The moment she was jumped by John Gardner could've been her last and Candace Moncayo knows it.
The college student was jogging on the trails around Lake Hodges when Gardner jumped her and tried to rape her. She managed to strike him in the nose and escaped with her life.
Still, the fact that she was in the clutches of a rapist and killer has caused great emotional pain to Moncayo. She had to drop two college courses and has been seeing a therapist since the attack on Dec. 27, 2009.
Moncayo recently talked with a county probation officer, according to documents released Thursday, and outlined what she's gone through since the day she fell victim to the same man who she now knows had raped and killed Escondido teenager Amber Dubois and who would later attack, rape and kill Poway teenager Chelsea King.
The University of Colorado student told the probation officer she would most likely read a victim impact statement in person in the downtown courtroom when Gardner is sentenced Friday.
“It's something I think I'll be dealing with for the rest of my life,” she told Larry King when she appeared on his talk show in March.
“He threw me down on to the ground and he pinned me to the ground. And like I said, I was screaming. And he said, 'Shut up.' And I said, 'No!' And he said -- he told me to shut up again. And I said, 'No!' And then I said, 'Well, you're going to have to kill me first,' because I thought that he was trying to rape me. And he said, ‘That can be arranged,’ ” she told the cable television host.
Local
Moncayo’s college tuition and therapy costs will be requested as part of the restitution sought at the time of Gardner’s sentencing. The probation officer’s report recommends Gardner pay Moncayo $2,421 while also paying Carrie McGonigle, Amber Dubois’ mother, $19, 479.38 for burial expenses not reimbursed by the Victims Compensation Board.
The King family and Amber Dubois’ father, Moe Dubois, have not submitted requests for restitution from Gardner in advance of the sentencing Friday.
