Wayne Nance
Wayne Nathan Nance was born on October 18, 1955. He was nicknamed ‘The Missoula Mauler’. Nance was shot and killed while committing a home invasion attack on his employers residence; thus, Nance was never formally charged, tried, or convicted of any crimes. Physical evidence found after his unsuccessful attack on the Wells family links Nance to several crimes.
Nance raped and murdered a woman named Donna Pounds in 1974. Pounds had been held captive in her own basement, tied to a chair, and shot. Nance was known to the victim's teenage son, was seen in the Pounds back yard about the time of Pounds' death, and was questioned by police who could not find evidence proving he commited the crime. Police finally discovered evidence linking Nance to the Pounds murder after the search of Nance's home following his attack on the Wells family.
Nance served in the United States Navy from 1974 to 1977, and police suspect he committed more crimes while traveling in the Navy, but no definitive evidence of this exists.
On February 27, 1980, the body of 15-year-old Devonna Nelson, a Seattle runaway, was discovered close to the city of Missoula. Her remains were not identified until February 1985 due to their bad decomposition. Prior to her identity being confirmed, she was dubbed "Betty Beavertail" after nearby Beavertail Hill State Park. Nance is strongly suspected of killing Nelson but no physical evidence links him to her murder.
The body of Marcella Cheri "Marci" Bachmann, 16, was found in an advanced state of decomposition on December 24, 1984, by a hiker. The body had been buried in a shallow grave. Investigators found hair similar to Bachmann's in Nance's home.
Bachmann ran away from Vancouver, Washington, due to a conflict of some kind with her family. She was killed by three gun shots to the head. Bachmann was also given a nickname before she was identified: "Debbie Deer Creek," after a nearby drainage basin. Bachmann was identified via DNA profiling in 2006, and her cremated remains were subsequently interred.
Bachmann had been seen with Nance, and he had reportedly taken her in after she was dropped off in the area by a trucker. Nance claimed she had left the area in September 1984, which was about the time she was killed.
On September 11, 1985, the skeleton of Janet L. Lucas, 23, was found in Missoula, Montana, with two .32 caliber bullets in her skull. Police believe she died between 1983 and 1985. Lucas' remains were unidentified until May 2021, and she was initially believed to be of Asian descent due to some dental work she had using what is considered an Asian dental technique. Lucas was also given a name before she was identified, "Christy Crystal Creek".
Based on the autopsy, she was between 18 and 35 years of age, between 4 feet 10 and 5 feet 2 inches tall, and weighing between 90 and 110 pounds. The autopsy indicated she had a history of smoking and had many fillings in her teeth, as well as two root canals. Genetic genealogy research uncovered that Lucas was from Spokane, Washington, and it was learned that she disappeared from Sandpoint, Idaho in the summer of 1983. It is unknown when, why, or how she came to be in Montana. Nance has not been definitively linked to this murder, but he is the sole suspect.
Nance is also responsible for the murders of Michael and Teresa Shook in Ravalli County, Montana, December 12, 1985. The Shooks were tied up inside of their own home and stabbed to death. Nance then attempted to burn the house down. The couple's four children survived the crime. Items stolen from the Shook residence were later found in Nance's home.
On September 3, 1986, Nance would attempt his final murder, attacking Doug and Kris Wells. Nance worked at the Wells' furniture moving company, and was at the home speaking to Doug in the front yard of the Wells home. Nance asked if he could borrow a flashlight, and Doug invited him inside, where Nance struck Doug in the head, before tying up both him and Kris. Nance then stabbed Doug in the chest and left him for dead in the basement. Nance forced Kris into the bedroom on the second floor to rape her.
Although badly wounded, Doug somehow managed to free himself. He remembered a rifle he had been repairing, and loaded it with one round, then dragged himself up to the second floor where his wife was being assaulted in their bedroom. Doug engaged Nance to get him away from Kris, and then Doug shot Nance, who died the following day. They were rushed to a hospital, where Doug and Kris made full recoveries.