The Knife: A True Crime Podcast

Episode Summary – "The Night Ellen Was Kidnapped"

Air Date: October 2, 2025
Hosts: Hannah Smith & Patia Eaton
Guest: Ellen

Episode Overview

In this gripping episode, hosts Hannah Smith and Patia Eaton interview Ellen, a listener who survived a harrowing kidnapping in 2006 while working her way through college in Columbus, Ohio. The episode delves deep into the terrifying night Ellen was abducted, explores her remarkable composure during the ordeal, the aftermath, and the complex ripple effects such trauma can have on a person's life. Through first-person storytelling, Ellen details her emotions, the investigative aftermath, and how the event shaped her long-term sense of safety and trust.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Ellen’s Background and the Setting

• Who is Ellen: Originally from Columbus, Ohio; 22 at the time of the kidnapping; college student at Ohio State, working at Applebee’s ([03:47])
• Setting: Safe, suburban Columbus area; incident happened in January 2006 after leaving a late shift at Applebee’s

2. The Night of the Kidnapping

Timeline of Events:

• Ellen describes a typical night: finishing a double shift, meeting friends after work ([05:19])
• Her routine: parking in back due to employee policy, not worried despite darkness
• Notices a man in the parking lot—minor alarm, but doesn’t think much of it ([07:07])
• Sitting in her car letting it warm up, man approaches, taps on window, claims she has a "flat tire" ([08:11])
• Instinctively rolls down window—he produces a gun, tells her not to look or he’ll shoot ([09:14])

Notable Quote:
"He just, like, reached through the window and put a gun to my head and told me not to look at him or he would shoot me." — Ellen ([02:57])

Details of the Attack:

• Forced into passenger seat, bag (possibly her server apron) placed over her head
• Gun pressed against her, made to touch the gun to prove it’s real ([10:02])
• Ellen stays calm, complies, and avoids confrontation—tries to humanize herself to him

Host Insight:
"While her kidnapper threatened her life, jabbed a gun into her back repeatedly and touched her body in unwanted ways, Ellen stayed calm and focused. She studied him, his voice, his words, assessing how best to interact with him to her advantage." — Hannah Smith ([20:42])

3. Ordeal Inside the Car and Threats Made

• Abductor takes money, asks for debit card and PIN; withdraws exactly the small amount Ellen claimed was in her account ([18:23])
• Threatens to traffic her, insists he’s part of a group, references a “trailer” and being “sold” ([13:43], [21:14])
• Constantly issues threats; manipulates Ellen psychologically (calls her "Rachel," describes other “worse” people in the fictional group)

Notable Quote:
"He started talking in a different language that sounded like German...and he told me that I reminded him of someone named Rachel." — Ellen ([21:14])

Physical Threats/Assault:

• Claims to need to “check for wires,” uses it as pretext for sexual assault attempts—Ellen asks him to stop; he surprisingly complies ([19:40])

4. Maintaining Composure and Small Victories

• Ellen remains outwardly calm, answers questions, never antagonizes him
• Asks if she can keep her phone (which was hidden in her pocket), ultimately has to turn it over when abductor becomes suspicious ([28:33])

Memorable Insight:
"My body's response, like while I was in the car was, you know, to stay calm. And then as soon as, I think, as soon as I realized that he was gone and I was like seconds away from help, then everything I think that I had been holding in just released." — Ellen ([33:00])

5. Aftermath—Escape and Reporting

• Kidnapper makes Ellen count to 100, says he’ll “be watching” ([30:02])
• When she opens her eyes, she’s back in the Applebee’s parking lot—returns to safety ([31:06])
• Runs inside, breaks down, manages to communicate what happened; police called, friends and family arrive ([33:00])

6. Investigation and Arrest

• Police quickly connect Ellen’s case to three other recent attacks—the perpetrator, later identified as Henry Williamson, is arrested after attacking a fourth woman in public, fleeing, and crashing his car ([38:46])
• Williamson confesses to all four attacks

7. The Perpetrator—Context and Motives

• Williamson: 67-year-old grandfather, veteran, no prior criminal record, reportedly experiencing severe life stress (wife’s death, cancer diagnosis) ([41:16])
• He fabricated stories of trafficking and previous stalking—police confirm attack was opportunistic, not premeditated against Ellen specifically

Host Reflection:
"Everything that he told her in the car about working with this group of people involved with international sex trafficking, he made that up." — Hannah Smith ([41:16])

Sentence:

• Originally charged with kidnapping; pleads guilty to aggravated robbery, sentenced to nine years ([42:27])

8. Impact on Ellen—Short and Long Term

• Details of trauma: severe anxiety, insomnia, physical illness after attack; unable to eat, hypervigilance, and fear ([36:10], [45:39])
• Long-lasting hyperawareness; reaction to strangers near her car; need to overplan ([45:39])
• Deepened empathy for trauma responses; acknowledges feeling “imposter syndrome” that her survival made her story “less significant”—a sentiment challenged by the hosts and her own reflection ([45:50], [49:49])

Notable Quote:
"I had this sort of, like, idea of myself of, like, just being able to take care of myself. And in reality, when all of this happened, I was just completely powerless...I think that just really made me much more fearful in general." — Ellen ([45:39])

9. Court Experience and Closure

• Attends sentencing, delivers victim impact statement, describes the emotional complexity of hearing the perpetrator’s family speak on his behalf ([44:26])
• Receives word years later of Williamson’s death from cancer—elicits complex feelings: not celebration, but a sense of finality ([50:46])

10. Ripple Effects and Epilogue

• Ellen shares a touching voicemail from her mother—left during the kidnapping—reminding her of parental intuition and support ([52:11])
• Hosts reflect on crime’s ripple effect: how the trauma touches victims, their families, even the perpetrator’s loved ones, and why stories of survival are worth telling even when victims “physically survive” ([61:49])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Ellen (on her calmness):
  "I think when you're in a situation like this, your body just reacts. I'm normally a really emotional person...but in this case I think my body just kind of did what it needed to do and I was able to stay pretty calm." ([13:43])
• Ellen (on losing a sense of safety):
  "I felt like I could take care of myself...and in reality...I was just completely powerless. There was a gun in this situation, and I just felt like there was nothing I could do." ([45:39])
• Hannah Smith (on the ripple effect):
  "That's one of the bizarre things about this case...His granddaughter saying, this is my grandpa and he helps me with my homework, and that is how his family knows him. She's like, that's sad. But also, it's very real that he attacked me and three other women. So that's the same person that did that. Like, how do you reconcile that?" ([61:22])
• Ellen (on her mother's voicemail):
  "She left me this voicemail that...was something along the lines of like, hey, Ellen, I was just thinking about you. I just. I feel like maybe, like, maybe you're having a hard day or a hard time, and I just like, thought you might want to talk." ([52:11])

Important Timestamps

• 02:57 – Ellen’s chilling opening recap: gun to her head, threat not to look
• 05:19–07:07 – Describes the setting and routine the night of the kidnapping
• 08:11–09:47 – Encounter in car, abduction begins
• 13:43 – Ellen discusses psychological threats, abductor’s bizarre comments
• 18:23 – Withdrawal at ATM; abductor takes money, further threats
• 21:14 – Abductor calls her “Rachel,” acts eerily calm
• 30:02 – Abductor tells her to count to 100; escape
• 33:00–34:36 – Emotional aftermath, runs for help at Applebee’s, initial police response
• 38:46–41:16 – Investigation, abductor identified, attack on four women, arrest
• 45:39 – Ellen discusses lingering trauma, hypervigilance
• 50:46 – Notification of perpetrator’s death, closure reflections
• 52:11 – The voicemail from Ellen’s mother

Hosts’ Reflections

• Importance of telling stories of survival, not just “salacious crime”
• Trauma’s real, persistent impact regardless of physical outcome
• Societal expectations about "worthiness" of crime victim stories
• Ripple effect harming both victim and perpetrator’s family
• Empathy and the need to believe and support survivors

Final Thoughts:

"It was very much a crime...and it's such a scary thing, so I appreciate you coming on and telling us and talking to us about it." — Hannah Smith ([49:49])

Summary for Non-listeners

Ellen’s story is a harrowing but ultimately life-affirming account of surviving a random act of violence. Despite her physical escape, the event reshaped her sense of safety. The episode does not sensationalize; instead, it foregrounds the reality of trauma’s ripple effects and the dignity of survival, with deep empathy from both hosts. Anyone interested in real experiences of crime’s aftermath, the nuance of justice, or stories of personal resilience will find this episode compelling.