Kriti Mehrotra
As a documentary series living up to its title in every way conceivable, Hulu’s ‘The Beauty Queen Killer: 9 Days of Terror’ can only be described as equal parts haunting and harrowing. That’s because it carefully chronicles the tale of serial killer Christopher Wilder, who went on such a rampage in early 1984 that he ended up abducting at least 11 victims across 8 states. What followed was him beating, raping, as well as torturing these young girls before shooting, stabbing, or strangling them to death, just for three to somehow fortunately survive — but alas, Elizabeth “Beth” Ann Kenyon from Miami, Florida, wasn’t one of them.
Elizabeth “Beth” Kenyon Went Missing At Age 23
According to reports, Elizabeth (or Beth) had first come across Australian-American amateur racecar driver plus rising fashion photographer Christopher while participating in the Miss Florida pageant, only for them to soon become closely acquainted outside too. The truth is they dated for a brief period, that is, until this special needs teacher at Coral Gables High School politely turned down his quick marriage proposal owing to their 16-year age gap. No one could’ve ever expected she’d then go missing without a trace left behind, just for officials to initially handle things under the presumption she was a runaway rather than a pure victim.
It was March 5, 1984, when Beth left her workplace at roughly 3 pm to get some issues in her Chrysler convertible car fixed from a local establishment, following which she never returned home. She was reportedly carrying a duffel bag containing workout clothes plus a curling iron when she was last seen, making many within the authorities believe she could’ve simply chosen to start afresh or left to meet family, yet her loved ones knew this was unlike her. They, thus, reported her missing when she didn’t make contact with anybody or return to her Ives Dairy Road apartment by the evening, but the police still didn’t seriously begin an investigation.
As per records, it took Beth’s vehicle being found abandoned at the Miami Airport six days later that sparked a formal response, but her family had already hired a private investigator by this point. It was the latter who was, hence, arguably the first to uncover this 23-year-old former Orange Bowl Princess was last seen talking to a Cadillac Eldorado-driving man at a local service station before positively identifying him as her well-known ex-partner, Christopher Wilder.However, by the time this PI or the police arrived at his Boynton Beach home, he’d vanished too — there were no signs of either him or her anywhere in the area, resulting in inquiries to continue.
Elizabeth “Beth” Kenyon Was Likely Killed By Christopher Wilder
One of the first things detectives had noticed upon entering Christopher’s home was the stack of images of women in various stages of undress he had on his table — he’d presumably clicked them all. Therefore, when this creepy aspect was combined with the fact he was admittedly angry with Beth for having shot down his proposal and had a history of sexual violence dating back to when he was merely thirteen, he became the primary suspect for her kidnapping. It wasn’t until a short while later that he was also connected to the February 26, 1984, disappearance of 20-year-old Rosario Teresa Gonzale from the Miami Grand Prix and his true colors came to light.
After all, on March 18, Christopher then abducted 21-year-old Theresa Anne Ferguson from the Merritt Square Mall, just to murder and dispose of her at Canaveral Groves without hesitation. This was followed by him taking 19-year-old Florida State University student Linda Grover from the Governor’s Square Mall in Tallahassee on March 20, whom he raped, tortured, and nearly killed. She, fortunately, managed to survive and later even identified him as her assailant, but he’d already left the state by that point to look for other young girls/women to pray upon by posing as a photographer who could propel them into a career in modeling.
Christopher actually targeted at least seven more victims across seven states in the ensuing three weeks, amongst whom only two survived — Tina Marie Risico and Dawnette Sue Wilt. Alas, on April 13, following seven weeks of reigning down pure terror, he died during a scuffle with New Hampshire state troopers while trying to flee to Canada – he was 39 at the time, a confirmed serial killer, as well as on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. Therefore, although Beth or her remains have never been recovered, it is believed she too was killed by him prior to being disposed of or buried in some manner during the early days of his crime spree.
Read More: Dawnette Wilt: Where is Christopher Wilder’s Survivor Now?
