When Kris Conyers was 11 years old, she and her sister were abducted in downtown Boynton Beach and sexually assaulted by serial killer Christopher Wilder. They survived.
But little did they know that the man who attacked them would go on a cross-country killing rampage the next year, abducting 12 young women and girls and killing nine of them. It ended with Wilder’s self-inflicted gunshot wounds.
Detectives didn’t conclude that Wilder had attacked Conyers and her sister until after his death.
Recently, Conyers sat down with Reddit users in an “Ask Me Anything” to answer questions about her experience and her fight against sexual violence with her nonprofit Yesterday Today Tomorrow Women.
With her was Palm Beach Post editor Holly Baltz, who has written extensively about Wilder and helped tell Conyers’ story in May. Her reporting also found that a Palm Beach County judge had essentially set Wilder free to not only attack Conyers and her sister but also go on his killing rampage the following year.
Here’s more about Conyers’ experience, what she learned that help keep others safe and how she feels about how sexual violence is handled today.
How often do you think about the experience?
Question: Do you think about the experience often, or has enough time passed where it isn’t in your daily thoughts? Do certain things trigger flashbacks or thoughts of the incident, and if so, do you avoid these things for the sake of your mental health?
Kris: Before now, I haven’t had any interest in knowing about Christopher Wilder. I agree that society sensationalizes this and that’s why I want to use this platform to switch the narrative while humanizing victims . That’s the mission of my nonprofit, YTT Women.
Was Christopher Wilder charming at first?
Question: I’m sorry about what happened to you. It’s great to see this AMA because it means you’ve survived. What impression did he make when he approached you? I assume he would be charming and nice to be around to cover his intentions. Did your inner alarms go off or was it completely convincing up to the point it was too late to just shrug it off?
Kris: When he approached us, the impression was he was a man with a gun, but once we were in his car, he tried to portray the charming, kind photographer who needed models.
Do popular media portray serial killers correctly?
Question: Like most people, I’ve seen representation of serial killer kidnappings (such as Silence of the Lambs), but I’ve had zero experience with it. What do popular representation of this get right and wrong? Grats on survival! Healing and thriving after such trauma is not easy.
Kris: Thanks for that nice comment. It seems like the actual crime is highlighted more than the victim’s suffering. Society seems to always pay attention to the train wreck. But it takes the sensationalism to provide a platform to facilitate a conversation about sexual violence.
What should your parents have done differently?
Question: Hi Kristine, thanks for sharing your story with us today. What do you wish your parents would have done differently in addressing the sexual assault you and your sister experienced?
Kris: For me, it was evident my parents were ashamed. That’s what I carried going forward – shame.
Are we making progress in the judicial system?
Question: Firstly, thank you for being a voice for victims of sexual violence and providing a safe space/outlet for women to be strong through trauma. I greatly appreciate you for that. Do you believe that we are making progress in our judicial system, as well as our culture, in awareness and understanding of sexual violence and its ramifications on the victim and families? I live in a state that has a long history of unsolved and uninvestigated sexual assault (including myself), to the point of class action lawsuits against police departments; however, I would like to believe that we are moving forward. TIA for answering, and thank you again for everything you have done.
Kris: Thank you for your kind words. I’m so sorry about your experience. While I was very inspired by the #MeToo movement, I feel there hasn’t been a lot of progression since the platform was created toward real reform. As of late, I feel like the platform is starting to fizzle out.
How did you move on after the assault?
Question: How hard was it to move on with normal life after the kidnapping and sexual assaults? Did you get counseling? Did you move away? Was it discussed at all?
Kris: Immediately after the attack, the police were around a lot for a few months. But once they left, it was not a subject we discussed in our home. Unfortunately I was put into a mental hospital but there was no structure to the therapy and the sexual assault wasn’t part of the treatment plan. I didn’t move away until I was an adult. But interesting story, the investigators knew we were in danger because the attacker knew where we were so we had to leave town for a few weeks.
How did you survive, what contributed to it?
Question: I’m sorry if you have to recall bad memories, but what do you think contributed to your survival? Did you follow his every orders and plead to live? Thanks for doing this.
Kris: Being compliant. I also feel like I lived because unbeknownst to me, he knew me.
Holly: Wilder had been calling Kris before the attack, progressing to conversations that made her uncomfortable and even called after the attack. She stopped talking to him after he brought up sex. Then in 2017, Kris’ mother told her she had known Wilder before the attack.
Do you resent the judge who allowed Wilder to go free before the attacks?
Question: Personally I hope the judge that set him free rots in hell with the killer. Did you ever feel any resentment towards the judge that enabled the killer?
Kris: I didn’t realize that all happened until recently. I felt it was a bigger, broader thing, not just one person. The judge represented a belief at the time that a man of stature should have more protection than young females.
Holly: The judge died in the late 1980s so it’s impossible to know what his thinking was. A lawyer told me it sounded like Jeffrey Epstein — white and wealthy, which Wilder was. My guess? The judge felt bad about it.
How did Wilder abduct both girls at the same time?
Question: How did he abduct both of you at the same time? What was going on in your head in the initial moments?
Kris: Yes, he did abduct both of us at the same time — with a gun and threats. I knew this was “that” situation that everyone feared as a child.
Lessons to keep others safe?
Question: Did you learn anything from your experience that could or has been used to help keep others safe?
Kris: I didn’t learn anything from my experience then. I’ve learned that we have to have as much support as possible for victims when they’re coming forward to report a crime, which is why I’m in the process of joining with our local Sexual Abuse Response Team. It is volunteer-based and in all communities. Support your local SART team!
If you need help, here’s Palm Beach County’s victim services rape crisis 24/7 helpline
If you have been the victim of a sexual assault or know someone who needs help, you can call Palm Beach County Victim Services Certified Rape Crisis Center 24/7 Helpline at 1-866-891-7273.
They provide: Information about victims’ rights, 24 hour crisis response, free forensic/rape exam, guidance through the criminal justice system, assistance with filing for crime victim compensation and injunctions for protection, trauma-informed individual therapy and support groups and referrals to community resources.
Holly Baltz is an editor at The Palm Beach Post who also writes about true crime. You can reach her at hbaltz@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Best True Crime: A conversation with a survivor of serial killer Christopher Wilder
Reporting by Holly Baltz, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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