Chris Wilder, a serial murderer, came dangerously close to killing LeAnne, a 16-year-old girl, in 1977.
The “Beauty Queen Killer” roamed the nation in his car, scouting for young women at public locations like beaches and malls. He photographed them and convinced them they could be models.
After a two-month killing rampage, Wilder was apprehended in 1984 and murdered in a gunfight with the New Hampshire State Police.
The killer’s identity has recently made headlines again with the debut of the Hulu documentary series “The Beauty Queen Killer: 9 Days of Terror.”
According to LeAnne, Wilder approached her in June 1977 when she was on the beach. As Wilder posed interview-style questions, they strolled around the beach. Wilder mentioned wanting to contact his colleague to inform him that he had found a possible model on their outing.
Wilder proposed that they visit the mall to peruse the latest fashions. Wilder escorted LeAnne to his car. That is when Wilder said that he would like her to perform a trust exercise– she would agree to be blindfolded. While they were on the road, LeAnne informed Wilder that she was a member of the young choir at her church and that they were getting ready to perform “Battle Hymn of the Republic” during a Fourth of July ceremony.
Wilder then took her hand and put it in his lap. She was shocked when she realized he had unzipped his pants and was exposed.
She could not believe this man was a pervert.
LeAnne gave little thought to the chance to meet with the model scout years later. Then tales started spreading that a serial murderer had kidnapped a girl called Linda Grover from a shopping center in Tallahassee, blindfolded her, and then strapped her into the trunk of his car with her eyes taped shut. Even though there were some parallels between her 1977 conversation and the kidnapping case in 1984, LeAnne remained dubious that the two men were the same. This was especially true given that the man she had spoken to in 1977 did not have an Australian accent, and she had heard that the suspect had been from Australia.
After discovering further details about Wilder online a decade ago, LeAnne Googled him “just out of curiosity.”
It was him.
What a “close call” LeAnne had with that sick, nasty person.
