Christopher Wilder - Serial Killer

This deceased killer was a cut above many serial killers, in that he was a wealthy (like the butcher of Cleveland in the 30`s) and was a racing driver.  But unfortunately for a number of young women, he had a sick penchant for killing them.  He was tracked across numerous states, including Texas, Oklahoma, Nevada, California & New York.  It was here that it is believed that he shot and killed 33 year old Beth Dodge.  He then fled to New Hampshire where two state troopers tried to arrest the 39 year old Australian, after he tried to abduct Carol Hilbert, a young woman from Massachusetts.  When they cornered him, he took his own life by firing into his own body, bullets did pass through him into one of the officers trying to arrest him.  He survived his wounds and returned to duty.

    Christopher Bernard Wilder was born in Sydney on March 13th 1945, to an Australian mother and American father. In his late teens, Wilder was convicted of participating in a gang rape and put on probation(!)  He married in 1968 but his wife left him after just one week!  He decided to emigrate to the USa in 1969, settling in Florida, and making a small fortune in real estate.  He then developed a taste for photography, which was how he lured his victims to their deaths.  He also had an avid interest in the novel "The Collector" by John Fowles, about a man who abducts and imprisons a young woman.  A film starred Terence Stamp and Samantha Eggar.  Wilder was now sexually assaulting young girls and women but bizarrely, he received no jail time.

    Wilder had become the most wanted man in America, after a number of young women were abducted, raped and tortured, with four being murdered.  The victims of this psycho included Terry Walden, 23, Suzanne Logan, Teresa Ferguson, 21, and Dawnette Wilt, 16.  Others include Rosario Gonzalez, Wilder`s former girlfriend, Liz Kenyon.  Both victims have never been found.  Linda Grover, 19, Sheryl Bonaventura, 18 and Michelle Korfman, 17, are the other known victims.  It is not known just exactly how many victims he had, but one disappearance of a girl in 1984, has been linked to him.  This did not emerge for 17 years as the remains of the victim were in storage, listed as a jane doe.  The case was reopened by famed Medical Examiner Jan Garavaglia, whose team conducted a cold case review, and positively identified the remains as Colleen Emily Orsborn, who vanished in Daytona Beach, Florida, in March 1984, and giving closure to her family after 17 years missing.  Wilder will not be missed.