He Kidnapped The Wrong Girl // The Lisa McVey Kidnapping Story

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Ray William Johnson: True Story Podcast 9 min 1 speaker 8 chapters transcribed 16 hours ago

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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

What was Lisa McVey’s life like before the kidnapping?

Ray William Johnson 0:00

What would you do if you were kidnapped by a serial killer? Now this starts with this girl, Lisa, and Lisa is 17, living in Tampa, Florida, and Lisa doesn't have the greatest life. She lived in foster care for a few years, now she lives with her grandma and her grandma's boyfriend. But the thing is, her grandma's boyfriend is really abusive. He often essays Lisa, and if she tries to stop him or tell anyone, he Threatens to shoot her. And her grandma allows all of this to go on because this guy pays the bills. I mean, she even often tells Lisa, this is what you have to do to live here. So yeah, like I said, Lisa doesn't have the greatest life. And so one day in 1984, she decides she can't live like this anymore.

Ray William Johnson 0:50

And she's going to end her own life. And she's gonna do it tonight when she gets home from her shift at Krispy Kreme. So she goes to work one last time. Then, around 2 a.m., her shift is over, so she starts riding her bike home, thinking that this is the last night of her life. But what she doesn't know is that things are about to get even worse for her. Because there just happens to be a serial killer on the loose.

How did Bobby Joe Long abduct Lisa on her way home from work?

Ray William Johnson 1:20

And the serial killer is this guy, Bobby Joe. And police have been trying to catch Bobby Joe for a long while. And for the last few months, he's been on a killing rampage around Tampa. And he's killed at least eight women so. far. And he's just decided that Lisa is gonna be his next target. So Lisa's riding her bike down the street, when suddenly, boom, he jumps out from behind a parked car, and he grabs her from behind, and he puts a revolver to her head. Then he throws her into his car and he puts a blindfold on her, and he essays her. After that, he drives away with her. And poor Lisa. She realizes that she's being kidnapped and she's terrified. But here's the thing. She's kind of used to terrifying situations.

Ray William Johnson 2:11

Like she's used to being abused. She's even used to having her life threatened. So while most people would be too overcome with fear to think straight, Lisa keeps her cool.

What mental tactics did Lisa use while blindfolded in the car?

Ray William Johnson 2:23

She decides she's not giving this creep control of when her life ends. She's gonna fight because she has to make sure that she gets away and that this Monster gets caught. So she starts plotting, and she can see a little beneath her blindfold, and she sees the words Magnum on the dashboard. So she memorizes the model of his car. She also rubs her feet on the carpet of his car, so she'll have the evidence of the carpet on her shoes and clothes. Now later, Bobby Joe takes her out of the car and up to his apartment. And along the way, she counts every step to see how far she'll have to run if she happens to escape. And when Bobby Joe reaches for the door handle, she gets a glimpse of his hands through the blindfold, and she can see that he's a white guy.

Ray William Johnson 3:12

Now, inside the apartment, she keeps collecting information. She memorizes his green carpet and everything else she can sense. She also makes sure to press her fingers onto the bathroom mirror, the counters, the walls, the picture frames, anywhere she can leave her fingerprints. And so ultimately, Bobby Joe keeps her there overnight. And of course, he continues to do terrible things to her. Now, at this point, Lisa knows that she can't fight Bobby Joe physically. I mean, he's too strong.

How did Lisa gather forensic clues inside Bobby Joe’s apartment?

Ray William Johnson 3:44

But she can fight him psychologically. And because she survived years of abuse by her grandma's boyfriend, she knows exactly how to handle this. She's gonna manipulate this guy. So eventually she straight up asks him, calmly, Why are you doing this to me? And Bobby Joe tells her, My girlfriend broke up with me, so I'm doing this to get back at all women. So Lisa starts bullshitting him. Like, I could be your girlfriend. I'd take care of you. We don't have to tell anyone how we met. And again, she plays calm. She even touches his face like she's genuinely interested in him. Now, obviously, she's not interested in him. What she's really doing is she's trying to feel for what he looks like. And she memorizes his mustache and his snub nose and other details of his face.