On a cold January day 34 years ago, a young estate agent's ordinary appointment turned into a nightmare that would grip the nation. Stephanie Slater, then 25, arrived at a property on Turnberry Road in Great Barr, on the outskirts of Birmingham, to meet a client who called himself 'Bob Southall'. Unbeknownst to her, the man was a predator with a horrifying plan.
A Viewing That Turned to Terror
It quickly became clear that 'Bob' had no real interest in the house. As Stephanie tried to hurry the viewing along, they went upstairs. There, in the bathroom, the man's demeanour transformed completely. He attacked her with a knife and a hooked file, screaming threats as she fought back.
"He just looked absolutely evil," Stephanie later recalled of the 1992 attack. Seeing her own blood, she realised the grave danger she was in. With a knife to her throat in the bath, she remembered advice from a book by Dr Miriam Stoppard and pleaded with her attacker: "Okay, you've got me. Calm down. Just remember I'm human."
Her words had an effect. The man, who was really a toolmaker named Michael Sams from Sutton-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, tied her up, placed her in his car, and revealed his true intent. He was kidnapping her for a £175,000 ransom from her employers, Shipways estate agency.
Eight Days in a Coffin
Sams drove Stephanie to his workshop in Newark, Nottinghamshire. There, he subjected her to a new level of horror. He blindfolded and gagged her, placed her in handcuffs, and bound her feet. He then put her inside a coffin, which was pushed into a wheelie bin.
To ensure her compliance, Sams pushed electrodes up her trousers and threatened to electrocute her if she tried to escape, warning that boulders would crush her. For eight days, Stephanie was kept in the dark, cramped coffin, only allowed out briefly to eat, drink, or use the toilet. He fed her fish and chips, KitKats, and cups of tea.
Remembering the advice to humanise herself to her captor, Stephanie used these moments to talk to Sams about television shows like Coronation Street and even gave him a hug, all in a desperate bid to survive.
A Failed Handover and a Traumatic Release
While Stephanie endured her confinement, police intercepted Sams's ransom demand—a cassette tape with a message he had forced her to record. Her boss, Kevin Watts, was wired up with surveillance to deliver the cash on a secluded road in Glossop. Thick fog hampered the operation, and Sams successfully snatched the ransom money and escaped.
With the money in his possession, Sams drove Stephanie back to Birmingham and released her two streets from her home. After eight days blindfolded, her vision was blurred, making it difficult to find her way. She finally reached her parents' house, only to be met by a police family liaison officer.
"You want to hug your parents, but to a police officer, you're a walking crime scene," Stephanie said of the heartbreaking moment she was forbidden from physical comfort to preserve evidence.
Justice and a Life Forever Changed
With Stephanie free, a manhunt began. When a recording of Sams's ransom call was played on BBC's Crimewatch, his ex-wife recognised his voice and contacted the show. Sams was arrested at his workshop in February 1992.
The investigation revealed he was also responsible for the kidnapping and murder of 18-year-old Julie Dart in Leeds in 1991. Stephanie's evidence was crucial in securing his conviction. Michael Sams was jailed for life in 1993 and was last denied parole in April 2023.
The trauma of the ordeal never left Stephanie. She suffered from PTSD, flashbacks, and could not return to work. When wheelie bins were introduced in her area, she initially could not bear to have one at her home. She campaigned for women's safety and wrote a book, Beyond Fear: My Will to Survive.
She later disclosed that Sams had raped her, a fact she hid during the initial investigation to protect her mother, who had a heart condition. Stephanie eventually moved to the Isle of Wight with her best friend but continued to struggle. Stephanie Slater died of cancer in 2017 at the age of 50, her life forever marked by the eight days she spent fighting to survive in a coffin.
