Death By Victim: The Unexpected End of Wayne Nance

Transcript

Wayne Nance: Montana's Hidden Serial Killer

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It's certainly unheard of for a serial killer to be killed by his intended victim . Nevertheless , that's exactly what happened to suspected serial killer Wayne Nance in 1986 . Welcome to Human Wreckage , the podcast that dives into the minds of murderers , the victims who crossed their paths and the moments that changed everything . I'm your host , thomas . Today's story flips the narrative because this time the victim fought back . This is the case of Wayne Nance , a suspected serial killer operating in Montana during the 1970s and 80s , a man who lived a double life by day a friendly furniture deliverman in Missoula and by night a predator with a terrifying history . Nance is believed to have murdered at least six people , possibly more . He was calculating , manipulative and always one step ahead of the authorities . But his story didn't end in a courtroom . It ended in a bedroom in the home of a couple he thought would be his next victims . On a September night in 1986 , wayne Nance broke into the home of Doug and Chris Wells . Armed and prepared , he tied them up , intending to carry out yet another brutal crime . But what he didn't count on was that Doug would survive a gunshot wound , break free and fight back , killing Nance in a final act of resistance . That act didn't just save two lives . It stopped a killer who might have continued murdering undetected . In this episode we'll unravel the mystery around Wayne Nance's life and crimes , piecing together how he hid in plain sight for so long . We'll look at the chilling details of his suspected victims , the clues that connected them and how the Wells family became unlikely heroes in a story filled with terror . We'll also explore what makes Nance's case so haunting the lack of full closure , the unanswered questions and the reminder that sometimes justice comes not from the system but from survival . This is human wreckage and this is the story of the serial killer who picked the wrong house and didn't live to kill again . Let's get into it , thank

Donna Pounds: Nance's Early Victim

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you .

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Nance was born in Missoula , montana , in 1955 . His mother worked as a waitress , while his father worked as a trucker . The young family lived in a mobile home just on the outskirts of town . While young Nance excelled in school , often earning A's and B's , he had a hot temper and was known as a troublemaker . Nevertheless , he sailed through grade school and high school . While considered a bit peculiar , nance was well-liked around the town . Living several houses down from the Nance family was the Pounds family . Donna worked part-time at a Christian bookstore in Missoula , while Harvey worked at Yance Men's Store . The couple were extremely religious , with Harvey being the deacon of the Bethel Baptist Church . They had three children Kenny , karen 20 , and Kathy 12 .

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It was the 11th of April 1974 when Donna was home alone . Harvey and Karen were at work , kenny was in the army and Kathy was at school . A man crept into the family home , retrieved Harvey's .22 caliber Luger and approached Donna in the bedroom . He tied her up in a spreadigal position on the bed with a clothesline which he had brought along with him . After raping the terrified woman , he took her down to the basement , pushed her under the stairs and then shot her five times in the back of the head . A neighbor told police that she had seen a man who looked like Nance in the vicinity of the Pounds home that afternoon . Furthermore , nance was a regular at the house and knew exactly where the .22 caliber Luger was kept . When police arrived to question him , he denied any involvement and claimed he had been sick in bed

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all day . Police executed a search warrant of his home and discovered a bloodstained pair of underwear which had recently been washed . While the bloodstain was identified as coming from a human , they could not determine who it had come from . While Nance was considered a likely suspect , they could find no physical evidence to connect him to the case . Another suspect at the time was Harvey , a likely suspect . They could find no physical evidence to connect him to the case . Another suspect at the time was Harvey . It was uncovered that he had been having an affair which hinted towards a potential motivation . Nevertheless , police could find no evidence to connect him to his wife's murder . The case gradually

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went cold . In 1979 , railroad workers discovered the badly decomposed body of a young woman

Unidentified Bodies: Trail of Death

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near the I-90 in Missoula . She had been sexually assaulted and stabbed to death . She was Caucasian and wore a flower print dress . Police searched through missing person reports but were unable to identify her . Therefore , she became known as Betty Beavertail . In the summer of 1984 , nance became romantically involved with a woman from out of town known only as Robin . The duo dated . Throughout the summer of 1984 , nance became romantically involved with a woman from out of town known only as Robin . The duo dated throughout the summer and then in September the couple left town , presumably to start their

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own family . Just shy of three months later , a wildlife photographer trudging through the woodland of Missoula came across a grisly scene . Poking out from the earth was a human foot . Police arrived at the scene and unearthed the body of a young woman . The pathologist determined that she had been dead for around three months . Police trawled through missing person reports , yet none matched the features of the dead woman . Whoever she was , she had met a brutal death . There were three gunshot wounds to her head , with no identification . She became known as Debbie Deer Creek . Then , in September of 1985 , a bear hunter found skeletal remains scattered across a hillside in West Missoula . She had two bullets lodged into her skull . She had no personal items which could identify her and she became known as Christy Crystal Creek . Forensic experts at the time theorized that she was likely of Asian ethnicity and had dental work unique to Asia . She was likely left-handed and took care of

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her teeth . The following year , on the 12th of December 1985 , mike and Teresa Shook and their three young children had just finished up their dinner when they heard a violent knock on their front door . When Mike opened the door , a man lunged at him with a butcher knife , stabbing him to death . Teresa was dragged to the bedroom where she was tied up and then raped and stabbed to death . Afterwards . The man set the house on fire in a bid to conceal evidence , but miraculously the Shook's three children escaped the

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blaze unharmed . Meanwhile , nance had gotten himself a job at Conlin's Furniture where he worked as a delivery driver . His store manager was Chris Wells and he was said to have developed a crush on the married woman . One night in September of 1986 , chris and her husband , doug , were

The Shook Family Tragedy

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returning home . It was around midnight when Doug thought he spotted somebody lurking outside their home in the darkness of the night . He went to inspect and sure enough , he found Nance in the bushes . Nance explained to Doug that he had been driving past . When he thought he saw somebody looking into their window , nance asked Doug to go inside and get a flashlight for them to investigate further . However , when Doug turned his back , nance struck him on the back of his head with a gun . Doug fell to the floor , bleeding profusely from the wound . The two men struggled on the floor . As Chris rushed to see what all the commotion was about , nance pointed the gun at her and forced her to tie her husband's hands and feet , before Nance

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tied hers . With Doug and Chris bound , nance took Chris to the bedroom and tied her to the bed . Nance then turned his attention back on Doug With his hands and feet tied , he forced Doug down to the basement . Here Nance tied Doug's neck to a pole before lifting out an 8-inch butcher knife . Nance plunged the knife into Doug's chest , just missing his heart by centimeters . Believing that Doug was dead , nance then went back upstairs and headed towards the bedroom where he had tied Chris up , but Doug wasn't dead , despite the beating and the stab wound to the chest . Chris up , but Doug wasn't dead . Despite the beating and the stab wound to the chest , doug was still alive and

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still conscious . Doug managed to free himself from the vines and retrieved his Savage 250 rifle . He staggered up the stairs and confronted Nance . Doug shot Nance once in the side and he dropped to the ground . As Nance attempted to get back up , doug began to batter him with

Picking The Wrong Victims: Wells Fight Back

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the rifle . He continued the ground . As Nance attempted to get back up , doug began to batter him with the rifle . He continued to do so until Nance stopped moving and his head was a bloody mess . Both Nance and Doug were rushed to the hospital . Nance died of his injuries but miraculously

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Doug survived . After Nance's death , authorities uncovered that this attempted slaying wasn't an isolated incident . Nance was linked to six different murders . In his home , police discovered a photograph of him with Marcy Bachman , and when Marsai was 16 years old , she went missing from Vancouver , leaving behind a family who had no clue about her fate . Her family recollected that Marsai was a kind and gentle and loving individual . Then , in 2006 , dna testing showed that the woman known as Debbie Deer Creek was Marsai . Furthermore , an investigation uncovered that the young woman known as Robin in Missoula was also Marsai , indicating that almost as soon as she left town with Nance , he killed her . Robin had been a pseudonym Marseille used after running away from home . In his home , they found evidence which connected him to her murder . In 2009 , betty Beavertail was identified as 14-year-old Devon and Nelson , a runaway who had been hitchhiking through Missoula from Seattle . Christy Crystal Creek still remains unidentified , but it is presumed that she , too , was a victim of Nance . The true number of victims attributed to Nance is unknown , but it's safe to say he certainly never expected to meet his demise with the same violence he showed his victims . However , unlike his victims , he was deserving of it . In May of 2021 , christy Crystal Creek was identified as Janet Lee Lucas . She grew up in California and Washington and had a son who was five years old when she vanished . He had spent much of his adult life searching for

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his mother . Wayne Nance lived in the shadows , hiding behind an ordinary job , blending into the quiet community of Missoula Montana . Job blending into the quiet community of Missoula Montana . For years he preyed on the unsuspecting , leaving behind a trail of unanswered questions , broken families and lives lost too soon . He was the kind of killer that true crime stories are built around Meticulous , hidden in plain sight and frighteningly methodical . But what makes this story different , what makes it unforgettable , is how

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it ended . Doug and Chris Wells weren't trained for violence . They weren't police officers or detectives . They were a couple in their own home , targeted by a man who

Aftermath: Connecting The Deadly Dots

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believed he had total control , and yet , in the face of unimaginable fear , they fought back . In doing so , they saved each other and unknowingly stopped a serial killer who may have otherwise kept going . The death of Wayne Nance closed the chapter on a terrifying string of crimes , but it didn't answer every question . How many victims were there ? Could more have been saved if the dots were connected sooner ? And just how many killers like Nance are hiding in plain sight ? Even today , we may never know the full extent of his crimes , but what we do know is this . Sometimes the victims rewrite the ending . Thank you for joining us on Human Wreckage . If this episode resonated with you , consider subscribing , leaving a review and sharing the story . And , as always , stay curious , stay safe and remember even in the darkest stories , there are moments of light . Until next time , I'm Thomas . Thanks for watching .