WAYNE BODEN: VAMPIRE RAPIST SERIAL KILLER

Sadomasochism, the act of inflicting pain on another willing partner, has been well documented since the late 1800’s. Sigmund Freud himself studied the psychology of both sadism and masochism in 1905, stating that these acts were rooted in the psyche from early childhood. A popular belief regarding sadism in particular might possibly begin with an infant biting and gnawing on the nipples of his mother. Though the child does not consciously remember this particular act in adulthood, he may have a subconscious memory of the enjoyment he felt when innocently biting at the nipples and areolas of his mother.

The act of breastfeeding has a lasting effect on some infants, especially when being weaned from his mother’s natural milk. The child might find himself angry with his mother, believing that the act of withholding the breast from her child is a direct punishment or reprimand for doing something wrong. Some children are not weaned so easily from their mother’s breast, becoming literally attached to their mother’s chest. Mothers who are particularly close to their child find it difficult to give a bottle of formula, instead breastfeeding well after the usual six to nine months. Some mother’s continue breastfeeding until the child is four to six years old.

Although it is unknown why serial killer Wayne Boden had such a bizarre fascination with the female breast, he might have had a possible traumatizing weaning incident as an infant. Not only was Boden intensely attracted to the breast, he was very much interested in sadism. By biting the breasts of his victims, he was fulfilling his need to wreak damage on the breasts he so richly wanted. Nipping at the breasts of his victims was not enough for Boden. Finding that he could reach powerful sexual gratification by ripping at the flesh, he also became massively interested in drawing blood. Essentially indulging himself in vampirism, Boden liked the taste of blood, especially when it came directly from the breast.

Wayne Boden, an attractive young man in his early 20’s with thick sideburns and an easy smile targeted his victims at random chiefly in Montreal, Canada in the late 1960’s to the early 1970’s. It is unconfirmed whether Boden sought out his victims who also found pleasure in sadomasochism, but surely he found his prey without difficulty by conning his way into their homes presumably for consensual sex. The sounds that came from the women’s apartments sounded very much like sexual enjoyment, but they were actually screams of pain. This is possibly why Boden was able to avoid police capture for three years.

The first victim, Norma Vaillancourt, a smart and attractive 21-year-old teacher from Montreal met her death one warm night in late July of 1968. When she didn’t come to work one morning, police were called and they eventually forced their way into her apartment. Her body had been sexually assaulted, her neck almost broken by strangulation and teeth marks covered her breasts. Traces of blood were found from the blunt and vicious ripping at her dark and fleshy areolas. In the apartment, police found that there were no signs of struggle, suggesting she had known her assailant and had willingly allowed him to visit with her the night she died. What police and the medical pathologist found odd was that Norma had died with a submissive and soft smile on her face. Perhaps a sign of rigor mortis had fixed a smile upon her face, but it wasn’t likely. When people engage in sadomasochistic sex, they sometimes specifically want to be superficially strangled to reach a “perfect orgasm.” It might have been likely Norma could have been so enthralled with the violent sexual encounter, she might have attained that “perfect orgasm,” and her last emotion was that of joy before she died.

A year passed before another body was found. Shirley Audette, a young pretty woman who was wandering around downtown Montreal perhaps looking for a man or bar, was found dead behind an apartment complex. Her cause of death and wounds were almost exactly fitting that of Norma Vaillancourt a year previous. Shirley’s boyfriend told police that he believed Shirley had wanted to indulge in the darker side of sexuality- rough sex. Again, to the surprise of police, Shirley had showed no signs of resisting. She was wearing all of her clothes, intact, without a tear or button missing from her blouse. Police thought it was possible that Shirley had been forced at gunpoint to have sexual intercourse, but, the pathologist suggested Shirley had consented to “rough sex” with her killer before he became violent and killed her.

Because of the violent nature and odd manner in which the killings were done, police realized they were officially dealing with a serial killer. Canada now called this mystery breast mutilator “The Vampire Rapist.”

Only months later, Marielle Archambault, a jewelry store worker, was found dead in her apartment with the usual bite marks littering her breasts in a seemingly frenzied attempt to draw a large amount of blood. Marielle was fully clothed, her apartment neat and showing no signs of forced entry. She had been raped and strangled to death, but it appeared that she had not fought back. Police again believed that either Marielle had been specifically raped or had obliged to sadomasochistic sex. After all, there was a whole underground world of people who enjoyed the pain and satisfaction of hardcore sex.

What police did not understand was that Marielle had been wearing all of her clothes on her body, signifying her killer had respected her just enough not to leave her body lying nude for all to see when she was finally discovered. Many killer rapists often leave their victims naked and posed obscenely, their stockings ripped or panties still clinging to one leg. With this killer, there was a probable idea that he had some sort of compassion towards his victims, even though he ultimately killed them.

In 1969, Jean Wray, 24, was killed in her apartment. She had been strangled and had been raped. This crime was different however. Unlike the other killings, Jean was nude and had not had any bite marks on her breasts. According to police, Jean’s boyfriend had come to pick her up for a date, but she hadn’t answered the door. He waited around for a while before deciding to come back an hour later. When he arrived back at her apartment, he found her door unlocked and her naked body laying half on the floor and half on the couch.

Although the motus operandi was different from the other killings, the police were certain they were dealing with the Vampire Rapist again. A pathologist examined Jean’s body finding flecks of skin under her fingernails, revealing that Jean had fought back with her attacker. Jean was devoted to her boyfriend, as it turned out, and her assailant had not been welcome in her home. Police believed that the killer had been in Jean’s apartment when her boyfriend had knocked on the door the first time. Needing to flee the scene, the killer abandoned the strangled nude body on the couch and left before he could damage her breasts.

By 1971, in Calgary, Canada, 2,500 miles away from Montreal, The Vampire Rapist struck again. This attack was also unwanted, it appeared. 33-year-old schoolteacher Elizabeth Porteous was found dead in her apartment by her employer. She had put up a severe fight before being strangled, raped, and her breasts sexually mutilated. In her terror and attempt to fight her attacker off, she tore off his cufflink, which was found underneath her nude body. Questioning Elizabeth’s friends for any kind of information, police discovered that Elizabeth had been seen in a blue Mercedes with a showy attractive young male, calling himself “Bill.”

One day later, a police officer saw the Mercedes parked near the murder scene. The man who owned the car was indeed a handsome and ostentatious male with a flashy smile and a charming demeanor. The police officer brought the man, still calling himself “Bill”, to the police station. The police brought out the broken cufflink and presented it to the man, who looked at it for a long time before slowly nodding. He admitted that it had belonged to him, but claimed he had nothing to do with Elizabeth’s murder.

Under interrogation for several hours, “Bill” revealed his real identity, Wayne Boden. He then went on to confess to four of the murders, but claimed the first murder, that of Norma Vaillancourt, had not belonged to him. To assure they had the right man, Boden’s teeth were examined by local orthodontist Gordon Swann. He found 29 points in Boden’s teeth that matched exactly to Elizabeth Porteous’ injuries. Brought to court in Calgary, Boden was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Elizabeth Porteous. Boden was then taken to Montreal to be found guilty of the three other murders of Shirley Audette, Marielle Archambault, and Jean Wray. Wayne Boden then received a further three life sentences. Boden never admitted and protested that he had not been the killer of Norma Vaillancourt.

Boden began his sentences at Kingston Penitentiary on February 16, 1972. Five years later, Boden was somehow given an American Express card which he used while on a day pass from prison. He was apprehended in a restaurant 36 hours after he was supposed to return to the prison. Nobody knows how or why he was granted a credit card while incarcerated. After serving 25 years in prison, Wayne Boden died of skin cancer in 2006 at the age of 58.

In 1994, a man named Raymond Sauve was convicted of Norma Vaillancourt’s murder and sentenced to ten years in prison.