In 1974, serial killer Ted Bundy attacked Rhonda Stapley. She kept it a secret for 40 years.

CONTENT WARNING: This story includes graphic depictions of violence that may be distressing to some readers/listeners. 

Rhonda Stapley is a survivor.

In October 1974, Stapley was a pharmacy student from Utah, waiting for a bus to take her to the university campus.

While waiting there, a man pulled over in a Volkswagen, wound down his window and offered her a lift. His name, he told her, was Ted.

'Ted' claimed to be a law student at Utah, she said, which reassured Stapley, as it seemed he was a friendly college student helping one of their own. 

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

Watch: Ted Bundy Falling For A Killer official trailer. Post continues below.

During the car ride to campus, the driver asked Stapley whether she minded if he ran an errand on the way. She didn't, she said.

And that's when things began to get uncomfortable for Stapley.

"The ride started to become strained, he stopped talking to me altogether – he just had both hands on the steering wheel just driving," she said in the documentary Ted Bundy: Serial Monster.

"And in my mind, I think he's looking for a place to pull over and park and make out." 

The possibility of consensual intimacy was something Stapley said she wasn't comfortable with, considering she had grown up in the Mormon faith and was still a virgin at the time.

Soon into the drive, she says the driver veered off the road near a secluded spot surrounded by trees and turned the engine off. 

"He turns in his seat, so he's almost facing me in the car and leans in really close, and then very, very quietly [says]: 'Do you know what? I'm going to kill you.' Then he puts his hands 'round my throat and starts squeezing and shaking me, and I'm thinking, 'Why? Why does he want to kill someone and why is it me?'"

For the next while, Stapley says she was choked in and out of consciousness, and physically and sexually assaulted.

"At some point, he was angry – more angry than I've ever seen anybody. His fists were clenched and his veins were bulging on his forehead and his neck, and his face was bright red," she said. 

"His eyes were almost black."

In between bouts of consciousness, Stapley said that her attacker would yell, "You should be thanking me that you are even still alive. I can kill you any time I want."

At one point, when her attacker likely assumed she was dead, Stapley managed to make a run into the nearby woods. He'd been distracted by something near his car, she said, which gave her the opportunity to escape. 

"As soon as I jumped up and started to run I realised that my pants were in a wad around my ankles and so I tripped just one or two steps and I was falling, but I fell into a fast-moving mountain stream, which swept me away from my attacker and is probably what saved my life," she said in the REELZ docuseries Ted Bundy: The Survivors.

Stapley managed to get herself out of the stream, far enough away from her attacker, and then walked the approximately 16km back to her home. She walked through the woods, scared he would find her if she walked along the main highway.

After surviving the assault, Stapley chose not to tell anyone, fearing she would be blamed for accepting a ride from a stranger. 

Stapley told PEOPLE that her Mormon upbringing had contributed to that fear of being judged – despite the fact it was a sexual assault.

"I imagined people whispering, 'That's that girl who was raped.' I didn't want attention. I still don't."

Ted Bundy on trial. Image: Getty.

"I felt ashamed and embarrassed and stupid; stupid for even getting into such a dangerous situation," she said.

"The teachings in the LDS church [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints] at that time was that your virtue and your chastity were the most important thing a young woman could have, and if you come to a point giving up your chastity or your life, you're better off eternally if you die."

Over the next year, she saw various reports about other women going missing. She feared it was her attacker behind it. 

Then in August 1975, Ted Bundy was arrested. And when she saw the images of him in the newspaper, she realised she had escaped a serial killer.

After four decades, Stapley felt comfortable sharing her story. 

She said her feelings about the attack came to the surface again while she was dealing with a bullying incident at work. Stapley said the boss who was treating her terribly used similar language to her attacker – a major trigger.

"I couldn't control my tears, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat," she said. "But I knew it had to be related to the Bundy stuff, because that's what my dreams and my nightmares and my panic attacks were about."

Of course, Stapley wasn't the only woman going through exactly what she was.

In total, there are believed to be five publicly known women who have shared their story of surviving an attack from Bundy. In reality, there are likely many others.

Recently, Stapley wrote a book about her escape that night.

It highlights the impact of the ordeal on her mental health, detailing her PTSD diagnosis and how trauma influences her decision-making process. 

"I think my experience with Ted Bundy affected every aspect of my life. It changed my level of self-confidence, it changed my trust, even my trust in myself. I became more introverted, less outgoing."

But now, with quite a few women coming forward to share their own stories of escape, Stapley said she hopes it shines a light on the need to address and understand trauma responses.

"The main thing I wanted to tell people was that they're not alone," she told PEOPLE. 

"Even though their traumatic experience may be different than my traumatic experience, at least there's someone who can recognise those feelings and people who can understand."

If this has raised any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service.

Feature Image: Supplied/Facebook. 

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