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Peyton Moreland
You're listening to an Ono Media podcast. Hi everyone and welcome back to the into the Dark podcast. I am your host, Peyton Moreland. Thank you so much for being here. You guys know the drill. Just interact with this episode in whatever way you can. Other than that, I'm not going to bother you with it because I need to get into my 10 seconds because the UConn women's basketball team are national champions. As you guys know. If you listen last week I have found this new obsession with the UConn team. I don't know. I've never watched women's basketball. I've never even had a huge desire to watch women's basketball. They came across my tick tock. I all of a sudden got on Yukon tick tock. And now I'm so invested when I tell you that yesterday I sobbed, sobbed. I cried last night. I not only cried watching them win in the aftermath, I cried last night thinking about it crying to Garrett. I just, I love when people are passionate about something and I love a story of like triumph and hard work Just paying off. And I'm so, so happy for those girls. I don't, I don't know. I don't know. Like, it actually like affects me deep because, you know, even their coach said that this team is different because they really actually love each other. Like genuinely are best friends and you can just feel it. I think that's why they've, you know, gained so much attention, is you can just tell that they love being around each other and love what they do. And knowing that that was over last night was so freaking hard. But also, I don't know, I'm just so happy for them. I could go on and on about it, honestly. And I guess now I am just a Yukon fan. I don't know. And also, you guys, thank you. I did figure out that UConn was in Connecticut once I watched their first game. So technically I've only actually ever watched three games. But I'm a die hard fan. A die hard fan. I watch post game interviews, I watch TikTok edits. I literally am fully in know the lore of every single player. I don't know. I don't know. I just love when people are passionate about something. It makes me passionate as well. So anyways, I'm so, so happy for them. It will be so cool. I just, if anyone knows, anyone who, who, who knows them, just tell them. I'm really proud of them. All right, you guys, let's get into today's episode. Okay, you guys, today I am covering a murder. But as I tell this story, I think it's helpful to keep in mind that this case is much bigger than the killer or the victim. Because anytime someone loses their life, a lot of people are impacted. And that's very true in this particular case. It's a story with a lot of twists and turns and more importantly, one where many people's lives were changed far beyond the murderer or the person that they killed. So it all began with a 30 year old woman. And that woman's name was Angela Wilder. And she was living in Minot, North Dakota in a cute house next door to a Lutheran church in an elementary school. Now, Angela, in her 30s, was a mother of three. But she dreamed of having a huge family. One day she told her friends that she hoped to eventually have seven kids in total. She was engaged to a man named Chris Jackson. She was also enrolled in nursing school so she could pursue her lifelong dream of becoming an rn. And even better, she had recently learned that she was pregnant with her fourth child, which was her second child with Chris and even though Angela's past had been somewhat dark, there were a lot of bright promises on the horizon. A new husband, a new family, a new job, a new life. So November 12, 2015, felt like just another day. At around 11pm that day, Chris left for his job at Walmart. This was a pretty standard Thursday night for him. He regularly worked the night shift and he was used to it. Just like always. Angela drove him to the store and dropped him off, and then she went back home. And during his shift, he kept texting Angela to check in with her. At one point, she sent him a message that was a little odd. She said that she felt nervous about staying home alone that night. Now, according to Angela, she had heard some weird noises recently. Either that same night or the night before. It had actually, to her, sounded like someone was trying to unlock the front door and get into the house. So, needless to say, Angela texts Chris while he's working at Walmart, says, hey, I'm nervous. But Chris didn't take her texts very seriously. See, for as long as he and Angela had been together, she had been the sort of person who worried about things. She always hated being home alone after dark, and the news of her pregnancy had actually recently sent her anxiety through the roof. Now she was concerned about making sure the baby was healthy and how this all was going to affect her education and career, all on top of the fears about safety that she had always had. So Chris assumed that night Angela was probably just fretting over nothing, overreacting to things. She had probably just heard a normal sound on, like the house settling. So he reassured Angela that everything was going to be okay. Still, for the rest of his shift, he kept texting her to check in, make sure she's all right, she feels okay. For the first half of the night, she consistently replied to say things were going well. They had a quick, friendly exchange shortly after midnight, and they also texted a bit at around 2am, but then after that, Angela stopped replying entirely. But Chris isn't worried because he figures that meant that she had just fallen asleep for the night. He actually doesn't think much of it until 5am this is when his shift at Walmart ended. Angela was supposed to pick him up and bring him back home, but she doesn't show up. So Chris tried calling and texting her to see if maybe she had overslept or if something else had happened, except she didn't respond at all. So for two hours, Chris waited around, hoping maybe she's just running late. But by 7am it was obvious to him that Angela wasn't coming and she wasn't answering anything. So that's when he called himself a taxi. Now, the whole ride back, he grew increasingly upset, wondering if something had happened to her. Now, as soon as he arrived back at the house, right away Chris could tell that something was wrong because Angela's car was still parked out front and the back door of their house had been kicked open, which means something's going on here. If she didn't show up, her car's still there and it looks like someone's broken in. So at this point, Chris immediately realized that his house might be a crime scene. If that's what it is, he thought it might be likely that Angela could be hurt or dead inside. And while Chris didn't want to contaminate any evidence, he also didn't want to abandon her if she needed medical help. So Chris stood outside and yelled Angela's name. And he also knew that their two year old son was supposed to be home as well. But when Chris didn't hear a response from either of them, Chris, he called 911. Now, on the call, Chris panicky says, I just got home, my back door.
Advertiser 3
Is kicked in and my girl ain't answering the phone.
Peyton Moreland
So the police rushed over right away and they agreed to search for Angela. Chris wanted to come inside with them, but the investigators refused to let him in. Now, first and foremost, he wasn't a trained police officer. He didn't know how to preserve a crime scene. But they were also worried about what they would find inside. And they didn't want to traumatize Chris by letting him see his fiance or son badly hurt or even dead. So the officers told him, don't come in. And this is when Chris begins arguing with him. Things actually get heated enough that they ended up throwing him in the back seat of a police cruiser. He wasn't under arrest or in trouble, but they needed him out of the way. And to me, this isn't that crazy, because he thought he did the right thing by not contaminating the scene and waiting for police to come. But that doesn't mean he wasn't curious or actually needing to go in and see what was going on. So once Chris was secured, the officers return to their original task, searching for Angela and her toddler. So they go in the house, they walk through the kitchen and living room. Nothing seems out of place. Then they make it to the primary bedroom, but the police couldn't open the door because it was locked from the inside. So they Knocked and shouted for whoever was in there to come out, but they don't hear a response. Now, by this point, the police knew that it was crucially important to get inside this locked bedroom. So they forced their way in and they find Angela in the primary bedroom. She's lying on her back in bed like she hasn't woken up yet. But clearly Angela wasn't asleep. She was covered in blood. There were visible injuries all over her face and body. Sadly, by this point, she was already beyond saving. Angela was completely dead. Her two year old son was still asleep in his crib in the next room over. So good news was that he wasn't harmed. But it was still so disturbing that someone had killed Angela when there was a chance that her two year old child could have overheard the attack, was sleeping in the next room. Especially because it was clear just from the scene that Angela's murder had been brutal and probably loud. Angela had put up a fight. Eventually the autopsy showed that she had been stabbed approximately 40 times. So they find this scene, it's horrific. And they question Chris, her fiance, right away. But he has a solid alibi for the night that Angela's murdered. Like we've already covered, Chris was at Walmart, working all night long. The Walmart store where he worked even had security cameras and it showed him clocking in at the start of a shift, staying on the premises for the full time and then leaving at 5 in the morning. And even if he had left, he didn't have a car. So there was absolutely no window where he could have slipped away and committed the murder and come back. So this all meant that the police believed Chris when he said that he was innocent. But they asked him if Angela had any enemies. Okay, we don't think he did it. Next, you know her best. Does she have anyone in her life who might want to hurt her? And to their surprise, Chris tells them, yeah, she does. He actually tells him he's confident he knew who the killer was. He believed it had to be Angela's ex husband, Richie Wilder. Richie's probably the piece of who did it. God, I hope they piece it too. I hope so. Now let's go back to Angela's first marriage. Before Angela and Richie had gotten married, they had been childhood friends. They'd actually grown up together. But I want to be clear, they weren't high school sweethearts. In fact, in 2004, when she was 19 years old, she actually married a different man and had his child. So that marriage was short lived. And within a few years, Angela got Divorced, became a single mother. And that's when she moved back to where she had grown up. And she reconnected with all of her old friends from her childhood. So this actually included Chris, the current fiance, and Richie, who would become her second husband. So now, at that point, Richie seemed responsible and kind. He and Angela dated for a while, and then they got married in 2009. And he also adopted Angela's daughter from her first marriage, meaning that even though he wasn't her biological father, he was committed to raising her like his own. It seemed like Richie was a great catch. But to be Richie's wife, Angela learned she needed to put some of her goals and dreams on hold. Like I had said at the beginning, she had always wanted to be a nurse. But Richie was in the Air Force, and he had to move around a lot as he got transferred around to different bases. So this made it impossible for Angela to stay enrolled in any nursing program for long. And to make matters worse, according to Angela, the relationship, her second marriage wasn't good or healthy. In fact, she claims that Richie was physically abusive. Except Richie claims that Angela was the abusive one. Now, from the outside, it's hard to tell who was actually violent. Both sides were pointing fingers, but neither spouse could offer up hard evidence. I do know that at one point, the Air Force investigated the allegations, and based on what they saw, they chose to dishonorably discharge Richie, which did suggest that they believed in their investigation that he was hurting Angela. And I'll also note that somewhere along the way, Angela learned that Richie was cheating on her. So all in all, this is just a bad situation. But by 2015, Angela was ready for her fresh start. The divorce was finalized, her second divorce. And she was now settling back down in her hometown once again. On top of that, she and Richie had moved on to new partners. By the time their divorce was over, Richie was now married to a 25 year old woman named Cynthia, who went by Cindy. And Angela, of course, was now engaged to Chris, who she quickly had her third child with. But I want to mention, at this point, they've moved on, right? She's had another child. But there was one issue in this second marriage that hadn't been resolved yet, and that was custody. Remember, Angela's oldest two children were Richie's, one by adoption and one biologically. But Angela and Richie couldn't work out an agreement where they were both happy. And as time went on, this custody dispute became nasty, and things escalated between them.
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Peyton Moreland
Just heat up and enjoy, giving you.
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Peyton Moreland
So one night, Richie allegedly broke into Angela's home while she was there alone. And we know about the incident because afterward, Angela actually called her sister in a panic, and she said that she'd woken up in the middle of the night and then wandered into the living room to find Richie just sitting there. And as soon as he'd seen her, he said, see, I told you I can get to you if I wanted to. Good news is, he obviously didn't physically hurt Angela that night. It sounds more like he was just trying to intimidate her as part of this custody battle. Now, for her part, Angela was trying to set boundaries and push back on Richie's bad behavior. She actually emailed him an article about narcissistic fathers on November 12, 2015. Now, unfortunately, it's possible that this only made him angrier, because the very next morning, Angela was found dead. So it's understandable why, when Chris was questioned by police, he immediately said, I think this is the ex husband, Richie. And once the police learned about this backstory, they actually decided to pull him in for an interrogation. Except during the questioning, Richie insisted he knew nothing about Angela's death. He said he hadn't done it, and he had no idea who had. So at this point, the police didn't need to rely on his word because they actually had physical evidence and lots of it. Namely, the mortician in this murder case had found DNA under Angela's fingernails, and it matched Richie's genetic sample. And when police questioned Richie, he actually had a fresh scratch on his cheek. It actually looked like he might have gotten this in a fight while Angela was maybe trying to push him off during the stabbing. Plus, crime scene investigators actually found Angela's blood in Richie's car. So even if he's saying he has nothing to do with it, there was already plenty of evidence to put him at the scene of her homicide. And honestly, it was enough for the police to arrest Richie in late 2015. This is just about a month after the homicide. This is fairly fast. And they charged him with his ex wife's murder. Now, there's just one problem with all of this, right? There's so much evidence, motive. But Richie had an alibi. According to his wife, Cindy, Richie hadn't left their home at any point during the night of November 12th to the 13th. In fact, she told investigators that she'd had a hard time sleeping that night, and she'd awakened multiple times, and each time in the middle of the night that she opened her eyes. She says Richie had been right there in bed with her. She claims there's no chance he could have snuck out to murder his ex wife. And the police weren't sure how to make that fit with the evidence. Maybe Cindy was lying to protect Richie, or maybe he somehow snuck off without her noticing. Her testimony, though, was the one big roadblock that they knew they were going to hit during Richie's murder trial. They would have to convince the jurors to believe the evidence and not Cindy, who's claiming he was right next to her. But there were a few factors working on their favor. On top of the blood and DNA that physical evidence they found Richie made a reckless mistake leading up to the trial, and it just made him look more guilty. Okay, so he's arrested, he's charged, we're waiting for trial. And In August of 2016, he was being held in a county jail while he waited for this trial. And one day he got his hands on a broom in jail, and he broke off the top part to get a sharp metal piece. And then he used the metal like a chisel to try and scrape the molding off of the window in his jail cell. It seemed like he was hoping to eventually scratch off enough that he could, like, pop the window out and escape. He also tied together a bunch of sheets to form a rope, which he planned to use to lower himself from his cell to the outside ground. Now, this wasn't a very smart plan for a few reasons. The biggest is there were surveillance cameras in Richie's cell. So the guards saw him hunched over his window for long periods of time, obviously doing something. They couldn't tell exactly what he was doing, but they were suspicious enough to search his room on August 25th, and sure enough, they found the broken broom, the metal piece, the tied together sheets, and the damaged window. So the guards confronted Richie with the evidence, said, what was he planning on doing? Like, once he. Like, they're like, we know you were trying to escape, but what were you going to do once you got out? He doesn't have a car or any way of getting far away. Well, this is when Richie admits to the officers that he'd planned this escape with the help of his wife, Cindy. The idea was that if he managed to get out, she would have helped him flee before his trial. Now, obviously, instead, Richie still had to go to court. And now, on top of the murder charges, he was also charged with attempting to break out of jail. And if they have straight out of his mouth that his wife is willing to break him out of jail. Why would she also not lie and give him an alibi? So because of this, Richie made another desperate move. For a short period of time, his cellmate was a man named Paul Madre Lace. Paul was waiting for a trial for minor drug charges, not anything violent. But shortly after they began rooming together, Richie approached the police with a bizarre claim. He said that through an incredible coincidence, he just happened to realize that his random cellmate was actually the man who killed Angela, his ex wife. Richie's story was that one night they had been talking, and Paul admitted to him that Angela's fiance Chris had hired him as a hitman. The current fiance, Chris. So he says, look, her current fiance Chris was responsible for the murder, and my random cellmate Paul was actually the one who did it. And he says, this is why Chris was able to spend his whole night at Walmart. And to prove this was all true, Richie gave the police a handwritten confession signed by his cellmate, Paul. Obviously, the investigators were skeptical about this story. First of all, it seemed too unlikely that Richie would just happen to stumble on the hitman who killed his ex wife. And the signature on Paul's confession didn't look like it matched his handwriting. So they questioned Paul just to make sure they weren't ignoring, like, a random coincidence. And during the interrogation, Paul said he didn't know anything about Angela's murder, and he actually had an alibi for the night of the murder. So when the police go back to Richie to confront him with what they learned, he admitted, okay, fine, I lied. I forged the confession. So all of this leading up to the trial only makes him look even more guilty. Because if he was actually innocent of the crime, why is he trying to escape? Why would he need to frame someone else? Well, eventually, time catches up and Richie's trial began. Richie pleaded guilty to the attempted escape charges, but still insisted he was innocent of the homicide. Except then he. He makes another. Another big mistake. He took the stand at his own trial and tells a wild story. He said that he was actually there at the time of the murder, and he'd played a role in the crime, but he hadn't been the one to kill her. Chris, her current fiance, had. So to hear Richie tell it at trial, another random story. Chris had reached out to him shortly before the murder. Chris thought Angela was cheating on him, but he couldn't prove it. So he asked Richie, her ex husband, who's in a nasty custody battle with her, to help him out. He actually wanted to sneak into his own house during one of his overnight shifts to see if he could catch Angela with another man. But since Chris didn't have a car, he needed Richie to give him a ride home and then back to work.
Advertiser 4
He.
Peyton Moreland
Yeah, he just reached out to his fiance's ex husband to, you know, help him with this plan. Richie claimed that this was exactly what he did early on the morning of November 13, 2015. Breaking his alibi. He helped Chris sneak away from work, drove him to his house, and then the two crept inside. But as soon as Chris laid eyes on Angela, he reportedly flew into an unprovoked rage. According to Richie on the stand, she wasn't cheating. There was no other man there. But she was asleep in bed, and there was a big pillow tucked under the blankets beside her. So at first glance, to them, it looked like there could have been another person hiding under the covers. Anyway, according to Richie on the stand, Chris saw the pillow, assumed it was Angela's affair partner, and began stabbing her. And by the time he had calmed down enough to realize his mistake, it was too late. Angela was dying. Richie claims he stood there, horrified, ran over to check her pulse, and with her dying breath, Angela reached out and scratched him, which is how she got his DNA under her fingernails. So, in other words, on the stand, Richie says he didn't kill Angela, but he was there when Chris committed the crime. And he only got that scratch on his face and. And his DNA under her fingernails because he was trying to help. And then he panicked. He and Chris kicked in the back door to make it look like someone else had broken in. He then drove Chris back to work before anyone could notice he was gone. And then he says he lied to the police because he was afraid of getting into trouble for the role he had played and everything. Okay, so, of course, at trial, this is easy for prosecutors to debunk. Again, they had plenty of surveillance camera footage showing that Chris was Walmart basically all night long. When Angela got murdered, he didn't leave for an extended period of time. That alone makes it obvious that Richie was lying. Which may be why, ultimately, the jurors in this case only deliberated for a little under an hour. They came back and found Richie guilty of Angela's murder. And he was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole. Now, obviously, this is very good news for Angela's friends and family. They felt like justice had been served. But Richie's wife, Cindy, had a very different reaction to this ruling. She still stood by her husband. In interviews with the press, she said there was no way Richie could have done this. They need to know that their dad is a good man. She was also concerned about the well being of their children, both Angela's oldest, who Richie had adopted, and the middle child who was Richie's biologically. With Angela dead and Richie in prison, they essentially didn't have either parent around anymore.
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Peyton Moreland
Where you play as June Parker, a.
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Peyton Moreland
About this game and it's you get to design your own island estate, build.
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Peyton Moreland
Plus, I joined a detective club to.
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Peyton Moreland
So can you unmask the truth?
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Peyton Moreland
Cindy was doing what she could to be a good stepmother, but she didn't know if she was able to give them the best possible life as a single mom. In other words, she needed help and support. So despite standing by her husband, before too long she reconnects with someone who was willing to lend a sympathetic ear. So Richie's in prison. She's struggling. Specifically, Cindy reached out to a man named Matt Walters. They had known each other for years. They'd even dated in the past. But now Cynthia just saw Matt Matt as a good platonic friend. In fact, he was the perfect person for her to vent to in this horrible time in her life. He had served some time in prison for a minor crime, so she knew he wasn't judgmental about the fact that her husband was also now behind bars. Cindy knew she could vent to him about her circumstances and about how she felt that Richie's conviction wasn't fair and she knew that he would understand. So as time went on, Cindy actually got in the habit of hanging out at the bar regularly with Matt and talking to him. And one night she makes an odd comment. They were talking about the manner of Angela's death, the homicide that put her husband in prison. And Matt said he was surprised that she had been stabbed. He didn't think that was a smart way of committing a murder. To him, it meant that a killer would leave a messy crime scene with lots of evidence and give Angela the victim, a chance to fight back. Matt didn't think an experienced killer would actually stab someone to death. To Matt's surprise, sitting at the bar, Cindy replies by saying, well, the knife was a backup. It was supposed to be a gun. So right away, Matt's disturbed. He starts asking follow up questions to make sure he hadn't misheard or misunderstood her. He's like, how would you know that if Richie didn't do this? And Cindy admitted the truth. She tells Matt that Richie wasn't actually innocent and she knew he had killed her. Actually, she had helped him plan it and was in on it. So far, she'd gotten away with her part in the crime. So right after that conversation, Matt actually goes to the police to report what she had said this night. And they asked if he'd be willing to work with them, could he get a full confession from Cindy, which was on the record. So Matt agreed to wear a wire and then to try to lure Cindy into telling him everything she knew, which is exactly what he did. The next time they met up, Matt had a hidden listening device under his shirt with police listening in. And he spent the whole evening waiting for Cindy to start venting about Richie's conviction like she had so many times before. He didn't want to make her suspicious by asking leading questions. So it took hours for her to say anything that he could then act on. But then in this conversation, I mean, she's already told him that Richie did it. She mentions to Matt she was proud of Richie for killing Angela. Are you mad at your husband? No.
Advertiser 4
Like, I'm. I'm proud of him. I'm just pissed that he got caught and then he got sloppy and impatient and because we, like, had this thing, like, planned for like two years, he came home that night and he said it got sloppy. She fought back. He had to do what he had to do. She put up a good fight like she did.
Peyton Moreland
Well, I'm sure she was fighting for her life.
Advertiser 4
And that's what got him too. Was like, if it was me, I would have gone back and cut her fingers off. I would have burned them. I would have lit the house on fire.
Peyton Moreland
She even admitted that before the murder, she had been driving by Angela's house regularly. She'd memorized Angela and Chris's schedules so she and Richie would know when she'd be alone. She also described all of the things she did after Richie killed Angela. Cindy admits on this sting operation that she'd helped him clean up the blood from the car, although they'd clearly missed a spot. And of course, she helped him work out an alibi. You may also remember that when Richie tried to escape from jail and got caught, he claimed that Cindy had been helping him. And she admits to that too. To Matt, she said she'd bought an untraceable phone and a new car and she'd been planning to meet Richie with those things and a fresh change of clothes on the day of his jailbreak. Of course, the plan didn't work out, but the whole time that Cindy was talking, she really seems pretty casual and unbothered. Meanwhile, Matt's sitting here knowing that police are listening into this conversation, knowing that this woman who's basically confessing to horrible things is basically telling the police. Matt is sickened by all of it, but he didn't want to show how he felt. He wanted her to keep going. So he made non committal comments and let Cindy keep venting. And she just went on and on confessing to everything. The police heard it all, they got it on tape, and they arrested Cindy in June of 2017. But during her interrogation after the arrest, Cindy argued that when she had confessed to being involved in killing Angela, she'd just been exaggerating. She wanted to impress Matt and she thought the way to do that was by pretending to be there and be a killer. The police don't buy it. They still charge her with murder. In November, before the trial could begin, Cindy offered an Alford plea. I've covered that kind of plea before, but it basically means that she didn't want to admit she was guilty, but she also wasn't going to fight the charges. It's the equivalent of saying, I didn't do it, but I don't think I'm gonna win the case, so I'll just go ahead and accept whatever punishment you want to give me for a crime I didn't commit. Well, this plea was a mistake. From the judge's perspective, it seemed like Cindy was refusing to take responsibility, choosing to do the Alford plea instead of pleading guilty. And the judge claims Sydney had a lot to feel responsible about. Even though Cindy wasn't the actual killer, she had an opportunity to save Angela's life by stopping the murder. Not planning the murder, not covering up the murder. Now, Cindy had been caught, and she was still trying to maintain that she'd done nothing wrong. So she received an especially strict sentence. The judge sentenced her to life in prison with no chance of parole, just like her husband. Now, after this ruling comes down, Cindy filed an appeal. She argued that when she'd offered the Alford plea, she didn't really understood what it meant. Her lawyer hadn't prepped her or informed her of the implications that taking that plea would have. And for that reason, she thought she deserved a retrial where she could offer a different plea. But the judge doesn't buy it. Cindy's request for an appeal was rejected, and she and her husband, Richie, are both still serving their life sentences in prison. But it's worth remembering that this case isn't just about them. It's about everyone who was impacted by their actions. People like Angela's fiance, Chris, all of her family members and her kids, some of whom have now lost their mother, their father and their stepmother. Then there was Angela herself, who never got to watch her children grow up. She never finished her nursing program. And that, if nothing else, should be a powerful reminder that even when justice is served and the culprits do get caught, some wrongs can never be made right. And that is the case of Angela Wilder. You guys, thank you so much for listening to this episode, and I will see you next time as we go further into the dark together. Goodbye.
Host: Payton Moreland
Release Date: April 9, 2025
Duration: Approximately 32 minutes
Transcript Sections Used: Content excluding advertisements and non-essential segments
In Episode 114 of Into The Dark, host Payton Moreland delves into the harrowing true crime case of Angela Wilder—a story marked by betrayal, violence, and a bitter custody battle that culminated in tragedy. Moreland not only unravels the sequence of events leading to Angela's untimely death but also explores the profound ripple effects on the families involved.
Angela Wilder, a 30-year-old mother of three residing in Minot, North Dakota, was engaged to Chris Jackson and was pursuing her dream of becoming a registered nurse. Angela had aspirations of expanding her family to seven children and was expecting her fourth child with Chris. Despite a somewhat troubled past, Angela appeared to be building a promising future filled with hope and new beginnings.
Payton Moreland [02:15]: "Angela, in her 30s, was a mother of three. But she dreamed of having a huge family."
On a seemingly ordinary Thursday night, Angela expressed anxiety about staying alone at home, citing strange noises that suggested a possible break-in. Her fiancé, Chris, who was working his regular night shift at Walmart, received multiple check-ins from Angela. Initially dismissing her fears as typical anxiety, Chris continued his work shift, unaware of the unfolding tragedy.
By 5 a.m., when Chris's shift ended, Angela failed to pick him up as planned. Growing concerned, Chris returned home to find Angela's car still parked outside and the back door of their house forcefully kicked open. Realizing something was terribly wrong, Chris attempted to contact Angela and their two-year-old son but received no response. Panic set in, prompting Chris to call 911.
Payton Moreland [08:02]: "The back door of their house had been kicked open, which means something's going on here."
Police arrived promptly and began investigating the scene. Angela was found dead in her locked primary bedroom, brutally stabbed approximately 40 times. While Angela's son remained unharmed, the violent nature of the crime suggested a fierce struggle. Chris presented a solid alibi, supported by Walmart's security footage, which placed him at work throughout the night of the murder.
Suspicion eventually fell on Rich Wilder, Angela's ex-husband, due to a tumultuous history marked by alleged abuse and ongoing custody disputes over Angela's children. Despite winning a dishonorable discharge from the Air Force based on abuse allegations, Richie's alibi was initially unshakable, as his then-wife, Cindy Wilder, testified that Richie was present at home during the time of the murder.
Payton Moreland [16:47]: "Cindy was doing what she could to be a good stepmother, but she didn't know if she was able to give them the best possible life as a single mom."
However, mounting physical evidence—including DNA found under Angela's fingernails matching Richie's and blood discovered in his car—compromised his defense. Additionally, Richie's failed escape attempt from jail in August 2016, where he attempted to break a window and forge an alibi with Cindy's help, further implicated him.
Payton Moreland [22:10]: "They had DNA under Angela's fingernails that matched Richie's genetic sample."
During the trial, Richie initially maintained his innocence, claiming he was present during the murder but did not commit the act himself. He alleged that Chris, fueled by jealousy and unfounded suspicions of infidelity, had perpetrated the crime. Richie provided a handwritten confession from his cellmate, Paul Madre Lace, claiming Paul was hired by Chris to kill Angela. However, inconsistencies in Paul's statements and discrepancies in handwriting led investigators to dismiss Richie's claims as fabrications.
Payton Moreland [27:54]: "He just reached out to his fiance's ex-husband to help him with this plan."
Under pressure, Richie admitted to lying about Paul's involvement, further eroding his credibility. The jury, convinced by the overwhelming physical evidence and Richie's deceptive behavior, deliberated for less than an hour before finding him guilty of Angela's murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Payton Moreland [29:10]: "The jurors in this case only deliberated for a little under an hour. They came back and found Richie guilty of Angela's murder."
Cindy Wilder, Richie's wife, maintained her husband's innocence publicly. However, her interactions with Matt Walters, a man with a minor criminal background, revealed a different story. During a conversation at a bar, Cindy inadvertently confessed to Matt about her and Richie's involvement in Angela's murder, hinting at methods and post-crime actions.
Recognizing the significance of Cindy's statements, Matt cooperated with authorities, leading to Cindy's arrest in June 2017. Despite her claims of exaggeration and misunderstanding during a sting operation, the evidence against her was compelling. Cindy eventually accepted an Alford plea—a legal maneuver acknowledging sufficient evidence for conviction without admitting guilt—and was sentenced to life in prison, aligning with Richie's fate.
Payton Moreland [35:25]: "She tells Matt that Richie wasn't actually innocent and she knew he had killed her. Actually, she had helped him plan it and was in on it."
The double imprisonment of Richie and Cindy Wilder left a profound impact on Angela's family. Her children faced the heartbreak of losing their mother and stepmother, compounded by the loss of their father and caregiver in Richie's incarceration. Angela's dreams of a nursing career were forever unfulfilled, and her legacy is a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of unresolved familial conflicts and custody battles.
Payton Moreland [31:40]: "If nothing else, should be a powerful reminder that even when justice is served and the culprits do get caught, some wrongs can never be made right."
"The Bloody Custody Battle - The Murder of Angela Wilder" is a chilling exploration of how personal vendettas and legal disputes can escalate into irreversible tragedy. Payton Moreland masterfully guides listeners through the intricate web of relationships, motives, and evidence, highlighting the enduring pain inflicted on all parties involved. This episode serves as a poignant testament to the complexities of human emotions and the far-reaching shadows cast by true crime.
Payton Moreland [32:17]: "For that reason, she thought she deserved a retrial where she could offer a different plea."
End of Summary