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The Man Who Said He Did It . . . Did It

Author: John Coston

The “Missoula Mauler” was a serial sex killer of opportunity. During the day, he supposedly moved about his small, Montana town unnoticed: your average next-door guy. But when opportunity presented itself, he became a sadist with a penchant for ropes, rape, and murder. He targeted everyone from the girl next door, to a lost child, to a minister’s unfortunate wife, only meeting his end when his fascination with one potential victim went terribly wrong.

I admit, I’d never heard of this particular serial killer before, but I am fairly new to the true crime genre. Audible had a deal on this story, and I liked John Colton’s Sleep, Forever, My Child. The title here was ridiculously scandalmongering, but then again so was Killer Clown (the quintessential John Wayne Gacy book). True crime and serious titles rarely mix, which is inexplicable when you consider the somber nature of the subject matter.

What distanced me is the difference between the write-up, where Wayne Nance, furniture mover and part time good boy, is described as the charming, trustworthy kind of guy whom every woman loved. No one could have seen beneath the surface, the write-up extrapolates. Really? I mean . . .  he did kind of walk around with knives and brag about killing people . . .  and everyone was afraid of him and remarked that something about him was not right. Did the person who wrote the synopsis read the book? It’s obvious to everyone who the killer is . . . so, where’s the mystery here and why did local law enforcement let this go on so long?

Nevertheless, To Kill and Kill Again is interesting in that it is a portrait of time and one man’s hideous actions, although because of Nance’s death before true knowledge of his identity, we get very little about motive. Part of the appeal of true crime, at least to me, is that attempt to puzzle out evil. What makes a monster and why. Is there anything redeemable in someone who can go so far, and if we can understand how such a person is created, can we avoid it in the future?

Of course, despite some of the best books out there and the survival of many famous serial killers – Gacy, Bundy, Dahmer, etc. we still don’t have the answers. But this book doesn’t even really try to go that deep. It’s more just a recounting, deliberately sensationalized at parts, of what happened. A string of gruesome events, including one truly sad story with Christmas cookies baking, a happy family sitting around the table, and then the entrance of Nance.

The conclusion to the Nance story is especially strong. While there is no real justice for acts so disturbing, Nance does pick the wrong victim, and let’s just say that he gets his comeuppance in a dramatic, ready for TV showdown that is satisfying.

Overall, To Kill and Kill Again was an ok book. It would have been nice if the author had dropped the attempt to sensationalize something that was already out-there and instead let the story tell itself.

Also – one aside – the author and the others interviewed in the book continually described Nance as a handsome young man who sadly, oh so sadly, liked “FAT” women. So “FAT.” Like how did they live? This one girl was . . .  drumroll . . . 140lbs . . . Excuse me while I go stick pins in a voodoo doll that is somewhat author shaped. I don’t think I need to get into much explanation on why this particular, repetitive foible put me entirely off. Also, why does someone being “fat” (arguably not at 140, but whatever) mean they deserve less? Why would it be so out of bounds for an attractive man to like a “fat” woman? Why was this the one really wrong thing that everyone clued into, but Nance’s creepiness was totally ok? Just don’t like “fat” chicks dude. . .  ok, sorry, end tirade.

Anyway, To Kill and Kill Again is an ok, quick true crime read. It had the potential to be better, though. The story is horrific and tragic, but the lackluster telling takes something away from the introspection on the darkness of humanity.

– Frances Carden

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Frances Carden
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