Wayne Nance, known as the "Missoula Mauler," shot and stabbed his victims, often raping them beforehand. Between 1974 and 1986, he would sneak into homes in Montana, emerging from the shadows to take a life, then quickly retreating back into the night.

Missoula County Sheriff's OfficeWayne Nance is believed to have had six victims, all shot to death in 1986.

Ultimately, it was not the police who ended his six-victim crime spree, but a brave couple who failed to kill him. Nance's last crime was breaking into his boss's home. He stabbed the man in the chest with an eight-inch knife, struck him in the head, and raped his wife, but the man managed to survive and shot Nance.

However, after a DNA sample was taken from Wayne Nance, police realized he was the previously unidentified Missoula Mauler they were looking for.

Wayne Nance's Murders

Born on October 18, 1955, in Missoula, Montana, Wayne Nathan Nance grew up in a mobile home outside of town. He had a truck driver father and a waitress mother. Nance grew up as a latchkey child but was successful in school.

City of MissoulaWayne Nance killed at least six people in Missoula between 1974 and 1986.

While the motive remains unclear, Wayne Nance committed his first murder at the age of 18. On April 11, 1974, he broke into the home of Harvey Pounds, a deacon at Bethel Baptist Church. Unfortunately, his wife, Donna, was home alone.

As a family friend and regular visitor, Nance knew where Pounds's .22 caliber Luger was. He quietly entered the bedroom, took the gun, then tied up Donna and raped her at gunpoint. He then took her to the basement and shot her in the head five times. A neighbor reported seeing Nance near the house that night, but this information alone was not helpful.

Police found bloody underwear in the house, but they could not determine where it came from because it had been washed. Suddenly, Harvey Pounds became a suspect in his own wife's murder due to being in a relationship. Insufficient evidence turned the murder into a cold case — and thus began the reign of terror of the Missoula Mauler.

Missoula County Sheriff's OfficeWayne Nance's driver's license photo.

The body of a young girl who had been raped and stabbed was found five years later near Beavertail Hill State Park. However, it was named "Betty Beavertail" until 1985 because it did not match missing person reports — it was then identified as 15-year-old runaway Devonna Nelson from Seattle.

In 1984, Nance was working as a bouncer at the Cabin bar in Missoula. He was also dating a 16-year-old runaway known as "Robin," Marcella Bachmann. The couple announced they would leave town in September to start a new life elsewhere. Three months later, Robin's body was found in the woods of Missoula.

The coroner was able to determine not only that she had been shot three times in the head but also that she had been decomposing for three months. The body, referred to as "Debbie Deer Creek" at the crime scene, was identified as Bachmann through DNA testing in 2006.

Wayne Nance's Bloodiest Home Invasion

Missoula County Sheriff's OfficeThe Shook family.

In September 1985, another unidentified body was found. "Christy Crystal Creek" had been shot twice in the head. On December 12, Nance returned to home invasions.

Mike and Teresa Shook were having dinner with their three young children when Nance knocked on the door. When Mike opened the door, he was killed with a butcher knife, and his wife was dragged into the bedroom and raped. After finishing his work, Nance killed her and set the house on fire to kill the children.

Although authorities found them alive, there was no trace of Wayne Nance or anything linking him to this brutal home invasion. Nance started working at Conlin's Furniture and disappeared. He was handsome, and had he not returned to his violent ways shortly, he might have been forgotten.

“He was very charming when he turned on his charisma, like many serial killers,” said Missoula County Sheriff's Office Detective Marta Timmon. “He was handsome. He didn’t look bad.”

The End of Wayne Nance's Murder Spree

Unfortunately, Wayne Nance fell in love with his boss Doug Wells's wife, Kris Wells. On September 3, 1986, Doug noticed someone lurking around the bushes and went outside to assess the situation. When Nance was found, he claimed he stopped when he saw someone looking into the house.

As Doug turned to get a flashlight, Nance shot him with a gun.

Open Road MediaKris and Doug Wells survived the 1986 attack.

Kris was forced at gunpoint to tie up her husband. Nance then tied up Kris and dragged her to the bedroom, sending Doug to the basement. After stabbing Doug in the chest with an eight-inch knife, he returned to the bedroom, believing him to be dead.

By chance, Nance had missed Doug's heart by about an inch. Having cheated death, Doug managed to free himself and grabbed a .250 Savage rifle. As he went upstairs, he encountered Nance and shot him in the cheek. Furious and adrenaline-fueled, Doug crushed the rapist's head.

Ultimately, only Wayne Nance's death allowed authorities to link him to his crimes. In May 2021, modern DNA testing identified the person known as "Christy Crystal Creek" as 23-year-old Janet Lee Lucas. Whether Nance killed her and how many more victims the Missoula Mauler had remains uncertain.