‘Casanova Killer’ survivor reveals why she wanted him to fall in love with her

Barbara Mabee Abel wanted to go home after work to find out why her twin sister wasn’t answering her phone calls.

She soon made a horrifying discovery.

In November 1974, Abel, a single mother of a 6-year-old boy, was working as a copywriter at a radio station in West Beach, Florida. She lived with Beverly, who was born with cerebral palsy. The women lived in their mother’s house. The patriarch passed away in May of that year.

“I was calling Beverly all day and she wasn’t answering,” Abel told Fox News Digital. “I knew something was wrong. After I picked up my son from daycare and drove into the driveway, I noticed the light on the back porch was on. It’s not normally on. My son. Dale and I yelled for Beverly.” There was no answer. Dale ran into the bedroom and I went to get some water. I asked them to turn on the faucet. ”

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“All of a sudden,” Abel said, “I heard a man’s voice say, ‘Don’t turn around or I’ll kill you.’ Then all hell broke loose.”

Abel, who wrote this book, “Only one person survived.” She shared her encounter with John Paul Knowles, dubbed the “Casanova Killer” by the press, in Institution Discovery’s (ID) true crime series “People Magazine Investigates: Survival a Serial Killer.” ing. It includes interviews with her survivors as well as her loved ones and investigators.

When Abel first saw Knowles, she immediately noticed the sawed-off shotgun that was lying next to his leg.

Young Barbara Mabee Abel. (Courtesy of Barbara Mabee Abel)

“I knew I had to use reverse psychology,” Abel explained. “I didn’t want to hurt anyone. He kept telling me he had killed people and tied my son to the bed with his sister. The neighbor kept knocking on the door. I thought, “I’m going to go shoot my neighbor, shoot all of us…When I thought I had to be the best actress in the world, I thought, “As long as no one gets hurt, he’s going to go.” I told him I would ride with him wherever he wanted to go. ”

“I wanted him to think I was in love with him,” Abel said. “I didn’t want him to take my son or hurt anyone. So I gave the best performance I could so we all could live.”

Abel kissed his sister goodbye before departing with Knowles. Blood was dripping from Beverly’s mouth. She was naked, bound and gagged. Abel assured her that everything would be fine for her. A smug Knowles declared that he had tried to rape Beverly.

Knowles took Abel’s car and the family’s mortgage. Instead of Dale and Beverly surviving, Knowles took Abel.

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Barbara Mabee Abel is seen with her son and mother. Abel’s mother passed away a few months before she met John Paul Knowles. (Courtesy of Barbara Mabee Abel)

“I knew that in order to save my life, I had to make him fall in love with me,” Abel said. “I knew that if I didn’t make him like me, something bad was going to happen to me. Deep down I knew he had probably hurt someone before he came home. I knew it. He was bragging about it. I had no idea it was murder. I thought he was just hitting someone to rob him.

“As we were driving down the road, he started talking about his family. Then he started talking about killing people, because he had already killed them… He started to feel comfortable with me. I knew he liked me, so I had to take advantage of that.”I had to stay alive.” ”

Knowles, already terrorizing the South, was implicated by authorities in at least 18 murders. oxygen.com report. According to the newspaper, one officer said Knowles was “more violent than Ted Bundy.” The Orlando native was known as an attractive, smooth talker with “quiet good looks” who targeted men, women and children.

This November 1974 photo shows Florida parolee Paul John Knowles. (AP)

Knowles took Abel to a local motel, where he tied her up and raped her repeatedly.

“The sheets were tied around my ankles,” Abel said through tears. “My wrists were also bound with bedsheets. He put a gag in my mouth. I was lying on my back and suddenly I saw my mother. She was wearing this beautiful white gown. That’s when I realized I was like, “It’s okay.” ”

At one point, Knowles turned on the television. The news reported that Abel was missing and that her son had been released. Abel learned that Dale rushed to her neighbor’s house, and her neighbor called 911. Police were searching for Knowles.

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Barbara Mabee Abel left John Paul Knowles in hopes that he would not kill her son (pictured) and sister. (Courtesy of Barbara Mabee Abel)

“He was happy to see himself on TV,” Abel said. “That’s when I realized he was telling the truth. He had killed people before.”

Abel was held captive for 18 hours. She spent the night barely sleeping, praying that Knowles wouldn’t kill her. As the sun rose, her hungry Knowles took Abel to a diner near her.

Abel’s stomach growled when he smelled freshly baked bread. While Knowles ate a hearty breakfast of eggs, toast, hash browns and orange juice, Abel looked around her, hoping someone would notice her. But Knowles’ gun beside her reminded her not to make any sudden movements.

The two returned to the motel, where Knowles raped Abel again.

On November 20, 1974, serial killer Paul John Knowles is picked up by law enforcement and sent to prison. (Billy Downs/Atlanta Journal – Constitution via AP)

A few hours later, the news reported on Knowles again. But this time, Knowles was unimpressed with how he was portrayed. He picked up his gun and pointed it at Abel’s head, yelling, “Bang, bang!” he laughed hysterically.

Knowles tied up Abel again before going outside to make a phone call. Abel looked around her in panic, then turned his attention to the nightstand. There was a motel room key.

Mr. Knowles returned to his room, but was unable to enter. The door was locked. Both he and Abel realized that the key was still inside.

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Barbara Mabee Abel told Fox News Digital that a vision of her late mother convinced her that she would survive. (Courtesy of Barbara Mabee Abel)

“He said he loved me and wouldn’t let me in the room,” Abel said. “Then he left, and I was left tied up, wondering how I was going to get this key, and then my dear Lord helped me. I saw the glass, and I I was able to cut the bed sheet off my wrist, but in the end I realized that the corner of the nightstand was already broken. is now free.”

According to Oxygen, Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Charles Campbell pulled over Knowles during a routine traffic stop. Knowles took Campbell’s gun and held him hostage.

Knowles used his patrol car to pull over the driver, James Mayer. Knowles drove them to Pulaski County, Georgia, where he handcuffed them to a tree and shot them in the head.

Knowles was captured by police.

Serial killer Paul John Knowles died in 1974 at the age of 28. (Billy Downs/Atlanta Journal – Constitution via AP)

In December 1974, Knowles led law enforcement officers to his crime scene, Oxygen reported. He used a paper clip to open one of his handcuffs and lunged at Douglas County Sheriff Earl Lee’s gun. Mr. Knowles was shot three times in the chest by GBI agent Ronnie Angell. He was 28 years old.

Barbara Mabee Abel (pictured with her sister Beverly) said the day John Knowles died was “one of the happiest days of my life”. (Courtesy of Barbara Mabee Abel)

“I think that was one of the happiest days of my life,” Abel said. “It was great…because he didn’t kill anyone. We praised the Lord.”

According to Oxygen, Knowles claimed to have killed 35 people. But authorities said he was known to embellish crimes.

Abel said he suffered from PTSD after Knowles’ death. But it was her faith in God that helped her rebuild her family.

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Barbara Mabee Abel said it was her faith in God that gave her strength over the years. (Courtesy of Barbara Mabee Abel)

“I have decided to forgive John Paul Knowles for what he did to me,” Abel said. “I didn’t want to be another statistic…I chose to be a survivor.”

It took years for Beverly and Dale to speak openly about the crime.

Barbara Mabee Abel’s sister Beverly died of cancer in 2019. (Courtesy of Barbara Mabee Abel)

“There were no shrinks back then,” Abel says. “They had to go through demons. But dear Lord was on our side, and with God’s help we got through it.”

Barbara Mabee Abel and her husband Jim, the “love of my life”; (Courtesy of Barbara Mabee Abel)

Abel continued to find love. She has been married to Jim Abel for 43 years.

“He’s 6-foot-6 and handsome,” Abel laughed. “…I was really happy to meet Jim, because he’s my soulmate now.”

Now, Abel hopes his story will give other crime victims hope that they can come back to life.

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Barbara Mabee Abel is with her family today. (Courtesy of Barbara Mabee Abel)

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“You never know what life will bring,” she said. “I want to help people. I want to help people come out of the darkness. Just like me.”