Every Town - 10 Years of Fear! The Stalking Nightmare of BILL & DOROTHY Wacker

Episode Date: July 5, 2024

For years, too many years actually, the Wackers asked themselves the same questions over and over: "Who?", "How?", and most of all, "Why?". Because for nearly a decade, Bill and Dorothy Wacker, who were just a peaceful elderly couple living in small town Ohio, were the victims of constant and persistent harassment. Harassment that defied logic and only continued to escalate over the years. 👀 Watch This Episode On Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/scarymysteries 🎧 Our Other Podcast Scary Mysteries: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ZooEZMoZ421WdsOVJhVkT 💀 Exclusive Videos, Podcasts & Perks: https://www.patreon.com/scarymysteries  👁 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrew.fitzg 👁 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrewfitzgerald 👁 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scarymysteriesofficial 🗣 Business Inquiries, questions and comments hit us up at [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you love true crime, grab your favorite mug and pour yourself a dose of creepy true crime every single morning with a morning cup of murder. This short daily show is the perfect podcast to incorporate into your morning routine because in less than 15 minutes, you'll hear about a true crime that took place on a day's date in history. Each day's dark history lesson will kickstart your morning with intriguing tales of murder, abduction, serial killers, cults, and everything in between.

With over 20 million downloads, Morning Cup of Murder has something for every true crime lover. One listener describes the show as a small package with a powerful punch of crime. Another writes that the show is an absolute delight in the morning. Support yourself a piping hot cup of murder every single morning with Morning Cup of Murder. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Everytown has a dark side. For years, too many years actually, the Whackers asked themselves the same questions over and over, who, how, and most of all, why.

He was for nearly a decade Bill and Dorothy Wacker, who were just a peaceful elderly couple living in small town, Ohio, with the victims of constant and persistent harassment. Harassment that defied logic and only continued to escalate over the years. What began with vandalism, prank calls, and disturbing noises outside their home, quickly reach frightening levels. Threats, invasions of privacy, and even several episodes of physical violence. A harasser had cruel intentions, though their motives remain a mystery. No matter how hard they tried, the whackers and the authorities could never catch who did this.

Hey guys, it's Andrew, and thanks so much for tuning in to another episode of Everytown. where today we're looking into a very unique and uncomfortable story that revolves around, aside from what they experienced, a relatively normal American couple, who was harassed by an unknown stalker for close to 10 years. So let's head down to start Canny, Ohio, and hear all about the terrifying intruder of Bill and Dorothy Wacker. William Lewis Wacker, who everyone just called Bill, was born on March 12th of 1920 in Maselon, Ohio. He served as a first-class private in the United States Army and fought for his country during World War II. After returning from duty, he would meet his partner in life, Dorothy Jean, who was born on April 21st of 1927, also in Maselone, Ohio. They tied the knot sometime in the 1950s, were very much in love and raised two daughters together. For many years, and they were just another family that lived in their community, and their lives were completely.

completely normal in a small town in Stark County, Ohio. The Wackers had no problems with anyone, at least that they were aware of. They were friendly with all their neighbors and had no known enemies until the harassment began. And there's no exact date and time for when this all started. The things slowly began to happen around them, and whether or not they all tied together is up for debate, though, it appears they all are. But the major incident that they view as a starting point of the torment happened one day back in 1984. Bill and Dorothy were returning home one evening from a night out to their old familiar house where they lived for the last 30 years at this point when they encountered a distressing scene. And pulling in the driveway, they knew immediately something had happened.

Upon entering the home, saw it was essentially in ruins. And somebody had broken in, and whatever their intentions, they left nothing untouched. Every cupboard and drawer in the kitchen was open. The contents of what was inside, plates, glasses, forks, strung on the floor. Chairs and tables were flipped upside down. The dresser drawers in their bedroom had been rummaged through. Everything was in utter disarray. And Bill would have been about 64 years old around this time, his wife, 58.

The scene left them speechless, and feeling of being violated was something they could never shake. They thought they had lived in a safe place, so for this to happen was very jarring. Not only were their things flipped upside down, but now their feeling of security was as well. But here's the weird part. While the scene presented seemed to indicate that someone had broken into steel, nothing of value or importance to the whackers was missing. In fact, nothing at all. Even things like jewelry that were left out in the open weren't taken.

And so, what was this person's true intentions? For this first incident, for some reason, that will never be completely clear, the whackers did not consider this break in serious enough to even report it to the police. They probably thought it was a prank by an immature child, maybe a clumsy thief. The fact that nothing was taken, threw them off a bit, and they just decided to clean it up, move on with their lives. However, this was just the start of it all. And this same thing would happen again.

No wackers would leave the house, only to return to find it completely destroyed. Yet once again, they did nothing. At least not until the person or persons behind it made it abundantly clear that it was personal, that they were doing this strictly to mess with them. On January 16, 1985, the episode repeated itself a third time. And this one prompted the whackery, to call the authorities. And the police reports noted that nothing was missing, or if it was,

whackers didn't realize it. But this served to show that the home had been broken into, at least on this occasion, and now they wanted the person caught. But the police investigation into this led nowhere. While the house was ransacked, not a single fingerprint was found, no one saw anything, no neighbors heard anything, it just sort of happened. Things, which were already looking pretty bad, escalated dramatically in July of 85. Just six months after the Wackers filed their first formal complaint with the police.

On this day, Dorothy was home alone, recovering from heart surgery, working in the kitchen when someone knocked on the door. She got up and went to answer it. Dorothy opened the door, and on her porch stood a man, a young man, no more than 25 years old, who greeted her politely. and told her he was having car trouble and asked if he could use her phone. At first, Dorothy didn't notice anything strange about this courteous and polite individual, seemingly in need of some help. The only problem was that the man's supposed vehicle was nowhere to be seen. As she asked him where his car was,

he explained that it was at the end of the street, just out of sight from where they stood on the porch. This was a bit odd to say the least because if his car was in fact at the end of the street, Why didn't he ask someone else for help? Why walk all the way to the Wackers' home to ask for a simple phone call? Because after all, there wasn't the only house for miles. Just one more in the neighborhood of many. But Dorothy probably didn't ask herself any of these questions.

Things were very different in 85, long before crime shows, documentaries, YouTube channels, and every town. Where everywhere, you're being warned of what happens when you let the wrong ones in. And so Dorothy pointed out where the phone was, went back to the kitchen, where she could hear the man dialing a number, making his call, and talking to someone, and finally falling for her tow truck. After a few minutes on the phone, the stranger hung up. He thanked Dorothy, said goodbye. A woman replied, you're welcome, and returned to the kitchen where she could hear the sound of her front door closing. The problem was when she was never in the front foyer to see that the man never left. She never saw him leave, and she never heard him approach.

At least not until the stranger hit her over the head so hard, but Dorothy immediately lost consciousness. When she finally came too, found a scene very similar to what she and her husband had witnessed on previous occasions. The house once again had been ransacked, not a stone or couch cushion left unturned. Dorothy was lying on the floor, gagged and tied up in a manner so intricate that it was impossible for her to go.

get out. Still bound, she managed to crawl to the window nearby, make herself her by the neighbors, who saw her and then called the police. Bill returned home, aware of what had happened, and at this point, a line had been crossed. If things continue to escalate like this, well, what's the end game here? Inside his home, it was filled with police, who, after giving him time to talk to his wife and make sure she was okay, asked for his help and searching the home to see if anything was missing. The police really wanted to get as much serious offenses on this guy so they could put the resources into tracking him down. And sure enough, this time the stalker took an old watch, a video camera, radio scanner, and a 22-caliber revolver. The mysterious figure hadn't just taken things and also left something behind.

In the dining room, written on the wall and what could only be crayon was the following phrase. cheaper, but will do. A message as strange as it was ambiguous, and what was cheaper exactly, and what will do? A police investigated the crime scene, questioned the neighbors, they searched for evidence, but once again, it all led to a dead end. It wasn't a single fingerprint, single hair, single shoe print. No one saw anything. No one heard anything.

Simply put, there was no thread to pull. The police questioned door. Dorothy, but the most she could give them was a more or less general description of the man. A young blonde individual with light eyes, from which a composite sketch was made that, although Dorothy confirmed as the spitting image of the man who attacked her, was never identified. It can be said with almost complete certainty that the whackers, their friends, their family, and the authorities must have asked themselves the same question over and over again during the nearly eight years that this situation lasted.

Why? I mean, really, what did this mysterious person want? To hurt the Wackers, to have fun? Was it someone with a personal grudge against the elderly couple that they were unaware they had wronged? Was it revenge, perhaps? The scenarios were so strained in the complete lack of evidence would have some people thinking that perhaps the Wackers knew more than they were letting on. And maybe they didn't report those original break-ins because they knew exactly who was doing this. and feared retaliation. A few months after the attack on his wife, when Bill Wacker returned home in November of 85,

one thing would become clear. Whatever the stalker's motives, and they were not going to stop. On his porch, right in front of his door, the elderly man found an object wrapped in a plastic bag. I'm curious, he bent down to pick it up and unwrapped it, and it was the revolver that had disappeared from his home months ago. The message was clear.

not only was he letting them know it hadn't been a robbery. In a way, it was as if he was giving them the opportunity to defend themselves, almost as if he was telling them that no matter how much they prepared, sooner or later he would succeed in his goal, whatever it was. In the months that followed, this dynamic repeated itself. The scanner, the camera, the watch, one by one, all the stolen items were returned to the Wacker House under the same strange circumstances. And once again, the investigation led to a dead end.

Whatever the motive, the stalker was taking his personal crusade against the whackers very, very seriously. The next level to the harassment manifested itself in the phone ringing. A couple received a large number of threatening phone calls. The phone rang several times a day at the most erratic and random times with no discernible pattern. In the morning, at night, in the afternoon, at dawn. and his calls never lasted more than 20 or 30 seconds, but the person on the other end of the line always had a threatening tone. And sometimes he insulted and threatened the whackers. On occasion, Dorothy answered the phone, only to hear a voice say,

I will hit you on the head harder next time. And sometimes a stalker would just scream and hurl obscene insults. Sometimes they would laugh out loud. Other times, they would just stay on the line and breathe heavily into the phone before he would. hanging up. We fed up, the Wackers changed their number, but the calls never stopped. No matter how many times they changed it and kept it unlisted, the stalker always managed to find it and continue to torment them. New questions arose because of this. I mean, could it be someone close to the Wackers? A neighbor or relative who, for some disturbing reason, enjoyed doing this to them. In the next

run of events, a mysterious figure would approach the Wackers' home at night. Knock on the door, but when Bill arrived at it, no one was there. On other occasions, the person would run hastily through the backyard of the house, banging on the outside walls, doors, and windows, always disappearing long before anyone could arrive to find out what was happening. In response to these actions, Bill felt it necessary to install a motion sensor, big bright lights on the outside of the house that would get the attention of neighbors if someone was lurking. A strategy that unfortunately proved.

futile. The morning after installing him, he found a note wedged between the porchboards. On this piece of paper, written in a clumsy and messy scrawl was the following phrase. Your lights are a laugh. In addition to that, it said Sunday, didn't you come next time, and called but didn't answer. While they didn't necessarily make sense, the period of notes had now begun. And he did this for a long period of time. in between the disturbances, phone calls, threats, and all the strategies. Inexplicable, absurd notes that despite being analyzed by the authorities yielded no evidence, the only thing that became reasonably clear was that the notes probably were written

by someone using their non-dominant hand to avoid suspicion and leave no evidence. By the time October of 1993 arrived, the whackers had essentially become accustomed to the serious pranks of this sinister figure who lingered around their home. The man operated in waves, harassing them intensely for long periods of time, then disappearing for weeks or months, only to return when he felt the need. The police couldn't help, and so the whackers kept note of the incidents, but for the most part, didn't even report them to anyone. Police patrol cars would sit outside their home.

After weeks of nothing happening, they were returned to regular duty, and then a note were more calls. Halls would come in. By this time, Bill and his wife's story have gotten around. They had been interviewed on more than one occasion, and both husband and wife shared the idea that, for some reason, unknown to them, the stalker seemed unusually interested in convincing them to move. One might think that after eight years of persistence, without much success, the stalker would have preferred to give up, but nothing could be further from the truth. On the night of October 27th of 93, and Dorothy decided to go out into her backyard to get some of the stocker.

some fresh air with her dog. And at that moment, without her seeing or hearing anything, someone snuck into the backyard and crept up to her, and once again hit her on the head and knocked her out cold. Bill heard his wife fall, and he found her on the ground, bleeding severely from the head. Rush of the hospital where she needed multiple stitches and was confirmed that she had several significant lacerations to her head and a concussion. At this point, the authorities felt the need to explore all possibilities. Not only was this stalker's timing impeccable, but in all this time, all the sneaking around the house and break-ins and violent physical encounters, how had nobody else witnessed anybody around there? The only person to ever see him was Dorothy. Dorothy.

For the police, yeah, it all kept coming back around to Dorothy. Was it possible that somehow this was all a scheme by her to get attention or to force her husband to move. After all, no one but her saw the person who attacked her on two occasions. And the composite sketch, based on her description, never helped identify anyone. What if she made it all up? I would explain how someone could approach her in the middle of the night without her dog getting anxious or warning her in any way, and also why no one else has ever seen anything. And could she have actually hit herself over the head with an object? Well, the answer is yes. It would take some guts, but you could do it if you really wanted to. In fact, a lot of these incidents could have been made up when you really think about it.

Though, after the first assault when police arrived, Dorothy was tied up in a way that they all agree was impossible for her to have done on her own. And so was Bill actually involved in this too? Were they together looking for attention or perhaps to frame somebody in some long, drawn-out way? Maybe, what if Bill was in cahoots with the man who hit his wife the first time? That would explain why she didn't hear or see her attack or approach her the second time, and why the dog wasn't alerted. And maybe that's how the stalker kept getting the new phone number for the house. With all these scenarios, the problem always remains the same, though.

Why would one or both of them do any of this? knowing that they were actually being considered as the possible culprits at this point. In November of 93, a month after the attack, Bill devised a plan to catch the stalker once and for all. He and Dorothy, along with four of their family members to assist them, would take turns watching the house and looking for anything suspicious. They would divide into three teams of two. Bill and a partner would hide in a parked trailer at the end of the street. while two of Bill's son-in-laws would remain hidden in a parked truck across the street. A plan would unfold at night the vehicle's position to blend in

and not to disrupt the normalcy of the area. And this way, the stalker would come to do his mischief, unaware that he was being trapped. And meanwhile, Dorothy and one of her daughters remained in the living room of the house, hoping that everything would go smoothly. An arm with radios and other equipment to keep communications open, and the family took up their positions, and remained vigilant for hours. The men were a safe distance away, but still close enough to reach the house quickly, if anything happened. And finally, around 10.30 p.m., just as the family was about to call tonight,

and Dorothy and her daughter heard a noise coming from the front door, as if someone had thrown something there. Dorothy reported the noise, and both Bill and his son-in-law rushed in to see what was happening. They arrived really quick, but all they were. found was a rock with a note tied to it. In a manner, as inexplicable as all their previous escapades, the stalker had managed to slip away into the darkness without being seen by anyone. And the note tied to the stone read, Get the message? On May 25th of 1994 and the 23rd episode of the sixth season of Unsolved Mysteries, the case of the mysterious figure that haunted the Wacker family for almost 10 years was brought to the small screen.

Obviously, though, no major answers were ever given. The get-the-message note was the last event related to the case that was ever officially reported. It's not clear if the harasser actually stopped after that day, or if the whackers just got tired of complaining about it. After all, this mysterious man seemed to know everything about them, their habits, their daily routines. He always had their phone numbers and was aware of all the strategies, the couple used to catch him, even the latest surveillance.

Was it a family member or a friend, a trusted neighbor who wanted them out of the area, maybe a twisted cop or investigator? Or the whackers themselves? We'll probably never know. Five years later, on July 9th of 1999, Bill passed away at the age of 79, Dorothy, his life partner, survived him for another 11 years,

passing away on July 22nd of 2010. at the age of 83. And neither of them ever moved away from the home, and neither would ever know the truth behind this mystery. That is, of course, unless they were involved. So that's it for this week's episode of Everytown. I hope you guys enjoyed it. If you liked this,

and there's a lot more content we have for you guys, you can always watch this episode on our Scary Mysteries YouTube channel, or go listen to the Scary Mysteries podcast if you're looking for more. And for exclusive content, videos, and podcasts every single week, or check us out at patreon.com slash scary mysteries. Over there, we get into some dark stuff, so be prepared. Thanks for tuning in today. Remember to come back next week for another episode

filled with scary, strange, and mysterious stories, because you never know. Maybe your town will be next.