Serial Killer’s Ex-Wife and Survivor Join Forces to Hunt for Additional Cold Case Victims

Key points

• Bonnie Lou Gower and Kara Robinson Chamberlain are working together to investigate potential additional victims of Richard Evonitz, as featured in the Investigation Discovery series 'The Serial Killer Connection.'
• Gower is providing investigators with timelines, calendars, and location data from her marriage to Evonitz (1988-1997) to identify periods when he was unaccounted for.
• Chamberlain, who survived an 18-hour captivity by Evonitz in 2002, is examining unsolved crimes from the 1980s and earlier to find patterns in his behavior.
• Evonitz was confirmed to have murdered three young girls and kidnapped Chamberlain before dying by suicide in Sarasota, Florida, in June 2002.
• Chamberlain noted that Evonitz's DNA is not currently in the FBI's CODIS database, but a blood sample from a 1996 case in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, may be available for comparison.

Background

This story follows a broader trend of using DNA and historical records to solve cold cases, similar to the recent identification of Thomas F. McInerney in a 1960 Chicago murder. It also aligns with ongoing investigations into serial killers like Jesse Calhoun in Oregon, where new evidence continues to link suspects to multiple victims over decades.

Why it matters

The collaboration between a spouse and a survivor offers a unique dual perspective on the modus operandi of a serial killer, potentially uncovering victims who were overlooked during initial investigations. The focus on missing DNA records highlights a gap in law enforcement databases that could hinder the resolution of other cold cases.

What to watch

Investigators hope to obtain Evonitz's blood sample from Spotsylvania County authorities to enter his DNA into CODIS. This would allow for broader comparisons with evidence from unsolved crimes, potentially identifying new victims or confirming existing suspicions.