Kentucky woman who survived serial murderer says she's thankful for 'second chance at life'

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Holly Dunn and her then-boyfriend, Chris Maier, were walking along the railroad tracks to a party near the University of Kentucky in 1997.

What was supposed to be fun night would take a dark turn.

"He tied up Chris's hands with his backpack, He tied up mine with my belt," Dunn recalled Thursday. "He ended up gagging us and tying our feet.

"The attacker came toward us with a rock, and it was a 52-pound rock. He dropped it on Chris's head ... It feels surreal. It still feels surreal to this day."

After killing Maier, Angel Maturino Resendiz turned his attention to Dunn.

"I actually stared to fight him," Dunn said. "Like I was afraid, but I started to fight him. And he stabbed me in my neck, and he said, 'Look how easily I could kill you.'

"And then he raped me."

It didn't end there. Just three blocks from the party, Dunn was hit several more times, breaking her jaw and eye socket. But throughout the attack, she had an unusual feeling.

"I had a peace come over me, and I felt that if I was going to die, it was OK," Dunn said. "I had prayed my last prayer, and I thought if this is it, it's it, and I'm ready."

Dunn eventually got help from a nearby home. She spent five days in the hospital and returned to UK a month later.

"I didn't want this attack to define me," she said.

Resendiz was later linked to at least 15 other murders and executed in 2006.

While Dunn would never have wished this to happen, she is thankful to share her story in her new book ,"Sole Survivor," and help others with the healing process.

"I don't know if I would change it," she said. "I truly feel like it's my life calling, like this is what I was meant to do. And I'm not thankful that this happened ... I'm thankful for my life now, and I'm thankful for my second chance at life, and I'm thankful to be able to help others."

And she wants to spread a message to anyone who may be hurting.

"Bad things can happen, there's life after it does, and you can have happiness in your life," Dunn said.

To buy her new book, click here.