Catching Evil

She was four years old when Christopher Wilder stole her mother. For forty years, Mindy Walden told no one her story. Now, she's ready to speak.

Terry Walden was 23 — a nursing student, a young mom who loved baking and birthday parties. In March 1984, a stranger approached her on her university campus in Beaumont, Texas, and told her she could be a model. Terry called him a dirty pervert. The next morning, he was waiting beside her car. Terry never came home.

Her four-year-old daughter knew. Dropped at daycare that morning, Mindy screamed and sobbed as she watched her mother walk away. That night, as her father drove frantically through every parking lot in town, Mindy told him: I think she's dead. Two days later, she watched them pull her mother's body from a canal — on a road that bore their family name.

For forty years, Mindy has been haunted by a dream in which her mother appears but cannot speak — because Mindy can no longer remember her voice. But she has recently discovered a cassette tape, unheard for 35 years, on which Terry is talking. The moment it plays changes everything.

And then comes a revelation no one saw coming — when Mindy's partner steps forward with his own shattering confession, exposing an extraordinary bond forged from opposite sides of the same violence.
This is the episode that will stay with you long after it ends.

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#catchingevil #prettygirlkiller #truecrimetok #truecrime #givingavoice #christopherwilder #serialkiller #MiamiGrandPrix #ProtectOurGirls #SafetyEducation #EmpowerYoungWomen #BreakTheSilence #TrueCrimeCommunity #UnsolvedMysteries #TrueCrimeObsessed #MindysStory #TerryWalden #BeautyQueenKiller #TerryFerguson #Survivor #WandaBeach #TrueCrimePodcast #SurvivorStories #RememberHer #PodcastRecommendation #VictimsMatter #NeverForgotten #MarianneSchmidt #ChristineSharrock #RosarioGonzalez #BethKenyon #ColleenOrsborne

Credits:

Hosts
Andy Byrne
Mark Llewellyn

Audio Production
Sam Blacker - The Podcast Butler

Artwork
Susan Armstrong

Resources
The Pretty Girl Killer by Andrew Byrne - courtesy of Penguin Random House

Special thanks to Darcy at Pro Podcast Studios, Sydney

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.

She stared into the eyes of a serial killer, fought a life-or-death battle in a motel room, and won — then triggered the biggest manhunt in American history. Linda Grober was just 19 years old when Christopher Wilder abducted her from a shopping mall in broad daylight. He had already murdered four women across America in three weeks. Police had his name. Nobody had warned the public. Linda had never heard of him.

What happened next in a roadside motel room is almost impossible to comprehend. He superglued her eyes shut. He electrocuted her through wires attached to her fingers and toes. He tortured and assaulted her for hours while ordering her to act like his girlfriend. And if she didn't perform to his liking, he shocked her again — then laughed. But Linda Grober did something Wilder never expected. She kept thinking. "Keep it together, sister," she told herself. "Keep your cool. Do what he says. And think."

She played dead. He loosened his grip. She jabbed her fingers into his eyes and ran — five steps to a bathroom door with a lock no thicker than a fingernail. A serial killer was right behind her. She made it. She flicked the lock. His body slammed into the door a heartbeat later. That lock saved her life.

Linda Grober's escape didn't just save one woman. It brought in the FBI and triggered the biggest manhunt in American history. Her detailed account of Wilder — his methods, his obsessions, his rituals — gave investigators everything they needed to hunt him down. Other women are alive today because a 20-year-old university student in a motel bathroom refused to die. This is not a story about a serial killer. This is a story about the extraordinary young woman who beat one.

Contact us at [email protected] if you knew Christopher Wilder, had an encounter with him, or one of his victims

Join the hunt for the truth and follow us:

Catching Evil Podcast Blog: www.catchingevil.com

Instagram: catchingevil - https://www.instagram.com/catchingevil/

Facebook: Catching Evil: True Crime Podcast - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61582973930611

TikTok: catchingevil - https://www.tiktok.com/@catchingevil

#catchingevil #prettygirlkiller #truecrimetok #truecrime #givingavoice #christopherwilder #serialkiller #MiamiGrandPrix #ProtectOurGirls #SafetyEducation #EmpowerYoungWomen #BreakTheSilence #TrueCrimeCommunity #UnsolvedMysteries #TrueCrimeObsessed #MindysStory #TerryWalden #BeautyQueenKiller #TerryFerguson #Survivor #WandaBeach #TrueCrimePodcast #SurvivorStories #RememberHer #PodcastRecommendation #VictimsMatter #NeverForgotten #MarianneSchmidt #ChristineSharrock #RosarioGonzalez #BethKenyon #ColleenOrsborne #LindaGrober

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 Darcy Milne at Pro Podcast Studios, Sydney - propodcast.com.au

Resources
The Pretty Girl Killer by Andrew Byrne - courtesy of Penguin Random House

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.

She was fifteen. Tiny — barely 160 centimetres tall. Wearing a pink bikini on an ordinary Thursday morning, walking alone near her home.
Christopher Wilder was six foot, well into a killing rampage across America, and should have been in police custody that morning. He wasn't. A private detective had handed police in Miami enough evidence. They called it "no evidence of foul play."
Two days later, Colleen Orsborne was gone.
For 27 years she lay in a morgue labelled Jane Doe — a number, a file, a girl nobody could name. Her mother never stopped searching. Never stopped hoping. She died before DNA finally confirmed what the family always knew.
She never got to bury her daughter.
Colleen's big sister Margaret has carried the guilt for 40 years. She was the big sister. She was supposed to protect her. That's what big sisters do.
"I'm sorry," she whispered at the memorial, 27 years too late. "I think we all felt we failed her."
She didn't fail Colleen. The system did.

Join the hunt and follow us:

Catching Evil Podcast Blog: www.catchingevil.com

Instagram: catchingevil - https://www.instagram.com/catchingevil/

Facebook: Catching Evil: True Crime Podcast - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61582973930611

TikTok: catchingevil - https://www.tiktok.com/@catchingevil

#catchingevil #prettygirlkiller #truecrimetok #truecrime #givingavoice #christopherwilder #serialkiller #MiamiGrandPrix #ProtectOurGirls #SafetyEducation #EmpowerYoungWomen #BreakTheSilence #TrueCrimeCommunity #UnsolvedMysteries #TrueCrimeObsessed #MindysStory #TerryWalden #BeautyQueenKiller #TerryFerguson #Survivor #WandaBeach #TrueCrimePodcast #SurvivorStories #RememberHer #PodcastRecommendation #VictimsMatter #NeverForgotten #MarianneSchmidt #ChristineSharrock #RosarioGonzalez #BethKenyon #ColleenOrsborne

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

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.

Stunning beauty queen, High School cheerleading coach and special needs teacher Beth Kenyon turned down a marriage proposal from Christopher Wilder after only a handful of casual dates. A few months later, the 23-year-old beauty queen winner vanished after being seen with him at a gas station on the way to a photo shoot he organised for her. Her body has never been found, and her younger brother Tim still struggles with the tragedy that has haunted him his entire adult life.

Join the Hunt:

Follow us:
Instagram: catchingevil

Facebook: Catching Evil: True Crime Podcast

TikTok: catchingevil

#catchingevil #prettygirlkiller #truecrimetok #truecrime #givingavoice #christopherwilder #serialkiller #MiamiGrandPrix #ProtectOurGirls #SafetyEducation #EmpowerYoungWomen #BreakTheSilence #TrueCrimeCommunity #UnsolvedMysteries #TrueCrimeObsessed #MindysStory #TerryWalden #BeautyQueenKiller #TerryFerguson #Survivor #WandaBeach #TrueCrimePodcast #SurvivorStories #RememberHer #PodcastRecommendation #VictimsMatter #NeverForgotten #MarianneSchmidt #ChristineSharrock #RosarioGonzalez #BethKenyon #CheerleaderMurder

Credits:

Hosts
Andy Byrne
Mark Llewellyn

Audio Production
Sam Blacker - The Podcast Butler

Artwork
Susan Armstrong

Resources
Thanks to Grant Gravitt and Tel-Air Interests Inc
The Pretty Girl Killer by Andrew Byrne - courtesy of Penguin Random House

Special thanks to Darcy at Pro Podcast Studios, Sydney

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.

Rosario Gonzalez was 21 and in love. Newly engaged. Teaching Sunday school while building a modelling career. February 26, 1984, should have been just another day working the Miami Grand Prix to earn some extra money for her wedding. Handing out samples, sunshine, the roar of engines, thousands of people everywhere.
She should have been safe.
Instead, Rosario vanished in plain sight. The last photo ever taken shows her moments before she was seen walking away with a man matching serial killer Christopher Wilder's description.
No screams. No witnesses. Just gone. Why did she go with him?
In this episode, you'll hear from Bill — her college sweetheart, her fiancé, the man who was supposed to marry her. Decades later, his voice breaks describing "the most beautiful woman" he ever met. The sweetest soul he ever knew.
There's no body. No grave. No closure. Just her wedding band — and the life they were supposed to build together, frozen forever in 1984.
Rosario was engaged. She was loved. She had a future. Christopher Wilder made sure she never lived to see it.
For every woman who's ever been approached by a stranger with a "great opportunity." For every woman who's wondered if she was overreacting. For everyone still waiting for answers that may never come.
This is Rosario's story. And it matters.

Join the hunt and follow us:

Catching Evil Podcast Blog: www.catchingevil.com

Instagram: catchingevil - https://www.instagram.com/catchingevil/

Facebook: Catching Evil: True Crime Podcast - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61582973930611

TikTok: catchingevil - https://www.tiktok.com/@catchingevil

#catchingevil #prettygirlkiller #truecrimetok #truecrime #givingavoice #christopherwilder #serialkiller #MiamiGrandPrix #ProtectOurGirls #SafetyEducation #EmpowerYoungWomen #BreakTheSilence #TrueCrimeCommunity #UnsolvedMysteries #TrueCrimeObsessed #MindysStory #TerryWalden #BeautyQueenKiller #TerryFerguson #Survivor #WandaBeach #TrueCrimePodcast #SurvivorStories #RememberHer #PodcastRecommendation #VictimsMatter #NeverForgotten #MarianneSchmidt #ChristineSharrock #RosarioGonzalez

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

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.