Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - “The Missoula Mauler” Wayne Nance Pt. 1

Episode Date: January 25, 2021

As a teenager, Wayne Nance developed an interest in Satanism that may have led to his first murder. He became obsessed with the idea of making a human sacrifice — and in the spring of 1974, he boasted to a friend: “It’s been done.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Due to the graphic nature of this killer's crimes, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes discussions of murder, rape, assault, and animal cruelty that some people may find offensive. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. On the morning of April 12, 1974, 18-year-old Wayne Nance sat atop the bleachers in his high school gymnasium, pensively looking out the window. He was so lost in thought that he didn't even move around when his friend Bill Van Canagan took a seat right beside him. Bill was used to these silences. Wayne was a little strange and often drifted off into reveries on his own.

Bill expected to wait a while in the quietude, but to his surprise, Wayne started to speak. He said, it's been done. Bill wasn't quite sure what his friend was talking about, but based on the grave tone Wayne used, he knew it was something serious. Lately, Wayne had become obsessed with the idea of making a human sacrifice to seal his initiation into the occult. Now, the whole town was talking about the murder of local mother, Donna Pounds. The coincidence was chilling. Bill swallowed and considered what his friend had just said. Across the uncomfortable silence, Wayne grinned at Bill. Then he pulled up his sleeve to display a pentagram, crudely carved into his forearm.

The mark looked bloody and infected. Bill gasped and turned away, trying not to be sick. At this, Wayne started laughing maniacally. It was a hysterical, high-pitched cackle, the kind of sound that chills to the bone. And in that moment, Bill later said he knew. His friend was a murderer. Hi, I'm Greg Poulson. This is Serial Killers, a Spotify original from Parcast.

Every episode, we dive into the minds and madness of serial killers. Today we're taking a look at Wayne Nats, believed to be the sadistic killer known as the Missoula Mahler. I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson. Hi, everyone. You can find episodes of serial killers and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. Today, we'll explore Wayne's reportedly sadistic childhood,

his teenage obsession with Satanism, and the organized way it's believed he planned his later crimes. Next time, we'll cover the increasingly violent home invasions in Missoula and find out what happened when one of the victims finally fought back. We've got all that and more coming up. Stay with us. This episode is brought to you by ZipRecruiter, whether you're hiring for a role or searching for a killer. The hunt can be exhausting.

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And while the path may seem daunting, it's certainly not impossible. But in a small city like Missoula, Montana, the first reputation you earn is often the only one you ever get. People talk and people remember the good and bad deeds you've ever done. And while we all have the ability to change who we are for the better, a person's reputation often stems from a seed of truth, and that seed is often planted early on. Born in October of 1955 to George and Charlene Nance,

Wayne was always a bit strange. Alongside his four siblings, he was the most mischievous, and often displayed perplexing behaviors. Although his parents likely had their own opinions about their son's various misdeeds, it seems they didn't have the time or energy to foster better behavior. George was a truck driver who was always on the road, and Charlene was a part-time waitress

who struggled to manage their large household. This combination of factors meant the young kids were often left to their own devices. In the late 1950s and early 60s, the Nances lived in a double wide in Missoula's Elmar trailer park. Whenever both parents were away, the children roamed around Elmar unattended. Almost immediately, Wayne earned himself a reputation. While the red-headed, freckle-faced little boy liked to play with the other kids from their neighborhood, their games usually ended with someone in tears.

Wayne started fights with the other boys and broke items belonging to the girls. Elmer and March Frame, the owners of Elmar, kept an eye and Wayne after their daughter alerted them to his mean streak. They encouraged her to keep her distance and made sure to report any of Wayne's misconduct to his parents. However, according to journalist and author John Costan's book on Nance to kill and kill again, George and Charlene were too busy to discipline their child. More often than not, they just threw up their hands and said something along the lines of boys will be boys. Elmer and Marge took no comfort in these excuses.

They understood that boys sometimes played differently than girls, but Wayne's behavior was distinct and disturbing. He wasn't just roughhousing with the other. kids, he seemed excited by the idea of doing harm, and not just to other kids. One cold winter's morning, Wayne wandered through the trailer park, making his way to the community incinerator where everyone burned their trash. It was relatively full, so the door to the incinerator was propped open by garbage. Nessled amongst the rubbish was a litter of kittens who had climbed inside a box for shelter.

Like any child, Wayne was delighted to see the sweet furry animals, but instead of stroking their soft fur and bringing them food, Wayne tipped the box into the incinerator and turned it on. He listened calmly to the kitten's screams. Then as if nothing had happened, Wayne continued on his way. Unbeknownst to Wayne, Elmer Fraym witnessed the entire incident. Although he normally reported Wayne's misdeeds to his parents, he couldn't bring himself to talk about the disturbing event with either George or Charlene. Instead, Elmer sought guidance from his wife.

When he told Marge about the incident, she reportedly said, maybe boys do that, but maybe he has a sadistic streak. Vanessa is going to take over on the psychology here and throughout the episode. Please note, Vanessa is not a licensed psychologist or a psychiatrist, but she has done a lot of research for this show. Thanks, Greg. In 1963, psychiatrist J.M. McDonald published a controversial paper suggesting a link between cruelty towards animals, fire setting, and regular bedwetting, and serial violence in adulthood. A 2018 critical review refuted McDonald's theory, however, and suggested that these behaviors are often a result of a dysfunctional home environment

and cannot accurately predict violence in adulthood. Unfortunately, there's no way to know what kinds of behaviors or environment in childhood will lead to someone exhibiting violent behavior later on. We do know that children learn and imitate behavior from their parents and that Wayne's parents weren't exactly the best role models. Charlene was known to have problems with alcohol, and George dealt with his own violent tendencies. In December of 1968, Wayne's father,

was arrested for armed robbery and assault. He held up a local super save store, tied up the assistant manager, and beat him with the butt end of a pistol. He was sentenced to five years in prison. Around this time, Wayne's already questionable behavior turned even more problematic. He apparently began terrorizing his classmates by popping out and scaring them in the halls. Some classmates report that he purposefully brought up taboo subjects like sex, seemingly just to make others uncomfortable. And records show that he started so many fights with

the other kids that he was forbidden from riding the school boss. Despite his reputation for trouble, Wayne was a fantastic student. His teachers frequently commented on his academic ability and encouraged his voracious reading habit. In response to the teenager's odd behavior, they tried to convince his mother that Wayne was probably just reacting to his father's imprisonment. They seemed to believe that deep down there was a good boy lurking beneath the violent exterior. Charlene wasn't so sure. None of her other children were acting out like her eldest, and they'd lost their father too. According to her coworkers at the time, she considered sending Wayne to reform school, but she

couldn't afford it. With limited options, Wayne remained in his Missoula school, where he continued to live up to his bad reputation. According to John Coston, he exhibited strange and erratic behavior. and eventually developed a strong fixation on the occult. In the early 1970s, when Wayne was a teenager, the occult was growing in popularity, much to the horror of parents.

Kids were spellbound by black magic, witchcraft, and Satanism. But Wayne wasn't just intrigued by this new fad. He was obsessed. He reportedly talked incessantly about devils and dark spirits, and his desire to be ordained as a warlock. He began wearing a necklace that featured a small shrunken head, and he pretended that he was born on Halloween because he felt it gave him a stronger connection to Satanism.

Wayne's fixation with the occult coincided with a troubling interest in all things sharp and pointy. He brought knives to school and surreptitiously showed them off to his classmates when the teachers weren't looking. One day, during his junior year of high school, 16-year-old Wayne found a hypodermic syringe on the street and brought it to class. He bragged to his friends that he was going to stab someone with it.

When the other boys told him he was full of it, Wayne ran up to a random student and thrust the syringe into the boy's leg. Then Wayne sped off laughing. Until now, Wayne's friends had written off his strange behavior as just that, weird but pretty harmless. Now they were concerned. Wayne wasn't just an oddball who wouldn't shut up. about pentagrams and knives anymore. He seemed dangerous. What worried Wayne's friends most

was his talk of sacrifice. He told them that a dark queen visited him in his dreams with a message. In order to be accepted into the Church of Satan, Wayne needed to make a human sacrifice before his 19th birthday. Wayne's friends tried to convince him not to take the dream literally, but Wayne apparently wouldn't listen. His birthday was just months away. and he was running out of time. But the gifted student knew better than to choose a victim at random. Perhaps he felt there were too many variables he couldn't control, and one misstep could land him behind bars like his father.

No, better to choose more carefully. Wayne probably decided that attacking his victim in the privacy of her own home was his best option. And it would make things easier if that home had a weapon already on hand. Fortunately for him, his hometown was relatively small, and Wayne knew plenty of potential targets. As he considered his options, Wayne is believed to have zeroed in on 39-year-old Donna Pounds, who lived just down the street. Wayne was in school with Donna's eldest son and had visited the family home several times.

As such, he would have had an intimate understanding of the family's schedule as well as the home's layout. He also reportedly knew where Donna's husband, kept his gun. In other words, she was the perfect victim. Coming up, Missoula is turned upside down by a violent murder. Listeners, this month marked 60 years since John F. Kennedy became the 35th president of the United States, ushering his already prominent family into the highest enclaves of political power. But behind their storied successes lie secrets and scandals so severe, If it were any other lineage, they would have been left in ruin. This January, to commemorate this iconic milestone,

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Now back to the story. In the spring of 1974, 18-year-old Wayne Nance had a dark fixation with the occult. According to Koston, Nass thought that making a human sacrifice before his 19th birthday would make him an ordained warlock. Having attended school with Donna Pound's eldest son, Wayne was a regular at the Pound's family home, so he would have been familiar with both the family's schedule and where Donna's husband kept his gun. Wayne also likely would have been aware that the Pounds were in the process of selling their home, which meant they often left the front door on the line.

locked for the realtor. On the morning of April 11th, 1974, a man who authorities now believe was Nance, slipped into the house while Donna was out and waited patiently for her to come home. When she returned around 1.30 p.m., Donna hung up her coat in purse, then paddled down the hall to her bedroom to change clothes. When she flipped on the light, Donna let out a scream. The intruder stood in front of her, holding her husband's gun, a 22-calfield. polymer pistol.

As Donna opened her mouth to plead with him, he fired a warning shot into the corner of the room. He meant business and wouldn't tolerate any trouble. Donna fell silent. When the man ordered her to take off her pants and lie down on the bed, she obliged. He tied her down and raped her. When he was finished, he untied the mother of three and dragged her into the basement. Downstairs, he forced Donna onto her knees. He tied her up once more, taped her mouth shut, then fired five shots into her head. Before leaving, he grotesquely posed Donna's body with the gun.

Satisfied, he made his exit. Harvey Pounds found his wife's body a few hours later. It immediately called the police to report the gruesome murder. It didn't take long for the horrific news to spread. spread around the small community. In a city like Missoula, it was likely you weren't many degrees of separation from the slain mother,

so people talked. Curiously, Wayne himself seemed determined to share the news of what he'd done. The next day, he met his friend Bill Van Cannegan in the school gymnasium. Wayne pulled back his sleeve to reveal a pentagram he'd carved on his forearm, telling his friend,

it's been done. As Bill listened to Wayne cackle hysterically, He felt sick to his stomach. Knowing Wayne like he did, Bill was sure that he'd just heard his friend's confession. He immediately suspected that his friend had murdered Donna Pounds. But Bill wasn't sure what to do. Although he wanted to go straight to the police, he was afraid. Wayne was dangerous.

If Bill snitched, he might just be Wayne's next victim. So Bill decided to speak to the Sentinel High School principal, Don Harbaugh instead. Principal Harbaugh took Bill's concerns seriously, but said there wasn't much he could do if Bill wasn't willing to talk to the sheriff's department. Additionally, Principal Harbaugh had reservations of his own. He knew that Wayne was an odd kid,

but being weird wasn't a crime. If Wayne was innocent, a murder accusation could ruin the rest of his life in Missoula. In the end, Principal Harbaugh kept Bill's worries to himself, but the anxious teen made him. made a different choice. He spoke to the police, but his creeping suspicions weren't enough to warrant an arrest. However, Bill wasn't the only one to speak up.

By that stage, the police had a growing number of statements that pointed to Wayne's guilt. A few people saw a person fitting Wayne's description in the area on the day of Donna's murder. Her next-door neighbor even swore she saw Wayne in the Pound's backyard. Thanks to these testimonies, police obtained a warrant to search Wain's house. His mother, Charlene, stood back and watched as officers rummaged through her son's belongings. They found a blood-stained glove in the Nance's backyard and a bag containing shell casings in Wayne's room. The casings matched the type of bullets from Harvey's gun. While it wasn't enough to charge Wayne, it was enough for detectives to bring the 18-year-old

in for questioning. Their investigations showed that Wayne wasn't at school the day Donna was murdered. so they wanted to know his exact whereabouts. Despite the growing suspicion, Wayne remained cool and collected. He insisted that he had stayed home to work on a class project. He also explained a way the physical evidence found at his home. But investigators didn't believe a word Wayne said and asked him to submit to a polygraph test. Wayne took his time before deciding whether or not to agree to this.

And he did his homework. He carefully researched polygraph test. tests, even going so far as to speak to a lawyer about how they work. Once he felt comfortable with the mechanics of the test, Wayne agreed to take it. His hard work paid off. The results of the test indicated that Wayne was telling the truth and that he wasn't the man who'd murdered Donna Pounds. The police were incredibly frustrated. They suspected that Wayne had fooled the lie detector, but they had no way to prove it. And Wayne wasn't giving them anything. He hadn't tripped over his own lies once.

It's possible Wayne passed the polygraph because he researched how they worked and trained himself to lie effectively. He didn't exhibit any of the telltale signs of deception, like change in breath, heart rate, or blood pressure. So the machine believed he was telling the truth. With that result, the police were left spinning their wheels. They couldn't prove Wayne and tricked the lie detector test, nor could they link him to the bloody glove. And the shell casings in Wayne's bag couldn't be conclusively tied to Harvey Pounce's gun. So after months of trying to connect Wayne to Donna's murder, the authorities had to give up.

They simply didn't have enough to warrant an arrest, and Wayne Nance remained free. But his life in Missoula was forever changed. Principal Harbaugh had been right all along. Even after the murder investigation was behind him, Wayne lived with the stigma of being a suspect. and lost the few friends he had. It might have been this that forced him to make some changes. Around this time, he seemed to lose interest in the occult altogether. Like so many teenage interests, Wayne's dabbling in Satanism was a fad,

one he was only too happy to leave behind and start life anew. Eager to get out of Missoula, Wayne didn't even stick around long enough to greet his father when he got out of prison. Instead, in June of 1974, just a couple of weeks after graduation, 18-year-old Wayne joined the Navy and moved to San Diego to begin training. For the first two years of his service, Wayne maintained a spotless record. He studied to be an electrician aboard the USS Robison and was reportedly an excellent student and a warm member of the naval team. But all that changed in June of 1976, when Wayne received an American.

unexpected subpoena to appear before a grand jury in Missoula. Until then, Wayne had assumed that the Donna Ponce investigation and his reputation as a suspect was behind him. But the people of Missoula weren't ready to forget. In particular, the chief law enforcement officer of the county, Dusty Deshaugh, was on a mission to solve the murder. Since Wayne had left town, two other local murders went unsolved, and although they weren't linked to Donna Pounds, it only added extra pressure, Deshaugh needed a win to save the police department's dwindling reputation. By assembling a grand jury, Desha hoped to find evidence that might point to a new suspect, or confirm an old one. Eleven grand jurors were selected, and over 100 witnesses were called to

testify. Wayne's old friend Bill Van Canagan took the stand, as well as several other students and teachers from Wayne's school. Wayne remained cold and detached throughout the legal proceedings. He gave the same dispassionate answers to mundane questions as he did to proactive ones. He didn't react when he was shown photos of Donna's corpse, and he consistently denied any involvement in her murder. He even kept his cool when Deshaugh presented evidence to contradict Wayne's alibi for the day of the murder. The assignment Wayne claimed he'd been working on was from an entirely different semester. At last, he'd been caught in a lie. But Wayne seemed not to to care.

Apparently, he had good reason to remain unrattled. After a month of deliberation, the grand jury decided not to indict anyone in Donna's murder. Following the verdict, Wayne returned to San Diego, where he continued to serve on the USS Robison. However, upon his return, Wayne began behaving differently. Even though he'd appeared calm and collected back in Missoula, his time with the grand jury had clearly affected him. Wayne's erratic behavior returned with a vengeance, and his once spotless military record was tarnished. Over the course of the next year, Wayne was caught with marijuana, LSD, two illegal butterfly knives, and a pair of stolen naval binoculars.

The numerous infractions spelled the end of his brief career. After several fines and two reductions in rank, 22-year-old Wayne was discharged for misconduct in November of 19. When Wayne returned to Missoula, his father tried to convince the small town that his son's decision to leave the Navy was voluntary. Perhaps hoping to preserve his son's reputation, he didn't mention Wayne's discharge to anyone. But that wasn't all the Nance family had to worry about. Even with his father's assistance, Wayne had a difficult time settling back into his hometown. It didn't help that shortly after he returned, the Missoulean newspaper printed. a story about the county's unsolved murders.

If anyone had forgotten about Wayne's suspected involvement in Donna Pound's murder, they certainly remembered it now. Once again, he was on the receiving end of unwanted stares and whispers. As the rumors surrounding his involvement re-emerged, everyone kept their distance from Wayne Nance. It's possible that the weight of his checkered past and sullied reputation was all too much to bear. Unable to settle, he briefly left Montana in the spring of 1978 and headed west to Seattle. And trouble seemed to follow him.

Shortly after Wayne arrived in Seattle, 15-year-old Devana Nelson went missing. The mystery surrounding what happened to Devana's disappearance thoroughly perplexed Seattle law enforcement. There was no sign of the missing teen anywhere, leaving her community on edge. and though he was never conclusively linked to the crime, it seems likely that Wayne was the last person to see Divana alive. Based on what we know, it's possible that Devana was hitchhiking when she met Wayne somewhere in the city. Perhaps he offered to give her a ride out of town, then made his move. It's believed that Wayne sexually assaulted Devana before stabbing her to death. Then he dumped her lifeless body by the side of the road and drove.

away. As far as we can tell, Wayne never spoke about Devana with anyone in Seattle. Not that he had much time to. His stay there was brief. By the fall of 1978, he quit the West Coast once more and returned to Missoula, leaving the big city and the mystery of the missing teenager in his rearview mirror. Back in his hometown, 23-year-old Wayne moved back into the trailer with his parents. Meanwhile, continued to search for answers in the Devana Nelson disappearance.

It took over a year for authorities to find Divana's body. But in January of 1980, they finally caught a break. Construction workers discovered the remains of a young girl who matched Devana's description. However, authorities couldn't identify the remains immediately. So they called her Betty Beavertail. Curiously, the ditch where the body was dumped wasn't anywhere near Seattle. Instead, Instead, the skeleton was found over 400 miles east of the city alongside a road feeding right into Missoula, Montana. Wayne Nance's hometown. Coming up, Wayne evades justice again.

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Up front payment of $45 for three-month plan, equivalent to $15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See full terms at mintmobile.com. Now back to the story. In January of 1980, the remains of 16-year-old Devana Nelson were found in a ditch just outside of Missoula, Montana. The state of the corpse suggested that she'd been killed well over a year before her discovery.

The thing was, no one knew it was Devana. Her body was over 400 miles from her hometown of Seattle, leaving local investigators scratching their heads. Without knowing who their victim was, detectives looking for her killer were hamstrung. Unfortunately, in 1980, DNA testing was somewhat rudimentary, so identifying the body was going to take some time. And because no one knew Devana's body had been found,

the search for the teen went cold. No one even thought to link Betty Beavertail to the Seattle native. Once again, a murderer had slipped through the cracks. It's believed that Wayne murdered Devana in 1978, before he returned to Missoula. But in 1980, no one connected him to the crime. Still, life was far from perfect. Despite enrolling in courses at the University of Montana for a chance to get ahead, he struggled to escape the shame of his sullied reputation.

He also lived at home with his mother and father, who were having problems of their own. George's job as a trucker kept him on the road most of the time, and when George was away, Charlene's drinking problem got worse. In April of 1980, tragedy struck the Nance family. After finishing her shift at a local bar called the cabin, Charlene and George got into an argument about her drinking. It escalated into the parking lot, where she got behind the wheel and sped off eastward into the night. As she drove along Deer Creek Road in East Missoula, she accelerated around a bend and ended up crashing her car into a tree.

She died instantly. Although the authorities couldn't prove that Charlene had driven off the road on purpose, her death was ruled a suicide. Unable to deal with the loss of his mother, Wayne dropped out of college. To keep himself afloat, he took a job as a bouncer, at the very bar where his mom had worked. Slowly but surely, Wayne began to perk up, and he grew close to another one of the bouncers, a Vietnam war veteran named Rick. As they waited outside for customers, Rick shared intimate glimpses of his time at war. Wayne couldn't get enough of the gory details and always prodded him for more.

According to Rick, Wayne's oddities didn't end. at a macab interest in gore. He was also pretty strange when it came to women. He never spoke about them as people with personalities, preferring instead to describe them as sex objects. Whenever a beautiful woman came into the bar, he'd eagerly offer to buy her a drink. If she implied that she wanted to be left alone, Wayne wouldn't get the hint. Invariably, he'd make a few more unsuccessful advances before eventually settling into a corner to stare longingly. But Wayne wasn't just ogling women from a distance. He's believed to have been secretly canvassing their homes, likely preparing to break in and rape them.

In his bedroom, Wayne kept a stash of hand-drawn floor plans to the houses of local women, featuring detailed drawings of their interiors. Already, Wayne was displaying the psychological profile of an organized killer. According to the FBI, organized killers plan their attacks meticulously. they're usually socially adept of an average or above average intelligence, high in birth order, and experienced inconsistent parental discipline as a child. It's also common for organized killers to watch their victims before making their move in order to ensure that they've chosen the best person to kill.

Wayne Nance took this step even further. It's believed he not only watched his victims, he scouted their homes. he paid attention to entrances and exits and located weapons inside the house that he could use. While it's unclear exactly how many women wainsstalked, it appears that much of his activity went entirely unnoticed or unreported. However, all that changed in the summer of 1981, when he decided to make a house call to a woman named Dory Schmidt. Dory was in her early 40s and had just recently moved to a one-bedroom apartment in East Missoula

with her husband, Bill. The marriage reportedly had issues, thanks in part to Bill's drinking. When they got the keys to their new apartment, Bill was on one of his benches, so Dory forced him to stay at his mothers. She spent the first three days of their new place cleaning and setting it up alone. Little did she know Wayne was watching her from afar. To Wayne, Dory probably appeared to be a single woman who was new to town. Her apartment, which he scoped out while she ran errands,

didn't indicate that she had a partner, let alone a husband. Likely believing Dory lived alone. Wayne made his way to her apartment late one night in the fall of 1981. He was filled with anticipation as he crept inside and moved towards her bedroom. But when he cracked open her door, he was taken aback. Dory wasn't alone. She had allowed her husband to return home that very day, while Bill was intoxicated from a night of drinking.

he stirred when he heard Wayne enter the room. Bill ordered Wayne to leave the apartment at once. As Dory rolled over to see what was happening, Wayne pretended to be confused about where he was and stumbled from the room. Satisfied, Bill fell back asleep. But Dory was understandably rattled and remained wide awake, which is how she knew that Wayne didn't leave. He lingered in the living room and found a comfortable spot on the couch to wait. Dory heard him moving around in the other room and alerted her husband. Bill bounded out of bed and stormed into the living room, where he accosted the intruder and tossed him outside.

Early the next morning, Dory and Bill looked out their window in horror. Wayne had never left. He was still sleeping on the ground outside, wrapped in his jacket. When they confronted him, Wayne stuck to his story from the night before. before. He'd gotten drunk and accidentally wandered into the wrong apartment. Because no harm had been done, Dory and Bill decided not to call the police. But Dory never shook the sickening feeling that if her husband hadn't been there that night, things would have ended very differently. Wayne, on the other hand, seemed unbothered by the incident. He probably believed his cover story

was perfectly plausible. Even still, he likely knew he needed to be more careful, although he'd spent a great deal of time canvassing Dory's apartment. He'd made a grave mistake that could have ruined everything. The next time around, he would have to be better prepared. In February of 1982, 27-year-old Wayne snagged a part-time furniture delivery job. As a mover, Wayne likely didn't have to scope out potential victims from the shadows anymore. Now, he was invited inside by the owners. As he carried in couches and tables, Wayne surveyed each room. memorizing its layout. He also gained access to various apartment buildings.

Conlands, his employer, was a reputable furniture store in Missoula, and many customers entrusted them with their keys and entry codes to make the moving process more efficient. One of those customers was a woman will call Sandra. In 1983, Sandra and her husband moved into the cobblestone apartments, just east of Missoula. At some point, they purchased furniture from Conlins, and Wayne was tasked with delivering it.

While Wayne had made deliveries to the cobblestone apartments before, something about Sandra piqued his interest. After entering her home, it's assumed that Wayne began scouting her apartment and learning her everyday routine. This presumably helped Wayne discern exactly when Sandra was most vulnerable. Her husband worked late into the night,

and she often returned to an empty apartment to spend the early evening hours alone. So on the night of April 27th, a masked man, believed to be Wayne, broke into the apartment and laid in wait. Sandra was barely through the door when the man appeared from the shadows and grabbed her by the arm. When Sandra started to scream, the intruder punched her, knocking her hard onto the floor. In response, Sandra kicked at the man and yelled for help. But when he pulled a knife from his belt, she grew silent and still. The masked man told Sandra that all he wanted from her was money.

He just wanted her to get it from the bedroom. Sandra felt sure that he desired far more than petty cash, but she held out hope that the man was telling the truth. He helped her up off the ground and led her at knife point to her bedroom. As soon as they got up the stairs, they heard the front door open and close. Sandra's husband was home early from work. At the sound, the masked man moved. quickly. He dropped Sandra's arm and ran through the apartment toward the second floor balcony outside.

He jumped over the railing, then ran east toward the river. Sandra immediately called the police, but by the time they arrived, there was no trace of her intruder. And because he'd been wearing a mask, she couldn't provide authorities with a proper description of his face. As such, investigators told Sandra that there was nothing they could do, and the case was eventually dropped. While no one was ever charged with or convicted of the crime, it's believed that Wayne was the intruder. He not only had access to the cobblestone apartment complex,

as well as Sandra's home, the event aligned neatly with his eventual MO. But at the time, no one at Conlands had any reason to suspect Wayne's involvement. It seems he'd finally crafted a new identity, free of the stigma of his first murder. At both the furniture store and the bar, Wayne's coworkers knew him to be shy and awkward, but also kind. He asked after their families.

He remembered their birthdays. He even scraped the ice off their windshields during the frigid Montana winters. With a reputation like that, it's no wonder that some women fell for Wayne. In August of 1984, a 16-year-old runaway named Marcy Bachman, who introduced herself as Robin, blew into town and became smitten with the 28-year-old bouncer. Sparks flew as the two sat at the bar of the cabin, swapping stories and sharing drinks. Suddenly, Wayne was on top of the world. He'd seemingly met the woman of his dreams, and he wasn't shy about letting all of his buddies at the bar know.

He made Marcy feel like she was really something special, treating her like she was the best thing that ever happened to him. Because of this, Marcy thought Wayne loved her deeply and likely trusted him with her life. That's probably why in September of 1984, she accepted his invitation for a walk, deep in the Missoula woods. Perhaps she thought they were going for a romantic outing in the wilderness, maybe even that they would make love right there amongst the trees. But Wayne's plans were far from amorous. Marcy wouldn't leave the woods alive. Thanks for tuning into serial killers.

We'll be back soon with Part 2 of Warris. Wayne Nance. We'll take a look at his final years of life, which he's believed to have spent terrorizing women and couples across Missoula, Montana. For more information on Wayne Nance, amongst the many sources we used, we found to kill and kill again, the terrifying true story of Montana's baby-faced serial sex murderer by John Koston, extremely helpful to our research. You can find all episodes of serial killers and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify. We'll see you next time. Have a killer week. Serial Killers is a Spotify original from Parcast. Executive producers include Max and Ron Cuddler,

sound design by Michael Motion, with production assistance by Ron Shapiro, Carly Madden, and Bruce Kitovich. This episode of Serial Killers was written by Ellie Reed, with writing assistance by Jane O. and Joel Callan, fact-checking by Haley Milliken, and research by Brian Petrie. and Chelsea Wood. Serial killers stars Greg Paulson and Vanessa Richardson. Fiction, fame. Discover the real story behind one of history's most formidable families in the Spotify original from parcast, The Kennedys.

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