Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's certainly unheard of for a serial killer
to be killed by his intendedvictim.
Nevertheless, that's exactlywhat happened to suspected
serial killer Wayne Nance in1986.
Welcome to Human Wreckage, thepodcast that dives into the
minds of murderers, the victimswho crossed their paths and the
moments that changed everything.
I'm your host, thomas.
(00:20):
Today's story flips thenarrative because this time the
victim fought back.
This is the case of Wayne Nance, a suspected serial killer
operating in Montana during the1970s and 80s, a man who lived a
double life by day a friendlyfurniture deliverman in Missoula
and by night a predator with aterrifying history.
Nance is believed to havemurdered at least six people,
(00:43):
possibly more.
He was calculating,manipulative and always one step
ahead of the authorities.
But his story didn't end in acourtroom.
It ended in a bedroom in thehome 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 tiedthem up, intending to carry out
(01:05):
yet another brutal crime.
But what he didn't count on wasthat Doug would survive a
gunshot wound, break free andfight back, killing Nance in a
final act of resistance.
That act didn't just save twolives.
It stopped a killer who mighthave continued murdering
undetected.
In this episode we'll unravelthe mystery around Wayne Nance's
life and crimes, piecingtogether how he hid in plain
(01:27):
sight for so long.
We'll look at the chillingdetails of his suspected victims
, the clues that connected themand how the Wells family became
unlikely heroes in a storyfilled with terror.
We'll also explore what makesNance's case so haunting the
lack of full closure, theunanswered questions and the
reminder that sometimes justicecomes not from the system but
(01:47):
from survival.
This is human wreckage and thisis the story of the serial
killer who picked the wronghouse and didn't live to kill
again.
Let's get into it, thank you.
(02:31):
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 amobile home just on the
outskirts of town.
While young Nance excelled inschool, often earning A's and
B's, he had a hot temper and wasknown as a troublemaker.
Nevertheless, he sailed throughgrade school and high school.
(02:52):
While considered a bit peculiar, nance was well-liked around
the town.
Living several houses down fromthe Nance family was the Pounds
family.
Donna worked part-time at aChristian bookstore in Missoula,
while Harvey worked at YanceMen's Store.
The couple were extremelyreligious, with Harvey being the
deacon of the Bethel BaptistChurch.
They had three children Kenny,karen 20, and Kathy 12.
(03:15):
It was the 11th of April 1974when 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 familyhome, retrieved Harvey's .22
caliber Luger and approachedDonna in the bedroom.
He tied her up in a spreadigalposition on the bed with a
clothesline which he had broughtalong with him.
After raping the terrifiedwoman, he took her down to the
(03:39):
basement, pushed her under thestairs and then shot her five
times in the back of the head.
A neighbor told police that shehad seen a man who looked like
Nance in the vicinity of thePounds home that afternoon.
Furthermore, nance was aregular at the house and knew
exactly where the .22 caliberLuger was kept.
When police arrived to questionhim, he denied any involvement
(03:59):
and claimed he had been sick inbed
all day.
Police executed a searchwarrant of his home and
discovered a bloodstained pairof underwear which had recently
been washed.
While the bloodstain wasidentified as coming from a
human, they could not determinewho it had come from.
While Nance was considered alikely suspect, they could find
no physical evidence to connecthim to the case.
Another suspect at the time wasHarvey, a likely suspect.
(04:19):
They could find no physicalevidence to connect him to the
case.
Another suspect at the time wasHarvey.
It was uncovered that he hadbeen having an affair which
hinted towards a potentialmotivation.
Nevertheless, police could findno evidence to connect him to
his wife's murder.
The case graduallywent cold.
In 1979, railroad workersdiscovered the badly decomposed
body of a young woman near theI-90 in Missoula.
(04:41):
She had been sexually assaultedand stabbed to death.
She was Caucasian and wore aflower print dress.
Police searched through missingperson reports but were unable
to identify her.
Therefore, she became known asBetty Beavertail.
In the summer of 1984, nancebecame romantically involved
with a woman from out of townknown only as Robin.
The duo dated.
Throughout the summer of 1984,nance became romantically
(05:02):
involved with a woman from outof town known only as Robin.
The duo dated throughout thesummer and then in September the
couple left town, presumably tostart their
own family.
Just shy of three months later,a wildlife photographer
trudging through the woodland ofMissoula came across a grisly
scene.
Poking out from the earth was ahuman foot.
Police arrived at the scene andunearthed the body of a young
(05:22):
woman.
The pathologist determined thatshe had been dead for around
three months.
Police trawled through missingperson reports, yet none matched
the features of the dead woman.
Whoever she was, she had met abrutal death.
There were three gunshot woundsto her head, with no
identification.
She became known as Debbie DeerCreek.
Then, in September of 1985, abear hunter found skeletal
(05:45):
remains scattered across ahillside in West Missoula.
She had two bullets lodged intoher skull.
She had no personal items whichcould identify her and she
became known as Christy CrystalCreek.
Forensic experts at the timetheorized that she was likely of
Asian ethnicity and had dentalwork unique to Asia.
She was likely left-handed andtook care of
(06:05):
her teeth.
The following year, on the 12thof December 1985, mike and
Teresa Shook and their threeyoung children had just finished
up their dinner when they hearda violent knock on their front
door.
When Mike opened the door, aman lunged at him with a butcher
knife, stabbing him to death.
Teresa was dragged to thebedroom where she was tied up
and then raped and stabbed todeath.
(06:26):
Afterwards.
The man set the house on firein a bid to conceal evidence,
but miraculously the Shook'sthree children escaped the
blaze unharmed.
Meanwhile, nance had gottenhimself a job at Conlin's
Furniture where he worked as adelivery driver.
His store manager was ChrisWells and he was said to have
developed a crush on the marriedwoman.
One night in September of 1986,chris and her husband, doug,
(06:50):
were returning home.
It was around midnight whenDoug thought he spotted somebody
lurking outside their home inthe darkness of the night.
He went to inspect and sureenough, he found Nance in the
bushes.
Nance explained to Doug that hehad been driving past.
When he thought he saw somebodylooking into their window,
nance asked Doug to go insideand get a flashlight for them to
investigate further.
(07:11):
However, when Doug turned hisback, 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 thefloor.
As Chris rushed to see what allthe commotion was about, nance
pointed the gun at her andforced her to tie her husband's
hands and feet, before Nancetied hers.
With Doug and Chris bound,nance took Chris to the bedroom
(07:34):
and tied her to the bed.
Nance then turned his attentionback on Doug With his hands and
feet tied, he forced Doug downto the basement.
Here Nance tied Doug's neck toa pole before lifting out an
8-inch butcher knife.
Nance plunged the knife intoDoug's chest, just missing his
heart by centimeters.
Believing that Doug was dead,nance then went back upstairs
(07:56):
and headed towards the bedroomwhere he had tied Chris up, but
Doug wasn't dead, despite thebeating and the stab wound to
the chest.
Chris up, but Doug wasn't dead.
Despite the beating and thestab wound to the chest, doug
was still alive andstill conscious.
Doug managed to free himselffrom the vines and retrieved his
Savage 250 rifle.
He staggered up the stairs andconfronted Nance.
Doug shot Nance once in theside and he dropped to the
(08:17):
ground.
As Nance attempted to get backup, doug began to batter him
with the rifle.
He continued the ground.
As Nance attempted to get backup, doug began to batter him
with the rifle.
He continued to do so untilNance stopped moving and his
head was a bloody mess.
Both Nance and Doug were rushedto the hospital.
Nance died of his injuries butmiraculously
Doug survived.
After Nance's death,authorities uncovered that this
attempted slaying wasn't anisolated incident.
(08:39):
Nance was linked to sixdifferent murders.
In his home, police discovereda photograph of him with Marcy
Bachman, and when Marsai was 16years old, she went missing from
Vancouver, leaving behind afamily who had no clue about her
fate.
Her family recollected thatMarsai was a kind and gentle and
loving individual.
Then, in 2006, dna testingshowed that the woman known as
(09:02):
Debbie Deer Creek was Marsai.
Furthermore, an investigationuncovered that the young woman
known as Robin in Missoula wasalso Marsai, indicating that
almost as soon as she left townwith Nance, he killed her.
Robin had been a pseudonymMarseille used after running
away from home.
In his home, they foundevidence which connected him to
her murder.
In 2009, betty Beavertail wasidentified as 14-year-old Devon
(09:26):
and Nelson, a runaway who hadbeen hitchhiking through
Missoula from Seattle.
Christy Crystal Creek stillremains unidentified, but it is
presumed that she, too, was avictim of Nance.
The true number of victimsattributed to Nance is unknown,
but it's safe to say hecertainly never expected to meet
his demise with the sameviolence he showed his victims.
However, unlike his victims, hewas deserving of it.
(09:49):
In May of 2021, christy CrystalCreek was identified as Janet
Lee Lucas.
She grew up in California andWashington and had a son who was
five years old when shevanished.
He had spent much of his adultlife searching for
his mother.
Wayne Nance lived in theshadows, hiding behind an
ordinary job, blending into thequiet community of Missoula
Montana.
Job blending into the quietcommunity of Missoula Montana.
(10:10):
For years he preyed on theunsuspecting, leaving behind a
trail of unanswered questions,broken families and lives lost
too soon.
He was the kind of killer thattrue crime stories are built
around Meticulous, hidden inplain sight and frighteningly
methodical.
But what makes this storydifferent, what makes it
unforgettable, is howit ended.
Doug and Chris Wells weren'ttrained for violence.
(10:32):
They weren't police officers ordetectives.
They were a couple in their ownhome, targeted by a man who
believed he had total control,and yet, in the face of
unimaginable fear, they foughtback.
In doing so, they saved eachother and unknowingly stopped a
serial killer who may haveotherwise kept going.
The death of Wayne Nance closedthe chapter on a terrifying
(10:53):
string of crimes, but it didn'tanswer every question.
How many victims were there?
Could more have been saved ifthe dots were connected sooner?
And just how many killers likeNance are hiding in plain sight?
Even today, we may never knowthe full extent of his crimes,
but what we do know is this.
Sometimes the victims rewritethe ending.
Thank you for joining us onHuman Wreckage.
(11:15):
If this episode resonated withyou, consider subscribing,
leaving a review and sharing thestory.
And, as always, stay curious,stay safe and remember even in
the darkest stories, there aremoments of light.
Until next time, I'm Thomas.
Thanks for watching.
It's certainly unheard of for a serial killer
to be killed by his intendedvictim.
Nevertheless, that's exactlywhat happened to suspected
serial killer Wayne Nance in1986.
Welcome to Human Wreckage, thepodcast that dives into the
minds of murderers, the victimswho crossed their paths and the
moments that changed everything.
I'm your host, thomas.
(00:20):
Today's story flips thenarrative because this time the
victim fought back.
This is the case of Wayne Nance, a suspected serial killer
operating in Montana during the1970s and 80s, a man who lived a
double life by day a friendlyfurniture deliverman in Missoula
and by night a predator with aterrifying history.
Nance is believed to havemurdered at least six people,
(00:43):
possibly more.
He was calculating,manipulative and always one step
ahead of the authorities.
But his story didn't end in acourtroom.
It ended in a bedroom in thehome 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 tiedthem up, intending to carry out
(01:05):
yet another brutal crime.
But what he didn't count on wasthat Doug would survive a
gunshot wound, break free andfight back, killing Nance in a
final act of resistance.
That act didn't just save twolives.
It stopped a killer who mighthave continued murdering
undetected.
In this episode we'll unravelthe mystery around Wayne Nance's
life and crimes, piecingtogether how he hid in plain
(01:27):
sight for so long.
We'll look at the chillingdetails of his suspected victims
, the clues that connected themand how the Wells family became
unlikely heroes in a storyfilled with terror.
We'll also explore what makesNance's case so haunting the
lack of full closure, theunanswered questions and the
reminder that sometimes justicecomes not from the system but
(01:47):
from survival.
This is human wreckage and thisis the story of the serial
killer who picked the wronghouse and didn't live to kill
again.
Let's get into it, thank you.
(02:31):
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 amobile home just on the
outskirts of town.
While young Nance excelled inschool, often earning A's and
B's, he had a hot temper and wasknown as a troublemaker.
Nevertheless, he sailed throughgrade school and high school.
(02:52):
While considered a bit peculiar, nance was well-liked around
the town.
Living several houses down fromthe Nance family was the Pounds
family.
Donna worked part-time at aChristian bookstore in Missoula,
while Harvey worked at YanceMen's Store.
The couple were extremelyreligious, with Harvey being the
deacon of the Bethel BaptistChurch.
They had three children Kenny,karen 20, and Kathy 12.
(03:15):
It was the 11th of April 1974when 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 familyhome, retrieved Harvey's .22
caliber Luger and approachedDonna in the bedroom.
He tied her up in a spreadigalposition on the bed with a
clothesline which he had broughtalong with him.
After raping the terrifiedwoman, he took her down to the
(03:39):
basement, pushed her under thestairs and then shot her five
times in the back of the head.
A neighbor told police that shehad seen a man who looked like
Nance in the vicinity of thePounds home that afternoon.
Furthermore, nance was aregular at the house and knew
exactly where the .22 caliberLuger was kept.
When police arrived to questionhim, he denied any involvement
(03:59):
and claimed he had been sick inbed
all day.
Police executed a searchwarrant of his home and
discovered a bloodstained pairof underwear which had recently
been washed.
While the bloodstain wasidentified as coming from a
human, they could not determinewho it had come from.
While Nance was considered alikely suspect, they could find
no physical evidence to connecthim to the case.
Another suspect at the time wasHarvey, a likely suspect.
(04:19):
They could find no physicalevidence to connect him to the
case.
Another suspect at the time wasHarvey.
It was uncovered that he hadbeen having an affair which
hinted towards a potentialmotivation.
Nevertheless, police could findno evidence to connect him to
his wife's murder.
The case graduallywent cold.
In 1979, railroad workersdiscovered the badly decomposed
body of a young woman near theI-90 in Missoula.
(04:41):
She had been sexually assaultedand stabbed to death.
She was Caucasian and wore aflower print dress.
Police searched through missingperson reports but were unable
to identify her.
Therefore, she became known asBetty Beavertail.
In the summer of 1984, nancebecame romantically involved
with a woman from out of townknown only as Robin.
The duo dated.
Throughout the summer of 1984,nance became romantically
(05:02):
involved with a woman from outof town known only as Robin.
The duo dated throughout thesummer and then in September the
couple left town, presumably tostart their
own family.
Just shy of three months later,a wildlife photographer
trudging through the woodland ofMissoula came across a grisly
scene.
Poking out from the earth was ahuman foot.
Police arrived at the scene andunearthed the body of a young
(05:22):
woman.
The pathologist determined thatshe had been dead for around
three months.
Police trawled through missingperson reports, yet none matched
the features of the dead woman.
Whoever she was, she had met abrutal death.
There were three gunshot woundsto her head, with no
identification.
She became known as Debbie DeerCreek.
Then, in September of 1985, abear hunter found skeletal
(05:45):
remains scattered across ahillside in West Missoula.
She had two bullets lodged intoher skull.
She had no personal items whichcould identify her and she
became known as Christy CrystalCreek.
Forensic experts at the timetheorized that she was likely of
Asian ethnicity and had dentalwork unique to Asia.
She was likely left-handed andtook care of
(06:05):
her teeth.
The following year, on the 12thof December 1985, mike and
Teresa Shook and their threeyoung children had just finished
up their dinner when they hearda violent knock on their front
door.
When Mike opened the door, aman lunged at him with a butcher
knife, stabbing him to death.
Teresa was dragged to thebedroom where she was tied up
and then raped and stabbed todeath.
(06:26):
Afterwards.
The man set the house on firein a bid to conceal evidence,
but miraculously the Shook'sthree children escaped the
blaze unharmed.
Meanwhile, nance had gottenhimself a job at Conlin's
Furniture where he worked as adelivery driver.
His store manager was ChrisWells and he was said to have
developed a crush on the marriedwoman.
One night in September of 1986,chris and her husband, doug,
(06:50):
were returning home.
It was around midnight whenDoug thought he spotted somebody
lurking outside their home inthe darkness of the night.
He went to inspect and sureenough, he found Nance in the
bushes.
Nance explained to Doug that hehad been driving past.
When he thought he saw somebodylooking into their window,
nance asked Doug to go insideand get a flashlight for them to
investigate further.
(07:11):
However, when Doug turned hisback, 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 thefloor.
As Chris rushed to see what allthe commotion was about, nance
pointed the gun at her andforced her to tie her husband's
hands and feet, before Nancetied hers.
With Doug and Chris bound,nance took Chris to the bedroom
(07:34):
and tied her to the bed.
Nance then turned his attentionback on Doug With his hands and
feet tied, he forced Doug downto the basement.
Here Nance tied Doug's neck toa pole before lifting out an
8-inch butcher knife.
Nance plunged the knife intoDoug's chest, just missing his
heart by centimeters.
Believing that Doug was dead,nance then went back upstairs
(07:56):
and headed towards the bedroomwhere he had tied Chris up, but
Doug wasn't dead, despite thebeating and the stab wound to
the chest.
Chris up, but Doug wasn't dead.
Despite the beating and thestab wound to the chest, doug
was still alive andstill conscious.
Doug managed to free himselffrom the vines and retrieved his
Savage 250 rifle.
He staggered up the stairs andconfronted Nance.
Doug shot Nance once in theside and he dropped to the
(08:17):
ground.
As Nance attempted to get backup, doug began to batter him
with the rifle.
He continued the ground.
As Nance attempted to get backup, doug began to batter him
with the rifle.
He continued to do so untilNance stopped moving and his
head was a bloody mess.
Both Nance and Doug were rushedto the hospital.
Nance died of his injuries butmiraculously
Doug survived.
After Nance's death,authorities uncovered that this
attempted slaying wasn't anisolated incident.
(08:39):
Nance was linked to sixdifferent murders.
In his home, police discovereda photograph of him with Marcy
Bachman, and when Marsai was 16years old, she went missing from
Vancouver, leaving behind afamily who had no clue about her
fate.
Her family recollected thatMarsai was a kind and gentle and
loving individual.
Then, in 2006, dna testingshowed that the woman known as
(09:02):
Debbie Deer Creek was Marsai.
Furthermore, an investigationuncovered that the young woman
known as Robin in Missoula wasalso Marsai, indicating that
almost as soon as she left townwith Nance, he killed her.
Robin had been a pseudonymMarseille used after running
away from home.
In his home, they foundevidence which connected him to
her murder.
In 2009, betty Beavertail wasidentified as 14-year-old Devon
(09:26):
and Nelson, a runaway who hadbeen hitchhiking through
Missoula from Seattle.
Christy Crystal Creek stillremains unidentified, but it is
presumed that she, too, was avictim of Nance.
The true number of victimsattributed to Nance is unknown,
but it's safe to say hecertainly never expected to meet
his demise with the sameviolence he showed his victims.
However, unlike his victims, hewas deserving of it.
(09:49):
In May of 2021, christy CrystalCreek was identified as Janet
Lee Lucas.
She grew up in California andWashington and had a son who was
five years old when shevanished.
He had spent much of his adultlife searching for
his mother.
Wayne Nance lived in theshadows, hiding behind an
ordinary job, blending into thequiet community of Missoula
Montana.
Job blending into the quietcommunity of Missoula Montana.
(10:10):
For years he preyed on theunsuspecting, leaving behind a
trail of unanswered questions,broken families and lives lost
too soon.
He was the kind of killer thattrue crime stories are built
around Meticulous, hidden inplain sight and frighteningly
methodical.
But what makes this storydifferent, what makes it
unforgettable, is howit ended.
Doug and Chris Wells weren'ttrained for violence.
(10:32):
They weren't police officers ordetectives.
They were a couple in their ownhome, targeted by a man who
believed he had total control,and yet, in the face of
unimaginable fear, they foughtback.
In doing so, they saved eachother and unknowingly stopped a
serial killer who may haveotherwise kept going.
The death of Wayne Nance closedthe chapter on a terrifying
(10:53):
string of crimes, but it didn'tanswer every question.
How many victims were there?
Could more have been saved ifthe dots were connected sooner?
And just how many killers likeNance are hiding in plain sight?
Even today, we may never knowthe full extent of his crimes,
but what we do know is this.
Sometimes the victims rewritethe ending.
Thank you for joining us onHuman Wreckage.
(11:15):
If this episode resonated withyou, consider subscribing,
leaving a review and sharing thestory.
And, as always, stay curious,stay safe and remember even in
the darkest stories, there aremoments of light.
Until next time, I'm Thomas.
Thanks for watching.
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