Wayne Nathan Nance was a suspected serial killer between the years of 1974-1986 and possibly earlier than that. He was known as “The Missoula Mauler” in the state of Montana. Wayne was never formally convicted for any of his crimes because he was killed after trying to murder a couple in 1986.
Wayne Nance was born on October 18, 1955 in Clinton, Montana and graduated from Sentinel High School in 1974. It is thought that his crimes began the same year he graduated from high school.
Wayne Nance’s first suspected murder was that of Donna Pounds, a minister’s wife. On April 11, 1974, Donna was found dead inside the basement of her home and was killed by gunshot wounds. Wayne was connected to Donna because he was friends with her children who were around the same ages as Wayne. Years later, evidence that was found in Wayne’s home further connected him as the suspect.
When Wayne began working as a bouncer at the Cabin Bar in East Missoula, multiple women began to disappear, suspected of being victims of Wayne. Many of these victims were formerly unidentified. The first was an unidentified woman who was nicknamed “Betty Beavertail” because she was found in a road bank near the Beavertail Hill State Park in January 1980. The cause of death was stabbing. She was later identified as 15 year old Devonna Nelson. Not much evidence has linked Wayne to this murder except for the area and date in which she was found.
Next was another unidentified woman who was nicknamed “Debbie Deer Creek” as she was found in a shallow grave in Deer Creek on December 24, 1985. The cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head. This woman was later identified in 2006 through DNA testing as 16 year old Marcella Bachman who went missing from Vancouver, Washington. Marcella’s brother Derek spent years looking for her since he was 21 years old and even hired a private investigator for help. There are several photos of Wayne and Marcella during the time the two were actually a couple. Wayne told everyone she was his girlfriend and her name was Robin. Around the time Marcella was murdered in September of 1984, Wayne claimed she had just left the area.
On September 9, 1985, the skeletal remains of a woman nicknamed “Christy Crystal Creek” was found by a bear hunter in Missoula, Montana. She was found with 2 bullet wounds in her skull and was thought to be killed between 1983 and 1985. She was known as one of Wayne’s most well-known victims after being unidentified for 38 years. Christy Crystal Creek was finally identified as 23 year old Janet Lee Lucas in May of 2021 through DNA testing. She was a mother to a 5 year old son from Spokane, Washington and went missing in Idaho in the summer of 1983. Janet’s family described her saying, “she had a contagious smile, warm personality and wore her heart on her sleeve.” Her murder is linked to Wayne Nance as she was discovered near the area in which he hung out at in Missoula, as well as she went missing and was discovered during the time the in which Wayne was active.
On December 12, 1985, Michael and Teresa Shook were found tied up and murdered inside of their home in Ravalli County, Montana. Their cause of deaths were gunshot wounds like Wayne’s other victims. The couple’s 4 children were in the home during the murders and survived after the suspect attempted to burn the house down in order to hide evidence. Wayne was the main suspect in this double homicide as items stolen from the family’s home was later found inside of his home.
Wayne Nance’s reign of terror finally came to an end on September 3, 1986 when he attempted to kill Doug Wells and rape and murder his wife Kris Wells. Wayne knew this couple because at the time he was working at Doug’s furniture company. On this day, Wayne came to the Wells’s home at 100 Parker Court and after having a friendly conversation with Doug, he asked to borrow a flashlight. At this, Doug invited Wayne into their home, and Wayne began his attack. He ordered Doug to tie up his wife, and then stabbed Doug and left him in the basement of the home to die while he went to attempt to rape Kris. However, Doug was able to escape and loaded his gun before finding Wayne and engaging in a fight with him. This fight resulted in Wayne getting shot in the head and side. Wayne Nance later died in a hospital the following day on September 4, 1986. Though he was badly injured, Doug survived the attack and both he and Kris were able to recover from their injuries.
After years of committing such horrid crimes and murders, Wayne Nance was successfully taken down by none other than someone who would’ve been his next victim. Who knows how long his crimes would have went on if Doug Wells was unable to stop him? The positive in this is that Wayne’s formerly unidentified victims were finally given their true identities and this killer was put to an end. If there are any more possible victims of Wayne, I hope they will all soon be brought to light and given closure.
References-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Nance
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/10/us/christy-crystal-creek-identified-janet-lee-lucas-trnd/index.html
http://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/DocumentCenter/View/457/Nance-Wayne?bidId=
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