When Margaret Wardlow was thirteen years old she was awoken one night by a flashlight in her face in the middle of the night. Unfortunately for her, that flashlight was held by the man who we now know as the Golden State Killer. At the time he was known as the East Area rapist, and ironically her mother had told her that she was too young to become a victim of this sicko.

The young girl had been somewhat fascinated by the stories of this rapist’s exploits and that actually served her well in her experience with him. She knew what his tactics were, what his motive was and so even though he did attack her she was able to throw him off his game enough to survive the ordeal. When he told her during the attack at knifepoint that he would kill her and her mother she defiantly told him that she did not care.

When interviewed recently by new show 20/20 she said that her instincts told her not to let him see her fear. From an article in the Daily Mail:

“My instinct said don’t let him see you sweat,’ she said”

She knew that the killer fed off of the fear of his victims, so she determined that she was not going to give him what he wanted out of this encounter.

“It was the best answer I could come up with in order to, like, let him know, “I’m not afraid of you”. He wants fear. And I knew that. So, I just told him, “I don’t care,”‘ she said.”

When she received word of his arrest, the night prior to the announcement to the press, she said she was “elated”. “‘I was elated. I could not believe it. It was … the most beautiful, beautiful phone call I’ve ever had. I mean, I was just so excited,’ she said on the call.”. She hopes the arrest of her attacker acts a message of hope to other sexual assault survivors. In an interview for Inside Edition Wardlow encouraged other survivors of sexual assault: “‘We have a message for everyone out there. No matter how cold your case is, it’s not hopeless. There’s hope in solving the coldest of cases, we solved ours after 42 years and there’s always hope.”

How did this woman who suffered a horrific experience at such a tender age, just 13 years old, end up being such a positive survivor? According to psychologists, it helps when survivors assign the blame where it belongs-on their attacker. From a help guide on surviving sexual trauma-“You did not bring the assault on yourself and you have nothing to be ashamed about.” Clearly, Wardlow has taken this approach and it has worked for her. It is refreshing to see an example of a strong trauma survivor who shows the world that you can survive the worst thing that can happen to anyone-and come out smiling.