Fort Collins, Colorado – In August 2013, Amber Smith, a single mother working at a local convenience store, was violently attacked, raped, strangled, and left for dead in a Fort Collins park. Despite the attacker’s DNA being found on her body and the duct tape used to bind her, police were unable to identify a suspect in the case.
After the traumatic incident, Smith struggled with fear and suspicion, hesitant to leave her home and wary of every man she encountered. Two years later, in an effort to reclaim her life, she moved in with a group of friends who provided a safe space for her to heal. However, little did she know that her attacker was among her new roommates.
As she began to put the pieces of her life back together, a breakthrough in the case brought unexpected revelations. DNA evidence from a separate criminal investigation led to the arrest of a man whose DNA matched that found at the scene of Smith’s attack. Shockingly, the man turned out to be one of her new roommates, Stefan Moon, who had once consoled her after the brutal assault.
The discovery of Moon’s identity sent Smith reeling, as she grappled with the realization that the man she trusted was, in fact, her assailant. Moon attempted to deny the accusations, claiming that the sexual encounter between them was consensual, but the overwhelming evidence against him ultimately led to his conviction on charges of kidnapping and sexual assault. He was sentenced to 128 years in prison.
Despite the trauma she endured, Smith has found strength and closure through the legal process, and now aims to use her experience to help others who have faced similar hardships. Today, she is determined to move forward, no longer defined by the label of a victim, but rather empowered by the resilience she has shown in the face of unimaginable adversity.