Woman Who Escaped a Serial Killer Reveals Details About Her Encounter

A woman's narrow escape from a violent long-haul trucker offers a rare, harrowing glimpse into the dark underbelly of America's highways — where young travelers vanished without a trace and a predator operated in the shadows for years.

Decades later, the woman Vanessa Veselka shares her account. Her revelation casts a chilling light on Robert Ben Rhoades, a long-haul trucker and convicted serial killer. Authorities say he preyed on women and young couples from state to state. His rig was his hunting ground, his cab a torture chamber on wheels.

Vanessa Veselka poses for a portrait in Culver City, California on May 19, 1998. | Source: Getty Images

"Rhoades was a sexual sadist. He kidnapped women, tortured and raped them for weeks before killing them," Veselka stated. Rhoades's trucking logs would later place him near as many as 50 unsolved murders over just three years. While he only admitted to three killings, the FBI believes the real number could be far higher — perhaps one to three murders per month at his peak.

Among his known victims was 14-year-old Regina Kay Walters, abducted and photographed in terror before being murdered. Her boyfriend, Ricky Jones, was killed as well. The two were taken in February 1990.

An FBI agent. | Source: Getty Images

Jones's remains were found in Mississippi, while Walter's final moments were preserved in photographs Rhoades took inside an abandoned barn, leaving her one-hundred-pound body to decompose in a barn in Illinois off Interstate 70.

In that same year, Rhoades was charged in the disappearances and murders of newlyweds Douglas Scott Zyskowski and Patricia Walsh, who vanished while hitchhiking cross-country. The couple's bodies were discovered months apart in different states. Investigators believe Walsh was held and tortured for about a week before she was killed.

A viral Facebook post from August 24, 2025, that haunts the public imagination reads, "The final photos of 14-year-old Regina Kay Walters, taken by Robert Ben Rhoades shortly before he took her life. The photos were taken in an abandoned barn."

A barn. | Source: Getty Images

The woman who shared her survival story was herself a teenage hitchhiker, traveling south on I-95 when she accepted a ride from a man she would later suspect was Rhoades.

Veselka recalls him as tall and lean, with rolled-up sleeves and an immaculate truck cab. At first, nothing seemed amiss — until his demeanor suddenly changed. His voice turned cold. His face became expressionless. He began talking about a girl found in a Dumpster. Then came a reference to the "Laughing Death Society" — a name that still sends chills down her spine.

Without warning, the truck veered onto the shoulder near a line of trees. The driver pulled out a hunting knife. She tried to reason with him, repeating over and over that she would not resist and that it was entirely his choice. But when he finally fixed his gaze on her, the moment shifted — she instinctively understood that negotiation was over.

A man getting into the cab of his truck. | Source: Getty Images

Then came the unexpected command that would save her. "Run," the killer said. She ran into the woods. She hid in silence, heart pounding, until she saw the truck pull away. At the time, she told no one. It wasn't until years later — after seeing Rhoades's face in the news — that she began to piece things together.

When authorities finally caught up with Rhoades, they made a shocking discovery. Inside his cab was a woman chained and screaming for help. Also found were torture devices and a cache of disturbing photographs, including images linked to Walters's final hours.

Vanessa Veselka. | Source: Getty Images

He was convicted and is now serving multiple life sentences for aggravated assault, sexual assault, and unlawful imprisonment charges. Though investigators have closed some cases, they believe many more victims remain unidentified. The true extent of his crimes may never be fully known.

For the woman who survived, the questions continue to haunt her: Was it really Rhoades who pulled the knife on her that day? Had he already killed when she stepped into that truck? And the most haunting of all — why did he let her go?

Vanessa Veselka in Culver City, California on May 19, 1998. | Source: Getty Images

She may never know. But what Veselka does know, without question, is how close she came to being one more lifeless body in a forgotten field — and how many others weren't as lucky.