At 2am on 3 November 1984, Lisa McVey was cycling home from her shift at Krispy Kreme doughnuts in Tampa, Florida. It was meant to be the last time the 17-year-old made the eight-minute journey, because the following day, she planned to take her own life. She’d already written her suicide note.
But as Lisa cycled along the deserted street, she noticed a maroon car idling in a car park. Riding past, she glanced back when she was knocked off her bike, and a gun put to her head. Lisa later said that, as her assailant dragged her into his car, she didn’t want to die. “I knew in that moment I had to survive… I told myself I was going to live.”
Lisa endured a 26-hour ordeal at the hands of serial killer Bobby Joe Long, but she escaped and her courage finally brought him to justice. Now, 40 years later, Lisa’s story is back in the spotlight, as the film about her life – Believe Me – is topping the charts on Netflix.
Lisa, now 54, described her childhood as “horrific”. Her mother was an alcoholic and drug addict, and she’d spent much of her early years in the care system, going from one abusive home to another. Then, when Lisa was 14, her grandmother offered her a place to stay at her home in Tampa. But it wasn’t the haven Lisa had hoped for. Instead, her grandmother’s boyfriend began sexually abusing her. Shockingly, Lisa’s grandmother was well aware of the abuse, telling Lisa she needed to “learn how to please a man”. Having endured so much, Lisa was ready to end it all. She said, “I was tired of living.”
Lisa knew there was a killer on the loose in her area. Bobby Joe Long’s first victim was discovered in May 1984, when the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office was alerted that the body of a woman had been found on an overpass, naked and bound with rope. Between May and November, the bodies of ten women were found in the Tampa Bay area. Some were sex workers and dancers, others were students. Almost all of the women had been raped and strangled, before being dumped on the side of the road.
Lisa said of the murders, “It frightened me because where I worked at, I used to have to ride a bicycle. I always used to wonder, ‘Will I be the next victim?’ And then you think, ‘It can’t happen to me’. But it did.”


Long accosted Lisa on her way home from work, dragging her off her bike and into his 1978 Dodge Magnum. He ordered her to strip and perform a sex act on him. She was then tied up, before being gagged and blindfolded. She said, “I remember pleading with God, ‘Whatever you do, just don’t let him kill me’.” And Lisa believed the abuse she’d endured as a child gave her the determination to survive. She said, “I wasn’t going to allow someone else to take anything else from me.”
In the 26 hours that followed, Lisa gathered an extraordinary amount of information – her love of detective shows meant that she knew what kind of evidence the police would need to catch her killer. Despite being blindfolded, she caught a glimpse of the Magnum badge on Long’s car and noted the white seats and red carpet. She also paid attention to the twists and turns of the journey they took. Lisa said, “I was very good with directions and landmarks, because I rode a bicycle to work every single day.”
When they arrived at an apartment building, Lisa counted the number of steps she climbed. Peeking under her blindfold, she could make out that her attacker’s skin was white – she even noted that he was left-handed. Once in the apartment, Lisa was subjected to a horrific ordeal. She said, “I was raped over and over. I lost count.” But Lisa refused to be broken. She asked Long if she could go to the bathroom, and while alone inside, she made a point of leaving her fingerprints all over the sink, walls and toilet.
At one point, Lisa asked Long why he was doing this. 
She said, “He said, due to a recent break-up, he was getting back at women in general.” But Lisa worked hard to get on Long’s good side. She did everything he said, and didn’t try to fight him or run away, as she was sure this would encourage him to kill her. 
She also made up a lie that she lived with her elderly father, saying he was unwell and she was the only person who could look after him. So, when Long placed Lisa’s hands on his face, she knew she was gaining his trust. She said, “I saw his face through my hands. Pockmarks, small moustache, small ears, short hair, clean-cut. Kind of stout, but not overweight. Big guy.” 

At around 4am, Long started asking Lisa what he should do with her. Again, her  response was an  attempt to save her life. “I said, ‘It’s unfortunate how we met. I could be your girlfriend, I could take care of you and no one ever has to know’. Reverse psychology… treating him like a four-year-old,” she said. 
But at this point, Long grew nervous, and said he couldn’t keep her. Instead, he gave Lisa another woman’s shirt – most likely from one of his earlier victims – and ordered her to get dressed. He then took her out to his car and asked Lisa where he should drop her off.
After 15 minutes, Long stopped at a bank to use the ATM. Lisa remembers seeing a motorway sign, meaning she knew which area she was in. But she didn’t try to flee, as she was sure Long was testing her loyalty. He then got back into the car, and drove for a further few minutes before dropping her off. 
He even hugged her, saying, “Tell your father he’s the reason I didn’t kill you.” He let her out of the car and told her to wait five minutes before taking off her blindfold, before driving away. Lisa said, “I pulled my blindfold down and the first thing I saw was this gorgeous oak tree – and that’s the moment I knew my life was about to change, for the good. Branches of new life.”
Lisa ran back to her grandmother’s house, but her gran wasn’t relieved by her return. In fact, she called the police and told them Lisa was making up a story about being kidnapped. Thankfully, the police said they still had to do an investigation and brought Lisa in for questioning.
Again, Lisa’s calm demeanour meant investigators thought she was lying. That is, until she spoke to Sergeant Larry Pinkerton, who was investigating the murders of women in the area. 
Lisa told Pinkerton everything – from the abuse she’d suffered at the hands of  her grandmother’s boyfriend (he was immediately arrested), to every single detail about Long, his car and his apartment.
Because of Lisa’s detailed story, the police were able to look at the records from the ATM where Long had stopped before dropping her off. They compared the list with people who had maroon Dodge Magnums in the area and were able to come 
up with a name: Bobby Joe Long. 


Long  was arrested on 16 November 1984, 12 days after abducting Lisa. By that time, he’d already killed two more women. He went on to confess to Lisa’s kidnap, as well 
as the murders of all the others. Long pleaded guilty at his trial in 1985. It was later revealed that he had a history of hating women. After his parents split up, Long spent most of his childhood with his mother, who he shared a bed with until he was 13. His mum worked in a bar and often brought men home, and Long was said to resent her for it. Long married his childhood sweetheart in 1974, but around the same time, suffered a motorbike accident. He sustained a head injury, which led him to becoming increasingly violent and sadistic.
After his wife divorced him, Long moved to Miami, where he committed at least 50 rapes. He would respond to classified adverts for small appliances and, finding women alone at home, he’d rape them. He was convicted for those crimes in 1981, but after requesting a new trial, the charges were dropped. But at his trial in September 1985, Long was finally brought to justice. According to the Florida Department of Corrections, Long was given one five-year sentence, four 99-year sentences, 28 life sentences, and one death sentence.
After her ordeal, Lisa – who had been placed in a centre for runaway teens –  went to live with her aunt and uncle. She said, “They were the only people who ever showed me love.” Lisa went on to get married and have children, before she started working for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office – the same force that helped track down her rapist. She’s said, “No one is going to get hurt on my watch. That was my motivation to become a police officer.”
Bobby Joe Long was finally executed by lethal injection on 23 May 2019, after 34 years on Death Row. Lisa was at the execution, where she sat in the front row, wearing 
a homemade T-shirt with the words “Long… overdue” written on it. Speaking to the media, she thanked Long, saying, “The reason why I say thank you now is that I’ve forgiven you for what you’ve done to me. Had I not forgiven you, I might as well be 
in my own prison without walls.”