BRIGHTON, Colo. -- The father of Julie Ann Kilgore, who police said was kidnapped at gunpoint, said his daughter thought she was going to die.

"She's been traumatized," said Ray Kilgore.

He said his daughter has just begun to talk about what happened in the agonizing four days that she was held captive by her ex-fiancé, Dennis Cox.

"He bound her with duct tape and handcuffs. He handcuffed her to himself and kept a .45 automatic on her. Almost all the time, he had it in his hand," Kilgore said.

Cox kidnapped Julie Ann Kilgore from her Brighton home on Tuesday. Her father said Julie Ann had just arrived home with her 7-yr-old niece. When she arrived, Cox was waiting for her inside, according to Kilgore.

"Originally it was his plan to kill her and himself too," said Kilgore.

In an interview with The Denver Post, Julie Ann Kilgore said it began with an argument. She said Cox thought she was planning to leave him, and apparently snapped.

She told her father for four days Cox kept her captive as they moved between different motels.

Then on Friday, she was able to coax Cox into leaving their motel room in Laramie, Wyoming.

"He finally said he decided not to hurt her. He went out on his own. She locked the door, looked through the window and saw some maids outside," said Kilgore. "She knocked on the window and had them call 911. Then she ran to the office and hid behind a desk until the police came."

Kilgore believes it was his daughter's quick thinking and experience as a critical care nurse that may have saved her life.

"She's a very bright person. She knows what to say, what not to say, and that's what got her out," Kilgore said.

Kilgore said since her escape, his daughter has been at home resting and watching movies with her niece.

"She's still holding a lot of it back. She's still traumatized," he said.

Cox was tracked down in Fort Collins late Friday and was killed in a shootout with police.