SOLE SURVIVOR-Holly Dunn

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After a boyfriend is beaten to death in front of her, Holly is stabbed, raped, and left for dead. In this memoir of survival and healing from a horrific true crime, Holly recounts how she lived through the vicious assault, helped bring her sale into justice, and ultimately found meaning and purpose through service to victims of sexual assault and other violent crimes. She has worked as a motivational speaker, an activist, and founded Holly's House, a safe and nurturing space in

her hometown of Evansville, Indiana. The book of her feature in this Evening is Sole Survivor, The inspiring true story of coming face to face with the infamous Railroad Killer. With my special guest, author, speaker and founder of Holly's House, Holly Dunn, Welcome to the program and thank you very much for agreeing to this interview, Holly done.

you admired him. Tell us a little bit about your early life before we talk about how you happened to meet Chris Mayor.

that was my plan. I just always had career goals, and so I was just going to you know, get my degree and then go and work for my father. So and his businesses were we franchise hotels. So it's called Dunn Hospitality Group, and we actually you know, own, own and manage and build hotels kind of in in Indiana and Kentucky and in a in a probably a five hundred mile radius from Evansville. But you know, it's

and so it's been a successful business. And I think what I always saw in my father that I wanted to emulate was that he was able to be in our lives. Like he came to all my basketball games, he came to, you know, when I had things at school, he came to dinner every night. You know, I liked that he was so much a part of our family.

But he was a successful businessman. So I think that's really what I wanted to emulate, is I wanted to be, you know, if I did end up having a family, I wanted to have a great career, but then also be able to have, you know, time with my family.

made me probably very well rounded in my Christianity. I think I learned a lot about the Baptist faith as well as a lot about the Catholic faith. But I was baptized Catholic and raised Catholic.

with that. In June ninety seven in at Kentucky and you meet a University of Kentucky, you meet Chris Mayor. Tell us a little bit about Chris and how you came to meet him that fafeful day.

her birthday. But I was not yet twenty one. So we just went to a restaurant where she would be able to get, you know, a drink at a restaurant, but we went to I guess a we went to a restaurant that wouldn't serve us because I wasn't twenty one yet, and so we were kind of deflated. We were like, well, we're gonna go home and she's not

going to get her birthday drink. You know. We went at midnight actually on her birthday, and we ended up stopping by a bar close to where we were living, and it was it was it was crazy because it was a laundry mat, but there was a bar next to it. And that's actually where I met Chris that night. It was the you know, after midnight on my friend's birthday, and we were just trying to buy her a drink and Chris and all of his friends were sitting at

that bar, and I guess very familiar with it. I had never been in it before, but that's where we met, and you know, we started talking straight away, and I think it was kind of we were spitting with each other, I think that night, and so that kind of that just started it all.

And you know that he never met a stranger like he was friendly to everyone and that so he was super a super attractive guy, but also just super friendly and and and everyone wanted to be his friend because he was just a kind, nice, good guy and you know that that's I'm sure that's what drew me to him. And you know it, I hadn't met a guy like him before, So I think that, you know, that's that's what drew me to him in the first place.

And so you know that that happened maybe a week before the fateful night that that that happened to us, but so that we were, you know, actually wanting to take it further and wanting to get closer and wanting to develop the relationship. So you know, if we'd I don't, we'd on't eve been. We'd only really known each other for three months and and it wasn't that wasn't long enough. Like That's if I had one wish, I wish that I could have spent more time with him, because I

just didn't. I didn't get to, you know, do we didn't even get to do anything that we had planned to do. You know, we had planned to go on a picnic the next day and to go hiking and go on a picnic, and you know, we never got to do that. So I've tried to I don't know. That's and I think that's what I've done in my life,

is that I've and that's what I did. That was a big part of my healing was and how I had agrieved Chris Chris was to actually, you know, go and do things that he loved and do things that he did, And I think that was actually part of my healing process. I think, you know, it wasn't a conventional way of healing that for me, it was to go and do things that he loved and to live out things that he loved in his life so that I could know him better because I didn't get long enough with him.

And when we got there, it was quite boring. There wasn't a whole lot of people there. I didn't know anyone there. And so, you know, myself and Chris and two of our friends, two of his fraternity brothers, actually went to take a walk and we went to take a walk on down from the house. It was about I don't know, maybe a block or two from the house that we went to the railroad tracks. And the railroad tracks were only probably three blocks from the house.

And again I said, Chris knew this area. So I Chris had been to the railroad tracks before. And so we actually, you know, went to the tracks and we were going to go put quarters down on the track and have trains run over them and flatten the quarters. And that was our thought, was that we all four went there and we went and put coins on the tracks, and we waited and we waited for a train to come by, and that was what we waited, kept waiting and just waiting that you know, no trains came by,

and so it was boring. That was more boring than the party. And I guess Chris and I were being kind of lovey dovey, and so he actually our friends went back to the party and Chris and I stayed by the tracks to talk.

At this point, I thought, this is just somebody asking for money. Now, it was like midnight, it was dark, it was night, you know, it was there were some strange things about it, but literally it was that a guy was asking us for money and we said we didn't have any money, and he didn't believe us. So he had Chris get down on his knees and started

going through Christm's backpack. So I thought, well, he's going through Christmas backpack to find some if we have any money, and and he goes through Chrism's backpack, or at least that's what he said he was doing, or that's what I thought he was doing, but but really what he was doing he was tying up Christ's hands behind his back with the backpack. And then he came over to me, and that's when I realized that he had a weapon.

I mean, I wasn't far from him, but again it was dark and he and that's when I realized he had a weapon. And he held it up to me and he took off my belt and tied my hands behind my back with my belt, and I think that, you know, that's that's what's so I guess hard about this is that you know, here's two people and someone is trying to rob you. And that's kind of what I'm what I where my mind was at the time.

I was thinking, this person wants to rob us. We have to give him what he wants so he'll let us go. So I start offering him, you know, do you want a car, We have a car you could have. Do you want credit cards? Do you want me to go to the ATM. I'll get you money, Like whatever you need, I'll get it for you. Because you know, it was that thought of you, if somebody wants your purse,

you throw it at them and run away. I was trying to give him what he wanted so that he would leave us alone and let us go, But he just kept saying no to all of our offers. And that's what seems so strange is that he wasn't wanting what he said he wanted. So, you know, when I was like, I can get you money, I'll get you all the money you want, he didn't actually want money. And I think that that's because his his you know, that's what he initially had said. But his what he

wanted all along was to to hurt us. It wasn't to you know, to rob us. And so you know, I at that point, I I he actually tied up our legs and gagged us, he you know, and I just remember being so I was afraid, but I felt an amazing piece over me this entire this entire time, and I felt just a like I that everything was gonna be okay. And that's that's what that was. Actually Chris's last word to me was Everything's gonna be okay.

And he ended up hitting Chris with a fifty two pound rock, and you know, it seems like a dream in my mind. I I barely I don't. I mean, I remember I thought Chris got hit more than once. He only got hit once. And all I all I remember is Chris was gurgling, and I asked him to go turn Chris's head to the side because I didn't want him to choke on his own blood. And he actually went and did it. He wasn't that far away from me, but he went over to him and he

came back over and he said he's gone. Don't worry about him anymore. And so that's when he climbed on top of me. I this is when I realized he was going to rape me. I don't think I thought about it until this moment. And so I was like, well, I'm gonna fight him, like I you know, what do I have to lose here? So I tried to fight. I was screaming, I was trying to, you know, hurt him, and he stabbed me in my neck and he said, look how easily I could kill you, And so I

just stopped and then he raped me. I don't remember being raped or I remember literally floating above my body. I wasn't feeling pain. I didn't feel when he stabbed me in my neck. I did not feel any pain. And you know, I was actually talking to him, and I was asking him, you know, about his family and telling him about my family. I was trying to have him put a name with my face. I was trying to, you know, let him know that I didn't want to

die and that I would help him. I was saying, I'll help you if if you let me go, I'll never tell anyone what you did. I'll help you get away from here. You know, I was trying to befriend him so that he wouldn't hurt me. And I thought that I actually had differended him. I actually I had asked him to put my pants back on because I thought, well, if I die, I don't want to be found here naked. So I asked him to put my pants back on,

and he actually did that for me. And I don't remember being hit, but I was hit in my face and in the back of my head. I was hit probably five or six times in my face and five or six times in the back of my head. I was not hit with the rock that he hit Chris with. I was hit with some kind of board. They never found what he actually hit me with. And so, but he did he hit me, and I don't I don't remember being hit, but I know that he did hit me.

And then I think I played dead. I think I, you know, just did I acted like I was dead so that he would leave and leave me alone. But I do remember thinking, I remember playing praying my last prayer because I thought, if I am going to die, I'm ready. And I felt that piece that I was talking to. I felt at peace that if it was if I was going to die, it was okay. And I but I remember thinking when he left me there, and when he walked away, I was thinking, thank you

for leaving me here alive. And you know, I got up. I don't know how how much time passed. The nine one one call was made at like two forty something in the morning, and I know that we went got up to go back to the party around midnights. There's like a two hour and forty five minutes span in there that I don't know how long he was with us.

I don't know you know when he when he, you know, left, I don't know how long I laid there before I got up to get help, but I walked about two hundred yards to a house nearby and they called nine one one for me, and I was rushed to the hospital and Chris was pronounced dead at the scene.

And you walked, like you say, you don't even remember. You walked on all kinds of glass and metal and rocks and everything to get to this house. Don't really remember that, And you end up in the hospital. Tell us a little bit about just the first things that happened to you at the hospital after this, your treatment, who you encounter, because this is important to how your life, the direction your life moves in as an advocate for abused people. Tell us about your experience at the hospital.

actually getting to the hospital. But I think the thing I remember the most in the hospital was the rape kit that was done on me, because it was painful and it was awful, and you know, I just remember that, you know, as out of it as I was, I completely remember everything about that rape kit, and then you know, I was in the hospital for quite a while before my parents actually got there, but they got there as

fast as they could. I remember them even asking me for my parents' phone number when I was in the hospital, and I could not remember their phone number. That's how kind of out of it I was. But they did

find my parents phone number and called them. And it's it's crazy because when when my parents actually got there, they met with the hospital counselor, and the counselor told them to not talk about what had happened to me, and to try to not cry in front of me, don't cause me any more hurt or trauma than than

they had to try, you know. And and that was the strangest thing because I once, once I finally did see my parents and see my sister and my family got to the hospital, I thought it was so strange that nobody was talking to me about what happened, and that, you know, when they would cry, they would literally like kind of walk away from me and try to go into the bathroom or go away from me when they were crying. And I'm just thinking, and here, I mean,

I was crying constantly. I know, I was either sleeping or crying. That's pretty much all I was doing in the hospital, and it was you know, I thought it was so strange that people weren't crying in front of me, and so I, you know, I didn't I don't think I think that they were trying to, you know, help in that situation, but I don't. I don't think the advice really was correct, and maybe it was just that that's what they thought that should be done. But it

was a very awkward. It made things a little awkward, but in no way, you know, was I not supported. I mean, my parents and my sister and all of my sorority sisters, my friends, everyone and Chris's friends even everyone came and saw me in the hospital, and you know, that's that was that The hard part was I didn't get to go to Chris's funeral. I was still in

the hospital when they had Chris's funeral. Right after the funeral, they brought me things from the funeral to the hospital, and you know that that was just hard that I could wasn't actually able to be there. But it was amazing the support that I got, and that's what's you know, I think that that's what's always been amazing about my healing process and how I've been able to do what

I've done is my support system. It's been unreal. I've had, you know, amazing support from friends and family, support from strangers, support from anybody that you know has heard my story. They've become helped me in my healing and they've become

part of my healing process. And so you know, I if I could describe a perfect support system, it was mine, because I mean, I never got the questions that I think victims get, especially when it's acquaintance rape or date rape, that they get, you know, what were you wearing that night? You know, questions about your choices? And so no one ever questioned me about my choices. No one, no, because I was hurt so physically bad that no one said what were you wearing or what? You know what they did?

They couldn't because I was hurt physically, and so I didn't get those normal questions that victims get. And I think that that that helped, and that I was constantly supported, and that that everyone you know didn't ask me those questions because it's I think I would have felt guilty, and I felt enough guilt. I already you feel do you feel guilt when things like this occur? You feel guilt. Nobody has to do anything, it's automatic that you feel

the survivor's guilt. For me, I felt terrible survivor's guilt. And so you know, I think that if I could, if I attribute my healing though, really to my support system, it's it's it's still is amazing. I mean, I still have an amazing support system. I've always had one, and and I think that that's been how I've how I've been able to do what I do today.

to twenty thousand dollars. They're they're doing everything they can, They're putting the DNA into databases and there's no match. And you meet a central figure in your story as well. And in this book is Detective Craig Currel, and he almost immediately wants to know if you are interested in

potentially participating in America's Most Wanted. So tell us a little bit about duct Detective Currel and some of the interviews he does with you and sort of this his mission to have this case and have this killer apprehended.

the most pain, like right after the attack. He just asked the basic questions that he needed to and then you know, he got my deposition later on the full story of what happened, maybe two or three days later, and you know it's I think from that moment on, I always had the kind of relationship with him, and I think it started with that I got sick. I actually threw up on him when I first met him, and that kind of broke the ice. It helped to

you know, kind of start our relationship off. I guess, well, but you know, I it we had kind of like a good rapport with each other. He felt like a big brother to me almost, that he you know, I really felt like he cared and that he you know, was treating me like he would one of his own family members if something had happened to one of his

own family members, that he would. He was working that hard and wanting, you know, wanting to figure out who had done this that badly, And so there were times when I felt like he wasn't working at all, and I would actually go to the election and the police department and go and and you know, go and like meet with him to make sure that he was doing

his job. But all along he was, you know, submitting that DNA and going after every lead that he could find, and there were so many leads, but we didn't have a suspect for almost two years. So for two years he was working and trying to figure things out. But I'm sure as that time was going on, he was probably losing some hope because you know, as time keeps going on, it's it's hard to that makes it more

difficult to you know, solve the crime. And so, you know, I think he was submitting the DNA doing what he could. You know, we didn't have fingerprints. All we had was DNA. So he submitted the DNA to a case in Texas. It was kind of a long shot they had. They had said that the they thought the railroad tracks were you know, the key and the case. And he submitted the DNA, which he had done before. It wasn't like, you know, this was he I don't think he was

expecting much. But it's like he submitted the DNA. They had, you know, a house that had been broken into and in outside of Houston, Texas. A woman was killed and her car was stolen, and they had DNA and his fingerprints and the DNA matched. I mean, it was like amazing that the DNA matched and we all of a sudden knew who it was because they had fingerprints. There was a suspect, remember Detectas Terrell appearing at my apartment

I lived. I was in my fifth year in school and I lived in an apartment at the of the outside of the Outside in Lexington, Kentucky. And so he came to my apartment and he had never come to my apartment before. And I was going, something's not right or something is strange. Why are you here? And he was like, you know, we have a suspect. This is who it is. He's going to be on America's Most Wanted in a couple of weeks. I want you to watch it. I want you to let me know if

you think this is him. I never had to identify him because we had the DNA. It was ninety nine point nine percent sure that this was the guy. And but I did watch America's Most Wanted and they had footage of him defending himself in court. And when I heard his voice, it's because he changed his appearance a lot. He had a rap sheet going back to ninth the nineteen eighties. I mean he had been arrested and sent

back to Mexico. He was a Mexican illegal immigrant in the United States, and I mean he had he had a long rap sheet and they had footage of him defending himself in court and I heard his voice and I was like, oh my gosh, that's him. Because all I had to do was hear his voice. I knew that voice. I knew that it was him. I mean you could have I could have closed my eyes and known that it was him. That I didn't need DNA

to tell me that because I knew it was him. Uh. And you know then it was all of a sudden there was a man hunt. There was going to be a man hunt for you know, this person that they couldn't find then and y'all, but you know, all of a sudden we had a suspect and it was real like. And the sad part was is this. This was my worst fear in how I knew that we were going to solve my crime was that.

find him. And he actually, you know, was put on the fbis ten most wanted list and they they actually he you know, used to travel between the United States and Mexico all the time. And they stopped him at a border stop between Texas, between Texas and in Mexico, and they did not have the computers link that told would tell them that he was wanted for murder, and so they let him go, and you know it, it was a huge mistake, and he killed four more people

after they let him go. So you know that not only did they let him go and there was that error, but you know, and with errors like that, good things can come from that too, because that then the computer systems were linked. Hopefully that error will never ever happen again. But you know, four more people were killed after they let him go, So that was like a terrible error to happen that they would, you know, let him go and he would then come back in the United States and kill more people.

another disgusting aspect of it. Before killer left, he made himself a snack and opened up one of her daughter's Christmas presents and stole some souvenirs. Right, tell us about what police do once they have him in ycap and in short order he they're looking for him, But tell us what happens.

on him by his family. He had a sister in the United States that actually had spoken with Detective Drew Carter or sorry Drew Carter, and he was a Texas Ranger and so his this this Texas Ranger had negotiated with Rassinda as his sister and was trying to just negotiate his surrender and so she ended up getting the reward money, which was fine with me because she did actually talk for Sendez into surrendering. He actually drove across

the border in a beat up old truck. I mean, I can't imagine sitting on the other side in Texas and thinking, why, you know, is this person even going to show up? Is this gonna happen the way we think it's gonna happen. I mean, it did happen exactly like they had they had planned. I mean, he drove, drove in a truck, surrendered to Drew Carter, and was then flown to Houston. I mean, it was kind of

unbelievable how the surrender occurred. Considering all the carnage and people that he had killed and terrible things that he had done, the surrender actually went very simply, and you know, with the mistakes that had occurred, uh that you know, the surrender went simply, and he was then in custody, and you know that it was over. The rampage was over.

to you know, have it all be over with. And I think the the it did move, I guess pretty fast in the realm of trials and executions, I think. But you know, I think he did end up pleading insanity. He was found saying so, you know, but we had to go through all those parts of the trial, and so there was a trial on to figure out whether he was insane or sane. Then there was a trial and he was only tried on doctor Claudia Benton's trial. He was never tried on the other fourteen murders. And

my attack that he had he had committed. We never got our our cases actually tried. He was only tried on doctor Claudia Benton's trial. So you know that that's and that's kind of all it took because it was you know, not not I guess, not a speedy trial in any way, but it was, you know, it ended the way we wanted it to. And I actually did testify in the trial. I had to testify during the

penalty phase of the trial. And they brought during the penalty phase Texas it was happening in Houston, and they could actually bring in all of the murders that he had been accused of. They could they could have all everyone testify, all the family members, you know, myself. Uh, they brought in all those other victims' families and myself to testify. And so when I talk about the trial that it literally was one of the worst days of my life. It was terrible. I was so afraid to

face him again. My I'm lucky that the prosecuting attorney, her name was Devin Anderson, and she was amazing and that she you know, really took great care in questioning me, and it was you know, I think that helped make it a little easier, and she told me, don't look to your left. I want you to only look at me. Your family will be behind me. Don't look to your left, that's where he'll be. And so I didn't. And you know, I had never been in the court in a courtroom before.

I didn't know how things went. I cried through my entire testimony. I was so upset, but I did. I wanted to get through it. Like I said, I I knew that that that I was waiting for that day. I wanted to get through that day, and whatever it took, I wanted to get through it. And so I testified and he sat there stone cold. I didn't look at him until that point in the trial when they say, is the person who attacked you in the courtroom today? And I didn't know they really actually say that, that

that's for real. And I was like, yes, he's here, and they were like, uh, could you please tell us what he's wearing? And so I actually had to look at him because I didn't know what. I had not looked at him. I literally had turned off my peripheral vision and I had not looked at him. But he was sitting there, stone cold face black eyes, like didn't have any emotion on his face after and I mean everyone in the courtroom was crying, even the jury was crying.

Like everybody was crying after my testimony. And he just sat there stone cold. And I said, he's wearing a white button down shirt. The defense didn't question me. I literally was taken out of the courtroom. I was about to faint. I mean, I felt my hearing going inside my head. I was gonna faint, but they got me out of the courtroom in time. And you know that, then the jury deliberated, you know, and the jury was sequestered for I think it was around three months that

they were sequestered. They weren't allowed to basically, you know, be and they had to stay all stay in the same hotel. They had to not read any news. They had to basically shut themselves off for the work from the world. And the only reason I know this is because one of the jurors wrote a book, and so he he says that he was chosen for the jury because he didn't believe in the death penalty, and and so he actually says that he was chosen for the

jury because of that. And so you know, when I testified. He says that my testimony helped him change his mind that this person could get the death penalty and that he did deserve it because he had caused so much heartache and so much just hurting people, not only the victims, but the families, all the people that loved all those victims that he had killed. And he was given the death penalty. It was, you know, the ultimate price for his crimes. And he even when he was given the

death penalty, he wanted that to hurry up. He was like, all right, you gave me the death penty, Like, let's go. Like he was ready to kill me now, you know. But there was an automatic appeal. It was, you know, it turned into a kind of a long process because again the Mexican consulate got involved because they don't have the death penalty, and whether he surrendered correctly or not, I mean a bunch of questions were raised, and I

think it had nothing to do with him. I think if he had had his choice, he would have, you know, give me the death penalty right now, because he I mean, I think he was done. I think he you know, didn't didn't want to be in the world anymore. Like he was done he had, I think didn't. He didn't want to go to jail, and so but he ended up, I guess, being in jail, and you know, with all of his appeals that occurred, he was executed in June

of two thousand and six. So he is not in the world anymore, and he was executed, and I feel safer today because he is not in the world, and I think I was able to heal more and in a different way because he's no longer in the world anymore. I don't have to worry that he's gonna get out and come and get me, or that he you know, he's gonna They're not normal, they're not like things that probably would actually ever happen, but I still feel I felt those things. I felt like he could get out

and he would come and get me. And you know that I was living in fear just because he was still in the world. And I think that that's what went away when when he was executed.

And so part of to dismiss his insanity, I mean, it is absurd to think that he didn't know right from wrong. They had all kinds of things where he had planning, he used cunning, he picked vulnerable people. They dismissed that insanity defense completely, didn't they, despite the experts to testified that's right.

there's something not right. And so I do believe that he had something not right, that that something was definitely wrong. But I do believe that he was saying that he knew the difference between right and wrong, he knew what he was doing. I mean, he asked for forgiveness before his execution. He knew what he was doing was wrong, and so that's you know that. I mean, he proved that again and again.

does that make you mad? And I'm like, I'm now a mom, Like I understand if my child, if this is my child, I would try to explain, I mean, something that I had done to cause this person to be this way. Like I get it now. I mean, now that I'm a mom, I understand why she did that and why she feels like it's her fault, because you can't you know, rationalize how you raised your child and that this is your child now that's doing these

horrible things. You know. So I've got a lot more empathy, I think, and grace for his family and you know, people that loved him and what they have now gone through. I think he just caused a lot of heartache all around. It wasn't just with his victims and their families. It's his family. I mean, it's just it's a lot of heartache and and you know it was all caused by him.

And I actually dropped all my classes that year except for one because I couldn't. You know, I'd missed a month of school. I couldn't keep up, but I kept one class and so I was bored. And so I got a job, and I got a job at an outdoor store. My friend, my srity sister, helped me get that job, and I met this young man while I was working. He was in the ski department. I was

a cashier and his name was Jacob. He I didn't know him before the attack, and so I was a little afraid to kind of get into relationship with him. But luckily, you know, my sorority sister had worked at that store for a long time, so she had you know, they were those were her friends, and she had told them about what had happened, and they all knew about what had happened, and you know, I think it was a very normal relationship for you know what it could

have what it could have been. I think there was a lot more nights that I cried. There was a lot of you know in crying and being upset. But it was a very normal relationship. And I think that that felt good too, that I could get, you know, back into I could trust someone and get into a relationship that I felt safe in and and I did feel very safe in it. There was, you know, a breakup around the year anniversary of the attack. That's that's the story of uh, Jacob and I is a long one,

a very drawn out story. But you know today I actually am married to him, So it's a it's a twenty year story of you know, some breakups, some uh getting back together, some you know times of dating, not really you know, getting along very well sometimes. But you know, we've been married now thirteen years this year, and you know, he's he's an amazing guy, Like he has been through

my entire healing journey with me. I mean he was there, you know three I met him basically two or three months after the attack, so he was there through all of my healing. He has been there. He you know, has supported me through all of my healing and so it's I I couldn't ask for a better person to have in my corner to support me and too you know, basically let me heal how I need to, because that's that's what he does. He you know, doesn't try to fix me. He lets me do what I need to do.

And I think that that's about why our relationship works so well, you know that. And I talked I talked before about my support system, and I think what's been amazing for me and my healing has been being able to talk about what happened. I was asked two years after, about a year a year and a half after the attack, to do some public speaking, and I thought, this is crazy, Like I would I can't do public speaking. I don't like public speaking. That was my worst class in college. Like,

this is not something I can do. But she was like, it's a safety talk, you know, you could talk about your experience. And I'm like, you're crazy, Like I don't know anything about safety. And then as I thought about it some more, I was like, well, if I could give them some awareness by telling them my story and telling them what happened, then I can do something. Uh. And so you know, I started doing a safety talk and people really started, people were listening, and I really

was just talking. That's that's what I do. You know, I'm not a professional speaker today. Even I'm not a professional speaker. I just talk. I just tell you my story. And that's, you know, what I've always done. But it's so healing for me. It's so healing for me to talk about it. It loses its power over you. The more you can talk about it, the more it loses its power. That's why today I can talk about it and not cry and not get upset. It's lost its

power over me. I'm I'm now living this life that is free from all that anger and revenge and feelings of hate and all those feelings that are bad. I've let those go. I've let those go with with my attacker. They're his fault, they go with him. I've let them go and I can live this happy life. I choose to live this happy life, this you know, life of helping others and to you know, do what I can

to try to help other survivors in their healing. And you know, that's that's been kind of my mission, is that you know, I got a lot, a lot of healing from other survivors. I sneaked out survivors' books. I wanted to read them. I wanted to know that I wasn't going crazy, that what I was feeling was normal, that other survivors were going through this too. And so I got a lot of power from hearing from other survivors, and a lot of power in my healing hearing from

other survivors. So I think that that's a good A big reason why I wanted to, you know, help, why I want to help others is because I got so much from other survivors.

a vision. So tell us a little bit about the vision and what happens and what the work did you do to try to secure a building? Tell us a little bit about this transformation to get to Holly's House.

But Brian Turpin called me and he says, you know, I heard you, My wife heard you speak, and we're really wanting to start an advocacy center in Evansville, and we think you should be involved. And I thought I had to google what an advocacy center was because I had no idea, but it so made sense. So what an advocacy center is as a it's a safe reporting location for victims of crime. So know, it's a it's a safe place that they can come. They don't have

to go to the police department. They can come and they can be interviewed in a one interview process, and it's safer, it is more admissible in court. It helps get more perpetrators in jail. It helps, you know, it helps victims. And so, you know, as I realized that, I'm like, I would love to be involved, and he's like, okay, well we'd like to name it after you. And I thought, well, if you're going to name it after me, I might have to be a little more involved than I than

you know, we might need a partner up here. So we did. We partnered up. We worked four and a half years to get Holly's House opened. We were determined to open Holly's House as a nonprofit. We wanted to open one debt free, and so we were constantly talking to the community and anyone that would listen to try to support us in our efforts to get Holly's House started. So we talked to the Building Trades Commission and we had secured a buildings that first with the library, the

board of the Library. We had to secure our building. It was an old library that we secured through a lot of talk and proposition. We actually you know, got that library donated to us. And then we had to get the labor donated to us to be able to renovate the building. So we met with the Building Trades and they all got on board to renovate the building for us, and all the labor unions got involved and they you know, did all the work with their apprentices

to get Holly's House renovated. And so we opened in two thousand and eight, in September of two thousand and eight, and we opened one hundred percent debt free, and we are a child in an adult avacy center, So we served children victims as well as adult victims, and we give them a safe place to report that crime happening. And then we've also i guess furthered our services and that now we try to help prevent these crimes from happening.

We teach a program in our local schools called Think First, Stay Safe, and we try to prevent these types of you know, child especially child sexual abuse, child abuse from happening, and so it teaches kindergarten through fifth grade children the lures that predators use to try to make them victims, and so, you know, it's it's, you know, we want to prevent these crimes from happening, and we that's you know,

Holly's House serves the local our community in Indiana, Southern Indiana, Evansville, Indiana, but we also serve our surrounding counties, and there are advocacy centers like this across the United States. There's child advocacy centers across the United States. So they're in many people's communities and you may not even know what they're doing, and you hopefully never have to go to one, because if you do have to go to one, it means that a child has been a used and that they

need to be interviewed. So you know, you you it's the thing in your community that you hope you never have to use. But then when something like this happens to your loved one, it is the most amazing organization to have in your community because it would be the process would be so much more difficult without that advocacy center in your community. And so that's you know, that was a missing piece in our community, and it was a labor of love and a lot of tears to

get Hollysouse open. It was not easy, but you know, it is an amazing resource for our community.

the greatest gifts that I've ever been given. I mean, I I didn't even know that I how much I wanted to be a mother till I had him. And it was like my greatest dream come true. I didn't know that your heart could be outside of your body like that, that you could love something so much. And you know, his name is William Christopher and we named him William Christopher and Christopher is after Christopher Meyer, my boyfriend that was killed. So he has a very special name.

And he actually has a bear that was made with a pair of Chris's favorite jeans. My my friend Adrian actually had a stuffed bear made from a pair of Chris's jeans, so he has, you know, that bear. He doesn't know, right, I mean, he he knows a little bit now that being he's five, he knows kind of who Chris is. I don't think he you know, we keep pictures of Chris in our house, and we definitely

keep his memory alive. I don't think he really realizes, you know, that he's that he knows he's named after him, but I don't think he knows exactly who he is. I think he knows he's in heaven and that he's not in the world, but you know, he doesn't really know why. And that's you know that. And we actually have another son now as well. We did that whole fertility process again and so now we have our two boys, and you know, our our lives are complete. This is

we're done having children now. And but our two boys are probably the greatest gift and the most am things in our lives.

bit of that. I want to thank you very much, Holly Dunn for coming on and talking about Soul Survivor inspiring two story of coming face to face with the infamous railroad killer has been my pleasure, and thank you very much. For those that might want to find this book, or do you have a Facebook page or a website? Is there any way people might contact you or look at other work?

I am today. So now you guys all listening, and you guys are all part of my healing process too, and so that you know that's every time I tell my story I have you know the people that are part of my healing process.