This I Survived a Serial Killer Clip Is the Stuff of Nightmares

Fabienne Witherspoon is one of the few people who lived to tell the tale of her near-death encounter with the so-called “Coast to Coast Killer” Tommy Lynn Sells.

Sells was eventually convicted of murdering 9-year-old Mary Beatrice Perez and is suspected of killing at least 21 other individuals, including a child as young as 4.

Fabienne recalls the harrowing experience in an exclusive sneak peek of A&E’s I Survived a Serial Killer, premiering Friday, Feb. 4. And while the events took place nearly 30 years ago, the survivor can describe the details like it was yesterday. 

The attack began when a 19-year-old Fabienne offered to give Tommy some food and clothes, as he was living on the streets at the time. But when she told him to stand outside her friend’s house while she gathered the things, he followed her into the home, threatened her with a knife and forced her to go into the bathroom.