Real Life Final Girl: A True Crime Story of How a Hollywood Actress Helped Capture a Serial Rapist.

Hollywood actress Charisma Carpenter escaped a brutal attack by a serial rapist, who attempted to murder her friends on a beach. Her quick thinking led to the arrest of the culprit, a police officer who had previously attacked underage girls.

This story and many more can be found in Bizarre True Crime Volume 10 – PRE-ORDER HERE!

In the Summer of 1991, up and coming actress Charisma Carpenter, who would later be known for her role as Cordelia Chase in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, was instrumental in catching a serial rapist, after a brutal attack.

Charisma was 22 at the time, living in San Diego, dreaming of a life in Hollywood. She was a cheerleader for the San Diego Chargers, and a leasing agent of an apartment complex she also lived in.

Having inside knowledge of the complex, she was aware of issues with some of the sliding doors, as many had been incorrectly installed. It meant that a burglar – or worse – could access the units by simply turning the handle and opening the door.

One night, while she was alone in her apartment, she heard someone attempting to open the sliding doors. Panicked, she called some friends over in case someone was breaking in. That night, she and her friends created a pile of household weapons including pans, knives, and pots, in case someone tried to break in.

Fortunately, the intruder couldn’t access the unit, but it didn’t stop Charisma’s feeling of panic. Over the Summer of 1991, police made locals aware of an attacker and serial rapist wondering the San Diego shoreline. The attacker was still out there, and by the time he got around to Charisma, had carried out at least five attacks.

Masked attacker.

On June 15^th 1991, in the early hours of the morning, a young couple were cuddling under a blanket on Del Mar Beach, when they were approached by a masked gunman. He ordered the male to lay face down as he raped the female at gunpoint, before disappearing into the night.

A little over two weeks later, on July 4^th, at Solana Beach, the same serial rapist crept up behind another couple and forced them into a beach cave. Charmaine Agnos was ordered at gunpoint to tie her boyfriend up and tape his mouth.

The attacker became frustrated as he was initially unable to get an erection. He put Charmaine’s t-shirt over her face and placed the gun to her neck as he proceeded to abuse and rape her. When police investigated the crime, they suspected she was the third victim of a serial rapist. At that time, the public were made aware of the rapist among them.

Another two weeks passed, as if on a regular cycle, when on July 20^th, the attacker carried out his most heinous crime. At Windansea Beach on the same stretch of shoreline, two girls, aged 13 and 14 were relaxing with their older male friend.

The masked serial rapist attacked them at gunpoint and ordered the girls to tie up and gag their friend. While raping the 13-year-old, he ordered her to ‘get into a little bit.’ After the ordeal, he asked her if she liked it.

He then asked the 14-year-old if she was a virgin. When she answered yes, the attacker said, ‘we’ll change that.’ Both girls were beaten during the attack to stop them running off. After the attack on the 14-year-old, he said, ‘you’re not a virgin anymore.’

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Charisma and friends.

The San Diego police realised a violent rapist was on the loose and needed to be stopped. They flooded the beaches and shoreline towns with officers, including undercover officers posing as couples on the beaches.

Helicopters were out on patrol day and night but never spotted anyone acting untoward. It appeared that after the attack on the two young girls, the attacker had retreated to the shadows. Except, he was about to become more infamous than even he imagined.

On August 15^th, less than a month after the attack on the two girls, Charisma and two of her friends, 24-year-old Arthur Gracia and 22-year-old Aldo Ochoa, went to Torrey Pines State beach in La Jolla to go for a swim.

Though they were aware the attacker had not yet been caught, they all felt relatively safe. They considered that the attacker was either already on the run, only attacked couples, and may be in hiding from the police.

They thought there would no risk to one female and two males. They thought wrong. Arthur and Aldo stripped down to their underwear and went into the water. Charisma stripped off near a lifeguard tower and folded her clothes underneath it, so they wouldn’t get wet.

Just as she was about to join her friends in the sea, she sensed someone was near, and turned around but couldn’t immediately see anyone. Then, out of the darkness, a man wearing a ski mask and carrying a gun stomped towards her.

In their underwear, covered in blood.

Arthur and Aldo heard Charisma scream and left the ocean to come to her rescue. The attacker put a gun to her head and ordered the two men to drop to their knees. Then her told Charisma to tie up her friends with their hands behind their backs.

By using quick thinking, Charisma tied Arthur’s wrists with his belt, but didn’t tighten it fully, instead putting the pin through the hole backwards, allowing Arthur to free himself when the time was right. When she knelt to tie up Aldo, she asked if the attacker was going to rape her, to which the reply was a definite yes.

Charisma began crying and pretended to struggle tying up Aldo. Frustrated, the attacker gave her his flashlight, pushed her away and went to tie up Aldo himself. Arthur suddenly removed the belt on his hands and jumped into the attack, followed by Aldo, and the trio began fighting.

The attacker shot Arthur in the chest, who still managed to keep in fighting. Another round went off and hit Aldo in the stomach, who stumbled and collapsed on the shoreline. Arthur managed to twist the gun in such a way that it went off and blew a hole through the attacker’s hand.

The attacker staggered off into the shadows, leaving Charisma in a state of shock and her friends fighting for their lives. Charisma and Arthur carried Aldo to his jeep, and they drove to the nearest convenience store to call for help.

All the while, Charisma had held onto the flashlight bearing the attacker’s fingerprints. Not only that, but Arthur had also shot the attacker, causing his blood to splatter the beach. The cashier was thrown into a horror movie when Arthur and Charisma stumbled into the store, in their underwear and covered in blood.

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Serial rapist police officer.

All three were taken to hospital to and medical staff were able to remove the bullets from Arthur and Aldo. It was only when they were questioned by police that Charisma realised she still had the flashlight.

It turned out to be a police flashlight, with the name Hubbard, plastered across the base. The officers at the hospital realised who Hubbard was and a warrant was put out for his arrest. But they didn’t have to look very far.

Henry Hubbard Jr. and his wife, walked into the medical center to get his hand treated. He had built up a story of being attacked by two or three men when his car broke down. Doctors became suspicious when they found sand on his clothes and bite marks on his back and ear, which were later confirmed to have been caused by Arthur.

Shortly after noon the next day, on August 16^th, Hubbard was arrested. The vital piece of evidence in his trial was the flashlight that Charisma had kept. For an entire year, Hubbard protested his innocence, claiming he had been set up.

Hubbard was verging on becoming a serial killer, and we can say that with much certainty. Not only were his attacks becoming more regular, but his hatred towards women had also started in childhood, when he watched his father beat and rape his mother on numerous occasions.

The fact that he carried a gun, and attempted to kill two of his victims, led psychologists it was only a matter of time until he committed murder. Hubbard preferred to attack couples as he wanted the man to watch him rape the woman, just as he had watched his father rape his mother.

After his sentencing, Hubbard spoke directly to his victims, most of whom were in the courtroom watching the trial.

‘To the victims, I am very sorry for the horror, emotional and physical suffering that I brought into your life and the lives of those who know you and care for you. I realize that you may never be able to forgive me, but I hope and pray that each and every one of you will fully recover from the pain and anguish that I brought into your lives.’

Rape is no lesser a crime than murder.

On August 10^th 1992, despite Hubbard’s attempt at salvation, he was convicted of eight violent rapes and sexual attacks, and two attempted murders. He was sentence to 56 years in prison, with a minimum of 27 years.

His pattern of attacks began to make more sense to investigators when they realised he was on the force. Hubbard knew who most of the undercover officers were, and he knew where police would be stationed along the shoreline. Most of his victims were attacked after 1am, the time when he finished his shift each night.

While Charisma was recovering from her ordeal, she realised that Hubbard was one of the tenants in the same complex she as a leasing agent for. The person attempting to get into her apartment that night, could have been Hubbard.

Police told her that there had been a rape in one of the apartments, which was later linked to Hubbard. They were also convinced that he had been stalking Charisma, and it was no coincidence he found her on the beach that night. He just wasn’t expecting two men to be with her.

Arthur and Aldo survived but Aldo was left with the bullet lodged in his liver and has struggled ever since with some physical movement. As with any rape victim, PTSD is prevalent, as is the mental and sometimes physical deterioration.

For those who think rape is a lesser crime than murder, it’s poignant to remember that one of the young girl’s Hubbard raped, has been institutionalised in a psychiatric hospital ever since. Even more damning that Hubbard was likely to spend less time in prison than his victim will in hospital.

Six years after the attack, Charisma Carpenter landed a role in a new TV series called Buffy the Vampire Slayer and has appeared in movies and shows ever since. In 2013, she fronted a true crime show called I Survived Evil. The first case was her story.

This story and many more can be found in Bizarre True Crime Volume 10 – PRE-ORDER HERE!