View source for Kara Borden and David Ludwig

[[Image:Kara Borden.jpg|thumb|right|Kara Beth Borden]]
[[Image:David_Ludwig.jpg|thumb|right|David G. Ludwig]]
'''Kara Beth Borden''' (born February 6, 1991) and '''David G. Ludwig''' (born April 28, 1987) are a former couple from [[Lititz, Pennsylvania|Lititz]], [[Pennsylvania]]. They received wide spread media attention in November 2005 when the then 18-year old Ludwig murdered Kara's parents.

== Overview ==

Borden was missing for 24 hours after her parents, Michael F. and Cathryn Borden were killed, seemingly abducted by her boyfriend.  Ludwig was arrested on November 14, 2005, after a high speed chase ended in a crash.  He was charged with murdering Borden's parents following an argument over Borden lying about attending a sleepover, when instead she spent the night with Ludwig.  On November 16], Ludwig was sent back to Pennsylvania after waiving extradition.  Shortly after, he confessed to the murders.

According to Ludwig, Borden had spent the night at his house, after which he had dropped her off at home around 5:30 AM.  Ludwig waited for a text message from Borden, letting him know that she had successfully made it back without incident, presumably by sneaking into the house undetected.  However, the text message never came.  After several attempts to reach Borden, Ludwig finally contacted her at around 6:15 AM.  Borden informed him that she had gotten caught and asked him to come over so her parents could talk to him.  At this point, Ludwig grabbed two guns and a hunting knife and traveled to the Bordens' house, arriving around 7 AM. Ludwig and Michael Borden argued for about 45 minutes, at which time Michael Borden allegedly stated that Ludwig was no longer allowed to see his daughter.  Ludwig then allegedly shot Michael Borden in the back and proceeded to shoot Cathryn Borden who was sitting in the living room.  Ludwig left the scene and then returned in hopes to find Kara, who had run out of the house after the first shooting.  It was not long before Kara ran towards his vehicle and according to Ludwig, asked him to drive as far west as possible so they could marry and start a new life together.  Surveillance videos, from the teens' three-state run, appear to show that Kara accompanied Ludwig willingly and a subsequent investigation confirmed this. Kidnapping charges against Ludwig were withdrawn.

== Aftermath ==

As of 2006, a guardian has been appointed for Borden, and she is represented by legal counsel. A court affidavit released on November 22, 2005], negated a charge of kidnapping against David G. Ludwig, and concluded that Borden fled with Ludwig of her &quot;own free will&quot;. Ludwig's lawyer has reportedly stated that Borden willingly accompanied Ludwig in their three-state flight, and surveillance tapes indicate Borden had ample opportunity to escape. Borden has admitted she ran after Ludwig as he left her home; Borden claims she wanted to marry Ludwig. Borden's situation is similar to that of [[Caril Ann Fugate]], the 14-year-old girlfriend of [[Charles Starkweather]].

Kara Beth is regarded as a victim, [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,176343,00.html] and no charges have been brought against her by the [[Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Lancaster County]] District Attorney, based on statements made by her and Ludwig during the investigation,[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,178929,00.html] and also based on the evidence collected, including e-mails, blogs and text messages.

In June 2006, in a plea deal with District Attorney Donald R. Totaro (who had been asking for the death penalty[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,178929,00.html]), Ludwig pled guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and other charges and was immediately sentenced to [[American Penal System|two consecutive life sentences in prison]].[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,199468,00.html]

== Borden, Ludwig and SydLexia.com ==

In November of 2005, [[Syd Lexia]] was looking for a way to attract new visitors to his growing website, which had recently turned one year old. Turning on CNN one morning, he saw a report about the shooting of Kara's parents and her supposed kidnapping. Intrigued, he did a [[MySpace]] search and immediately found her webpage. At that moment, Syd decided to start repeatedly mentioning the case in his blog as a cheap way of attracting hits; he also mirrored several of Kara Borden and David Ludwig's personal pages. The ploy, while cheap, was successful at stabilizing [[SydLexia.com]]'s falling [http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/sydlexia.com Alexa rating].

[[Syd]] also created a short series of tasteless but hilarious web comics around David G. Ludwig, which he originally posted on Ludwig's MySpace in the days after the incident. He's so going to hell.

== Trivia ==

* Kara Borden shares her birthday with Ronald Reagan, Axl Rose, and Bob Marley.

== External links ==

*[http://sydlexia.com/imagesandstuff/borden/index.htm Kara Beth Borden and David G. Ludwig Archive]
*[http://www.crimelibrary.com/news/original/1105/1501_kara_beth_borden_david_ludwig.html Crime Library]: The Flight of David Ludwig and Kara Beth Borden

== References ==
*{{cite news | title=Lawyer: Girl Had No Role in Parents' Murders | url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,176343,00.html | publisher=Fox News / Associated Press| date=2005-11-22}}
*{{cite news | title=Girl, 14, not involved in parents' killings, attorney says.| url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/premium/0286/0286-12430485.html|publisher=The Philadelphia Inquirer | date=2005-11-22 | accesdsdate=2007-01-25}}
*{{cite news |title=Report: Girl left willingly with slaying suspect | url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20051122/news_1n22parents.html | publisher=San Diego Union-Tribune / Associated Press | date=2005-11-22 | accessdate=2007-02-07}}
*{{cite news |title=Teen Gave Detailed Account of Parent Killings. | url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,176523,00.html | publisher=Fox News / Associated Press | date=2005-11-23 | accessdate=2007-01-25}}
*{{cite news | title=Prosecutor Wants Death Penalty for Ludwig | url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,178929,00.html | publisher=Fox News / Associated Press| date=2005-12-16}}
*{{cite news | title=Pennsylvania Teen Pleads Guilty to Killing Girlfriend's Parents, Gets Life in Prison | url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,199468,00.html | publisher=Fox News / Associated Press | date=2006-06-14}}


[[Category:SydLexia.com]]
[[Category:People]]