Police have new suspect in 43-year-old New York cold case with Vancouver hotel clue
A woman whose identity remains unknown was found shot four times in Chautauqua County, N.Y., in 1983. A piece of paper from a Southeast Marine Drive hotel was in her pocket.
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Chautauqua County Sheriff's office in upstate New York has received new information linking a 43-year-old unsolved murder to suspected serial killer Christopher Bernard Wilder, an Australian-born surfer believed responsible for as many as 16 murders of young women in the 1980s.
On December 6, 1983, a woman's body was found in a water-filled ditch along Route 17 near Ellery in Chautauqua County, located 120 kilometres southwest of Buffalo. She had been shot four times at close range—in the mouth, back, and chest twice. The victim's identity remains unknown. Forensic examination determined she had given birth to at least one child, and her estimated age was in her 30s. She had brown hair with some greying, stood 5-foot-2, and weighed about 128 pounds. Identifying marks included a wart above her left eye, a 2-centimetre scar on her throat, and a 15-millimetre raised mole behind her left ear. Her dental work included gold fillings.
The victim was wearing a V-neck camisole made in Italy, a size-40 checkered trench coat, a bluish-grey crewneck pullover sweater, and a plaid wool skirt in shades of brown, blue and red. Her shoes and purse were not found at the scene. Her contraception was a European-made IUD, not sold in the United States but available in Canada, suggesting a Canadian or European origin.
Crucially, a piece of paper was found in the trench coat pocket bearing the name of the Blue Boy motor hotel on Southeast Marine Drive in Vancouver—approximately 4,000 kilometres from where the body was discovered.
Chautauqua County Sheriff's office recently received information that Wilder may have been in New York City on December 4, 1983, two days before the body was found. The office noted that "Wilder was known to frequent Western New York." Wilder was on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list and is suspected of multiple kidnappings, rapes and murders. On April 13, 1984, Wilder died in a gunshot exchange with New Hampshire State Police while driving a car he had stolen from Beth Dodge, a single mother he is suspected of killing earlier that same day in Victor, N.Y. A 2019 book about Wilder suggests he murdered as many as 16 young women during the 1980s.
By the numbers
When was the victim found in Chautauqua County?
December 6, 1983. The woman's body was discovered in a water-filled ditch along Route 17 near Ellery, approximately 120 kilometres southwest of Buffalo.
How many times was the victim shot?
Four times at close range. She was shot in the mouth, back, and chest twice.
What Vancouver clue was found on the victim?
A piece of paper in her trench coat pocket bore the name of the Blue Boy motor hotel on Southeast Marine Drive in Vancouver, approximately 4,000 kilometres from the discovery site.
When did Christopher Bernard Wilder die?
April 13, 1984. The Australian-born suspected serial killer died in a gunshot exchange with New Hampshire State Police while driving a stolen car.
