The Nightmare Begins

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.

Join the hunt and follow us:

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

Catching Evil Podcast Blog: www.catchingevil.com

Youtube: Catching Evil Podcast - https://www.youtube.com/@catchingevilpodcast

#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: info@catchingevil.com

Record a voice message: https://www.speakpipe.com/catchingevil

Join us and support these not-for-profits:

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.

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Jaksot(28)

Unfinished Business

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 f...

13 Heinä 49min

Ending the Silence

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. Ne...

6 Heinä 37min

Murder & Mystery at the Mall - The Missing Pt III

Two girls named Mary. The same mall. Four weeks apart. One found stabbed in a ditch — the other still missing, forty years on. Three years before his rampage, serial killer Christopher Wilder was hunt...

29 Kesä 47min

Death Row Confession - The Missing Pt II

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.Tammy Jo Alexander left Florida looking for a bri...

22 Kesä 48min

The Missing

A serial killer who confessed to 11 murders. A body that lay nameless in a swamp for 30 years. And a chilling new discovery.A New York cold-case detective contacts the Catching Evil team about three m...

15 Kesä 42min

Secrets from the Grave

Before she died, she scribbled a note. Her killer stripped away everything that could identify her — but missed that scrap of paper in her pocket.She was beautiful, well-dressed, seen at a glamorous M...

8 Kesä 45min

The Friday the Thirteenth Reckoning

Serial killer Christopher Wilder was ten minutes from the Canadian border. If the passenger door of his stolen car had been unlocked, he would have made it. This is the inside story of Friday the 13th...

1 Kesä 37min

The Tragic Senseless Murder of Single Mom Beth Dodge

Devoted single Mom Beth Dodge is the final victim of serial killer Christopher Wilder's murder rampage across America — a six-week killing spree that has already claimed the lives of eight women. It i...

25 Touko 39min