# I Never Saw His Face: Kimberly Corban Part 1

An episode of [The Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/6799944065), 7 Sep 2026, 30 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/6182b3b8-7b16-4b8e-92d0-b49e00ef02ef/684f8094-8063-4832-b7aa-b4a8013ddc43/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=21c7e826-82f2-4aee-a3de-b49e00ef075d

Twenty-year-old college student Kimberly Corban wakes in the middle of the night to find a stranger inside her bedroom. Unable to see his face and terrified that her roommate could be next, Kimberly focuses on surviving the attack — while quietly memorizing everything she can about the man holding her captive. In Part One of her story, Kimberly reveals how she endured her terrifying captivity, preserved the evidence her attacker left behind, and made a desperate 911 call that would launch a manhunt. For information and resources related to mental health, domestic and sexual abuse, child abuse, and human trafficking, go to ElizabethSmartFoundation.org We seek to bring hope, empowerment, and change in the fight against sexual violence. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:01] Elizabeth Smart: Hi, It's Elizabeth Smart. Today's story includes discussion of sensitive
[0:06] Elizabeth Smart: topics including home invasion, captivity, and sexual assault. Listener discretion
[0:12] Elizabeth Smart: is advised.
[0:16] 911 Call: Hello 911. I was raped. You were what? I was raped!
[0:23] Elizabeth Smart: When you hear a voice that sounds like that, you
[0:27] Elizabeth Smart: know a life has been permanently changed. By the time
[0:31] Elizabeth Smart: Kimberly Corban calls nine to one one that may morning,
[0:36] Elizabeth Smart: the worst has already happened just hours earlier. She's a
[0:42] Elizabeth Smart: twenty year old college student living in an apartment with
[0:45] Elizabeth Smart: her friends. She has no idea someone is watching her.
[0:52] Kimberly Corban: Unbeknownst to us. He followed us home, stalked us for
[0:57] Kimberly Corban: the next period of time, and then chose when to
[1:02] Kimberly Corban: break in. I had no clue that my hackles should
[1:06] Kimberly Corban: have been raised. There was no intuition, There was just nothing.
[1:15] Elizabeth Smart: My name is Elizabeth Smart. When I was fourteen years old,
[1:19] Elizabeth Smart: I was kidnapped from my home and held captive for
[1:22] Elizabeth Smart: nine months. I survived. Now I'm on a journey to
[1:27] Elizabeth Smart: uncover how other people survived the moments that should have
[1:29] Elizabeth Smart: destroyed them in their own words, and there's one thing
[1:34] Elizabeth Smart: I've learned over and over. Some stories begin with danger
[1:38] Elizabeth Smart: that you never see coming in May of two thousand
[1:44] Elizabeth Smart: and six. Kimberly Corban is a student at the University
[1:47] Elizabeth Smart: of Colorado. She's friendly and outgoing. She works at Hooters,
[1:52] Elizabeth Smart: and she's a member of a sorority. It's finals week,
[1:56] Elizabeth Smart: and like so many other nights, this one starts out
[1:59] Elizabeth Smart: with a common enough activity, a greek event with her
[2:02] Elizabeth Smart: sorority sisters. So after this greek party, you've moved into
[2:07] Elizabeth Smart: a new apartment. Talk to me about what happened next.
[2:12] Kimberly Corban: So evening of May eleventh, my roommate Abby goes to
[2:16] Kimberly Corban: stay on campus with her boyfriend. My roommate Haley and
[2:20] Kimberly Corban: I are hanging up pictures. We had dinner, we had
[2:23] Kimberly Corban: a glass of wine. I was just cleaning everything because
[2:28] Kimberly Corban: I am a little bit of a neat freak and
[2:30] Kimberly Corban: I wanted it all to just be exactly like so
[2:34] Kimberly Corban: and wonderful. So Haley goes to bed about midnight or so.
[2:38] Kimberly Corban: I stayed up, called my boyfriend, left him a voicemail,
[2:41] Kimberly Corban: and then I went to bed around one point thirty.
[2:45] Elizabeth Smart: With one roommate away for the night and one roommate
[2:48] Elizabeth Smart: in her bedroom across the hall. Kimberly drifts off to sleep,
[2:52] Elizabeth Smart: but after just a few hours she finds herself suddenly awake.
[2:57] Elizabeth Smart: She's not sure why, but she know something is very,
[3:02] Elizabeth Smart: very wrong.
[3:05] Kimberly Corban: The next thing that I remember was feeling like I
[3:09] Kimberly Corban: couldn't breathe. My breath was really hot on my face.
[3:13] Kimberly Corban: I was laying on my stomach and I tried to
[3:16] Kimberly Corban: push myself up off of my bed and I was
[3:20] Kimberly Corban: immediately shoved back down into my pillow. And I just
[3:23] Kimberly Corban: remember this low, taunting voice next to my ear, saying,
[3:29] Kimberly Corban: shut up, shut the fuck up, don't say anything.
[3:33] Elizabeth Smart: There's a man in Kimberly's bedroom. He's on top of her,
[3:38] Elizabeth Smart: holding a shirt over her face. She can't see him,
[3:42] Elizabeth Smart: she can't see anything.
[3:45] Kimberly Corban: It's like all the blood drains out of your body.
[3:48] Kimberly Corban: I am immediately on high alert. There's no grogginess, there's nothing.
[3:51] Kimberly Corban: It was instantaneous fear.
[3:56] Police Interview: What was it that you think woke you up?
[4:00] Police Interview: Just k was grand to me, like, don't talk, just
[4:03] Police Interview: don't say anything, don't scream, just over and over again,
[4:06] Police Interview: you know, don't a game.
[4:07] Elizabeth Smart: Video that's twenty year old Kimberly in a ployee's interview
[4:12] Elizabeth Smart: that was recorded after her ordeal.
[4:14] Police Interview: He had a shirt pushed down kind of hard though,
[4:16] Police Interview: and that it was really hot and I couldn't breathe,
[4:19] Police Interview: and I'm not kind of treating that. That was the
[4:21] Police Interview: only time he's really foreselling you. Just be quiet, don't
[4:24] Police Interview: say anything, don't look.
[4:25] Police Interview: In my face.
[4:27] Elizabeth Smart: Then the intruder says something that stops Kimberly cold. He
[4:31] Elizabeth Smart: starts talking about her roommate. In fact, he seems to
[4:37] Elizabeth Smart: know both of them.
[4:38] Kimberly Corban: This guy started asking me questions about do you know Abby,
[4:43] Kimberly Corban: are you friends? You guys are roommates right, and told
[4:47] Kimberly Corban: me that we needed to stop being little bitches to everybody.
[4:51] Elizabeth Smart: This isn't just a random apartment he broke into. He
[4:56] Elizabeth Smart: knows who lives there, which also means he's been watching
[5:03] Elizabeth Smart: when he said you and Abby need to stop being
[5:07] Elizabeth Smart: little bitches, did anything even pop into your brain of
[5:11] Elizabeth Smart: what he could possibly even mean?
[5:13] Kimberly Corban: Oh my gosh, No, I had been dating my boyfriend
[5:16] Kimberly Corban: for over a year at that point. She had been
[5:19] Kimberly Corban: with her boyfriend for a while. I'm instantly cataloging, right,
[5:24] Kimberly Corban: any reaction that comes to mind where someone may be
[5:27] Kimberly Corban: upset or do I recognize this voice? There was nothing.
[5:33] Kimberly Corban: I had absolutely nothing to go on.
[5:38] Elizabeth Smart: At this point, Kimberly's mind begins to race with questions,
[5:42] Elizabeth Smart: who is he? What does he want?
[5:45] Kimberly Corban: We're taught as women all the things that you should
[5:47] Kimberly Corban: do if you find yourself in this situation. You should
[5:49] Kimberly Corban: fight back, get run, screen something, And I had all
[5:54] Kimberly Corban: those in the back of my mind, and I knew
[5:55] Kimberly Corban: that I couldn't do any of them, couldn't see.
[6:00] Elizabeth Smart: Kimberly knows she can't defend herself physically, so she tries
[6:04] Elizabeth Smart: to come up with anything that might help her avoid
[6:07] Elizabeth Smart: what she fears is coming a sexual assault.
[6:12] Kimberly Corban: I lied and told him that I had to go
[6:14] Kimberly Corban: to the bathroom, which did not stop him. I made
[6:18] Kimberly Corban: up another lie. He told him that I had an
[6:20] Kimberly Corban: STD didn't stop him.
[6:22] Elizabeth Smart: But why was he targeting her?
[6:26] Police Interview: He's kept talking about his friends, wat ring anything.
[6:30] Police Interview: That's why he was here. Like start being nicer to people.
[6:33] Police Interview: You'd hurt some people.
[6:34] Police Interview: They don't like you. They don't look they really don't
[6:38] Police Interview: like you, like all some people don't like me, but
[6:40] Police Interview: a lot of people don't like you.
[6:43] Police Interview: That's whenbody started, like the assault.
[6:47] Kimberly Corban: I always thought that I would fight, but my response
[6:51] Kimberly Corban: was to freeze.
[6:53] Elizabeth Smart: The intruder tells Kimberly to lay on her stomach. Her
[6:57] Elizabeth Smart: face is still covered by a shirt.
[7:00] Kimberly Corban: I kept telling him, you know, I'm claustrophobic, you need
[7:02] Kimberly Corban: to move the shirt off of my face, And there
[7:05] Kimberly Corban: were two times that he moved it just enough that
[7:08] Kimberly Corban: I was able to see from about midbridge of his
[7:10] Kimberly Corban: nose up and a bit of mid calf down.
[7:14] Elizabeth Smart: Kimberly is being assaulted by an unknown assailant in the
[7:19] Elizabeth Smart: middle of the night, and that's when she is struck
[7:22] Elizabeth Smart: by a sickening realization.
[7:25] Kimberly Corban: I also didn't know where my roommate was because last
[7:30] Kimberly Corban: I had seen she went to bed, and I was
[7:34] Kimberly Corban: terrified that he had already come across her, or that
[7:38] Kimberly Corban: she was going to walk in and it would put
[7:40] Kimberly Corban: her in immediate danger.
[7:42] Elizabeth Smart: During the time he had you, did you ever feel
[7:45] Elizabeth Smart: a weapon?
[7:47] Kimberly Corban: I had thought that he had pressed a gun to
[7:50] Kimberly Corban: the back of my head, because at one point there
[7:53] Kimberly Corban: was something hard against the back of my head, and
[7:56] Kimberly Corban: I had also seen that he had a video camera,
[7:59] Kimberly Corban: So there was no weapon necessarily that I knew of.
[8:04] Kimberly Corban: But the threat and the power and assertion of dominance
[8:09] Kimberly Corban: that we're talking about, that is the weapon.
[8:14] Elizabeth Smart: The sexual assault feels like it will never end, but
[8:18] Elizabeth Smart: Kimberly really doesn't know how much time is passing, she
[8:22] Elizabeth Smart: tries to note the light level outside her window as
[8:25] Elizabeth Smart: it changes from night to early morning.
[8:28] Kimberly Corban: I had my bed in my room pressed up against
[8:32] Kimberly Corban: one of our windows and there was about a two
[8:34] Kimberly Corban: inch gap in the blinds. I kept hoping and praying
[8:38] Kimberly Corban: someone would walk by to save me, and nobody ever did.
[8:44] Kimberly Corban: When he finished his assault, he ejaculated on my upper
[8:48] Kimberly Corban: left thigh, and I knew immediately that that is evidence.
[8:52] Kimberly Corban: So he rolled me over to my side and I
[8:55] Kimberly Corban: kept my leg kind of turned because I didn't want
[8:58] Kimberly Corban: it to transfer to the sheets or in my comforter.
[9:02] Kimberly Corban: And it was at that point I'm like, Okay, this
[9:06] Kimberly Corban: is where he's going to kill me. If he was
[9:16] Kimberly Corban: capable of breaking and holding me captive and raping me,
[9:21] Kimberly Corban: what's to say he's not capable of killing me.
[9:24] Elizabeth Smart: The physical assault is finally over, but Kimberly's attacker doesn't leave.
[9:29] Elizabeth Smart: He sits on the edge of the bed and begins
[9:32] Elizabeth Smart: to talk.
[9:34] Police Interview: He was really quiet for a moment.
[9:37] Police Interview: I don't really know how he's started the conversation, but
[9:40] Police Interview: we have no point where he was saying that he
[9:43] Police Interview: and maybe in misjudge me, and I'm just.
[9:46] Police Interview: Kind of like word reread forms.
[9:50] Police Interview: It's like, you just need to understand that I was
[9:51] Police Interview: William drunk when I came over here, and people making mistakes.
[9:57] Police Interview: I was like, yeah, you know, shit happen.
[10:00] Elizabeth Smart: It's almost like the high of the attack is wearing off,
[10:04] Elizabeth Smart: but the intruder wants to reflect on what he's just done,
[10:08] Elizabeth Smart: like a twisted therapy session. He even starts talking about
[10:12] Elizabeth Smart: his mother.
[10:14] Police Interview: What time he tells you about what he said about
[10:16] Police Interview: his mother? Can say mother? Did he say mom?
[10:19] Police Interview: Mother?
[10:19] Police Interview: Not money?
[10:20] Police Interview: I love my mother.
[10:23] Police Interview: And I just think about her when I'm doing shit
[10:25] Police Interview: like this, I just think about Herstein right over me, disapproving.
[10:32] Elizabeth Smart: With the sun rising, Kimberly knows it's about six am.
[10:36] Elizabeth Smart: She'll later discover she was held in captivity for two
[10:40] Elizabeth Smart: terrifying hours. But the sunrise also brings new dangers. Her
[10:46] Elizabeth Smart: roommate Haley could wake up at any minute. Her other roommate,
[10:52] Elizabeth Smart: Abby might come home early. Suddenly, Kimberly is less concerned
[10:57] Elizabeth Smart: about her own safety and more worried about protecting the
[11:01] Elizabeth Smart: people she loves.
[11:03] Police Interview: He's saying, well, where's Abby?
[11:05] Police Interview: I said, well, she was going to meet her parents
[11:07] Police Interview: here around seven.
[11:09] Police Interview: That was a complete lie That's how I could think
[11:12] Police Interview: of put a time moment on when he was going
[11:14] Police Interview: to leave, because at that point I didn't know how
[11:16] Police Interview: he was.
[11:17] Elizabeth Smart: Going to stay there. Ten minutes turns into twenty, which
[11:22] Elizabeth Smart: turns into thirty.
[11:24] Kimberly Corban: And he just kept talking for the next hour. And
[11:29] Kimberly Corban: this whole time is excruciating because as much as I
[11:31] Kimberly Corban: want as much information as I can gather about him,
[11:35] Kimberly Corban: I also wanted him to leave. I knew Haley was
[11:38] Kimberly Corban: going to wake up at some point. It was my
[11:41] Kimberly Corban: mom's birthday, and so we had plans to go down
[11:45] Kimberly Corban: to Denver to go shopping and have lunch, and I
[11:48] Kimberly Corban: knew all of those things were going to start happening
[11:50] Kimberly Corban: here soon, and I did not want anyone else in
[11:53] Kimberly Corban: that danger.
[11:55] Elizabeth Smart: The intruder makes sure Kimberly still can't get a good
[11:58] Elizabeth Smart: look at his face, continually telling her to look away,
[12:03] Elizabeth Smart: so instead she focuses on tracking the sound of his movements.
[12:08] Kimberly Corban: I can hear him behind me, that like sound of
[12:12] Kimberly Corban: footprints on the carpeting, you know. I can tell he's
[12:15] Kimberly Corban: looking at pictures some of the things that I had
[12:17] Kimberly Corban: hung up. And then he'd sit back down on the
[12:20] Kimberly Corban: edge of the bed and I'd feel the mattress sort
[12:22] Kimberly Corban: of compress, and then just all over again, like God,
[12:25] Kimberly Corban: please just leave. At one point he said, you know,
[12:30] Kimberly Corban: I feel really bad about this. I'm going to come
[12:33] Kimberly Corban: back and find you. I'm gonna do something nice for you.
[12:36] Kimberly Corban: And you may not know that it's me, but but
[12:38] Kimberly Corban: it was.
[12:38] Kimberly Corban: It was me.
[12:39] Kimberly Corban: I'm going to do something nice for you because this
[12:42] Kimberly Corban: is just really going to ruin my day.
[12:45] Elizabeth Smart: This is going to ruin his day, or it's going
[12:46] Elizabeth Smart: to ruin your day.
[12:48] Kimberly Corban: Yes, yes, it's going to ruin his day. Just so
[12:50] Kimberly Corban: that we're all aware, I go back him.
[12:54] Elizabeth Smart: Her attacker is completely focused on himself, on how assaulting
[12:59] Elizabeth Smart: hers affected him, on how he's going to cope with
[13:03] Elizabeth Smart: his feelings in the aftermath, trying to turn what he's
[13:08] Elizabeth Smart: done into something she could just let go.
[13:14] Kimberly Corban: He had his hand resting on the top of my
[13:17] Kimberly Corban: shoulder at that point, and I took my other hand
[13:19] Kimberly Corban: and put it on top of his, and I said,
[13:20] Kimberly Corban: you know, it's okay. Everybody makes mistakes. I had been
[13:25] Kimberly Corban: working to convince him that I'm not going to tell
[13:27] Kimberly Corban: Oh my gosh, I'm so embarrassed. This is probably my fault.
[13:30] Kimberly Corban: My brother's graduating next week. My family's all going to
[13:32] Kimberly Corban: be in town. This would just destroy them, and so
[13:36] Kimberly Corban: I'm not going to say anything. And at that point
[13:40] Kimberly Corban: he kissed the top of my head. While her attacker
[13:44] Kimberly Corban: is busy trying to rationalize his assault on an innocent girl,
[13:49] Kimberly Corban: Kimberly is focused on gathering evidence for the moment when
[13:53] Kimberly Corban: she can talk to someone, anyone who can help her.
[13:58] Kimberly Corban: At one point, he asked if he get a glass
[14:00] Kimberly Corban: of water, and knowing that I had just cleaned everything
[14:04] Kimberly Corban: meticulously the night beforehand, I told him the wrong cabinet
[14:07] Kimberly Corban: to go to.
[14:09] Elizabeth Smart: Her thought is that if he opens and closes cabinet
[14:12] Elizabeth Smart: doors looking for a glass, he'll spread his fingerprints throughout
[14:16] Elizabeth Smart: the kitchen.
[14:18] Kimberly Corban: I hear the sink, the cup the cupboards, and then
[14:22] Kimberly Corban: I hear my front door open and close. I immediately
[14:26] Kimberly Corban: grabbed my cellphone that had been sitting on my bookcase
[14:28] Kimberly Corban: headboard this whole time. I dial nine one one.
[14:33] 911 Call: Nine one one. What is the address of your emergency?
[14:36] Kimberly Corban: It has this awful like prting sound to let you
[14:38] Kimberly Corban: know that you're calling emergency services. And I muffle it
[14:41] Kimberly Corban: under the pillow. And I'm waiting to see if he
[14:43] Kimberly Corban: runs by, or if he went out the other way,
[14:46] Kimberly Corban: or if he was still in the apartment.
[14:48] 911 Call: I can't hear you, dear, Can you speak up? Just
[14:50] 911 Call: a cabinet louder.
[14:53] Elizabeth Smart: At first, you can barely hear Kimberly, who whispers as
[14:58] Elizabeth Smart: loud as she dares Bill, fearing for her life, not
[15:02] Elizabeth Smart: sure if her attacker is hiding in the house, maybe
[15:06] Elizabeth Smart: even testing her to see if she meant it when
[15:09] Elizabeth Smart: she said she wouldn't tell anyone.
[15:13] Kimberly Corban: When he doesn't immediately come back, I throw off the
[15:16] Kimberly Corban: covers and I go on the side of the hallway
[15:19] Kimberly Corban: where the foot impressions are still in the carpet, and
[15:21] Kimberly Corban: ran to the front door to get that dead bolt
[15:23] Kimberly Corban: to lock it because he wasn't there.
[15:26] Elizabeth Smart: On the phone with nine to one one, Kimberly cautiously
[15:30] Elizabeth Smart: begins to speak louder, feeling more confident that her attacker
[15:34] Elizabeth Smart: is truly gone.
[15:36] 911 Call: I don't know why had he if you don't know
[15:38] 911 Call: your address.
[15:39] Kimberly Corban: I'm on the phone with nine one one as they're
[15:41] Kimberly Corban: trying to get my address. I had only lived there
[15:44] Kimberly Corban: for a week. My brain is in trauma mode. And
[15:48] Kimberly Corban: when I ran into Haley's room where she had been
[15:51] Kimberly Corban: sleeping the entire time, because remember, he made me stay
[15:54] Kimberly Corban: fairly quiet, like I was not able to make any sound.
[15:58] Kimberly Corban: So when I go into Haley's room, I'm yelling at her,
[16:01] Kimberly Corban: what's our address?
[16:03] Elizabeth Smart: Hailey is shocked out of a deep sleep, confused and scared.
[16:08] Elizabeth Smart: Kimberly is in her doorway, half naked and crying hysterically.
[16:14] Kimberly Corban: I have no pants on. I had a pink tank
[16:17] Kimberly Corban: top that was still pushed up over my chest, and
[16:21] Kimberly Corban: I'm clearly in shock. She is like, what what what
[16:26] Kimberly Corban: are you saying? And the nine on one operator then asked,
[16:29] Kimberly Corban: what happened?
[16:30] 911 Call: Okay? What's going on? I was raped? you were what.
[16:37] Kimberly Corban: I screamed
[16:38] Kimberly Corban: That I was raped? And I have no first person
[16:41] Kimberly Corban: memory after that?
[16:43] 911 Call: Okay, did the person that did this to you? Are
[16:45] 911 Call: they still there? Okay? He just left, like the black
[16:59] 911 Call: white or hispanic? he's white, he's wearing glasses and a black shirt.
[17:09] Elizabeth Smart: This is the moment Kimberly has been waiting for, the
[17:13] Elizabeth Smart: moment when she is safe from her attacker and free
[17:16] Elizabeth Smart: to tell law enforcement everything she has discovered about him.
[17:21] 911 Call: Do you know him? No? You know my really? Okay
[17:26] 911 Call: hold on one moment.
[17:30] Elizabeth Smart: Kimberly is completely overwhelmed, so Hayley takes over the call,
[17:34] Elizabeth Smart: but you can still hear Kimberly's English cries in the background.
[17:38] 911 Call: I'm like, Okay, who is this guy? Who is this guy?
[17:45] 911 Call: You don't know? We don't know that name. Okay, I
[17:50] 911 Call: don't want you to let her take a shower or anything.
[17:52] 911 Call: Don't let her change her clothes, just let her no.
[17:54] 911 Call: Help is on the way, Okay, okay, okay.
[17:56] Elizabeth Smart: Several minutes pass, but the police don't arrive. Kimberly and
[18:01] Elizabeth Smart: Hayley have only just moved in and are confused about
[18:04] Elizabeth Smart: their street address.
[18:06] 911 Call: Are you sure you're not dress ma'am? Well, I can't, Oh, okay,
[18:13] 911 Call: we just need to find you.
[18:16] Kimberly Corban: It took from the time I made that first call
[18:18] Kimberly Corban: to when they actually arrived sixteen minutes, and so he
[18:23] Kimberly Corban: was long gone by then your.
[18:25] Elizabeth Smart: Your Nine one one call.
[18:27] Elizabeth Smart: I mean I knew, I knew you were twenty. I
[18:29] Elizabeth Smart: know many people be like, well, she's an adult, but
[18:31] Elizabeth Smart: when I heard it, I was like, she sounds you
[18:33] Elizabeth Smart: sound like a child, Like you sound like a scared child,
[18:37] Elizabeth Smart: And it was Yeah, it was heartbreaking to listen to.
[18:41] Kimberly Corban: And that's how it felt.
[18:51] Elizabeth Smart: In the hours after her assault. Every detail will become
[18:55] Elizabeth Smart: part of the hunt for Kimberly's attacker.
[18:58] Kimberly Corban: I am because I can't actually remember this myself. That
[19:03] Kimberly Corban: I went into the bathroom and peed in a cup.
[19:06] Kimberly Corban: I went into my closet, got the baggiest pair of
[19:10] Kimberly Corban: sweatpants that I could find and put those on, and
[19:13] Kimberly Corban: then I laid down a towel in the middle of
[19:15] Kimberly Corban: the floor and stood on it and would not let
[19:16] Kimberly Corban: Haley touch me. I'm not sure where I got the
[19:21] Kimberly Corban: idea to do any of that. That was just how
[19:24] Kimberly Corban: my brain chose to react.
[19:26] Elizabeth Smart: The dawning of the day brings new hope, but with
[19:30] Elizabeth Smart: it comes a new nightmare as Kimberly's parents wake up
[19:34] Elizabeth Smart: to the news of what has just happened to their child.
[19:38] Kimberly Corban: My parents, who lived short drive away, had just shown up,
[19:42] Kimberly Corban: and when they came in, it was just soul crushing.
[19:47] Kimberly Corban: All they wanted to do was hug me, and I
[19:49] Kimberly Corban: wouldn't let them because I knew that my body was
[19:51] Kimberly Corban: a walking crime scene.
[19:54] Elizabeth Smart: When the police arrived, I mean, I know you've mentioned
[19:56] Elizabeth Smart: that you just kind of blacked out little bit. Do
[20:01] Elizabeth Smart: you remember any of those details.
[20:03] Kimberly Corban: I can remember all of those, which is strange because
[20:06] Kimberly Corban: they're kind of snapshotty. It was three patrol officers that
[20:10] Kimberly Corban: came in first before fire and EMS sergeants. It was
[20:16] Kimberly Corban: shift change when I had called at six fifty six
[20:19] Kimberly Corban: in the morning, so they were changing shifts at seven am,
[20:22] Kimberly Corban: which meant that some people were just ending their shifts
[20:24] Kimberly Corban: and some people were coming on, and so they had
[20:26] Kimberly Corban: everyone out at the same time searching.
[20:29] Elizabeth Smart: Based on my own experiences as a kidnapping and assault survivor,
[20:33] Elizabeth Smart: I have a good idea of just how exhausted Kimberly
[20:37] Elizabeth Smart: is at this point in her story. She has just
[20:40] Elizabeth Smart: endured hours in the hands of her attacker. Now she
[20:45] Elizabeth Smart: will spend another three hours at the hospital for a
[20:48] Elizabeth Smart: full forensic examination.
[20:51] Kimberly Corban: We had an outstanding emergency nurse. Not only are they
[20:56] Kimberly Corban: trained to collect all of that evidence, but also to
[21:00] Kimberly Corban: be able to testify about it after the fact in court.
[21:03] Kimberly Corban: She was absolutely wonderful. And then this nurse examiner, I mean,
[21:09] Kimberly Corban: what did she do that was helpful? Like what made
[21:12] Kimberly Corban: you feel more comfortable with her? She did three things.
[21:16] Kimberly Corban: So for instance, first she's going to tell me what
[21:20] Kimberly Corban: she needs to do, so I need to take a
[21:22] Kimberly Corban: sample of your hair. Second, she would tell me why
[21:26] Kimberly Corban: she needed to do that, So I need to take
[21:28] Kimberly Corban: a sample of your hair so that we can establish
[21:30] Kimberly Corban: your DNA without any kind of mixture. And then third,
[21:34] Kimberly Corban: which is the most important, she would ask my permission.
[21:38] Kimberly Corban: And that's the crucial piece that I always come back
[21:41] Kimberly Corban: to on a day that I had no say in
[21:46] Kimberly Corban: anything that was happening to me or my body, to
[21:48] Kimberly Corban: simply be asked, is it okay?
[21:51] Elizabeth Smart: If I do this on the edge of exhaustion. Kimberly
[21:57] Elizabeth Smart: focuses all of her energy on the of giving law
[22:01] Elizabeth Smart: enforcement everything they.
[22:02] Kimberly Corban: Need, because if I stopped that and actually sat with
[22:08] Kimberly Corban: how I was feeling, I would have fallen apart five
[22:12] Kimberly Corban: alarm crash out. I would not have been able to
[22:15] Kimberly Corban: keep doing what I knew I needed to do. In
[22:19] Kimberly Corban: my mind, the word was revenge.
[22:22] Kimberly Corban: It's justice.
[22:23] Kimberly Corban: I knew that I had to play an active role
[22:27] Kimberly Corban: in seeking my own justice. We then went to the
[22:31] Kimberly Corban: police department, where I was able to give my statement
[22:34] Kimberly Corban: that was recorded. However, this is the same interview room
[22:39] Kimberly Corban: that they would typically interview suspects.
[22:44] Elizabeth Smart: Unfortunately, this is where the lines can get blurred and
[22:48] Elizabeth Smart: victims can end up feeling like suspects. It's very telltale.
[22:53] Kimberly Corban: Like you think of a suspect interrogation, This like a
[22:57] Kimberly Corban: one way mirror and one way mere and just the
[23:00] Kimberly Corban: table and the two chairs and like the bod cups
[23:03] Kimberly Corban: on the table. Yep, yeah, that kind of setting. I
[23:06] Kimberly Corban: didn't feel like I was the one being interrogated. But
[23:09] Kimberly Corban: if somebody goes in there and they're already having doubts
[23:13] Kimberly Corban: about what happened to them, or they think that they
[23:16] Kimberly Corban: somehow precipitated this crime, they may start feeling like they
[23:21] Kimberly Corban: are the ones being questioned. Because when I'm asked, Okay,
[23:24] Kimberly Corban: what did you wear to bed, I'm not triggered by
[23:27] Kimberly Corban: any of those questions. I'm giving them as much information
[23:29] Kimberly Corban: as I can so that they can call that back
[23:32] Kimberly Corban: if this case goes to trial.
[23:36] Elizabeth Smart: As the day wears on and reality begins to set in,
[23:40] Elizabeth Smart: Kimberly's armor begins to fracture.
[23:43] Kimberly Corban: There was a brief moment because we went straight from
[23:46] Kimberly Corban: the hospital to the department, where I was in the
[23:49] Kimberly Corban: bathroom at the department with my mom and it was
[23:52] Kimberly Corban: just us in there, and I remember washing my hands
[23:56] Kimberly Corban: and looking up in the mirror and not recognizing the
[24:00] Kimberly Corban: face that was staring back at me, and I had
[24:03] Kimberly Corban: that crack in my competitive justice seeking facade that was
[24:08] Kimberly Corban: like oh shit. And I just remember my back on
[24:13] Kimberly Corban: the tiles in that bathroom and shrinking down, and I'm
[24:18] Kimberly Corban: telling my mom that, Mommy, I don't want to be
[24:20] Kimberly Corban: this girl, because we all know who that girl is.
[24:25] Kimberly Corban: We are the living embodiment of everyone's worst nightmare. And
[24:30] Kimberly Corban: I hated the pity it was that someone was looking
[24:35] Kimberly Corban: at me. I knew that they were thinking about it,
[24:37] Kimberly Corban: and they didn't want to ask because they didn't want
[24:39] Kimberly Corban: to upset me.
[24:42] Elizabeth Smart: Kimberly relives every moment for the police, and soon the
[24:46] Elizabeth Smart: questions turned to the subject of who who did this?
[24:51] Elizabeth Smart: Perhaps there's a link to someone at Kimberly's work.
[24:55] Police Interview: Anybody at Hooters that has been a repeat customer that
[24:58] Police Interview: keeps storing phone numbers at.
[25:00] Police Interview: You made one guy he keeps asking for my email
[25:03] Police Interview: at this or my phone numbers and thinks he going
[25:05] Police Interview: to take in California. But he's older, like he's like forty,
[25:11] Police Interview: signs not doesn't fit the bill.
[25:15] Elizabeth Smart: Or it could be someone from her apartment complex.
[25:18] Police Interview: Any other times that you're at the hot time video
[25:20] Police Interview: poached by guys you didn't know.
[25:23] Police Interview: Yes, there were thrilling 5 guys sitting around to b to
[25:28] Police Interview: school of jessicat the one guy was really interested that
[25:31] Police Interview: I worked at hooter and just kept kind of asking
[25:33] Police Interview: questions about that, and they're just drinking, being stupid, you'know.
[25:39] Elizabeth Smart: Or maybe it's someone she already knows.
[25:44] Police Interview: We've we've got out from a few different occasions.
[25:46] Police Interview: Did to hear her hit on you?
[25:49] Police Interview: Yeah, he's kind of hit on me before it And
[25:52] Police Interview: what was your response.
[25:53] Police Interview: I have a boyfriend.
[25:58] Police Interview: That's just kind of how it was, to be honest.
[26:01] Police Interview: He's just one of those.
[26:02] Police Interview: Guys that I know.
[26:06] Police Interview: But do you think that physically he matches the description?
[26:09] Elizabeth Smart: Yeah, the police have possibilities, but Kimberly is going home
[26:15] Elizabeth Smart: without any answers.
[26:17] Kimberly Corban: The worst was at the end where they're like, Okay,
[26:20] Kimberly Corban: I think we've got everything that we need for now,
[26:22] Kimberly Corban: you know you can go home? Because then I felt useless,
[26:26] Kimberly Corban: Like shit, what do I do? Do I go back
[26:28] Kimberly Corban: to the apartment that this guy broke into? Do I
[26:31] Kimberly Corban: go back to my parents' house that I've lived in
[26:33] Kimberly Corban: since I was five years old?
[26:36] Kimberly Corban: Like?
[26:36] Kimberly Corban: Nowhere feels safe. This guy knew a lot about me,
[26:40] Kimberly Corban: and what's to say He's not going to make good
[26:42] Kimberly Corban: on his promise and come back because I told him
[26:44] Kimberly Corban: I wasn't going to report I told him all of
[26:47] Kimberly Corban: these things, but going home and just feeling like, okay,
[26:52] Kimberly Corban: now what. I took a shower. It did not matter
[26:56] Kimberly Corban: how hot the water was or how much I scrubbed,
[26:59] Kimberly Corban: especially in one part on my leg. It never felt clean.
[27:05] Kimberly Corban: I had to have my mom sit right outside the
[27:08] Kimberly Corban: shower and talk to me the entire time because I
[27:10] Kimberly Corban: was terrified just to shut my eyes and wash shampoo
[27:12] Kimberly Corban: out of my hair.
[27:14] Elizabeth Smart: The images flashing through her mind are like a fresh
[27:17] Elizabeth Smart: assault each time.
[27:19] Kimberly Corban: There was nowhere that this horror could not find me.
[27:25] Kimberly Corban: I slept in between my parents like a five year old.
[27:29] Kimberly Corban: I felt mentally like a child all over again, and.
[27:35] Kimberly Corban: That persisted for a while. I mean, I think it's
[27:40] Kimberly Corban: very understandable when you consider that all of those situations
[27:44] Kimberly Corban: put you in a vulnerable place, and being vulnerable is
[27:50] Kimberly Corban: the last thing you want to have happened, because the
[27:53] Kimberly Corban: last time you were vulnerable by yourself was when the
[27:57] Kimberly Corban: worst thing of your life just happened to you. But
[28:01] Kimberly Corban: three weeks later to the day, the police notify Kimberly
[28:05] Kimberly Corban: that there has been a break in the case.
[28:08] Kimberly Corban: I was getting ready to go to work. I get
[28:10] Kimberly Corban: a call from the detectives and he said, Hey, would
[28:12] Kimberly Corban: you be able to come down to the station.
[28:15] Elizabeth Smart: The police have taken a man into custody and they
[28:19] Elizabeth Smart: have some questions for Kimberly.
[28:21] Kimberly Corban: I walk in and they've got all these evidence bags
[28:25] Kimberly Corban: laid out on a table.
[28:27] Elizabeth Smart: They have someone they think might be her attacker, someone
[28:31] Elizabeth Smart: who they also believe has been watching other women.
[28:36] Kimberly Corban: He's like, Okay, do you happen to recognize any of these?
[28:41] Kimberly Corban: In?
[28:41] Kimberly Corban: Each one is a pair of women's underwear.
[28:46] Elizabeth Smart: Next time on the Survivor Files are Kimberly Corban Finale
[28:52] Police Interview: Is she lying to me?
[28:53] Elizabeth Smart: The police interview their suspect.
[28:55] Police Interview: What were you doing today? Working out? But you don't
[28:59] Police Interview: leave there?
[29:00] Police Interview: No?
[29:00] Police Interview: I know of people live.
[29:03] Elizabeth Smart: how they catch him and what he has to say
[29:05] Elizabeth Smart: about Kimberly's accusations.
[29:08] Police Interview: Is she whining to me after all that she's been here?
[29:11] Police Interview: Is she whining to me about?
[29:12] Police Interview: Are you being involved?
[29:14] Police Interview: Yes?
[29:14] Police Interview: Does this person even know me?
[29:16] Police Interview: No?
[29:16] Police Interview: I don't believe she does. But she knows what you
[29:19] Police Interview: look like and she knows what you sound like.
[29:24] Police Interview: So is she lying to I can't?
[29:32] Elizabeth Smart: We are giving you an opportunity to connect with the
[29:34] Elizabeth Smart: survivors who appear on this podcast. If you have a
[29:37] Elizabeth Smart: question for Kimberly Corban, our previous guests, Chris Candor and
[29:42] Elizabeth Smart: Kara Robinson, or me about our experiences or your personal challenges.
[29:47] Elizabeth Smart: Email The Survivor Files at gmail dot com and we
[29:51] Elizabeth Smart: may answer your question in an upcoming episode. Thank you
[29:55] Elizabeth Smart: for listening to The Survivor Files. New episodes every Monday. Subscribe, listen, share,
[30:01] Elizabeth Smart: and follow us at The Survivor Files Pod on Instagram.
[30:06] Elizabeth Smart: At Elizabeth Smart Foundation, we seek to bring hope, empowerment,
[30:10] Elizabeth Smart: and change in the fight against sexual violence. Visit www
[30:14] Elizabeth Smart: dot Elizabethsmartfoundation dot org or follow us on Instagram and Facebook.
[30:20] Elizabeth Smart: The Survivor Files is produced by Marwar Junction Productions for
[30:24] Elizabeth Smart: iHeart Podcasts.

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