Wilma June Nissen

Summary

Criminology Podcast Episode 353 — The Case of Wilma June Nissen

Hosts: Mike Ferguson & Mike Morford
Release Date: April 6, 2025

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Overview

This episode of Criminology dives deep into the tragic, multilayered cold case of Wilma June Nissen—a woman whose body was found in a ditch in Iowa in 1978 and remained unidentified for decades. The hosts are joined by Wilma’s biological daughter, Chrissy, who provides personal insight into Wilma’s tumultuous life, the investigation, and the search for justice. The episode explores Wilma’s abusive childhood, her life in and out of foster care, the challenges she faced as an adult, law enforcement missteps, and ongoing obstacles in solving her murder.

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Key Themes

• Systemic neglect and the long-term trauma of abusive childhoods
• The challenges of identification in cold cases before modern forensics
• Sex work, vulnerability, and social stigma
• Family members’ pursuit of truth and closure
• Stalled investigations, missed opportunities, and the hope for modern DNA solutions

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Episode Breakdown

Wilma’s Early Life: Abuse, Neglect, and the Foster System

[02:50–08:23]

• Wilma endured severe neglect: mother left at age 8; father abusive, left Wilma and her disabled sister locked in closets or cars.
• Chrissy recounts, “Her father would lock them in a closet when he went to work...he would lock the disabled sister in the trunk and Wilma would have to go out and scrounge for food.” (Chrissy, 05:39)
• Both girls placed in foster care but separated—Wilma’s first loving family was the Holties, who taught her to read and provided a sense of safety.
• Despite brief stability, Wilma was shifted between homes due to foster parents’ health.

Adulthood: Searching for Stability, Caught in Chaos

[08:23–13:53]

• Wilma aged out of foster care; Chrissy describes her mother as “kind of a free spirit...if someone showed her love she would just go for it.” (Chrissy, 09:20)
• Entered a series of rocky relationships, marriages, and pregnancies—some children also placed in foster care.
• Became involved in sex work, sometimes controlled by her partners. “There is no doubt he [Don Wellington] was pimping Wilma out.” (Former Sheriff Blomandall, 32:15)

The Crime: Unidentified Woman, Grim Discovery

[13:53–17:20]

• October 4, 1978: Wilma’s body found in a ditch near Rock Rapids, Iowa. Advanced decomposition, minimal clothing, rope around the ankles.
• “Her green khaki pants and red, white and blue bikini style underwear were wrapped around her left leg...her hands are forward and her hair is forward.” (Mike Morford & Ferguson, 14:44–15:32)
• Autopsy revealed skull fracture, dislocated vertebra and elbow, extensive injuries likely from a struggle.

The Investigation: Gaps and Delays

[17:20–22:32]

• Unidentified for 28 years; only two usable fingerprints and no jaw or dental records.
• Authorities went to great lengths, using all forensics available in 1978, but with no ID or missing persons report, leads ran dry.
• Missteps: Wilma’s fingerprints had been in a federal database since a 1973 arrest. Only after re-testing in 2006 did a match confirm her identity.
• Chrissy describes the heartbreak: “I was never mad at her for giving me up...I just wanted to meet her. And I feel like if she hadn’t been murdered, I would have had that chance.” (Chrissy, 22:32, 24:24)

Aftermath: Piecing Together Wilma’s Life

[25:06–36:36]

• Wilma was born in San Francisco, 1954. Suffered severe deprivation as a child, bios painted by her daughter and foster families.
• In foster care, she thrived academically and emotionally, but frequent moves and instability followed.
• Drifts into sex work; arrests in various California cities; attempts to connect or settle with different partners, some equally troubled.
• Wilma’s adult life marked by instability—multiple partners, premature children, failed attempts at stability.

Breaks in the Case: Investigative Efforts & Suspects

[36:36–40:30]

• Police pursue leads: exhumation of body in 2007 for new DNA (hampered by water damage, but body well-preserved).
• Notable suspect: John Van Gammeren arrested for perjury related to investigation but charges dropped after new undisclosed evidence.

Person(s) of Interest: “Sugar” and “Peaches”

[40:30–44:33]

• In 2016, law enforcement identifies “Sugar” (a sex worker and thief, known for robbing escorts and clients) and potential accomplice “Peaches.”
• “Sugar reportedly failed every polygraph...and fled to Canada, where she later stabbed someone and went on the run.” (Mike Morford, 41:23)
• Both women worked at the same agency as Wilma; theory is Wilma was killed over a robbery, possibly at a party.

Challenges for Law Enforcement

[43:06–46:23]

• Reluctance of witnesses to come forward, either due to shame, fear of exposure, or fading memories.
• DNA evidence from the rope and clothing exists (“touch DNA”) but is yet inconclusive—does not match “Sugar” but could belong to an accomplice.

Chrissy’s Perspective: Advocacy and Frustration

[46:33–51:14]

• Chrissy describes obstacles in interacting with law enforcement:

  • “I want the same thing as law enforcement does. I want this case to be solved...but they won’t contact me.” (46:33)
  • Frustration with slow adoption of new DNA techniques and lack of transparency.
  • Doubts about how seriously tips are followed.

• “There is no one else left to fight for her...It’s my mission, it’s my life’s mission at this point. It is. I’m not giving up.” (Chrissy, 49:31)

• Chrissy encourages anyone, no matter how trivial their connection, to reach out (Reddit: u/TwitchHH, email: [e-mail]).

Case Reflections and The Road Forward

[51:14–end]

• Hosts highlight the enduring tragedy: Wilma’s identification was delayed by a basic oversight; vital investigation years lost.
• Strong evidence points to her murder being related to sex work and interpersonal betrayals.
• “It seems like she was always trying to find herself and find her way, and it seems like that never happened...very sad.” (Mike Morford, 55:05)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Abuse:
  • “He would lock the disabled sister in the trunk and Wilma would have to go out and scrounge for food.” (Chrissy, 05:39)
• On Foster Care:
  • “They taught her how to read, they taught her how to write...She never got to be a kid. She was homeless by the time she was 10 years old.” (Chrissy, 04:54, 07:38)
• On the Crime Scene:
  • “A rope had been tied around her ankles...used to drag her body into the ditch after she was killed.” (Mike Ferguson, 14:44)
• On Missed Opportunities:
  • “The information was there. It just wasn’t in an Iowa database. And authorities thought that it had been run nationally and apparently it hadn’t been.” (Mike Ferguson, 23:53)
• On Persistence:
  • “No one should have to not know what happened to their loved ones. But her life was so just awful...I can’t give up on her case.” (Chrissy, 47:32, 49:31)
• On The Ongoing Investigation:
  • “The people in the western half of our county got very defensive when we first approached them about these parties.” (Chief Deputy Burkey, 42:07)
  • “There’s a very high probability that there’s a Lyon county resident that knows what happened or saw what happened, even though they didn’t have any involvement in it.” (Chief Deputy Burkey, 45:37)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• Wilma’s Early Life & Family Trauma: 02:50–08:23
• Transition to Adulthood & Sex Work: 08:23–13:53
• Discovery of the Body & Crime Scene: 13:53–17:20
• Investigative Missteps & Identification: 17:20–22:32
• Wilma’s Timeline: Reconstruction of Her Life: 25:06–36:36
• Exhumation, Suspects, and Leads: 36:36–44:33
• Current Theories & DNA Evidence: 44:33–45:37
• Chrissy’s Advocacy & Frustrations: 46:33–51:14
• Case Summary and Reflections: 51:14–end

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Key Takeaways

• Wilma’s life was shaped by relentless trauma, instability, and lack of meaningful support—fatefully intersecting with societal neglect and the perils of sex work.
• The identification of Wilma’s remains was delayed for nearly three decades due to a procedural oversight—reminder of the importance of cross-jurisdictional diligence in cold cases.
• Despite new forensic technology, the case remains unsolved, but potential leads exist tied to the local sex work community in the late 1970s.
• Her daughter Chrissy is a passionate advocate, seeking any information and pushing for law enforcement transparency and action.

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Contact Information

• Lyon County Sheriff’s Office: 712-472-8300
• Anonymous Tip Line: 712-472-8334
• Chrissy (Wilma’s daughter):
  • Reddit: u/TwitchHH, r/WilmaJuneNissen
  • Email: [e-mail]
  • Instagram, X/Twitter: @wilmajunenissen

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This episode is a haunting exploration of a forgotten victim, the power of perseverance, and the hope that one day, justice for Wilma June Nissen will be served.

Transcript

[Mike Morford]

Criminology is a true crime podcast that may contain discussion about violent or disturbing topics. Listener discretion is advised. Foreign.

[Mike Ferguson]

And welcome to episode 353 of the Criminology podcast. This is Mike Ferguson.

[Mike Morford]

And this is Mike Morford.

[Mike Ferguson]

Morph, how you doing, buddy?

[Mike Morford]

I'm doing good. How you doing?

[Mike Ferguson]

I'm doing great. My wife is on vacation down in your neck of the woods. Florida. She's on her spring break. Left me here with the dogs.

[Mike Morford]

So is it. Is it a vacation for you like a bachelor's vacation, or is it for her to get away from you?

[Mike Ferguson]

I actually think it's both. When you think about being married 30 years, which we have, do you need a little break every now and then? Maybe it's a good thing. It's not a bad thing. Yeah.

[Mike Morford]

What's that old saying? Absence makes the heart grow fonder?

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, it. It actually does. It really does. Let's go ahead and do our Patreon shout outs. We had Catherine Lister and, and Betty June Speth. So some great new support. We really appreciate that.

[Mike Morford]

Yeah. Thank you so much to everybody that takes the time to support the show. For any of us that would like to, you can do so by going over to patreon.com criminology to get started.

[Mike Ferguson]

Right. It's time to jump into this week's case. And this time around, we're talking about a woman who vanished almost half a decade ago. And although her remains were found long ago, she wasn't identified until years later. Using her fingerprints for years, the case of the unidentified woman who was thought to likely be the victim of a homicide. Stump police. Now they know that Jane Doe is actually Wilma June Nissan. Complicating matters is that Wilma was never reported missing, so police weren't out looking for her. Now that one part of the mystery is solved and police know who Wilma is, they want to find out who's responsible for her death. Just as determined to find that out, if not more, is Wilma's biological daughter, Chrissy, who was just a baby when Wilma vanished. Chrissy has been able to piece some things about her birth mother together, but there's a lot she doesn't know. In hopes that maybe someone listening will have answers, Chrissy joined us to discuss Wilma's case and you'll hear from her in this episode.

[Mike Morford]

To understand what happened to Wilma, we have to go back to her childhood and understand that Wilma grew up in terrible conditions and circumstances. Wilma's mother had left the family when she was Just eight years old, her younger sister is deaf and mute. Their father was profoundly neglectful, if not downright abusive and the two girls were taken from his custody and placed in separate foster homes. The family members who were old enough to remember her and wonder where she was either didn't or couldn't do anything to look for her.

[Chrissy]

She had a horrific life. And her final foster family actually adopted. Well, they fostered me for a few years and when they couldn't find my biological mom, her last foster family adopted me. They didn't tell me anything much about.

[Mike Morford]

Her.

[Chrissy]

So I started snooping. But I'd been searching for her my whole life. One of the things that, for my family, my adopted family to adopt me was they had to tell me I was adopted because they were quite elderly when they adopted me and they would not tell me anything about my biological parents. And being that they had Wilma for a couple of years, it was, it was just, it was infuriating. But I, I don't know, I was around 11 or 12 and I was snooping through a, a desk that had a bunch of paperwork in it and I found my original birth certificate with her name and that started my search. So I, I, I've been searching for her my whole life. I would, before there was Internet, I would, I would go through the phone book and call people with the same name and ask if they had had a daughter in 1977. I had, mind you, this was the 90s. I had a talk show looking for her. I was not able to find much out about her. Like I said, I snooped through that desk full of old paperwork and I found my original birth certificate with my parents names and my original name and a couple of photographs. And that's pretty much all I had. I didn't find out a lot of things until she was identified. Well, I knew that she was in foster care because my, my adoptive family did tell me that they had her. They, they kind of made it sound like they'd had her her whole life and that was not the case. But once she was identified I learned a few things through the sheriff that was in charge of her case and the lead detective that was in charge of her case when she was identified. And I was lucky enough to meet her first foster family that were amazing people and we talked about her. They really loved her. I got to see home videos of her. I mean she never got to be a kid. She was homeless by the time she was 10 years old. I can tell you through obsessing about this for A long time. Her mother walked out on her and her younger sister. Her younger sister was, I believe, deaf and mute. And their mother just walked out on them when they were very young, I don't know the exact age, and left them in the. I don't want to say care, because that's a strong word, but left them with their father. Their father would lock them in a closet when he went to work. And then he got fired and they lived in a car and I don't know where he was during the day. I was told this by her first foster family, and I believe them. He would leave during the day and he would lock the disabled sister in the trunk and Wilma would have to go out and scrounge for food. I saw a few photographs of her with her younger sister when they were in foster care. They were not in the same foster homes. Since her sister was special needs. I mean, when she went to her first foster home, she had never been to school. She was 10 years old. She'd never been to school. She could not read, she could not write. She did not know how to use a fork. Her sister went to a special needs kind of foster home that could take better care of her and my mom. Wilma went to the Holties. Marshall Maxine Holti and they are amazing people. They're still alive. They're, they're, they're getting up there in years. But they loved her. They taught her how to read, they taught her how to write. They, they kept in touch with her until she vanished. And unfortunately, Maxine, the foster mother, developed really bad rheumatoid arthritis. And they had my mom and some twins that they were fostering and they weren't able to foster them anymore. So that was the first stability and loving family that Wilma ever had. And then she got bumped back into.

[Mike Ferguson]

The foster system after Wilma was an adult and out of foster care. Details about Wilma are scarce, although it seems things didn't get easier for her.

[Chrissy]

She went to at least one facility. One. They called it a school, but I think it was more of like a group home for children in the, in the system. And then she had another foster family for a little while and then she went to her la. I think. I don't know if there were any more. But between. But then she went to her last foster family, which was my adopted family. She aged out of the foster home. I, I think she was kind of a. She'd never had stability. So I think she met someone and married them. I think she just kind of was a free spirit and since she'd never had stability she was kind of naive and if someone showed her love she would just go for it. I do have two older half brothers on her side that I have not been able to find. I've tried. I've had a search angel helping me and they can't find a hide nor hair of one. One brother. And they were both taken into foster care too. They were both taken by CPS as infants. So one was Donald Wellington Jr. And there is not hide nor hair of him to be found. And one was Michael Pizarro Jr. I believe it was Junior and he might have been found but he might have passed away a couple of years ago. I know that she, when she aged out the foster system she went and apparently almost immediately married Donald Wellington and somehow got into the sex work industry and she was with him. She had a child with someone else with the Michael Pizarro. So that was the first, her first child. And then she had a second child with this, with the husband, the first husband. And he was I believe Donald Willington Jr. And then I, then she met my dad. I don't know why, I don't know how all this happened. I wasn't around and it's not like I've been able to find anybody that really knew her. But she ended up marrying my dad. I know she was pregnant with me when she married my dad and she had me. And I asked my adoptive parents happened and they wouldn't tell me. They said she just walked off from the hospital. They. They'd always made it sound like it was a pre planned adoption but I recently found out that that was not exactly the case. I don't know how soon she left. There's rumors and these are just rumors that she left because someone was wanting to hurt her. I could also see her just leaving because again there might have been something stability wise or something that sounded like it would be good and talked into leaving. Also she had two children prior. All of us were creamies. She usually when she had us all three kids I think were born at seven months. So she might have just been like, well I'm going to lose this one anyway. So.

[Mike Ferguson]

So no doubt Morph. I mean when you hear about what Wilma went through as a youngster, it's heartbreaking. I mean there's no doubt that her childhood was less than ideal and I think that's even not the right term.

[Mike Morford]

Yeah, I almost look at it as if she had the chips sort of stacked against her and was an uphill battle just to figure out where she fit in and to find love and someone to protect her and care for her. And she never really had that. And then before she knew it, she was an adult.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, let's face it, life is tough for, you know, everyone. But so much tougher when you have no stability in your life or very little stability being bounced around from foster home to foster home. And I just, I'm trying to put myself in the shoes of this girl and I'm having a hard time doing it. I mean, I didn't grow up that way, but I could see how it would be extremely tough. It makes life that much more tougher. The next thing that we know about Wilma is that her body was found just outside of Rock Rapids in Lyon County, Iowa, already in an advanced stage of decomposition. She was found on October 4, 1978, face down in a deep ditch about 20ft from the road. No identification was found. With her body and being in an advanced state of decay, police had no way to determine who she was.

[Mike Morford]

The area where Wilma's remains were found was a pretty empty area near Highway 182 that not many people would walk through, though it would have been driven past frequently there. It was just one mile south and another one and a half miles west of the West Lyon School. It was by chance that a worker laying new telephone cables happened to be in the area to notice a green canvas bag in the tall grass. Under that bag was Wilma's naked body wearing only half length white patent leather Go Go style boots. Her green khaki pants and red, white and blue bikini style underwear were wrapped around her left leg. She had shoulder length dark blonde hair, was about 5ft 5 inches tall and weighed around 100 to 120 pounds. That's all investigators could really tell you about their Jane Doe at that time.

[Mike Ferguson]

Police theorized that their Jane Doe was a homicide victim partially due to the state of undress she was found in. But additionally, a rope had been tied around her ankles. The rope around her ankles is thought to have been used to drag her body into the ditch after she was killed. Former Lyon County, Iowa Sheriff Blythe Bloemendahl told the Sioux City Journal. That's why her arms come forward, her hands are forward and her hair is forward. Investigators also think that she was killed somewhere else and that the ditch was just where her killer or killers chose to get rid of her body. Investigators collected the rope, which has been described as braided hemp, and kept it as evidence.

[Mike Morford]

It's not known whether woman was sexually assaulted, though the way she was found with her pants and underwear wrapped around her leg and no top on certainly suggests that she could have been There was no semen found on her clothing. An autopsy would reveal that Wilma's right elbow and one of the vertebrae in her neck had been dislocated and that her skull had been fractured just above her right eye. But it couldn't be pinpointed whether these injuries occurred before or after her death because her hands were not tied up. Investigators are very open to the possibility that the dislocated elbow came from a struggle with her killer. Years later, investigators would hope that there would be DNA from her killer underneath her fingernails, but sadly this didn't end up panning out. Fingernail clippings taken and preserved for years did not yield any information due to the decomposition.

[Mike Ferguson]

Only two fingerprints were able to be taken from her body for comparison in databases, but they had no luck when they ran them against the database. Despite the lack of id, detectives worked to identify their victim so that they could begin to piece together a timeline and work on finding her killer. In October 1978, Craig Beek, director of the Iowa Bureau of Criminal Investigation, told the AP News, you've got to establish the identity before you can work on the homicide. Sadly, this would prove to be no easy task. The Jane Doe was believed to be between 20 and 30 years old, but it was hard to tell because her entire lower jaw was gone. She had just two teeth left. Authorities have not revealed whether this happened as part of her murder or if it could have been something that happened after her death but before she was found.

[Mike Morford]

Investigators sifted the surrounding dirt for her jaw and teeth, but came up empty. This doesn't seem like normal decomposition that caused this. Surely there would have been at least another tooth. There was no mention of predation, which could explain a missing jawbone, but not almost every single tooth missing. It wouldn't be till years later that investigators would learn the official cause of death for their Jane Doe. The cause of her death hasn't been disclosed still to this day because investigators believe it will prove whoever eventually confesses is telling the truth. However she was killed is something authorities feel only her killer would know. The only hints that we have are that, chief Deputy Burkey told Dakota News. Now. The cause of death also makes us realize that one person didn't do it alone, former Lyon County Sheriff Craig Vincent told the Sioux City Journal. We tried everything we knew. They wanted to be able to release a photo or a sketch of her face so that someone could tell them her name and they could try to find someone with a motive to kill her. Vincent explained, we sent her down to Texas or Oklahoma or somewhere to rebuild the face, but there wasn't enough there for them to work on. It wasn't just the facial reconstruction effort that was running into issues. Jean Meyer, assistant director of the Des Moines branch of the Iowa Divisional Criminal Investigation, confirmed that all the forensic methods that were available were utilized.

[Mike Ferguson]

And the one thing that I take from this morph is that they're really trying hard to identify this person. I mean, you have to think this is 1978. Obviously the technology they had back then pales in comparison to what we have today. But they were going through all the available methods, it seems like trying to reconstruct, you know, her face so that they could get something out to the public to see if anybody knew who this person was. Because I do think, you know, that is kind of first and foremost one of the most important things in trying to solve a case. You know, if you don't even know who your victim is, where do you start? You can't talk to the friends and family or known associates because you don't know who those people are.

[Mike Morford]

And not only did she not have identification, but she also was her bodied. Her body had been pretty badly decomposed, so that would make her being recognizable. To just take a regular photograph probably and, and make that hard to put out there for the public to see.

[Chrissy]

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[Mike Ferguson]

A witness came forward and helped establish an estimate of the date of Wilma's death by verifying that the green canvas bag had been there since at least August 15th. Working backward from there, investigators believe that she could have been there as early as June after months of coming up empty. Identifying Wilma. She was buried at Riverview Cemetery in Rock Rapids, Iowa as unidentified female. Investigators working the case would refer to her as our girl. Cemetery caretaker Elmer Van Aken left flowers at her grave on Memorial Day every year so that it wasn't empty among a sea of decorated grave sites.

[Mike Morford]

Despite the case not being forgotten by investigators, the there was no movement in the case for many years. Former Sheriff Bloemendahl decided to request a second round of fingerprint testing in hopes that they had missed something or that over the past two decades, something new had been entered into a database. It was a smart move. On January 31, 2006, a technician in Des Moines was able to find a match to one of Jane Doe's fingerprints. The print matched the thumbprint of Wilma June Nissen, who had been arrested in California in 1973 and had her fingerprints taken. The information from that arrest noted that she went by the nickname Boots, which lined right up with the go go Boots that Jane Doe was found wearing. Her identity was further confirmed using DNA from her daughter Chrissy, who was 28 years old when she learned that her mother, who she had been looking for for so long, was not only dead, but that she had been violently murdered, then left on the side of the road like garbage. Unfortunately, Wilma's fingerprints had been in a federal database the entire time, but for some reason, her prints had only been run against Iowa databases. Apparently, as time went on, it was never done because it was assumed it had been done previously.

[Chrissy]

It told me where she'd been all my life, why I couldn't find her and talk shows couldn't find her, and because I always figured she just didn't want me and moved on and probably, you know, when she was ready, had a new family and a new life. You know what? I was never mad at her for it. I was never mad at her for giving me up. She, you know, I figured she just didn't. Wasn't able to care for a child. And I was never angry about it. I just wanted to meet her. And I feel like if she hadn't been murdered, I would have had that chance. Her and I have a lot of, a lot of things in common. And it's kind of weird.

[Mike Morford]

I think we see in a lot of older cases especially that things are missed over a period of time when they're cases that are not closed out over decades. Things are not rechecked automatically like you think they might be or somebody's not communicating. Maybe the old detectives didn't write something down so the new detectives don't know what was done or what wasn't done. But in this case, it seemed like it was a good move to just take a chance and re test those fingerprints to see if they were in the database. And sure Enough they had missed them the first time around.

[Mike Ferguson]

And that's also a little sad to think that the information was there. It just wasn't in an Iowa database. And authorities thought that it had been run nationally and apparently it hadn't been. The news that her mother had been found dead years ago provided some answers to her daughter Chrissy. But it also led to even more questions. And it brought up a lot of old feelings and theories that Chrissy had. Here's Chrissy to talk about that.

[Chrissy]

It told me what, you know, where she'd been all my life, why I couldn't find her and talk shows couldn't find her and. Cause I always figured she just didn't want me and moved on and probably, you know, when she was ready, had a new family and a new life. You know what? I was never mad at her for it. I was never mad at her for giving me up. She, you know, I figured she just didn't. Wasn't able to care for her child. And I was never angry about it. I just wanted to meet her. And I feel like if she hadn't been murdered, I would have had that chance. Her and I have a lot of. A lot of things in common, and it's kind of weird.

[Mike Ferguson]

On June 3, 2006, memorial services for Wilma June Nissan were held at Riverview Cemetery. A new headstone was donated bearing her full name as well as her affectionate nickname from law enforcement, Our Girl. It also now had her birth date and the year of her death. Wilma's foster parents, Marshall and Maxine Holti, as well as former Sheriff Craig Vinson, attended the services. After the services were completed, Wilma's family took questions and one of Marshall Holty's replies was, for the past 30 years, we have been praying for Wilma and wondering why she didn't contact us. He added that news of her death is. Is not what we would like to hear, but at least we know that is closure to us. Wilma's sister Mona Nissen, who was 47 at the time, was told about Wilma's death, but not that she was murdered. Finally having her name and a few other details, investigators were able to learn more about the life of Wilma June Nissen in order to put a complete timeline together. Some of these details you heard her daughter Chrissy mention earlier.

[Mike Morford]

Wilma June Nissen was born on October 19, 1954 in San Francisco, California. When she was eight years old, her mother June left Wilma and her younger sister Mona, with their father Charles. Their two years with them were not good. He locked them in a closet while he left for work on more than one occasion. Eventually he lost his job, which led to losing the home and they had to live in their car. During this time. William Mona spent her days in the trunk of the car while Wilma searched for food in trash cans. CPS came and took the two sisters away, but sadly they were separated just before Christmas in 1964. 10 year old Wilma ended up with the Holti family in Anaheim, California and more.

[Mike Ferguson]

If this goes back to our discussion about, you know, how rough her life was, we're getting, you know, some more details here. Obviously the father was not going to be put up for any Father of the Year awards. It sounds like he was abusive to say the least. Pretty descriptive to think about being locked in a closet while your dad is at work, spending your days in the trunk of a car. In the case of Mona, while Wilma's out searching for food in trash cans. I mean, that's just horrible. At such a young age, at any age really, but such a young age. Two sisters kind of on their own trying to scrounge for food and, and live.

[Mike Morford]

Yeah, it really paints a picture of just how bad their lives were and everything they. They had to deal with.

[Mike Ferguson]

The Holties discovered that Wilma and her sister had never been to school. She couldn't read or write, not even her own name. Even the things that we probably don't even remember learning, like how to use a fork. Wilma had never been taught. Foster care was actually a safe and welcoming place for Wilma. Coming from spending her days locked in a closet and scrounging through trash for anything edible. She appreciated the time Maxine Holti spent with her, teaching her things and bonding with her and called Marshall Daddy almost immediately. She also loved that they had a dog. It was her first pet. By the summer of 1965, Wilma could read at a first grade level. Maxine told the Sioux City Journal. Wilma was really eager to learn. She was interested in everything.

[Mike Morford]

Wilma spent almost three years with the Holt family before having to go to another foster family due to Maxine Holti's health issues. After short stays in multiple different homes, Wilma ended up in Seal Beach, California with the Hawes family. She did attend public school while living with them and completed 10th grade at Mountain View High School. On her 18th birthday, she left the Hawes home on what she said was just a walk and was gone for months. The next time the Holties heard from Wilma, she was married. This Was the start of her long periods of absence. But she always kept in touch with cards or phone calls. Wilma married Don Wellington in August 1973 when she was still 18 years old. At the time, they seemed to be happy to the Holties on the rare occasions they came by to visit them. Months later, in September, Wilma was arrested for sex work related charges by the lapd. In October, she was arrested twice. First in Beverly Hills and then again by the lapd. In August of the next year, she was arrested twice, again for sex work. First she was arrested in Long beach and then again in Bakersfield. In December, she was arrested in San Diego on similar charges.

[Mike Ferguson]

And one thing that I found very interesting is that, you know, Wilma kept in touch with the Holties. She obviously had developed a very strong bond with them. And it was only because of Maxine's health issues that they had to be separated. And that must have been really tough on her.

[Mike Morford]

Yeah, she gets that first good bond with a family that she's close to, but due to, you know, Maxine having those health issues that wound up being a separation for her. So it's almost like she couldn't get. Get a break anywhere along the way.

[Mike Ferguson]

But she obviously cared for them deeply because, you know, she kept in touch with them over the years. Former Lyon County Sheriff Blythe Bloemendaal, who took over Wilma's case in 2001, believed that Wilma may have run away from Don Wellington. She ended up with a man named Michael Pizarro. At some point, it was actually rumored that they were trying to walk from California to Florida together. And In May of 1974, they had a son, Michael Pizarro Jr. It's also rumored that this baby was taken by authorities long before they made it to Florida, but no one seems very sure of what happened to him. Former Sheriff Bloemendahl doesn't even sound sure that the baby was Pizarro's and not Wellington's or possibly even a Johns. Michael Pizarro, like Wilma, grew up in foster care. He was born Michael Walker, but took the last name of one of his foster families. He died the same year that Wilma did, Though his death was an accident after he fell off his bike. Some reports state he died in 1989, though former Sheriff Bloemendahl is quoted as saying it was in 1978 specifically. Either way, he didn't appear to be a suspect in Wilma's case and obviously can't be questioned for help with filling in any Blanks.

[Mike Morford]

It seems that Wilma must have gone back to Wellington briefly because in December 1974, she gave birth to Donald Wellington Jr. He was born premature, but she still had to get pregnant very soon after giving birth to Michael. Investigators believe Wilma lived in the Hollywood, California area with Wellington until October 1975. After leaving him, she lived with Robert Alexander Irvin in Long Beach. The arrest for sex work stopped while she was with Irvin. Former Sheriff Blomandall told the Globe of Wilma's first husband, Don Wellington. There is no doubt he was pimping Wilma out. Wilma was far along in her third pregnancy when she married Irvin on June 21, 1977. On August 18, she had their only daughter, Crystal or chrissy. Like her second child, Crystal was born premature. She wages £2 at birth. It's been reported that Wilma abandoned her at Long Beach Memorial Hospital shortly after giving birth. Wilma's foster parents, the Hawes family, adopted and raised Crystal as their own despite being 65 and 70 years old when she was born.

[Mike Ferguson]

And more. If I want to talk about, you know, Wilma's adult life, I think it seems as though it was pretty chaotic. It seemed like she kind of bounced around in her life and I just wonder how much of that had to do with her childhood, how bad it was, how unstable it was, you know, did that then make it tougher for her later on as an adult to find the stability herself? And I'm sure it did, yeah.

[Mike Morford]

Because Wilma as an adult is trying to figure out how to take care of herself, let alone young children and to provide that safe, dependable environment for them. Just seems like it was not something she was capable of doing at that time in her life.

[Mike Ferguson]

When again, just, you know, does it have something to do with the fact that she didn't have it? Maybe she didn't learn the skills needed to even be able to do it. I don't know. I'm just. I'm kind of throwing that out there. I am going back to her childhood as being pretty terrible and, and obviously not setting her up for success or not setting her up to thrive as an adult. In February of 1978, Wilma moved from San Diego, where she had been living in a camper, to Atlanta, Georgia to live with Charles Inman Bell, who was 54 at the time. Records from the time show that she was trying to change her last name to Bell, or at least started using the last name Belt, but she apparently only lived with him at his mother's apartment. For about two weeks before leaving for Sioux Falls, South Dakota. This is where the timeline for Wilma ends and much of her time in Sioux Falls is not accounted for. Eight months later, in October 1978, Wilma's body was found in the ditch. She was just weeks shot of turning 24. Despite not knowing her movements for eight months while she was in South Dakota, investigators felt closer than ever to solving the case. Sheriff Bloemendahl, when being interviewed by the Globe, challenged Wilma's killer, saying, if I were you, I'd call me before I call you. We're still coming. And if we find you, good luck.

[Mike Morford]

While investigators had put a lot of the puzzle pieces together in Wilma's case, it was far from being complete. People who might have some answers or may be able to point police to Wilma's killer were hard to find. Robert Irvin had already passed away. Don Wellington was living somewhere in the Palmdale, California area where he had an arrest record. His most recent arrest had been for bicycle theft in the winter of 2005, though the charge was later dropped. Despite the police record, authorities had trouble tracking him down. Sheriff Bloemendaal told the Sioux City Journal, this guy moves around like you or I change socks. Don Wellington was apparently not a suspect in the case, but police felt that maybe he could still help fill in some of the blanks.

[Mike Ferguson]

Wilma's daughter Chrissy was able to meet her biological father, Robert Irvin, before he passed away in 2007. They met at a Denny's in Bellflower, California. Sadly, he was not living the best life at that time. He was living inside of a mini mart, sleeping behind the counter. By that year, investigators had narrowed down their list of suspects to just eight people. Investigators also tracked down Charles Inman Belt, who was living in Tijuana, Mexico. He told police that a sex worker asked him to drive Wilma from California to Atlanta because there was someone in California who wanted to hurt her. It's unclear if this is related to her death just months later. He also claimed that when she left, he thought she moved back to San Diego or had met up with whoever was the reason she wanted to go to Atlanta. After she left, he never saw her again.

[Mike Morford]

In September 2007, authorities exhumed Wilma's body, hoping to gather new evidence using modern technology. They thought that perhaps using advanced tools, they may be able to find traces of her killer on her or perhaps be able to find a firm cause of death. Unfortunately, Wilma's coffin was completely waterlogged. Sheriff BLOEMENDAHL told the Globe there was about 50 gallons of water inside the body bag. He also told the Sioux City Journal that he was so disheartened that it was like getting punched in the gut by a professional fighter. This is something you definitely don't want to happen when you've been hoping that evidence has been preserved. Though Bloemendahl admitted that it was a long shot to begin with, investigators actually strained the water out of the coffin in a desperate attempt to collect any piece of usable evidence. What's interesting is that despite the water that had collected, Wilma's body had remained in pretty good shape and there was some hope amongst investigators, sheriff Bloemendahl told the Sioux City Journal. I was in shock as to the state of the body. It's almost identical to the crime scene photos and the flesh is still intact. They knew there wouldn't be much, but they did think they would be able to figure out the cause of death, which was previously unknown. The good news is that police do know her cause of death but refuse to release it publicly to help verify any future statements from suspects.

[Mike Ferguson]

There was sudden movement in Wilma's case in August of 2009 when 82 year old John Van Gammeren was arrested and charged with six counts of perjury related to the investigation surrounding Wilma Nissen's murder. Authorities believe that Van Gammern lied about how many times he had dancers at his home, lied about never having sex workers at his home, and about whether or not he had transported a sex worker from Sioux Falls to his home only miles from the spot where a woman's body was dumped into the ditch. He also told authorities that his wallet was stolen or he had lost it at the airport in Las Vegas, but a witness disputed this, saying it was stolen by a sex worker he claimed to have no knowledge of who arranged to have sex workers visit his home for a bachelor party, despite him being the one who actually planned the party. Van Gamren also lied under oath, saying he did not know a sex worker named Annette Nettie Jacobson. It has never been revealed exactly how Jacobson may or may not be related to Wilma's death. In early 2010, the charges were dropped after investigators learned what they called substantial new information. What this information is has never been disclosed to the public. It seems that Van Gameran may still be alive today, though if he is, he would be nearing 100 years old.

[Mike Morford]

The most recent update in this case came in May 2016 when authorities announced a person of interest In Wilma's case, Chief Deputy Jerry Berkey told Northwest Iowa.com, we've been at a stalemate for a couple years, explaining the decision to release the information to the public, adding, we've exhausted all our leads. The person of interest was a woman identified to the public only as Sugar, which was an alias used for escorting and sex work. Sugar was known in the area for robbing other escorts as well as her clients. She was also known to party in Lyon county and Sioux Falls. Sherger has reportedly found every polygraph taken regarding this case and is said to have fled to Canada shortly after Wilma's body was found in Canada. She apparently ended up stabbing someone and went on the run for that crime, fleeing back to the United States.

[Mike Ferguson]

Investigators were also interested in speaking with a potential accomplice or associate of Sugar who went by the name Peaches. Unlike with Sugar, authorities are not holding back her identity because they don't know who she really is. Peaches is described as being a light skinned black woman from the Thunder Bay area of Ontario, Canada. She had ties to Sioux falls in Yankton, South Dakota in the 70s and 80s. It's believed that Peaches worked at the same escort agency in Sioux Falls that Wilma did, called Playmates or Playgirls. Reportedly it was well known that Peaches and Sugar worked together to rob clients and fellow escorts.

[Mike Morford]

The leading theory in law enforcement is that Wilma was killed by Sugar and or Peaches at one of the parties they all worked at, likely after they stole the money they knew that Wilma would have they later moved her body into the ditch and needed the ropes to be able to get her that far off the road. Without elaborating, Chief Deputy Burkey told Keloland.com I know there are several people who know who killed Wilma or that were there and saw Wilma get killed. Authorities have had no luck asking locals about the parties that Sugar, Peaches and Wilma would have been to in 1978. Chief Deputy Burkey told NorthwestIowa.com the people in the western half of our county got very defensive when we first approached them about these parties. Investigators want to point out that being at any of those parties wouldn't make someone a suspect in Willow's murder. They are only interested in hearing from potential witnesses. They hope that people will be willing to talk now that so much time has passed.

[Mike Ferguson]

But more of I can see why, you know, investigating this type of crime would be very tough, you know, when you're trying to get people to come forward who have hired escorts, sex workers, who or who were with these women. How many people are voluntarily going to want to come forward? Whether it's because they believe they'll be at risk of being charged or, you know, even more likely because so much time has passed, they just don't want the information out there. Maybe they are married, they had a significant other at the time. I think in a lot of instances, there are so many negatives to coming forward for some of these individuals that they just don't want to take that leap. But that makes it very tough on.

[Mike Morford]

The investigators, and that makes perfect sense. But you would hope that if the people do have some information, maybe they could come forward anonymously and insist that their names not get released just to share that information. But the other problem is, you know, so much time has passed. Maybe people don't even remember those individuals or what their names were even if they were there. They just. So much time has passed.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. Even if you're of a certain age, are you going to remember what you did back in 1978? That is a very long time. You and I were just little tykes. The strongest evidence that police have in Wilma's case is DNA evidence. Authorities do have touch DNA from the rope and Wilma's clothing, but it is amplified DNA and can't be compared to samples in CODIS at this time. A DNA sample recovered from the rope did not match law enforcement's main suspect, Sugar. But because investigators believe that it took more than one person to kill Wilma, no one has been eliminated. Despite not matching the DNA from the rope, the DNA could belong to an accomplice. Police have not said whether the DNA belongs to a man or a woman, but it's possible that if Peaches is ever found, it could be compared to her. And if it matches, may give authorities the definitive evidence they need to make an arrest.

[Mike Morford]

Chief Deputy Burkey told Dakota News now, there's a very high probability that there's a Lyne county resident that knows what happened or saw what happened, even though they didn't have any involvement in it. And he urges anyone with information to come forward. If you have any information about the murder of Wilma June Nissen, you can call the Lyon County Sheriff's office at 712-472-8300. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can call your tip into 712-472-8334. At different stages of her life, Wilma also went by Wilma Willington, Wilma Irvin, Wilma Belt, Amy Belt, Amy Pizarro, Amy Nissen and Boots.

[Mike Ferguson]

While Chrissy is happy with how far the investigation into her mom's murder has come, she feels that she's not always kept in the loop by law enforcement.

[Chrissy]

I want the same thing as law enforcement does. I want this case to be solved. And I will do anything I can to solve it, to help solve it. I will. I mean, anything. But they won't contact me. I, like. I asked if I could get some photographs I. I'd loaned to them years ago when I first found out about the case. I think that was in 2000, the end of 2006, maybe the beginning of 2007. I had very few photographs of Wilma, like, very, very few. And I loaned them to the sheriff's department so they had some more pictures of her, you know, to the public. And I asked the current sheriff if I could get those photographs back. And his words were, he had to talk to. I can't remember who he had to talk to, but he had to talk to someone to see if it was okay to give them back to me because they're evidence.

[Mike Morford]

Chrissy has done her best to stay positive in hopes that Wilma's case will one day be solved.

[Chrissy]

I don't know how hopeful I am. I'd be a lot more hopeful if law enforcement would just keep me in the loop, you know, respond. Maybe if they. If they would just take that rope or the amplified DNA profile, whatever, talk to one of these companies. I mean, there's. There's things that can be done, but I'm not able to. I'm not law enforcement, and I don't have access to the amplified DNA, so I can't give it to the companies that can do something with it. I talked to one gentleman that called the tip line, and he felt that the lead detective was very dismissive of what he said. And he told me same thing he told her. He said his wife thinks he's crazy. But it did seem like something that should be followed up on to me. There was a lot of coincidences. And he said she just kind of blew him off. And if that's what's happening, then between that and not being willing to work with the DNA, it's very frustrating. I have to keep going. There's no one else left to fight for her. There is no one. I am the only living family member that knows what happened to her. And I am the only person left to advocate for her. And no one should have to. I mean, no one should have to not know what happened to their loved ones. But her life was so just awful. She never got to be a child. She barely got to be an adult. And then she was brutally murdered. I can't give up on her case. I go 100% full force on her case, trying to get it out there. And sometimes something will happen and I stop for like a month going full force, but I don't stop. You know, I think about it every day, but I do get depressed and I do get feeling kind of hopeless about it. And then I go, what am I doing? And I start up again. I appreciate you putting her case out there. I. I've had a few people contact me or like on Facebook groups, I'll post about her case and people will be like, oh my God, I just heard her case on a podcast. And so word is getting out and the more people that hear her case, if they hear it and they share it, somebody knows something. And it. It's my mission. It's my life's mission at this point. It is. I'm not giving up.

[Mike Ferguson]

Chrissy is always happy to hear from anyone who met her mother and has a story or a memory to share. She's active on Reddit under the username Twitch HH and has created the subreddit R. Wilma June Nissen. As Chrissy told us, she doesn't mind hearing from people who may have known.

[Chrissy]

Wom if anyone knew her. I don't care how they knew her. I also have an email that's just a personal email. If someone has, I mean, someone could have some information where they saw her and they think it's an insignificant. But no matter how insignificant or trivial they may think it is, it could be not. It could be important and they just don't know. So I have an email set up and it's justiceforwilmaol.com justice number four Wilma. And I also have an Instagram, a Reddit, Twitter or X.

[Mike Ferguson]

So more of. I want to thank Chrissy again for joining us to discuss her mother Wilma's case. We will include her social media and contacts in the show notes. So as we wrap this case up, obviously there is a lot unknown here. It's great that, you know, they finally did identify Wilma Nissen because she was unidentified for quite a period of time. That identification then helped investigators put some of the pieces of the puzzle together. But there are still many that are missing. You know, I guess I want to focus in on Wilma's time in Sioux Falls. It seems as though she was working for Some type of escort service. And as we talked about, police have a strong suspicion that at least one, most likely two of the individuals with whom she worked may have had something to do with her debt. I mean, these are individuals who were known to rob not only their clients, but fellow sex workers. So I think you can kind of put together a scenario where Wilma's killers were known to her. And this was a murder most likely over money to get money. And for me, it kind of goes back to the description of how Wilma's body was found and the ropes specifically. I think it's pretty easy to envision a scenario where two women would need to fashion a system to drag another woman's body into the ditch. You know, most likely all of these women were probably pretty petite. Can you see that scenario where Wilma is robbed and killed for her money, and then to hide her body, they have to fashion some type of system to drag the body into the ditch, because I can't.

[Mike Morford]

And I think it's some of these things that were found at the crime scene that were collected and preserved that may hold the pieces of information that are going to one day solve this case. As DNA advances further, maybe something that isn't strong enough now to solve the case will be down the road. But what we can't count on is as people get older, their memories fade, people die off. People that might have information might be able to fill in more blanks. That's not going to be easier to do moving forward. So it's going to rely, I think, a lot on this evidence. And the real sad thing for me in this case is that misstep of not comparing Wilma's prints right away. As soon as they were able to get prints to national databases and only comparing them to local databases, because had they done that, they would have identified her very early on and they could start questioning people in her orbit that were still around while things were fresh in their mind. And maybe they would have solved this case a long time ago.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, I think it's a great point. Obviously, getting started with the investigation as quickly as possible most likely would have helped. Right? It doesn't hurt. It only helps.

[Mike Morford]

Just a very tragic case all the way around. Woman's entire life. You know, based on everything we went over, it seems like she was always trying to find herself and find her way, and it seems like that never happened. And then she met with this unfortunate, very unfortunate end. Very sad.

[Mike Ferguson]

And I know I said it earlier, but, you know, given her background and upbringing, I don't think other than the short time that maybe she was with the Holties, I don't think she was ever, you know, really given the tools needed to find her way. And, and that's. It's very sad. It really is. But like you said, Morph, hopefully advances in DNA. There's something that will come about to, to bring a resolution in this case. But it does get tougher, right? The DNA advances, but everything else gets tougher. People die, their memories fade. If they haven't come forward by now, is someone likely to come forward? Yeah, I just don't know. I guess we'll have to wait and see. But that's it for our episode on Wilma June Nissen. If you love the show but haven't done so yet, take a minute, go out, leave us a rating. You can leave a review. Also, keep telling your friends. Word of mouth about the Criminology podcast really goes a long way.

[Mike Morford]

If you want to find us on social media, we're on X with the handle at Criminology Pod. You can also find us on Facebook by going to facebook.com criminology podcast and you can join our Facebook discussion group, Criminology Podcast Discussion and fans.

[Mike Ferguson]

So that's it for another episode of Criminology. But Morph and I will be back with all of you next Saturday night with a brand new episode. So until then, for Mike and Morph, we'll talk to you next week.

[Mike Morford]

Take care everyone. Sa.