Kathy Kleiner Rubin knows what it is like to endure trauma. In 1978, she survived serial killer Ted Bundy . He had escaped from a Colorado jail and made his way to Florida State University. On a cold January night, he saw the door to the Chi Omega sorority house had a busted lock. He killed two women while they slept and then attacked Kleiner Rubin and her roommate. They survived because a car headlight flashed in their room and spooked Bundy.
In the decades that followed, Kleiner Rubin accepted the traumatic night would always be part of her life story. She also learned that while some people were helpful with their support, others were harmful. Now, she has advice on what people should and shouldn’t say to trauma survivors.
Ted Bundy survivor in the spotlight
Kleiner Rubin remembers hearing the door to her room opening. Within seconds, Bundy bashed her head with an oak log. Her cheek ripped open, her jaw shattered in three places and she almost bit her tongue in half. She had months of physical recovery including multiple jaw surgeries.