The sole survivor of a notorious American serial killer has bravely recounted the horrific night she was raped, stabbed, and left for dead beside her murdered boyfriend, an ordeal that left her physically and emotionally scarred for life.
A Night by the Tracks Turns to Terror
On August 29, 1997, 21-year-old University of Kentucky students Holly Dunn and her boyfriend, Chris Maier, left a party in Lexington. Seeking a quieter spot, they walked towards some railway tracks. Their peaceful evening was shattered when a man approached them near an electrical box, asking for money.
After the couple explained they were broke students, the man, who was the fugitive serial killer Angel Maturino Resendiz, forced Chris to his knees. Holly, in a Channel 5 documentary, recalled he used her own belt to tie her hands behind her back. "I thought, 'This man is going to hurt us,'" she said. "In my head, I was panicking... thinking, 'I'm going to die.'"
A Brutal Assault and a Fight for Survival
After briefly walking away, Resendiz returned carrying a heavy object. Holly watched in horror as he dropped it on Chris's head, killing him. Realising she was next, Holly fought back as he raped her. "I tried to hit him. I tried to kick him. I tried to scream," she stated. In response, Resendiz held a weapon to her neck and said, "Look how easily I could kill you," before stabbing her.
During the attack, Holly made a conscious decision to memorise every detail of her assailant. "I knew every scar, every tattoo," she said. "And I told myself, 'If I make it through this, I will get you.'" She even dug her fingernails into the ground, hoping to leave her DNA as evidence.
After the rape, Resendiz struck her in the face with a piece of plywood five or six times, then flipped her over and smashed the back of her head. The beating was so severe he believed he had killed her, leaving her for dead next to Chris's body.
From Survivor to Key Witness
Miraculously, Holly regained consciousness between 1am and 2am. Despite catastrophic injuries—including a fractured jaw, broken eye socket, and having lost four pints of blood—she staggered to a nearby house for help. She spent five days in hospital, missing Chris's funeral due to her treatment.
The investigation stalled until December 1998, when the murder of Dr Claudia Benton in Texas provided a DNA link to Resendiz. After a feature on America's Most Wanted, Resendiz surrendered in July 1999. Holly became a crucial witness at his trial. "I felt like I was speaking for myself, for Chris, and for all the other victims," she said.
Facing him in court was harrowing. "I looked over at him, and he had no emotion on his face," Holly recalled. Angel Maturino Resendiz was found guilty of capital murder in 2000 and was executed by lethal injection in June 2006. Before his death, he confessed to more murders, bringing his known victim count to at least 15 people across six states.
