The Disturbing Connection to the Girls Gone Without a Trace at Edison Mall
- Mollie Long
- Jun 15
- 11 min read
In my previous post, I recounted the tale of two young women who disappeared from the same place within a month of each other. Now, I’d like to present my theory on what I believe truly occurred with these two women.
Before I can thoroughly explain my theory, I must first share the background that explains why I think these two cases are linked to this larger case.
Christopher Wilder, Also Known As ‘The Beauty Queen Killer’
We are going all the way back to 1945 in Sydney, Australia, the birthplace of Christopher Wilder, also known as ‘The Beauty Queen Killer.’ Wilder was the eldest of four sons. His father was an American naval officer, and his mother was an Australian native.
Wilder was a sickly child. He almost died shortly after being born and received the last rites from a priest. At the age of two, he almost drowned in a swimming pool, and the next year, he experienced a seizure. However, journalist Duncan McNab later suggested that Wilder fabricated the story about nearly drowning.
In his early teens, Wilder began peeping through windows. It started with peeking at his mother while she was changing, which then escalated to him engaging in sexual acts while wearing her clothes. At the age of 17, in 1963, he was arrested along with friends for the gang rape of a 13-year-old girl on a Sydney beach. He received probation, which included counseling and possibly electroshock therapy. Journalist Duncan McNab also claims that Wilder invented the story about undergoing electroshock therapy.
From various sources, it appears that while Wilder underwent therapy, it severely aggravated his violent sexual tendencies. A Palm Beach County detective, named Thomas Neighbors, spoke to a sex therapist who examined Wilder. The therapist told the detective that Wilder was “a walking time bomb.” He was also told by the therapist that “She never really got to the root of his problem.”
Christopher Wilder was an Australian man who abducted at least 12 known victims. During a six-week crime spree across the United States in early 1984, he murdered eight of these victims. Wilder had a history of committing numerous rapes and sexual assaults dating back to as early as 1963, both in Australia and the United States. He typically lured women by promising to take their photographs. Most of the women he targeted shared similar characteristics: they had brown hair, hazel eyes, were in their early 20s, and were considered beautiful.
The Beginning of His Killings: (All of this is suspected, not confirmed, but highly likely)
Marianne Schmidt and Christine Sharrock, The Wanda Beach Murders
Wilder is one of three suspects in the unsolved Wanda Beach Murders, which involved the tragic deaths of 15-year-olds Marianne Schmidt and Christine Sharrock at Wanda Beach, near Sydney, on January 11, 1965. The day after they were reported missing by their families, both girls were discovered partially buried in the sand. Christine Sharrock had suffered a blow to the back of the head that shattered her skull and had received fourteen knife wounds. Marianne Schmidt had been stabbed six times, and her throat had been severely cut. Attempts had been made to rape both girls, as indicated by the cutting of their underwear. Though both girls had semen stains on their clothing, an autopsy revealed that their hymens were still intact, suggesting that there was no penetration.
Investigators broadly regard Wilder as the main suspect. They have discovered undeniable connections to Wilder, including forensic evidence, witness testimony, and previously unreleased police documents. However, despite the substantial evidence implicating Wilder, law enforcement has not officially confirmed his involvement, leaving the case as an ongoing investigation.
Wilhelmina Kruger
Wilhelmina Kruger, a 56-year-old cleaning lady, was murdered at Wollongong’s Piccadilly Centre on January 29, 1966. A butcher arriving for work at 5:45 a.m. found her bloodied body at the bottom of the basement-level staircase. After being attacked three stories up, likely around 4:30 a.m., she had been forcibly dragged down the escalators and stairs. She was found naked from the chest down, having been stabbed, strangled, and mutilated. Police also discovered cigarette burns on her clothing.
Wilder was thoroughly questioned and investigated concerning her murder. He was also scrutinized regarding the disappearance of another woman, Anna Dowlingkoa, during the same period. Regrettably, the murder of Wilhelmina Kruger remains officially unsolved.
Anna Toskayoa Dowlingkoa
A 27-year-old store employee and prostitute from Bondi named Anna Toskayoa Dowlingkoa disappeared after leaving the Taxi Club in Kings Cross on February 16, 1966, at midnight. Ten days later, on February 26, around 5:30 p.m., a truck driver who had stopped on the side of Old Illawarra Road in Menai to repair a tire found her partially clothed, stabbed, strangled, and mutilated body. Evidence indicated that Dowlingkoa’s body had been moved to a more visible location three to four days before it was discovered.
Although Wilder was never found guilty of Anna’s murder, he was the main suspect in the investigation of her death. This is yet another victim whose case remains unanswered and unsolved.
Tammy Jo Alexander
An unidentified teen’s body was found in a field in Caledonia, New York, on November 10, 1979. She had been shot twice, once in the front of the head and once in the back, and was a homicide victim. A local farmer discovered her body off Route 20 in a rural cornfield. She had been shot twice with a .38 caliber handgun. Her body was found shortly after her death, but she remained a Jane Doe until 2015, when she was identified as Tammy Jo Alexander, a 16-year-old who had disappeared from Brooksville, Florida, in 1979.
There could be a connection between Alexander and Wilder, as she was found wearing a jacket from Auto Sports Products, a brand closely linked to Wilder. The .38 caliber bullet that caused Alexander’s death was discovered in the ground beneath her, and this type of bullet was often used in .357 caliber revolvers, like the one found with Wilder immediately after his death in 1984. Unfortunately, her murder remains unsolved.
The Start of His Spree
Christopher Wilder’s initial victims were women he was acquainted with; although he didn’t murder them, he committed numerous heinous and unspeakable acts against them. Nearly being captured because of these women, he shifted his focus to random women he encountered. Many of the women he abducted were taken from shopping malls.
His earliest documented murder occurred in Florida on February 26, 1984. He killed his victims using various methods, most frequently by shooting, stabbing, or strangling them after torturing and raping the women.
Rosario Teresa Gonzalez
The first murder associated with Wilder involved 20-year-old Rosario Teresa Gonzalez, who disappeared on February 26, 1984, in Miami, Florida. Gonzalez was a model hopeful and had participated in the Miss Florida beauty pageant. She was set to marry in June 1984 and aspired to further her modeling career.
She was last seen that day at the Miami Grand Prix, where she was temporarily employed as a spokesmodel, distributing aspirin samples for a pharmaceutical company. Witnesses saw her leaving the Grand Prix track between noon and 1:00 p.m. with a Caucasian man in his thirties, later identified as Christopher Wilder. This was the last confirmed sighting of her. Gonzalez was supposed to be home between 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., and she had promised to call her family if she was going to be late. However, her family never received a call, and she never returned home.
Wilder had previously met Gonzalez at a beauty contest. He enticed her away from the track by offering a bogus modeling opportunity and a photoshoot. She left the racetrack and was never seen again. Her body has not been discovered, and Wilder is the main suspect in her abduction and murder.
Elizabeth Ann Kenyon
The next woman to fall victim to Wilder was his former girlfriend, Elizabeth Ann Kenyon, a 23-year-old special education teacher at Coral Gables High School. She was also a part-time model and a former Miss Florida beauty contestant. Elizabeth disappeared in Miami, Florida, on March 5, 1984.
On March 4, Elizabeth visited her parents in Pompano Beach, staying until late evening before returning to her apartment in Coral Gables. Her roommate noted that she arrived home around 10:00 p.m. and went to bed. The following day, Elizabeth followed her usual routine and went to work, but she did not appear for work the next day. The high school's police officer contacted her roommate and learned that Elizabeth had not returned home the previous night after leaving work.
She did not call anyone to inform them of her whereabouts or well-being, prompting her parents to file a missing persons report with the police. Witnesses reported seeing Elizabeth with Wilder on the day she disappeared. Elizabeth's car was found at Miami International Airport six days later, but she was not there. She did not have plans to travel and had not packed to go anywhere, and her name was not listed on any recent flights going out of Miami. Her body has not been found, leaving her case open.
Theresa Anne Ferguson
Theresa Anne Ferguson was a 21-year-old aspiring model. She was living in Merritt Island, Florida, at the time of her disappearance. She vanished on March 18, 1984 at the Merritt Square Mall.
Wilder lured Teresa away from the mall with promises of a modeling career. Two days later her body was later recovered in a swamp. Wilder had beaten her, and her hands, feet, and neck were bound by rope. It has been confirmed that the cause of her death was strangulation.
Linda Grover
Linda Grover was only 19 and a Florida State University student when she encountered Christopher Wilder. He abducted her from the Governor's Square Mall in Tallahassee, Florida. She had declined his offer to photograph her for a modeling agency, after which he assaulted her in the mall parking lot and transported her to Bainbridge, Georgia, on March 20, 1984.
He knocked Linda unconscious, tied her up, wrapped her in a blanket, and put her in the trunk of his car. He then took her to a motel in Bainbridge, Georgia, and over several hours, he raped and sadistically tortured her. Wilder blinded Grover with a blow dryer and super glue; he also applied copper wires to her feet and passed an electric current through them.
While Wilder was distracted, Linda managed to free herself and locked herself inside the motel bathroom. She screamed as loudly as she could to alert other motel guests. Panicking, Wilder quickly collected his belongings, along with some of Linda's, and left the state. He took her car and headed to Texas.
Despite everything Linda suffered, she survived. Although she sustained severe injuries, she was able to identify her attacker from police photographs and provided crucial evidence that assisted the FBI in locating Wilder.
Terry Diane Graham Walden
Terry Diane Graham Walden was a 23-year-old nursing student at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, as well as a wife and mother. On March 21, 1984, Wilder approached Terry. He lured her in like his other victims by asking her to pose as a model so he could take photographs of her, but she was able to get away. Terry declined his offer, and she was on her way. She ran across Wilder again two days later.
On March 23, 1984, when Terry came in contact with Wilder again, she was unable to get away; he had abducted her this time. During the time Wilder had Terry, he raped her, stabbed her to death, and dumped her body in a canal, where she was found 3 days later on March 26. After Wilder killed Terry, he fled in her rust colored 1981 Mercury Cougar.
Suzanne Wendy Logan
Just two days after Wilder's previous victim, he found his next. On March 25, 1984, he kidnapped 21-year-old Suzanne Wendy Logan from the Penn Square Mall in Oklahoma City. Once she was in his grasp, Wilder transported her 180 miles north to Newton, Kansas, where he checked into room 30 at the Interstate 35 Inn.
The following morning, on March 26, after breakfast, he drove to Milford Reservoir, located 90 miles northeast of Newton near Junction City, Kansas, where he brutally stabbed her to death. After killing Suzanne, Wilder left her body beneath a cedar tree.
Sheryl Lynn Bonaventura
On March 29, 1984, Wilder kidnapped 18-year-old Sheryl Lynn Bonaventura in Grand Junction, Colorado. They were seen together at a diner in Silverton, Colorado. The following day, March 30, they were observed at the Four Corners Monument in New Mexico.
After being seen in New Mexico, Wilder took Sheryl to the Page Boy Motel in Page, Arizona, where they checked into a room. Around March 31, Wilder tragically shot and stabbed her to death near the Kanab River in Utah. Her body remained undiscovered until May 3, 1984.
Michelle Lynn Korfman
Michelle Lynn Korfman was a 17-year-old aspiring model. She was last seen leaving a modeling competition in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 1, 1984. A photograph taken at the competition showed Wilder in the background, stalking her, while he was already a wanted fugitive.
Wilder likely gained her trust by offering to take photos to help further her career. Michelle was missing from April 1 until May 11, when her body was discovered over a month later near a rest stop in the San Gabriel Mountains in Los Angeles, California. Initially unidentified, she was recognized as Michelle Lynn Korfman through dental records on June 15.
It was determined that she died from asphyxiation, having aspirated on dirt as her face was pressed to the ground. There was also evidence of torture through multiple shallow stab wounds, as well as evidence of rape.
Tina Marie Risico
On April 4, 1984, near Torrance, California, Wilder took photographs of 16-year-old Tina Marie Risico. After the photo session, he abducted her from a shopping mall by luring her into his car with promises of modeling work. He then drove her to El Centro, California, where he assaulted and raped her.
Wilder believed Tina could help him capture more victims, so he kept her alive and traveled with her. Tina survived her ordeal with Wilder, but she recounts spending 9 days in his captivity, describing them as "nine hellish days." She also mentioned that Wilder forced her to help him abduct another teenage girl and witness his brutal crimes.
Dawnette Sue Wilt
On April 10, 1984, Wilder and Tina went to Merrillville, Indiana, where he had Tine help him with the abduction of 16-year-old Dawnette Sue Wilt. They found her at the Southlake Mall in Merrillville, Indiana. Wilder raped Dawnette several times while he made Tina drive to New York.
Near Penn Yan, New York, Wilder took Dawnette into the woods and attempted to suffocate her before stabbing her three times in the chest and leaving her for dead. However, Dawnette managed to tie a pair of jeans around herself to stop the bleeding and flag down help, which ultimately saved her life. A truck driver found her and took her to the Soldiers and Sailors Hospital in Penn Yan, New York.
After some time, Wilder had doubled back and returned to the spot where he had left her to make sure she was dead, but she was not there. He panicked and fled towards Canada after seeing she was gone. Following surgery, Dawnette survived, and she recuperated at Soldiers and Sailors Hospital. She told local police that Wilder was heading for Canada.
Beth Elaine Dodge
Beth Elaine Dodge, a 33-year-old single mother, dropped her child off at preschool on April 12, 1984, kissed her goodbye, and headed to the local mall in Victor, New York. Her abduction occurred in under a minute. Wilder followed Beth into her parking space, approached her car, aimed his revolver at her head, and threatened to kill her if she didn't hand over the vehicle.
He took her four miles outside of town and shot her in the back. The bullet pierced her heart, and she died instantly. He killed Beth for her car, leaving her daughter without a mother.
The End of His Reign
On April 5, 1984, Christopher Wilder was added to the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List following a 47-day, 8,000-mile cross-country murder spree. He would pose as a fashion photographer to lure numerous young women and aspiring models from shopping malls with the promise of modeling contracts.
On April 13, 1984, New Hampshire state troopers located Wilder at a gas station in the remote lumber town of Colebrook. As officers attempted to arrest him, a struggle broke out, during which Wilder pulled out a concealed gun and shot himself.
Although it was initially reported as a suicide, an autopsy revealed that both shots were fired from his own weapon during the altercation. Both bullets hit his heart almost simultaneously.
The Connection
Can you identify the link between the two prior abductions? If not, you may have overlooked certain details. There are notable similarities among Christopher Wilder's victims, suggesting a pattern. Although Mary Opitz is still listed as missing, Mary Hare has been located. The cause of Mary Hare's death was stab wounds to her back, consistent with the pattern seen in other victims. Both Mary Opitz and Mary Hare disappeared under very similar circumstances at the same location, and their cases match the profile of Wilder's victims. There may be many more victims of his that we are unaware of at this time, but I hope all of these families can get answers and closure.
What are your thoughts on this?
Please let me know your thoughts on this case. I would love to have a fresh perspective. Feel free to also share any ideas for future posts or a specific case you have questions about! I appreciate each and every one of you who has made it to the end!
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