THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 17, 1996 TAG: 9601170341
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSAN W. SMITH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
On Dec. 4, 33-year-old Robin K. Flanagan was on her way home from visiting her parents in Virginia Beach. As she turned onto Elbow Road a little after midnight, she made mental lists and reviewed her plans for the holidays.
Minutes later, after her car broke down, she was brutally attacked by a man she thought had stopped to help. Only the swift action of a passer-by saved her life.
The nightmares and flashbacks of the horrifying experience became intense. One month later, Flanagan took her own life. She left no note, but her father said he believes her suicide was related to the attack.
Police still are pursuing her attacker, even though they probably would not be able to prosecute him because the victim is dead.
``We have two reasons for pursuing this case,'' said Chesapeake Detective Robert H. Lunsford. ``We owe it to Robin. And we need to get this guy off the street.''
Descriptions of the man who attacked Flanagan are sketchy. He is described as a white male, in his mid-40s, driving a late-model, four-door, white or light blue sedan.
In an interview before her death, Flanagan told in a shaky voice with tear-filled eyes about the night that left her scared and depressed.
``The only reason that I'm telling this is, what if I'm not the only woman he has ever attacked?'' Flanagan said. ``Or what if he would try to hurt someone else later? He has to be arrested.''
Flanagan said her assailant originally appeared in the form of a helper. Her car had sputtered and died on a shoulder of Elbow Road.
``I was already thinking about what a bad place it was to be stranded,'' Flanagan said. ``There are deep ditches that run alongside the two-lane road and there are no street lights.''
Flanagan said she normally carried a small gun, but had taken it out of her ear several days earlier. Her car phone battery was also dead.
She pulled off the road as far as possible without gliding into the ditch, and stared miserably under the hood. She described the dark night and a nearby field with waist-high weeds backed by a forest.
About five minutes later, a car pulled up and parked on the other side of the street.
``You got a problem?'' the man said.
``Yeah, my car has stalled,'' Flanagan said.
The man joined her by the side of the car. He reached in and jiggled a few wires before telling her to try to start the engine.
She turned to head for the driver's seat, but she felt a sharp blow to the back of her head and fell against the car.
Three more times the man hit her with a small, wooden baseball bat. Then he wrapped her long, blond hair around his hand, jerked her head back and pounded her in the face with his fist as he dragged her toward the woods.
``I knew if he got me in the woods I would die,'' Flanagan said.
About three feet from the woods, Flanagan saw another man hovering over her. She thought he was an accomplice. But instead he had come to rescue her.
Kevin Collier also was returning home, when his headlights caught the brutal beating. He charged in to pull Flanagan away. The assailant bolted.
Collier offered to call the police or an ambulance. Flanagan refused assistance and struggled to get to her car.
She drove away, almost striking Collier, and she never got his name.
Flanagan, traumatized, didn't call the police until the following day. Collier didn't call them because he's had his share of problems with the law. His license has been revoked, and he was driving illegally the night he stopped the attack.
Flanagan made a television appeal. The police wanted to talk to Collier for help with the details; Flanagan wanted a chance to say thanks.
After the broadcast, Collier gave her a call. That led to a holiday reunion, where he received gifts and thanks from Flanagan and her family. He was called the ``good Samaritan'' and treated as a hero.
``I don't consider myself a hero,'' Collier said. ``I did what any man should do when someone needs help.''
Collier spoke to Flanagan on the phone shortly before her death Jan. 4.
He said if he had known her state of mind, he would have tried to save her one more time. MEMO: If you have information that would help this case, call the Chesapeake
Crimeline at 487-1234.
ILLUSTRATION: Drawing
Robin Flanagan first thought this man had stopped to help her with
her stalled car.
Photo
Kevin Collier rescued Robin Flanagan from her attacker, who fled
from Collier.
KEYWORDS: ASSAULT BEATING RESCUE SUICIDE by CNB