Show Notes
Terry Ferguson was 21, beautiful, and shopping for a new outfit. Her boyfriend was coming back from Spring Break, and she wanted to look perfect for him. But Terry had a secret dream her mother, Frances, didn't know about—she wanted to be a model.
One ordinary Sunday afternoon in a crowded Florida shopping mall, a handsome, charming man with a camera approached her. He told her she had 'the look'. That he could help her. That this was her chance. She believed him. Within hours, the police captain's daughter was dead—the first confirmed victim of serial killer Christopher Wilder, and the beginning of one of America's most terrifying murder sprees.
In this emotionally raw opening episode, Frances shares what no mother should ever have to tell: how quickly a dream can become a nightmare, how a single moment of trust can end everything, and what it means to lose your daughter to a predator who knew exactly what to say.
Christopher Wilder wasn't what anyone expected. The Australian-born son of an American war hero, he was a wealthy Florida businessman. A race car driver. Charming, well-dressed, convincing. As he later crisscrossed America, leaving a trail of abductions and murders, hundreds of FBI agents and local police launched the biggest manhunt the country had ever seen. The nation watched in horror.
But this isn't just a story about him. It's about them—the young women whose names deserve to be remembered, whose dreams mattered, whose lives were stolen.
Catching Evil is the result of an eight-year investigation across two continents that has uncovered new victims, new murders, and new links to Wilder's decades-long killing pattern. He was every bit as cunning and manipulative as Ted Bundy. But more than that, it's a promise: to give voice to every young woman who never made it home. To honour Terry, and all the others. To make sure they are never forgotten.
This is their story. And we start with Terry.
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#catchingevil #prettygirlkiller #truecrimetok #truecrime #givingavoice #christopherwilder #serialkiller #ProtectOurGirls #SafetyEducation #EmpowerYoungWomen #BreakTheSilence #TrueCrimeCommunity #UnsolvedMysteries #TrueCrimeObsessed #MindysStory #TerryWalden #BeautyQueenKiller #TerryFerguson #Survivor #WandaBeach #TrueCrimePodcast #SurvivorStories #RememberHer #PodcastRecommendation #VictimsMatter #NeverForgotten
Hosts Andy Byrne Mark Llewellyn
Audio Production Sam Blacker at The Podcast Butler - https://thepodcastbutler.com/
Artwork Susan Armstrong
Media Lisa at Llewellyn Communications https://llewcom.com.au/
Special thanks to Pro Podcast Studios, Sydney - propodcast.com.au
Resources The Pretty Girl Killer by Andrew Byrne - courtesy of Penguin Random House Wake Me Up at 10:00 Love, Terry by Frances S Ferguson - https://www.balboapress.com/en-au/
Catching Evil is hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information Get in Touch If you knew Wilder or one of his victims, contact us in confidence: [email protected]
Record a voice message: https://www.speakpipe.com/catchingevil
Join us and support these not-for-profits: US Survivors of Homicide Inc - https://www.survivorsofhomicide.com/ Yesterday Today Tomorrow Women Inc - https://www.yttwomen.org/ Aus Mary’s House 1800 002 111 https://www.maryshouse.org.au/about/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Catching Evil
No one should be in a grave without a name. This is the finale — and it is full of breaking news. A listener tip connects Wilder to the Tyre Murders: dozens of young women lured from car parks across five states, years before anyone was counting. We name five new victims. We reveal the pattern hidden in 3,500 classified ads — every gap, a girl. And Ellery Jane Doe, murdered and nameless for decades, may be about to get her name back. The official count said nine. The evidence now says Bundy territory — and beyond. We end the only way we could: with every victim, name by name. Every one of them was a person. Every one of them was loved. Follow the show — because this isn't over. It's unfinished business.
Mindy was four when her mother was taken. She still can't remember her voice. This is the episode we promised at the beginning: every one of Christopher Wilder's victims, finally heard. A reckoning. New evidence. New witnesses. Cold cases live again, police forces are now working leads we uncovered.
Two girls named Mary. The same mall. Four weeks apart. One found stabbed in a ditch — the other still missing, forty years on.
A killer who confessed to eleven murders. A sixteen-year-old runaway with a modelling dream. And a sister who never stopped fighting to bring her home.
A serial killer who confessed to 11 murders. A body that lay nameless in a swamp for 30 years. And a chilling new discovery.