The lone survivor of one of the most monstrous serial killers says she forgives him – but will still watch his execution in jail.
On Thursday, Lisa McVey Noland will hold the hands of the families of ten women murdered by Bobby Joe Long as he dies by lethal injection.
After Long, 65, takes his last breath at Florida State Prison, relieved Lisa will walk out and carry on with her life.
Lisa, 52, plans to wear a T-shirt that reads “Long” on the front and “Overdue” on the back. She said: “My heart won’t miss a beat. I know it sounds cruel but it’s time justice is done.
“There is forgiveness but there’s also a price to pay for that forgiveness.”
Long has been in jail for 35 years after kidnapping, sexually assaulting and murdering at least ten women in the Tampa Bay area of Florida during a nine-month period in 1984.
In the three years before his killing spree, Long was given the nickname the classified ad rapist after attacking around 50 women.
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He answered their adverts, selling small appliances, and raped them if they were at home alone.
Lisa is furious that Long has spent so long on death row, using the lengthy appeal system, and asked: “Where are the rights of the women he killed?”
And when she reveals her suffering at the hands of the killer it is little wonder she wants to see Long finally pay the price for his crimes.
Lisa was 17 and cycling home from her job in a doughnut shop in November 1984 when Long, who had already killed eight times, knocked her off and held a gun to her head.
He bundled her into his car, took her home and – threatening her with a knife and a gun – ordered her to strip naked and shower. He then blindfolded and repeatedly raped the teenager.
Her ordeal lasted 26 hours. But Lisa, showing the same true grit which will see her through his execution, was determined she was going to live.
As a child she endured years of sexual abuse at the hands of a man.
And she was able to draw on the strength she had harnessed during those attacks to help her escape.
Lisa said: “Long told me that he’d raped other women and when I asked why he was doing it to me he said he wanted to get back at women in general. I told him, ‘I’ll be your girlfriend, I’ll do whatever you want.’” Begging for her life, Lisa vowed not to tell anyone about her abduction.
But Long chillingly replied: “No, I can’t keep you.”
So Lisa changed tack and lied that she had a sick dad at home who relied on her for help.
Long finally drove her back to the area where he had abducted her and let her free.
She said: “He drove off I pulled my blindfold down and the first thing I saw was a gorgeous oak tree. That’s the moment I knew my life would change for good. I saw the branches of a new life.”
Lisa will never know why he chose to let her go when he killed so many others.
He strangled some and bludgeoned or slit the throats of others before dumping their bodies.
In March 1984 he killed Artiss Ann Wick, 20, and, in May, Ngeun Thi Long, 19, and Michelle Denise Simms, 22.
In June, Elizabeth Loudenback, 22, was his next murder victim, followed in September by Vicky Marie Elliott, 21.
Chanel Devon Williams, 18, Karen Beth Dinsfriend, 28, and Kimberly Kyle Hopps, 22, were killed in October.
November, the month Lisa survived, saw the death of Virginia Lee Johnson, 18, and Kim Marie Swann, 21.
Lisa was determined to help police nail him.
She gave them clues to helped them convict Long and link him to ten murders. But he was never convicted of the rapes around Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Dade County as the charges were dropped.
Lisa told cops how, from under her blindfold, she saw the word Magnum on the number plates of Long’s car.
She counted the number of steps to his apartment and made sure she left her fingerprints in the bathroom.
She recalled: “I got street smarts. When my evidence helped convict him and I knew he couldn’t hurt anyone else it was invigorating, extremely gratifying.”
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Lisa appreciates that capital punishment is a controversial and emotive subject.
She said: “I know there will be protesters. But his death will bring me peace, and closure for myself and the families of the other victims. I’ll be relieved knowing he can never hurt anyone ever again.”
Lisa said she prayed to God throughout her abduction: “Whatever you do, please don’t let him kill me.”
Through her survival she found religion, turned her life around and became a county sheriff deputy.
She is attached to schools to keep pupils safe.
Lisa refused to let her terrible experience scar her for life.
Within two years of it she got married and gave birth to a daughter soon after.
But her relationship fell apart five years later.
She said: “I protected my daughter like a mamma bear. You could say I was overbearing but I was determined my daughter would never live the type of life I had.
“I didn’t allow my past abuse to hinder my romantic life. I blamed those that hurt me. I didn’t transfer the hurt on to my male relationships.”
Lisa suffers from post-traumatic stress and has bouts of depression, as well as nightmares in which: “I’m always being hurt.”
As a deputy sheriff Lisa is angry that Long spent so many years on death row. She said: “It’s unconstitutional.
This notorious serial killer has been incarcerated for 35 years and on death row for 34 of them.
“Why? Unfortunately, although he killed many women, he still has rights to appeal time after time.”
On Thursday Lisa will go to the prison alone because it is “something I feel I need to do myself”.
She will be driven into the jail in a van with blacked-out windows, past protesters holding vigils, before taking her seat to see her attacker executed.
Lisa said she is not at all nervous. She added: “I can say this now because I forgave him many years ago.
“I’m no longer in a prison without walls and he has no space in my head.
“I want to sit with the families of victims and the retired detectives who helped convict him and watch him take his last breath.”
