Sartaj Singh
Directed by Annie Bradley, ‘The Killer I Picked Up’ tells the story of a driven single mother who takes up multiple jobs but finds herself becoming the subject of obsessive interest for a mysterious stranger. When the need arises, Angela takes on the side job of a rideshare driver to support her daughter’s college dreams. However, her usually quiet evenings of driving take a dark turn when she unknowingly picks up a mysterious rider with a chilling and violent past. What starts as a routine fare soon escalates into a mother’s fight to protect herself and her family from the looming threat of her disturbed passenger. The Lifetime thriller movie takes us on a suspenseful journey featuring maternal love, obsession, and survival.
Lifetime’s The Killer I Picked Up is a Fictional Story of Danger Lurking Behind a Routine Fare
‘The Killer I Picked Up’ is a fictional film written by Tyler Richardson and does not directly correlate to any true story. However, cases of real-life women cab drivers becoming targets of assault are an unfortunate reality. When asked about what inspired her to take on the role of Angela, lead actress Patrice Goodman talked about the positive dynamic and example she sets with her daughter. She was also drawn to the strength she displays as a single mother who takes control of her situation. “I also love the dynamic of her (Angela) having agency over her life,” said the actress in an interview. “When something is wrong, she goes out and she gets the extra job. When somebody is maybe not so safe, she will protect herself. I really liked how much agency the character had.”
Similar Real-Life Cases of Women Taxi Drivers Picking up Killers
As far back as the 1970s, we can find an instance of an adventurous and independent woman cab driver breaking boundaries but becoming the tragic victim of a deranged killer. Such was the case of Linda Thomas, which shook the small town of Port Talbot, the UK, in 1973. 22-year-old Linda Thomas was a trailblazing figure in her town, a beautiful young woman who drove a cab because she found it to be a fun activity. Living during the second wave of feminism, she had dreams of owning a large home and filling it up with cats and dogs.
Her vibrant life was cut short on June 20, 1973, when she picked up 28-year-old Trevor Howell. Unbeknownst to Linda or her cab company, he had racked up 15 criminal convictions, including burglary and sexual assault, and was out on bail from assaulting a woman only six days prior. When Linda did not return from her two-mile journey to Afan Valley for hours, the police were contacted. After nine days of searching, a tip-off led them to Linda’s body in the airshaft of a disused mine, covered with a thin layer of stones. She had injuries to her midsection with broken ribs and no signs of sexual assault. Howell initially pled not guilty, confessing to hitting her but saying that he did not remember carrying her body to the airshaft.
An 11-man jury convicted Trevor Howell of murder, and he was sentenced to life in prison. He died at the age of 72 in Norwich prison in August 2017. In 1997, Eileen Costello O’Shaughnessy, a 42-year-old female cab driver, was murdered while working in Galway, Ireland. The case remains unsolved. There are several modern cases of women taxi drivers being assaulted by violent passengers unwilling to pay fares or harboring despicable intentions. While ‘The Killer I Picked Up’ may reflect such real-world realities in its plot, it is an original work of fiction providing some much-needed catharsis with the protagonist fighting back against a killer.
Read More: Nobody Dumps My Daughter: Is the Lifetime Movie Based on a True Story?
