The Chilling Truth: I Could Have Been The Next Victim Of A Serial Killer
“Everywhere he goes, somebody dies.” Yahoo News
During my senior year in college, serial killer Christopher Wilder lurked only four short miles away.
I vividly remember the meeting at my college in upstate New York. School officials told us never to go anywhere alone and to go everywhere in pairs.
I also remember Wilder’s FBI wanted posters plastered all over campus. I took one of them for posterity. (Now I fear I am sounding like a serial killer who takes keepsakes from his victims.)
I went to college six hours from home. Of course, I knew all about the killer but never said a word on the phone to my mother. She knew all about the serial killer and never said a word to me. We were both protecting each other.
This time was very scary and everyone was on edge. My college was an all-girls school. Any one of us could have easily been one of Wilder’s prey.
Au.news.yahoo.com, spoke about Wilder in their January 27, 2019 story:
“He was one of the most-wanted fugitives by the FBI — known as the Beauty Queen Killer, Chris Wilder made number one on the most wanted faster than anyone in the United States.”
According to the site, Australian-born Wilder was one of the world’s most
sadistic killers who left the bodies of young dead women in Australia and the United States for over 20 years. Yet, the citizens of Australia hardly know his name.
When he was 17, he took part in the gang rape of a teenage girl.
In 1968, Wilder married, but it only lasted a week. His wife claimed he tried to kill her and was a victim of sexual abuse. She also discovered some disturbing pictures.
When he was 24, Wilder moved from Australia to Miami, Florida in the United States. He was a wealthy race-car driver.
Dana Neighbours knew Wilder and told Yahoo News:
“He would go to the beach and he would go to malls and pick up women… Anyone would voluntarily go with him. He was very attractive and witty, he always seemed to have plenty of money and he was very personable,” she remembered.”
Wilder’s crime spree was believed to have started with model Rosario Gonzales, 20. She worked at the Miami Grand Prix. After leaving the racetrack with Wilder, she was never seen again.
His next victim was Elizabeth Kenyon, former Miss Florida and teacher. Kenyon knew Wilder when she dated him briefly and turned down his marriage proposal.
In March of 1984, Wilder kidnapped 19-year-old Linda Grover, who managed to fight for her life and escape from the monster by locking herself in the bathroom and screaming at the top of her lungs. But only after he electrocuted her and glued her eyes shut. Wilder ran from the scene.
Grover was later able to identify Wilder.
In the early 70s, Wilder lured a woman by promising her a modeling contract. Instead, he drugged and raped her. He was not charged with any crime.
While visiting his parents in Sydney, he kidnapped two 15-year-old girls
and took pictures of them naked. He was then charged with kidnapping and sexual assault.
Due to several court delays, he was never convicted.
In 1984, Wilder was suspected of abducting and assaulting two sisters, 10 and 12. They searched for him for weeks, but he had left Florida. At that time four women had been killed or missing and presumed dead.
Below is some news coverage about Wilder:
The lead FBI investigator at the time was John Hanlon, who felt it was a very high-pressure situation.
Hanlon told Yahoo News:
“We needed to catch this guy because you knew as long as he’s out there, people are dying in a horrible, horrible fashion and the sooner you get him you’re going to save someone’s life.”
Posing as a fashion photographer, Wilder’s torment became more frequent and brazen. He would frequent modeling shows at malls and abduct young women.
According to allthatsinteresting.com:
“On February 26, 1984, Wilder embarked on a seven-week-long cross-country trip, during which he murdered at least eight women, all aspiring models. This earned him the ominous moniker of ‘The Beauty Queen Killer’.”
On April 4, 16-year-old Tina Marie Risico was abducted from Torrance, California. He had a different tactic this time. He did not kill her but rather used her to entice more women. She was in no position to say no.
On April 10, Risico helped Wilder capture the next victim, Dawnette Wilt from Gary, Indiana. Wilt was raped and tortured for two days. He then stabbed her and left her body in a wooded area in upstate New York.
In a remarkable turn of events, Wilt was able to get herself to a highway and was taken to the hospital in Penn Yan, New York, four miles from my college.
She was able to identify Wilder from his mug shots.
Thirty-three-year-old Beth Dodge would become his last victim. He abducted her from Victor, New York, and shot her. He then took her car and drove Risico to Logan Airport in Boston. Surprisingly, he bought her a ticket to Los Angeles.
To this day, no one knows why her life was spared. She is one lucky girl.
On April 13, Wilder was at a gas station in New Hampshire, where he was recognized by two state troopers. When they approached him, Wilder jumped into his car and grabbed his gun.
While he was restrained by a trooper, his gun fired two shots. One bullet went through Wilder’s body and into the trooper. The other bullet went through Wilder’s chest and killed him.
There are conflicting reports on whether Wilder’s death was an accident or if he killed himself.
At least this diabolical killer could no longer lure innocent victims to torture or kill them, or both.
In the aftermath of Wilder’s horrific killing spree, Wilder either stabbed or shot eight young victims across several US states. The number of victims could possibly be higher due to unsolved cases.
It is difficult to fathom how the remaining victims, who got away from the madman, are coping with the horrendous events that they endured. I hope they received the help they needed and are doing well today.
It has been disturbing writing this story and recalling how brutal and horrifying Wilder was. To think that he was just minutes away from my college.
Luckily, he didn’t come near us. We did do our shopping at the mall in
Penn Yan, New York.
From my diary, dated April 16, 1984:
“A ten most wanted killer was in Penn Yan. It was pretty scary. All the dorms were locked down day and night. Everyone had to carry the key with them to get into the dorms. It was very scary knowing there was a serial killer on the loose. I was certainly relieved to hear that he was dead!”
I recently spoke with a classmate of mine, and I asked her if she remembered that there was a serial killer near our college. At first,
she didn’t really remember but then she asked if he was the one who
targeted models.
I don’t know about you, but this very frightening and remarkable incident is indelibly stored in the back of my brain. I don’t think about it much, but I certainly remember that it happened.
What about you? Do you think you could forget something like this?
Please respond in the comments.
