This is no Netflix show; this is real life. Hopefully, most people will never encounter a serial killer in their lives. Or if they do, they will never know it because it will be a subtle crossing of paths. However, there are a select few who have the unfortunate luck of encountering one; many do not survive. Now, one woman who did survive is sharing her story of how she came across and escaped a serial killer.
How A Teen Girl Met A Serial Killer
Warning: This article contains content which some readers may find distressing.
Jennifer Asbenson was just a teenager when she unknowingly climbed into a serial killer's vehicle. She was having one of those 'could things get any worse' sort of days. The teenager missed the bus for her night shift at work as a nurse's assistant and was frantic. She knew she risked being fired if she was late again. Luckily for her, or so she thought, Andrew Urdiales came to her rescue. The 32-year-old offered her a ride to work, which she graciously accepted. Their first encounter was relatively normal. When speaking about the encounter, Asbenson even described Urdiales as a "Godsend" for saving her from being late to her job.
The man did not seem intimidating to her, so she opted to trust him. He successfully drove her to work, and then he brazenly asked for her number. Although Asbenson was not interested, she didn't want to hurt this kind stranger's feelings. However, she didn't want this man to have further contact with her either. Therefore, she opted to give him a fake phone number. Assuming she would never see the man again, she thought this plan would not be an issue. While that is sound thinking, it proved to be false as LadBible shares the following day, "Urdiales was waiting outside for her to clock off and offered to take her for breakfast."
Although she declined his offer for breakfast, she did accept his offer for another ride, which proved to be the biggest mistake of her life. What Asbenson didn't know was that this man was a serial killer, already responsible for the deaths of multiple people.
Survivor Who Escaped Serial Killer Shares Her Story
Soon after beginning this ride, Asbenson realized she had made a mistake. Almost immediately, Urdiales confronted the teen about providing him with a false phone number. He was clearly enraged at being lied to. When speaking with Fox32, she stated, "He slammed my head into the dashboard, tied my hands up, and held a gun to my head. I saw a knife, and I knew that he was going to kill me." After that harrowing encounter, Urdiales reclined the teen's seat so far back that she could not signal to others for help. When speaking to WGN9 News, Asbenson admitted that that was the most terrifying part of the whole encounter.
She stated, "The scariest thing for me was seeing people driving past us. People were driving past and going on about their lives, and I couldn't communicate with any of them." This poor teen knew what was about to happen, and she was powerless to stop it. From there, LadBible shares the grisly details of how this serial killer sexually assaulted Asbenson. During this assault, he also demanded that Asbenson tell her she loved him and sound like she meant it. It was during this encounter, she claimed, "I knew he was a killer, just by how he was acting."
When she didn't perform according to his standards, he began strangling her. Eventually, he ended up placing her in his trunk and began driving further into the desert. As he was driving, he pulled off to the side of the road and got stuck in the sand. It was at this moment that Asbenson found her courage and her energy. She stated. "He put me in the trunk of his car, and I prayed. Then, I just got a burst of energy and I was able to rip that trunk apart and take the binds off of my hands." Then she broke out and ran. Although he was chasing after her with a machete, Asbenson successfully escaped her serial killer.
She flagged down a truck driver passing by, who safely brought her to a police station. Years later, Urdiales finally confessed to kidnapping her and the murder of eight other women. He took his own life in 2018.
