An Austin woman may be the victim of a serial rapist just arrested in New Mexico.
Investigators say Robert Howard Bruce had a wife and children, but his job allowed him to travel extensively throughout the southwest -- where he targeted college co-eds.
"You know stuff like this happens but you don't think it's going to happen to you," said Pam, a rape victim.
Pam, who asked that her last name not be revealed, had just graduated from UT in May of 2006 and had moved into a house on 55 and a half Street. She had gone to sleep when police say this man, Robert Howard Bruce attacked her.
"He put a cloth on my nose and mouth," Pam said.
Bruce was labeled the Ether Man Rapist because he subdued his victims by covering their nose and mouth with a chemical laced cloth.
"I remember I felt like I was suffocating me. I just kept yelling, 'I can't breathe'. I really thought I was dying right then," Pam said.
Because of the chemical, Pam says she had no idea it had been hours since the attack when she finally awakened and called 911.
"The guy is pretty much not on our radar at all," said Detective Scott Stanfield with the APD Sex Crimes Unit.
APD detectives got Bruce's name from out of state investigators and found out he checked into a Marriott close to Pam's home.
"He checked in on the 24th and checked out on the 25th. The distance from that to the back of her door was probably 1,000 feet," Stanfield said.
Pam says while she's had to get on with her life, she is still angry at Bruce.
"I don't really have anything to say to him, you know. I mean I'm glad he's caught," Pam said.
Pam shed no tears for herself but did for the others in her family affected by this crime.
"I was always like the big sister and showed that I can get through it. Just letting them know that people are going to get what they deserve and you can move on," Pam said holding back tears.
Bruce was recently arrested for window peeping in Colorado. But investigators said when Bruce attempted to have the arresting officer killed over that misdemeanor offense, they dug deeper into Bruce's background and were able to link him to at least 10 rapes in New Mexico alone.
