Lisa Rinna’s mum Lois was the first known attempted murder of David Carpenter – the Trailside Killer – as he assaulted her with a knife and hammer on a ‘ deserted road ‘ after persuading her into his car
Lisa Rinna has detailed the terrifying moment her mum was attacked with a knife and a hammer by serial killer David Carpenter, known as the Trailside Killer, in California. Carpenter was a co-worker of Lisa’s mum Lois, and was imprisoned for the attack before being released and continuing his violent spree.
Real Housewives star Lisa, 61, spoke about the attack with her husband Harry Hamlin on their joint podcast Let’s Not Talk About the Husband.
Speaking to the camera, she shared: “If you don’t know, my mum – when she was 30 years old – was brutally attacked by a serial killer. We didn’t know he was a serial killer at the time, but he turned out to be a serial killer”.
Lisa then explained that a producer was interested in Lois ‘ story, with Carpenter not having been covered in a film yet.
The Trailside Killer was convicted of seven murders and confirmed responsible for an eighth, but cops suspect he could have killed two more.
Lois – who sadly died in 2021 – was Carpenter’s first known attempted murder, for which he spent seven years behind bars. American Horror Story star Lisa described: “She worked with him. He stuttered, so she felt sorry for him but was always nice to him.
” Here’s what happened. She was at the bus stop. They lived in San Francisco. She didn’t have a car so she took the bus, and she was going to the dentist in the morning, maybe before work. David Carpenter drives up and says, ‘ Hi, Lois, can I give you a ride? I’d love for you to come see my new baby. ‘ He had a baby. He was married! “
Lois is said to have tried to turn the ride down, but Carpenter was adamant. “They start driving, and all of a sudden, she’s starting to feel weird, of course, because it didn’t feel right, and all of a sudden, he’s talking to her and he’s not stuttering. That’s when she knew,” Lisa said.
In a terrifying turn, Lisa recounted:” And she said, ‘ David, what’s going on? ‘ He said, ‘ I don’t know, Lois. Sometimes, something funny comes over me. ‘ And she knew she was f***ing cooked. “
The Entourage actress said that Carpenter drove her mum to a “deserted road in The Presidio” – a park in San Francisco.
She shared:” He straddles my mom, my mom’s in the passenger seat, grabs a knife out of the glove box – all of a sudden he goes at her with a knife. She grabs it with her hand, so the knife’s coming at you and she grabs it, so she slices her two fingers, so they’re, like, dangling. “
Carpenter then started attacking Lois with a hammer, but in a life-saving turn, a military policeman was walking on the road she was being attacked on, and” shoots David Carpenter in the stomach. “
Lisa then described how her mum acted after the vicious attack”. This is the creepiest, weirdest part of it all. ]Lois is] in full-on shock. He hit her at least five times on the head with a hammer. Her fingers are dangling. Her purse spills out, she opens the car door somehow, her purse spills out and she’s so busy picking up the items to put back in her purse. Her head is, like, gushing blood. She’s totally in shock, but all she wants to do is put her things back into her purse. “
Lisa added that she herself went to support her mum in court when Carpenter was facing the death penalty. Lisa was just 21 when Lois gave her testimony, and Carpenter was placed on death row – but in 2019 had his sentence changed to life without parole when executions were halted in California.
