Just a few years before shooting to fame on shows like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel," actress Charisma Carpenter was nearly killed by a rogue former cop.
Carpenter, who is hosting Investigation Discovery's "Surviving Evil," reveals to Showbiz Tonight her terrifying ordeal.
Back in 1991, years before she traded barbs with Buffy, Carpenter and two friends were swimming at Torrey Pines State Beach in San Diego when they were violently attacked by Henry Hubbard Jr., then a 29-year-old police officer.
During the encounter, Hubbard, brandishing a gun, ordered Carpenter to tie up her male friends. But Carpenter refused, affording her companions opportunity to jump and overpower Hubbard, ultimately leading to his capture and arrest — even as the young men suffered non-fatal bullet wounds along the way.
Carpenter meanwhile held onto the police-issue flashlight Hubbard used, to help seal his conviction for that assault which, when combined with a string of others, earned him a 56-year prison sentence.
"Surviving Evil" presents stories of victims telling their personal stories of fighting back against their attackers. The series premieres Wednesday, August 28 at 10/9c on Investigation Discovery.
HLN