floating with the river’s current and eventually securing her rescue.
  “I believe I survived because of a combination of the love of all my family and friends and my own survival instinct.”
  [16:13] – Brandy

Resolution:
The attacker, Michael Veka, is apprehended after a tip-off from his mother. During the trial, Brandy confronts Veka, expressing the profound loss she endured. Opting for mercy, she requests that the prosecution forgo the death penalty, resulting in Veka being sentenced to life imprisonment.

“The whole time I was saying to him about Liz, just how could you?”
[15:51] – Brandy

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3. Joseph and Lorenzo’s Fishing Trip Gone Wrong

Location: Baja, California, Mexico
Date: October 2000

Participants:

• Joseph
• Lorenzo
• Jose (Guide)

Overview:
Joseph and Lorenzo embark on their annual fishing trip, guided by Jose. The journey soon descends into a nightmare as they realize Jose is unlicensed and deceitful, leading them to become stranded on a remote, uninhabited island.

Key Events:

• Deceptive Guidance:
  The trio departs for fishing, but as darkness falls and the boat's direction seems off, suspicions arise about Jose’s intentions.
  “This is not vacation anymore. This is not right.”
  [19:24] – Suzanne

• Stranding on the Island:
  As the boat becomes swamped, Lorenzo falls into the water, injuring himself. They attempt to survive with limited resources, facing extreme dehydration and exposure.
  “We burned this wood through the night.”
  [20:22] – Suzanne

• Desperate Measures:
  With no fresh water and limited food, the men resort to catching fish and consuming sea cucumbers. Lorenzo’s condition deteriorates due to hypothermia.
  “Our goal was the northern end... commercial fishermen would be fishing up there.”
  [23:40] – Suzanne

• Tragic Loss:
  After enduring 13 grueling days, Lorenzo succumbs to the harsh conditions. The remaining men push forward, and a glimmer of hope appears when Jose spots a boat, leading to their eventual rescue.
  “Hardest thing I ever had to do was leave him.”
  [29:24] – Suzanne

Resolution:
Upon rescue, it is revealed that Jose was not a licensed guide, further highlighting the negligence that led to their ordeal. Joseph and Lorenzo's friendship and resilience are underscored as they reflect on their survival.

“I survived because... I just did not want to die at that time at that place.”
[31:13] – Suzanne

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4. Sam and Joseph’s Encounter with a Gunman

Location: Fort Smith, Arkansas
Date: November 2003

Participants:

• Sam
• Suzanne
• Michael (Assailant)

Overview:
After attending a funeral, Sam and his friend Joseph decide to drive home. Their journey takes a dire turn when they pick up a stranded motorist named Michael, leading to a terrifying sequence of events where they must fight for their lives.

Key Events:

• Picking Up Michael:
  Feeling compelled to help a man stranded on the roadside, Sam and Suzanne offer assistance, unaware of the impending danger.
  “I thought this could be one of my sons. He could be about their age.”
  [33:20] – Sam

• Hold-Up:
  Michael reveals a hidden gun, coercing them into an unwilling hostage situation. Tensions escalate as he expresses his malicious intentions.
  “I'm afraid we're going to have to keep driving.”
  [35:05] – Sam

• Psychological Warfare:
  Michael manipulates and threatens the hosts, pushing Sam to the brink as they traverse the countryside under threat of death.
  “I'm taking the safety off the gun... I won't hesitate to kill one of you.”
  [36:38] – Marissa Pinson

• Desperate Defense:
  As the situation becomes increasingly perilous, Sam seizes a moment to defend himself, resulting in a violent confrontation.
  “I fired eight shots, but only hit with three.”
  [39:13] – Marissa Pinson

• Survival Instinct:
  Embodying sheer willpower, Sam and Suzanne manage to survive the assault, with Suzanne’s quick thinking preventing further tragedy.
  “We survived and that's all that matters.”
  [42:00] – Sam

Resolution:
The assailant, Scott Eisenberg, is arrested following a police alert from a store clerk. Eisenberg, with a history of violence, is convicted on multiple murder charges and sentenced to death, bringing closure to the harrowing ordeal faced by Sam and Suzanne.

“I survived because... I just did not want to die at that time at that place.”
[31:13] – Suzanne

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5. Reflections and Insights

Throughout the episode, the survivors highlight the crucial role of mental resilience and the support of loved ones in their survival. They share profound insights into the human spirit’s capacity to endure and overcome unimaginable challenges.

“The powers of your mind. If you let it do its job, it can do amazing things.”
[16:13] – Brandy

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Conclusion

Paula Barros masterfully weaves together these intense narratives, offering listeners a deep dive into the intricacies of survival, the psychological battles fought by victims, and the relentless pursuit of justice. Each story serves as a testament to human resilience and the profound impact of unwavering hope.

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Notable Quotes:

• “I was hoping he would just think I was dead and then leave me there.”
  [01:29] – Brandy

• “I believe I survived because of a combination of the love of all my family and friends and my own survival instinct inside of me.”
  [16:13] – Brandy

• “I just could not do that anymore. If you go over it in your mind, you go over it in your mind.”
  [41:25] – Sam

• “I'm Bound for the Promised Land.” (Song title hummed by Sam during ordeal)
  [38:00] – Joseph

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This episode of Cold Case Files not only recounts the harrowing experiences of its survivors but also delves into the psychological fortitude required to navigate life-threatening situations. Through meticulous storytelling and emotional depth, Paula Barros brings these cold cases to life, honoring the bravery and resilience of those who have survived the unthinkable.

Transcript

[Sam]

Lights are going up.

[Suzanne]

Snow is falling down.

[Sam]

There's a feeling of goodwill around town. It could only mean one thing. McRib is here.

[Brandy]

People throwing parties, ugly sweaters everywhere, Stockings.

[Sam]

Hung up by the chimney with care. It could only mean one thing.

[Marissa Pinson]

McRib is here at participatingmcdonald's for a limited time. Hi, I Survived listeners. 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.

[Brandy]

He said. It's very matter of fact. He said, I killed your friend.

[Marissa Pinson]

Real people.

[Sam]

The next thing I know, I'm on the ground. He's on the ground with me. I yell at Suzanne. I said, run, Suzanne. He's not dead.

[Marissa Pinson]

Who faced death.

[Suzanne]

I said goodbye, goodbyes to my wife. I said my goodbyes to my kids. And my primary goal now is to get out of here, is to live.

[Marissa Pinson]

Through this and live to tell how.

[Brandy]

I was hoping he would just think I was dead and then leave me there.

[Marissa Pinson]

This is I survived. It's May 2000 in New Philadelphia, Ohio. Brandy and Liz are having a sleepover before high school graduation. They drive to a local video store to rent a movie.

[Brandy]

So the whole way we were just talking about which movie we were going to pick. We couldn't decide on anything. We pulled into Hollywood videos and we picked out a few movies. Then as we were coming back out, this guy approached both of us. He had just a baseball cap pulled down over his head and black hair curling out around him and we just looked like a nice regular guy walking down the street. He just said that he needed a ride home. So being in the small town, we thought it was safe. So we went ahead and agreed we could give him a 10 minute ride down the road to his house. It was probably about 15 minutes down the road. We noticed there were becoming less and less houses and it was past 9 o'clock so it was pretty dark outside. So finally we asked him how much further and he said, oh, just down the road. Just down the road. So we went a few minutes further and then finally I pulled over and told him that if it's not that much further down the road. He could just get out and walk that. That we had to get home because it was a school night and gave him that whole excuse. And at that point he said, well, would it make a difference if I said I had a gun? We both kind of looked at each other and Liz started shaking nervously, shaking her hands. He asked us if we had any money. And I said, well, we don't have any cash or anything on us. And he told us to start driving again. So I continued driving down the road and he told me exactly where to turn. At the top of the hill, he asked us to stop the vehicle, put it in park, but keep my hands on the steering wheel. He told me to take the shoelaces out of my shoes and Liz had to tie my hands to the steering wheel. He made sure that they were very tight so that I wouldn't be able to move. He stepped out of the car and as soon as he shut the door, I looked over at Liz and she was looking at me. And she reached over and she squeezed my hand since I couldn't move mine. And she said she loved me. And I told her I loved her too. And I said, I'm sorry. I said that I'm sorry that I got listened to this. She said, we both agreed it was a joint decision. And then right after we said we loved each other one more time, he opened her door and told her to step out. And the last guest head to her was Liz. I'm going to see you again. Don't worry, we're going to see each other again. And then I saw him lead her up to the top of the hill. I couldn't hear anything. I couldn't see anything. I was scared. I saw him coming back down and he was by himself. And then he came to my side, the driver's door and opened the door and he yelled at me and told me to get out. And then I don't know what was going through my head at the moment, but I yelled back at him. I said, you're an idiot. You tied my. You made Hurt tie my hands to the string while I can't get out of the car. He took something and really, really fast, just like sliced the shoelaces. And it didn't occur to me in my head at the moment that he had a knife. And then he started walking me up the hill. And at that moment I kind of thought, this is it, this is the end. This is the end of my life. I lived 18 years and that's that. I just kept thinking about Everyone that was really close to me, and I wasn't even worried about. I was just worried about, you know, would they be able to find us? Would they figure out what happened? Would they be mad because we let some stranger into our car? I didn't know. And then we got to the top of the hill, and he started to lead me to the right. And I look. I started to look over this way, and he took his hand and went like this. And I had seen a mound on the ground. I didn't. Again, I. It didn't click in my mind that that was listed by right there that she was gone.

[Marissa Pinson]

Liz's throat had been cut. She'd been stabbed so many times, the knife had broken. Brandy didn't notice. Her attacker was covered in blood.

[Brandy]

And he stood there for a moment, and he was smoking a cigarette, and he wasn't saying anything to me. And then. And then after two or three minutes, he grabbed my arm again and started leading me back down the hill. He had put me back in the vehicle. He got into the driver's side behind the wheel, and as soon as he started driving, he looked at me and he said, it's very matter of fact, he said, I killed your friend. And I didn't react. I remember I just looked out the window. I didn't cry. I didn't. I didn't do anything. I didn't yell at him. I didn't. I was just in complete shock. And he let a few seconds pass by, and then he said, I just wanted to see your reaction. I wanted to see if he would break down, if you would cry. And he said, since you didn't, I'll tell you the truth. I really. I just let her go. I told her the directions to get back to town, and she went on her way. So with thinking that Liz was okay, my next thought was, oh, my goodness, why am I still here? She's safe. And what is he doing with me now? What is he going to do with me?

[Marissa Pinson]

The killer has driven Brandy to a deserted riverbank.

[Brandy]

We're walking along these railroad tracks with no lights, businesses, houses, nothing around us. He was asking me about my friends, if I had a lot of them, if I had a boyfriend. In the back of my head, I was probably thinking along the lines that if I did keep up this friendly conversation, it. It might help him to see me more of. More as a person.

[Marissa Pinson]

The killer led her towards a rail bridge.

[Brandy]

His whole demeanor just changed right then. He just said, how badly do you want to live? And I said, more than Anything? He said, okay, now strip. I hesitated, kind of thinking I. Obviously, I don't want to do this. He told me again. He said, if you want to live, you're going to listen to every word I say and do as I say. He unzipped his pants and pulled them down. I honestly don't even know how long that actually lasted, because in my mind, it lasted hours. And he got down and threw my clothes back at me and told me to get dressed. So I put my clothes on very quickly and stayed sort of huddled up in a ball. I didn't want to move. He was standing on the rubber tracks again, smoking. He told me to walk onto the river trestle. And there was like a little. A little platform off to the side of it with a railing around it. He told me to face the river and kneel down, put my hands behind my back. The next thing I knew, I couldn't breathe.

[Marissa Pinson]

The killer is now trying to strangle her with a shoelace.

[Brandy]

I didn't understand what was going on. I just knew I couldn't breathe. I blacked out. I gained consciousness again, but realized he was behind me. And he hadn't realized that I had woken up yet. So I closed my eyes and I held my breath as much as I could. I didn't want him to see me breathing. Was hoping he would just think I was dead and then leave me there. And then he started punching my back and kicking my back, trying to see if I would wake up or breathe, to really see if I was dead or not. He hit my back so hard one time, I couldn't hold it anymore. And I just gasped. And all the air came out. And my eyes flew open. And he straddled me and took ahold of my head and tried to twist my head around to try and snap my neck. That didn't work. He tried it several times. He got very, very angry at that point that he couldn't. He couldn't kill me.

[Marissa Pinson]

On the rail bridge, Brandy was now barely conscious and bleeding profusely.

[Brandy]

He was banging me up against the railing, banging my head up against it. Nothing was working. And finally he just tried to throw me over into the river. My feet got stuck. They got wrapped around the railing. So then I just kind of hung there. And he got even more mad. The whole time. He was just getting angrier and angrier and finally got me loose. And since it had been raining so much, the water level of the river was up quite a bit. And that was very, very fortunate for me because I fell headfirst into the river. When I came up, my face was still in the water and my back was floating. I just let my hands and legs just sort of flow with the water and pretended to be dead. I let the river, the current, take me under the bridge. Luckily, there were logs that had been tangled up and stuck underneath the bridge. So I grabbed onto one. And I was trying so hard to be quiet because I knew he was right above me. And I could hear him walking and I could hear him cursing and I could see the light from his cigarette. It was so cold in that river, I didn't think I could stay in the water. So I finally was able to quietly pull myself up onto the log and stayed there and waited and watched him, listening to him. His footsteps walked back and forth. He was pacing. And then I saw his footsteps walking this way behind me. I waited a few minutes and realized, or hoping he's gone. So I slowly crawled back into the water. So it wasn't very far, but it seemed to take me forever to finally get to the other side. And then once I got to the shore, I was suddenly very, very nervous, thinking, what if I swam to the wrong side of the shore? What if he really didn't leave and he's just sitting up there? I kind of peaked my head up. Looked one way, didn't see anything, looked the other way. I didn't see anything. I took off running. A few cars passed me, they just kept right on going. There was actually, there's a bar just down the street from where I had come out of. So pretty much every vehicle passing by just assumed I was just some drunken woman from the bar.

[Marissa Pinson]

Finally, a truck pulled over.

[Brandy]

As soon as I saw it stop, my heart just lifted and oh, I was so excited, just thinking, okay, I'm. This is done. This is, this night is over. He was an off duty police officer. He took care of me. He didn't leave me at the police station either. He didn't just drop me off and leave. He stayed there the whole time.

[Marissa Pinson]

Brandy's attacker, Michael Veka, was arrested after a tip off from his mother.

[Brandy]

When the police found him, he had blood all over his shirt and all over his pants. And they asked me if I had seen that. And I said, you know, honestly, I didn't realize it, I didn't notice it. If I had let myself really think about what I had just seen and what had actually occurred at the top of that hill, I would have broken down and I don't believe that I would have survived either.

[Marissa Pinson]

In court, Brandy had the opportunity to confront Veka.

[Brandy]

The whole time I was saying to him about Liz, just how could you? You have no idea how wonderful of a person you took away.

[Marissa Pinson]

Brandi requested the prosecution not seek the death penalty. Michael Veka was sentenced to life imprisonment.

[Brandy]

I believe I survived because of a combination of the love of all my family and friends and my own survival instinct inside of me. The powers of your mind. If you let it do its job, it can do amazing things.

[Marissa Pinson]

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[Suzanne]

Lorenzo is a very easygoing person. He's very well educated, kind of quiet and reserved. But we were always pretty good friends.

[Marissa Pinson]

For a week, they fished the islands in the Sea of Cortez. They were 125 miles from the nearest port.

[Suzanne]

When we first met Jose, who was our guide, he was pretty, very personable person, nice guy. He seemed to know what he was talking about, so we just, we were relaxed with him.

[Marissa Pinson]

The three men left the ship in a small boat to fish.

[Suzanne]

We knew we were just going for a few hours and since it was our last evening, we didn't take all that much extra, extra drinks with us. It started getting dark, so then our guide said, okay, you know, let's pack it in. So we reeled everything in and we put our gear away and just, just sat back for the ride back to the boat. And he kept going south. And it was about a few minutes after that we told him, hey, aren't you going the wrong way? The boat's up north. And he said, no, no, the boat's over here. He passed us. You guys didn't see it. The boat passes and they're over here, they're waiting for us. It's just a little bit ahead.

[Marissa Pinson]

Jose was not a licensed guide.

[Suzanne]

It's starting to get windy. Water's starting to come in the boat. And we asked him again, are you sure you're going the right way? And he said, yes, we're just in tank tops and shorts and now the water's coming in. We're just getting soaked head to toe. And it was, it was just, it was cold. And at this time, Lorenzo mentioned to me, said, hey, you know, this is not vacation anymore. This is not, this is, this is not right. The guide, he just kept going and just kept going and going. And finally it was about a. I think it was around seven, maybe a little bit after seven. And he mentions that he's running out of gas. We didn't have any cell phone, we didn't have a marine radio. And we told him, well, we're better off beaching the boat than just staying out at open sea with no power, no oars or nothing.

[Marissa Pinson]

The men headed for an uninhabited island.

[Suzanne]

As soon as he went in, the front of that boat, just went straight up and the back end got swamped and I fell into the water. And on Lorenzo's side, when he jumped off, he just had flip flop sandals on. And when he jumped out, he slipped on the rocks and he kind of.

[Marissa Pinson]

Sprained both his feet, cold and wet. They started gathering driftwood.

[Suzanne]

Lorenzo had a hard time walking. Said, tim, why don't you, why don't you set up a little break so we don't get, so we don't get the wind and you can just be sitting down.

[Marissa Pinson]

They had a cheap cigarette lighter.

[Suzanne]

We had a lot of firewood and we set up a huge bonfire. It was huge. And we burned this wood through the, we burned it all through the night. The following morning, the guide said, you know, they're not going to come pick us up. So. What do you mean? Yeah, they have to. No, they're not, they're not going to come this way.

[Marissa Pinson]

The remote island had no fresh water.

[Suzanne]

He started telling us that he could swim across the channel to the mainland. Now this is a 20 mile channel. With high currents throughout. And he said, I could make it across. I can make that. He stripped down to just his underwear and he put his boots and everything in a grocery shopping bag. Put the bottle of water in there, his hat, everything.

[Marissa Pinson]

The guide started swimming. Joseph and Lorenzo waited several hours in the 85 degree heat.

[Suzanne]

The next thing that happened, I saw somebody three quarters of a mile away. And I say, hey, Larry, Larry, we're picked where we're safe, man. There's somebody walking down here. As he got closer, it was Jose. It was the guide. He had come back.

[Marissa Pinson]

There are great white sharks in the area.

[Suzanne]

He said that he got about halfway across and that he saw a big shark underneath him. And the shark scared him. He dropped his. He left his bag and he just ran back. He just ran back. So he lost everything. And we lost that one bottle of water.

[Marissa Pinson]

With no fuel left, the men decided to row to safety.

[Suzanne]

We made some makeshift oars out of some planks of wood that were laying there and we started rowing the boat across the channel. And that's when I started visualizing seeing my grandson. I just. I just kept visualizing my grandson. And my primary goal now is to get out of here, is to live through this. Towards the evening, around 5, 30, 6 o'clock before dusk, we see the shore. We could see people on boats. And we started yelling and screaming. They didn't see us. The wind started blowing our way in our direction and we tried to row as fast as we could. Now we were not making any headway. And the harder we rowed, the more we just. We just kept going back towards the island.

[Marissa Pinson]

Exhausted, the men fell asleep in the boat.

[Suzanne]

It was about 3 or 4 in the morning. Jose, he woke us all up and he said, we're gonna crash, we're gonna crash. We couldn't see anything. I mean, it was just pitch black.

[Marissa Pinson]

They had been swept 10 miles south from where they were.

[Suzanne]

The guide was able to find a small cave that was carved into the. Into that cliff. It was just big enough for the three of us would fit in there. And we got in there, laid down. We were just tired. When we woke up and we came out, the boat had broken up during the night. We just saw the pieces of wood there.

[Marissa Pinson]

On the third day of their ordeal, with no radio or cell phone, the men were stranded on the island with sprained feet. Lorenzo couldn't walk. The others built a raft to push him through the water.

[Suzanne]

Our goal was the northern end. We knew that there would probably be some more of these tourist strips that Were there or some commercial fishermen that would be fishing up there. So that was our goal is to get there.

[Marissa Pinson]

The northern end of the island was 20 miles away. The desolate island had no fresh water.

[Suzanne]

The only source of water that we had was the bottled waters that washed ashore. Sodas, Cokes or whatever that people finish and they leave a little bit at the bottom and put the cap back on. One of them looked like an old squirt. It was the yellowish. It looked almost. It was kind of curdled, almost like cottage cheese. Less than a cup a day is what we'd find. But it was something.

[Marissa Pinson]

They had a fishing rod and caught an occasional fish.

[Suzanne]

The lighter just fell apart. That saltwater just ate it up. It just. It fell to pieces. So now we had no way of making a fire. So then we'd found some sea cucumbers that we found and we ate those. Those things are nasty.

[Marissa Pinson]

Sea cucumbers are non poisonous and high in protein. At night, temperatures dropped below 50 degrees and the men had only wet T shirts and shorts.

[Suzanne]

There was a couple of nights where we had to spend the night out in the open. It was just freezing cold. That wind would get you. That wind would just rip you apart. You can't believe how cold it can be. I couldn't see in the water. So as I was walking through there, I would find rocks by hitting them with my shins. I okay. And since all that coral that was growing there, I just kept cutting up my shins. I cut my knees, I cut my feet. My feet were just shredded.

[Marissa Pinson]

They were still unsure of their exact location.

[Suzanne]

We finally get around this one turn and we see the beach. When we crashed the first night, that was probably one of the lowest points for me. We're just back where we started. We're now we're tired now we don't have any water. We have nothing. We're back where we started.

[Marissa Pinson]

Surviving on liquid from washed up soda bottles. They catch three fish.

[Suzanne]

Lorenzo looked at me and said, I can't eat that. I said, what do you mean you can't eat that? They said, I don't have a plate, I can't eat that. And at the time, I didn't know if he was joking with me or. Or if he was being serious. You can't eat it? He said, no, come on. I said, no, I don't have a plate.

[Marissa Pinson]

Lorenzo was suffering from exhaustion and dehydration.

[Suzanne]

The guy that picked up a swim fin that it was just laying there from junk. And so I took that swim fin and Put his fish on top and go there. Now you gotta play it. Eat it.

[Marissa Pinson]

Joseph and Jose were pushing Lorenzo on a raft because he couldn't walk. Their goal was the northern end of the island, 15 miles away.

[Suzanne]

We had to go through this gap. And as we went through this gap, Lorenzo got taken in underwater. And as he came up, his glasses came off. I always knew that his glasses were important to him. He said, my glasses, my glasses. I have to have my glasses to him, they're gone. There's no way we can get them. I think Lorenzo. I think he was tired and wanted us to be over with. I guess in the back of my mind, yes, we could die. But I never accepted that. I said, we're getting out of here. And I kept telling Lorenzo, we're getting out of here. I heard some gurgling and just water gurgling. And I turn around, and I just see the top of Lorenzo's head. And finally I realized he's underwater. It took me a while to realize, and I pulled him out. I said, what are you doing? And he just shook his head, and he looked at me and said, I'm all right. Something about the way he looked. And I told the guy, hey, we're going to have to get. We're gonna have to get, you know, get ashore. We're gonna have to dry him out. He needs some sun.

[Marissa Pinson]

Lorenzo's body heat had dropped from being in the water, and he was suffering from hypothermia. Joseph was also exhausted and collapsed in the water.

[Suzanne]

I couldn't get up. It took me 20, 25 minutes to get up, to get out, to get out of the water, finally get over there. And we pulled Lorenzo completely out of the water. We put him on his back in a sunny area. And I looked at him, and he's just staring, you know, he's just staring. You know, he's face up and he's just staring. And I said, lorenzo. And, you know, there's no reaction at all. It's just a glazed look on his eyes. And I told the guide, he's dead. He's gone. So I told the guy, let's just pray for him. And that's all we can do. So we did.

[Marissa Pinson]

So.

[Suzanne]

Hardest thing I ever had to do was leave him. That morning, that 13th day, Joseph and.

[Marissa Pinson]

Jose have traveled 20 miles in 13 days. The northern end of the island was frequented by commercial fishing boats.

[Suzanne]

We were pretty close to our goal of the northern end of the island. Jose told me that. Did you see that boat? I said, what are you talking about? He said, I swear to God, I saw a boat and I'm gonna run over there, see if I can find the boat. So I agreed. I said, okay, go ahead. Once he got around the a band that was there and he wasn't visible to me anymore, I just thought, what the hell did I just do? What if something happens to him? Or what if something happens to me? Damn. No more than 20 minutes later, a boat came around from the way that he went. And he was up front standing, looking into the water, pointing at me. And they came alongside and they said, want some help? Yeah, no kidding. Lorenzo passed away on the 12th day of our ordeal. It wasn't that much further. He would have. If he would have just made one more day, I think he would have made it.

[Marissa Pinson]

After they were rescued, Joseph discovered Jose wasn't a licensed guide.

[Suzanne]

Even though one person or the other made the wrong decision, we didn't fault him for it. We just made some bad decisions and we got over it. We worked commonly towards a goal.

[Marissa Pinson]

Joseph still credits Jose with helping him survive after an extensive aerial search had failed to spot the men.

[Suzanne]

I survived because at the time I did not want to die. My grandson had just been born. He was very important to me and I just did not want to die at that time at that place.

[Marissa Pinson]

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Hey, I survived. Listeners, whether you love true crime or comedies, celebrity interviews, news, or even motivational speakers, you call the shots on what's in your podcast queue, right? And guess what? Now you can call the shots on your auto insurance, too. Enter the Name youe Price Tool from Progressive. The Name youe Price Tool puts you in charge of your auto insurance. By working just the way it sounds, you tell Progressive how much you want to pay for car insurance. Then they'll show you a variety of coverages that fit within your budget, giving you options. Now that's something you'll want to press play on. It's easy to start a quote and you'll be able to choose the best option for you fast. It's just one of the many ways you can save with Progressive Insurance. Quote [e-mail] to try the name your price tool for yourself and join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive, Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Price and coverage match limited by state law. You're pretty smart when people talk about you.

[Suzanne]

Too smart comes up a lot. So why are you trying to prove them wrong? Why aren't you pushing the limits of science and powering the new nuclear Engines of the world's most powerful Navy.

[Marissa Pinson]

If you were born for it, isn't.

[Sam]

It time to make a smart choice?

[Suzanne]

You can be smart, or you can be nuke smart.

[Marissa Pinson]

Become a nuclear [e-mail] nukesmart America's Navy Forged by the Sea It's November 2003 in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Sam and Suzanne have been at a funeral.

[Joseph]

Sammy and I decided to get on on the road because he had to be at the emergency room. He's an emergency room's physician and he had to be at work at 6.

[Sam]

It was cold, it was misting rain. We left, heading home around 1:30 or so, and we came up on a vehicle that was stalled. There was a man standing outside the vehicle. He was. I had his arms crossed. He appeared to be cold, almost shivering. He was probably about 6 2, 6 3. He had on a cap. He had on a pullover sweater and some jeans. I looked at him and I thought, this could be one of my sons. He could be about. He looked to be about their age. And I felt the thing to do was to stop and offer assistance.

[Joseph]

And he said he had filled his car up with gas and he couldn't go any further. It just wouldn't go. And he didn't know what was wrong with it.

[Sam]

I said, well, can we give you a ride somewhere to get out of the cold? He said, yes, I would certainly appreciate that.

[Joseph]

I had hesitation about him getting in the car. From the very beginning, I just had this feeling that something wasn't right.

[Sam]

He sat in the seat behind me. He said his name was Michael. As we reached the place where we were going to turn off the main highway to go towards our hometown, I started slowing down, pulling into a convenience store, and he pulled a gun, stuck it in my right side. He said, folks, I'm afraid we're going to have to keep driving. You know, we get inured on watching things on TV where people get guns pointed at them. But until you've had a gun, a loaded gun pointed at you, I can't tell you how horrible that is. It is extremely frightening. And then the most, I guess you'd say, the strangest thing happened. My wife grabbed the pistol and we.

[Joseph]

Wrestled with that gun until he made the statement. That's what that old man did when I killed that old woman. And I knew he had committed murder. And I let go of the gun.

[Sam]

And I'm sitting here thinking, you know, oh my goodness, what am I going to do? I turned to Suzanne and I mouthed the words, I'm sorry. Because I knew had made a big mistake. I knew I made a very big mistake picking this van up.

[Marissa Pinson]

The gunmen took their cash and cell phones.

[Sam]

Basically, we just continued to drive south after that. When we take trips, we probably stop about every hour and a half to two hours for a bathroom break. And we were needing a bathroom break. He had us drive down a little dirt road there and then back the vehicle up sort of behind a little mound where nobody could see us from the road. And that's when he said the statement that was probably the most frightening. He said, okay. He said, I'm taking the safety off the gun. He said, I won't hesitate to kill one of you if the other one tries something. I'm already facing death row in Oklahoma. In my business as an emergency room doctor, I frequently get involved in situations where there is chaos. And in my business, I have to try to remain calm even though there's chaos going on. Now, I didn't want to antagonize him at all. I never tried to question him. I wanted my demeanor during this whole time to be docile and meek.

[Joseph]

I had a gun in the side pocket of my car, and I kept him fussing with me to keep him from searching the card.

[Marissa Pinson]

The.22 pistol was hidden in the driver's side door.

[Sam]

In Arkansas, if you are traveling more than 50 miles or if you're protecting valuables, you can carry a firearm in your vehicle. And I knew that pistol was there. Trying to retrieve that pistol would not have been easy as long as he was sitting right behind me.

[Joseph]

He said he wanted us to drive him to texarkana.

[Marissa Pinson]

Texarkana was 25 miles away.

[Joseph]

And when we got to Texarkana, Sammy said, you're really not going to Texacana, are you? He said, no, I'm not.

[Sam]

So I took the road that goes south, and he said, when I get to the next town, I'm going to let you out. I'm going to let you go when.

[Joseph]

We get to that town. And he said, the next town is gonna let us go. The tension in the car kept building and building and building, and we realized he was not gonna let us go.

[Sam]

All of a sudden, he said, doc, how much life insurance have you got on her? And I knew what the implication was. You know, I'll kill her for you, and you can get the money. That angered and frightened me. And that's when I became convinced that he was going to kill us.

[Joseph]

I just point out, said, he's going to kill us. I just said it out loud and There's a song that the people sing at all the funerals. It's I'm Bound for the Promised Land. And Sammy hummed that to me, Let me know that he thought that he was going to kill us, too.

[Sam]

I began to tell him I had to go to the bathroom again. I really need to go. I actually began to squirm. I was faking all this. I was trying to have the element of surprise. We pulled over to the side of the road. He told me to turn off the lights. I did. This time he got out at the same time Suzanne did, on the opposite side of the vehicle. And when he did, I slumped over the steering wheel. And then I reached into the door pocket and retrieved the little.22 revolver pistol that belongs to my wife. He gets out. He stands by the vehicle, and I slowly try to open the door. And as the noise of the door happens, I cock the pistol. I stand up, and I am probably about two feet from him. But it is dark, and I open fire.

[Marissa Pinson]

Sam fired eight shots, but only hit with three.

[Sam]

I really didn't know how many times I shot. But then all of a sudden, I realized that the gun is not in my hand. The next thing I know, I'm on the ground. He's on the ground with me. I yell at Suzanne. I said, run, Suzanne. He's not dead.

[Joseph]

I could hear him fighting, scuffling in the dirt. And it was dark, and I couldn't find him.

[Marissa Pinson]

Sam had lost his gun, but the murderer was still armed.

[Sam]

His pistol is between us, and I see it, and it's poured in right at my stomach. And I get a hold of it and try to wrestle it away from him. I'm very fearful he's going to shoot me. Then all of a sudden, he pulled it away from me. And then I realized I am being hit in the head over and over again. And my little voice in my head said, go down and play dead. So I immediately fell to the ground. And I'm lying there and I'm figuring, well, I turned my eyes to heaven. I said, lord, I'm coming home. And then all of a sudden, I hear this little voice come running around and said, don't kill him. Don't kill him. It's Suzanne.

[Joseph]

He said, I'm not going to kill him, bitch. I'm going to kill you. And he held the gun to my head, and his gun clicked.

[Marissa Pinson]

The gun didn't work, as it had no firing pin.

[Joseph]

And then he turned the pistol around and hit me in the. In the head, right here. And my knees buckled to the ground.

[Marissa Pinson]

The man got in the car and started the engine.

[Sam]

We're right on the edge of the road. I said, suzanne, we've got to get out of the way. We've got to get out of the way. He's allowed to run back over and kill us or come back and shoot us. And just sort of tried to lift her to move out of the road. Finally got her enough out of the road, and then I laid down on top of her and he just drove off.

[Marissa Pinson]

The badly wounded man drove to a store for medical supplies.

[Sam]

I hugged Suzanne, she hugged me, and I said, we're alive, we're alive. It's such a flood of relief to know that you're alive.

[Marissa Pinson]

Scott Eisenberg was arrested after the store clerk alerted the police. He was convicted on two previous counts of murder and sentenced to death.

[Sam]

First of all, I don't think you ever get over anything like this. I drove by a couple guys in the ditch here a couple years ago in a snowstorm, and I had a four wheel drive vehicle and they were waving at me and I just drove right on. I cannot do that anymore. If you go over it in your mind, you go over it in your mind. And sometimes I still do every once in a while, but I've learned to kind of just put that in a different category, because if I get to play in the what ifs and think about what happened and what could have happened, and, you know, that didn't happen. We survived and that's all that matters.

[Marissa Pinson]

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 Stasi, wherever you get your podcasts.