TRUE CRIME LIBRARY
Safety Tips for Women

True Crime Library teaches you safety tips for women - things you should never do and things you should do - things that could you save your life. It’s far better to know them and not need them, than to need them and not know.

Carjack Victim Says Knowing Car's Features Saved Her Life –
Seconds before she crawled into the trunk as her nervous assailant demanded at gunpoint, college student Charity Gibson remembered her car had a feature many drivers may not know about. As far as Gibson is concerned, it was God and that feature – a glow-in-the-dark release latch inside the trunk – that saved her life. ... She parked at her apartment building, looked through the rearview mirror, and spotted a man in a hooded sweatshirt and dark glasses walking toward the driver's side of her car. "He seemed suspicious and I thought I could probably start the car and back out of there, but he was too close," Gibson said. "I decided to get out and face him. I was prepared to fight for my life." ... The suspect pressed a handgun against Gibson's belly. "He was yelling. He was nervous," she said. "He asked me for my purse. Before he made me get in the trunk, I remembered the immediate-release switch," Gibson said. “The switch glows in the dark and I lifted it and the trunk opened up." ... The moment she felt the car slow down, Gibson jumped out of the trunk, landing on the hard pavement about 50 yards from where the carjacking began. ... She had learned about her trunk latch, required by U.S. law in cars made since 2002. Detective Scott Goss said Gibson is one of the "best victims" he has ever dealt with because she kept her composure.
Excerpted from The Daytona Beach News-Journal (FL) – 14 February 2008

Ms. Gibson made split-second decisions to escape, but a True Crime Library Review has the luxury of leisurely analyzing how she could have improved her survival odds.

First, Ms. Gibson should’ve stayed in her locked car and blown the car’s horn nonstop rather than getting out to face him. Loud noise, especially before the crime has truly begun, usually scares away criminals. See Escaping Carjacking.

Second, since Ms. Gibson had already exited her car, she would’ve been better off dropping her car keys and running away – letting him have the car but not have her.

There’s only a 12 percent chance that a robber will call attention to himself by firing a gun in a populated area and only a 3 percent chance of hitting you fatally (per the USDOJ). Moreover – now think about this: if he's willing to kill you on the spot, he's likely to do worse at a secluded, secondary crime scene. See Outdoor Safety - Spotting Danger > How He Reaches For A Weapon and Survival Options - Kidnapping.

Nevertheless, Ms. Gibson wisely escaped before the car had gained much speed. Her bravery may well have saved her life – and certainly taught us a lifesaving lesson.

True Crime Library:
WOMAN RECALLS TERROR

Five years after being attacked in her driveway, Renee Basile still struggles to believe that not everyone walking toward her wants to kill her. Her marriage over, her friendships frayed, and her trust in people worn thin, Basile sat in a courtroom within feet of the man who shattered her life. ... Christopher Kornberger came at Basile with box cutters one night, and she overwhelmed him in a 1½-minute struggle after no one responded to her screams for help. The attacker, who then ran away, would later admit his intent was to kidnap her. [He later attacked four other women, raping and killing one.] ... Basile recalled how her husband, who was inside the house, and her neighbors did not hear her screams for help. Nor was her best friend, with whom she was talking to using an earpiece, able to respond. ... Kornberger ran away, but remaining was the guilt Basile's husband and friend felt for not being able to help, and her struggle to renew trust in them. "That made me lose faith in my fellow man," she said, breaking into tears. ... She and her husband have since divorced. Basile said she was still trying to regain a normal life, to not fear the dark or her driveway, to find a place where she feels safe. She stays away from television - the crime is "too real." "Everything I do is affected by this traumatic event because I am afraid to let my guard down," said Basile.
Excerpted from The Philadelphia Inquirer – 06 September 2008

True Crime Library Review: see Predators’ Favorite Targets (someone distracted with a cell phone) on Outdoor Safety - Predators Favorite Targets (partway down the page) and Crime Survivors - Overview.

True Crime Library:
WOMEN JOGGERS ATTACKED

“It’s hard to think that something like this would happen in that neighborhood,” said police. It had been a habit of the victim to go for a morning jog in the area for many years. “He’s watched her for quite awhile to know where she was going next,” police said. “She has had a routine for several years.” ... The victim was out for a run when Bradley Scott Sneed tackled her from behind, dragged her down a bank, into a ditch, and under a fence. He told her repeatedly that he was going to rape her. ... “At first she was screaming, but he became more violent,” police said. “Then she began talking to him, talking him down, wanting to know what he wanted, what she could do. She talked him out of the rape. He even admitted to us that’s the only reason he didn’t rape her.”
Excerpted from The Valley Beautiful Beacon (TN) – 19 June 2008

Sometimes Talking Does NOT Work:

13-year old Esme Kenney went for a jog around a water reservoir and literally ran into serial killer Anthony Kirkland, spilling the beer he was holding, according to Kirkland. “She said that she was sorry,” Kirkland said on tape. “She said that she would do whatever I wanted – just don’t hurt her.” ... That’s not what happened. Kirkland said he hit, kicked and stomped the young girl’s body and sexually assaulted her. There were no screams of fighting, he said. Instead, the teenager just talked to him. ... “She asked if I had children,” said Kirkland. “I looked at her and told her, ‘Yeah.’” That’s when Kirkland said the demons in his mind took over. He said he thought he saw the mother of his son and the chance encounter became deadly.
Excerpted from WCPO TV9 Cincinnati – 11 March 2010

You must learn how to talk to your attacker at Verbal Self Defense.

True Crime Library Review:
• See Outdoor Safety - Predator’s Favorite Targets for jogging advice.
• See Rape Escape Options - Prevention to weigh your choices.
• See Intuition to help you choose an option.
• See Victim’s Options - Overview of fight or flight – or talking your way out of danger.

True Crime Library:
VICTIMS WHO FIGHT BACK

Crime victims' advocates say that victims who fight back against their attackers often experience the same emotional trauma as those who remain passive. "It's unsettling. It shifts their world view," said Kerrin Darkow, of the National Center for Victims of Crime. "People are very upset, and in the aftermath, they often question themselves about what they could have or should have done." ... Two weeks ago, 85-year-old Leda Smith didn’t hesitate to defend herself. When Smith returned from church and heard someone burglarizing her home, she calmly got her .22-caliber revolver, went looking for the intruder, and forced him to call 911 while holding the gun on him until police arrived. Experts say Smith's case is unusual. ... In the moment, some people freeze up, Darkow said, while others try to create a personal relationship with the criminal, hoping he will be less inclined to harm them. Finally, many victims choose to submit. "They're simply doing the best they can. People should do whatever they need to escape the situation safely and trust their own judgment." ... Although victims who use deadly force against criminals often experience life-changing trauma, they rarely express regret for harming the attacker, Darkow said. Most realize they did what they had to do to survive -- even if it means taking someone's life. Experts say that instincts for self-preservation surface in dangerous situations.
Excerpted from The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review – 31 August 2008

True Crime Library Review:
See Home Security - Overview, Home Security Products Buying Guide - Intro, and Victim’s Options - Overview

True Crime Library:
HOME REPAIRMAN / HOME INVADER

Stanley Stander broke into Ralph and Mattie Michaels home then beat and robbed them. Ralph Michaels said, "He came up behind me and told me to give him all my money or he would kill me." Michaels says the man then hit him over the head several times, knocking him to the floor and tying him up. ... What he heard next was something he can't get out of his mind. "I could hear my wife yelling, "Stop hitting me, that hurts, stop it, please don't do that," said Michaels. Mattie Michaels spent months in the hospital. ... Mattie Michaels said Stander had just installed flooring in her home shortly before the attack.
Excerpted from WKYT-TV (KY) – 25 June 2008

True Crime Library Review: Learn more about the risks of hired help in Home Security - Cracks. Also see Home Security - Overview.

True Crime Library:
RAPE SURVIVOR – SHEER WILLPOWER

WOMAN RISES FROM NIGHTMARE AS A PILLAR OF STRENGTH
A strange man, armed with a knife and a meat cleaver, broke into her apartment. She woke up to find him in her bedroom, where, he told her, he intended to rape and murder her. For two hours, he repeatedly raped, stabbed, and slashed her, cutting her throat, stabbing her in the head seven times, and severing two of her fingers. Yet, she mustered all her wits, strength and guts to outsmart him and save her life. She kept him engaged in conversation then tried playing dead. Finally, she escaped the apartment.
Excerpted from The Edmonton Journal – 12 January 2008

True Crime Library Review: See Stress Control - Willpower.

Choose how safe you want to be. Look at your home through a burglar’s eyes and improve the worst area first. See Apartment Security and Security Products - Apartment & Dormitory. The most important areas are fortified doors and windows, good lighting, and alarms, and, especially, your entire family’s cautious behavior as described in Home Security - Overview. No group is any safer than its most careless member – just one weak link can endanger all of you.

True Crime Library lessons teach you how to save your life.

Deter a predator by carrying a Personal Security Alarm (a.k.a. screamer or noisemaker) & Pepper Spray in plain sight.

More pages related to True Crime Library:
Outdoor Safety - Spotting Danger | Outdoor Safety - Predators Favorite Targets | Survival Options - Kidnapping | Rape Escape Options - Prevention | Stress Control - Willpower | Home Security - Cracks | Security Products - Apartment | Best Pepper Spray | Personal Security Alarm

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