Wayne Clifford Boden

Case Overview

Wayne Clifford Boden was a Canadian serial killer and rapist active from 1968 to 1971. He earned the nickname " the Vampire Rapist " because of his habit of biting the breasts of his victims. Investigators said his conviction was based on forensic odontological evidence, described as the first such conviction in North America and several years ahead of another serial killer, Ted Bundy.

Background

Wayne Clifford Boden was described as a sexually sadist who was obsessed with biting female breasts and as a travelling salesman. He was described as being from Montreal and as having moved from Montreal a year earlier before the arrest in Calgary. He was also described as a former fashion model. One account described him as having left bit marks on the breasts of his 5 female victims; another account described four women found raped and strangled in Montreal between 1968 and 1970, and a teacher found killed in Calgary in 1971.

The offence

Boden murdered women in Montreal and Calgary by raping and strangling them. Investigators described bite marks on the victims’ breasts and reported no signs of a struggle in some cases. The victims were found naked in apartments. A pathologist noted that Norma Villancourt had died with a faint smile on her lips. Another account stated that, contrary to legend, one victim had struggled based on fibres under fingernails.

Timeline

• 23 July 1968 — Norma Villancourt, aged 21, was found dead in her Montreal apartment. She had been raped and strangled, and her breasts had bite marks.
• October 3, 1969 — Shirley Audette was found dumped at the rear of an apartment complex in downtown Montreal. She had been raped and strangled and had bite marks on her breasts.
• November 23 — Marielle Archambault left work at closing time with a young man she introduced as "Bill". Her body was later found in her apartment, where investigators said the killer ripped off her bra and gnawed on her breasts and left bite marks.
• January 16, 1970 — Jean Wray, aged 24, was found in her Montreal apartment after her boyfriend came to pick her up for a scheduled date. The victim was naked on a sofa with bite marks on her breasts.
• May 18 — Elizabeth Anne Porteous, aged 33, did not report to work in Calgary. Her body was found on the bedroom floor in her apartment, with rape and strangling and bite marks on her breasts.
• May 19 — Patrolmen found the suspect car near the murder scene and Boden was arrested half an hour later as he went to his car.
• February 16, 1972 — Boden began serving his sentence on four life sentences at Kingston Penitentiary.
• 1984 — Boden made headlines while on a "humanitarian" day pass from the maximum-security Laval Correctional Centre when he escaped from a guard after asking to use the washroom while eating in a Montreal hotel.
• March 27, 2006 — Boden died at Kingston Regional Hospital after being confined in hospital for six weeks.
• March 25, 2006 — Boden died in prison on this date.

Offences in Montreal

Norma Villancourt (23 July 1968)

On July 23, 1968, Norma Villancourt, 21, was found dead in her apartment in Montreal. She had been raped and strangled; investigators said her breasts were savaged with bite marks. It was reported that there were no evident signs of a struggle. A pathologist noted that the victim had died with a faint smile on her lips.

Shirley Audette (October 3, 1969)

On October 3, 1969, Shirley Audette was found dumped at the rear of an apartment complex in downtown Montreal. Investigators said she was fully clothed when found. She had been raped and strangled, and she was described as showing savage bite marks on her breasts. It was reported that there were no signs of bloody skin under the fingernails of the victim. One account said this led one biographer to theorize that she did not struggle against her assailant.

A former boyfriend of Shirley Audette told police that he believed she got involved with a very dominant, attractive man because she was "getting into something dangerous"; he did not mention the man's name.

Marielle Archambault (November 23)

On November 23, Marielle Archambault left her office with a young man she called "Bill". When she did not show up for work the next morning, her employer went to see if she was OK. He found her on the floor of her living room. Investigators described the case as another victim of strangling and said Boden had raped her and ripped off her bra and gnawed on her breasts, leaving bite marks. A crumpled photograph was found in the wreckage of her flat and was identified as "Bill" by those who knew her.

Police also distributed a police sketch based on the picture that was distributed for publication in newspapers, but investigators said they were not successful in connecting the photograph to any known suspect.

Jean Wray (January 16, 1970)

On January 16, 1970, the killer picked off Jean Wray, 24, in her apartment in Montreal. Her boyfriend discovered that the door was unlocked and found her naked body on the sofa. Investigators said there were bloody bite marks on her breasts and that it seemed the killer had been in the apartment when the boyfriend was knocking earlier that evening.

An autopsy was said to have been conducted by Dr. Jean-Paul Valcourt. The autopsy found two small fibers under the fingernails of her left hand, which investigators said indicated that the victim had indeed struggled against her assailant. The material also reproduced the reference: (Rapport Medico-Legal from the Institut de Medecine Legal et de la poliec scientifique 20 January 1970, page 4).

Offences in Calgary

Elizabeth Anne Porteous (May 18–19, 1971)

In Calgary, Elizabeth Anne Porteous, a 33-year-old high school teacher, did not report to work on the morning of May 18, 1971. Her apartment manager was called and found her body on the bedroom floor.

Investigators described a rape and strangling with bite marks on her breasts. The material stated that her apartment showed considerable signs of a struggle. A broken cufflink was recovered under her body. Two colleagues were said to have reported that she had been seen with a young man in a blue Mercedes on the night she perished. It was reported that the car had a bull-shaped decal advertising beef in the rear window. A friend of the victim also informed police that she had been recently dating a man named "Bill", described as a "flashy" dresser with neat, short hair.

On May 19, patrolmen spotted the blue Mercedes parked near the murder scene. Boden was arrested half an hour later as he went toward his car on foot. He told police that he had moved from Montreal a year earlier and admitted seeing Porteous the night she was killed. When the broken cufflink was presented to him, he admitted its ownership and also insisted that Porteous was fine when he left her that night.

Investigation and forensic evidence

Investigators had pursued information about who the girls had been dating, and the name "Bill" kept coming up. Police had a photograph of the suspect. In Calgary, investigators recovered and used a cast of Boden’s teeth for comparison with bite marks on a victim’s body.

A local orthodontist named Gordon Swann was described as being asked to prove that marks on Porteous’ breasts and neck were Boden’s bite marks. One account said that because there was nothing in Canadian forensic literature on bite mark evidence, Swann wrote to the FBI and received a reply. The reply directed him to England, where he met a man who had dealt with 20 or 30 cases. Swann then demonstrated 29 points of similarity between the bite marks on Elizabeth Porteous’ body and Boden’s teeth based on a cast made of Boden’s teeth.

One account said this evidence was sufficient for the jury to find him guilty of murder for which he was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment. Another account stated that a dentist was able to demonstrate 29 points of similarity between bite marks on the breasts and Boden’s teeth.

A photograph recovered from Archambaut’s apartment was also said to have been in police possession in Calgary. One account stated that because Boden resembled the man in the picture, the police held him for suspicion in murdering Porteous and then turned to the marks on the victim’s breasts.

Arrest

Patrolmen found Boden’s car parked near the murder scene on May 19. Boden was arrested half an hour later as he approached the car on foot. He told police he had moved from Montreal a year earlier and admitted to seeing Elizabeth Porteous on the night she was killed, and he identified the cufflink as his own. He also said he insisted that Porteous was fine when he left her that night.

Trial and convictions

Boden was convicted of multiple life sentences through forensic odontological evidence. One account said he was sentenced to life imprisonment based on bite mark evidence and described this as the first such evidence allowed in a Canadian trial to identify an accused.

The material stated that Boden was returned to trial in Montreal. It further stated that he openly confessed to three of the related murders, but denied involvement in the death of Norma Vaillancourt, a 21-year-old student killed on July 23, 1968. Another part of the material stated that he balked at the slaughter of Norma Villancourt. It then stated that, regardless, the court slapped him with four more life terms.

Another account stated that he confessed to three of the killings after a teacher in Calgary was found dead in 1971. The material stated that Boden was sentenced to three additional life terms and he began serving his sentence on February 16, 1972. A further part of the material stated he was sentenced to four life sentences in prison on February 16, 1972.

Related prosecution mentioned: Raymond Sauve

The material stated that, in 1994, Raymond Sauve was convicted of the crime involving Norma Villancourt and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Imprisonment, escape, and later events

Boden began serving his sentence on February 16, 1972, at Kingston Penitentiary.

In 1977, while Boden was five years into his life sentence, American Express granted him a credit card. One account stated that he used it while out on a day pass from Laval prison. It stated that he escaped and was recaptured 36 hours later while eating lunch in a restaurant in the Mount Royal Hotel in downtown Montreal. The material stated that three prison guards were disciplined and that American Express conducted an internal investigation into how a prisoner serving a life sentence for murder managed to get a credit card.

Another account added that Boden made headlines in 1984 while on a "humanitarian" day pass from the maximum-security Laval Correctional Centre. It stated that he escaped from a guard after asking to use the washroom while eating in a Montreal hotel.

Boden died at Kingston Regional Hospital on March 27, 2006 of skin cancer after being confined in hospital for six weeks. The status field also stated a death date of March 25, 2006.

Outcome

Boden remained imprisoned following his convictions and life sentences. He died while incarcerated.

Other details

The material described the nickname and modus operandi as rape-murders of women with gnawing on bodies, and it said that he became known as "the Vampire Rapist" after his distinctive method of murder.

The material reproduced bibliographic and reference items including:

• Richard Monaco and Bill Burt, The Dracula Syndrome , New York: Avon Books, 1993. ISBN 0-380-77062-8
• Wikipedia.org 'Vampire Killer' who bit breasts of victims dies in prison March 30 , 2006
• Michael Newton - An Encyclopedia of Modern Serial Killers - Hunting Humans

The material also reproduced an item indicating "KINGSTON, Canada - A serial killer ... has died in prison" and described that Corrections Canada attributed Boden's death to "natural causes" and that funeral arrangements were still being made. It further stated he was in his late 50s and had been ill and transferred to Kingston from his home institution of Bath about six weeks earlier.