If you’re a fan of true crime stories, chances are you’ll be fascinated by this one. A TikTok user recently told her viewers the story of when her mom narrowly escaped the clutches of a serial killer.
Kirsten Bosch (@boschhuis) is a TikTok content creator who has recently gained lots of attention after sharing her mom’s story with the world.
For context, Kirsten describes herself and her mother as “recovering people pleasers.” Her mom was in college at the time and was a happy, sweet, blonde hair and blue-eyed cheerleader. She was gorgeous, friendly, and didn’t like disappointing people. She also won a beauty pageant two years before this incident, which is important to remember for later.
One day while in college, her mom was leaving the campus library on a rainy day during finals week. In the parking lot, she was approached by a friendly man with a beard who complimented her on her umbrella. He explained that he was a photography student, which would explain why he was so observant.
This was the first red flag that popped up for Kirsten’s mom. Although this man was nice, he couldn’t have been a student at the school. The school had a dress code, which included no facial hair. Before she knew it, the man offered to carry her umbrella and walk her back to her car since her hands were full of books. She felt awkward saying no, so she accepted his help.
But as they were walking to her car, Kirsten’s mom had this bad feeling in her stomach that grew worse with every step they took. As they were walking, he asked if they could meet up again so he could photograph her for a final project he was working on, telling her she’d be the perfect subject.
“He wasn’t rude. He wasn’t aggressive,” says Kirsten. “He was super kind and actually very articulate, but extremely pushy.”
Not wanting to upset him or make him angry, Kirsten’s mom said she’d be interested. But deep down, she knew she didn’t want to go anywhere with him. So when he asked for her phone number, she lied and said she had just moved into a new place and couldn’t remember the landline number. Then, thinking nothing would come of it, she gave him her father’s name and suggested he look up her parents in the phone book and call them to get her new number.
Now most of us can agree that this was not the smartest move. But she was nervous and highly doubted that this man would take the time to open up a phone book and do some research on her parents. But sure enough, he did, and he contacted her parents.
Kirsten’s grandmother, her mom’s mother, thought this man was a friendly and gentle student. Knowing that her daughter was beautiful and the perfect photography subject, she gave him her contact information. After knowing what they do now, Kirsten’s grandmother still feels terrible about it to this day and vowed never to make the same mistake again.
Later that evening, Kirsten’s mom received a phone call from this creepy guy. It was unexpected. He was still begging her to let him take pictures of her. Her mom tried her best to tell him she was busy and couldn’t go, knowing something was wrong with this man. But he kept pushing, and he had her on the phone for seven minutes, going back and forth over how much he needed her to be in his project.
He began to break down Kirsten’s mom to the point where she was about to tell him yes just to get him off her back, until her roommate, Karine, stepped in and told her to put him on hold.
“Do you know him?” Karine asked.
When Kirsten’s mom said no, Karine replied, “You are not going anywhere with someone you don’t know for a photo.”
Karine’s words gave Kirsten’s mom the strength to finally put her foot down, tell this man she wouldn’t go, and hang up the phone.
Two weeks later, Kirsten’s mom and her roommates were watching a program about the ‘FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted’ on their television. A man’s picture popped up, and upon closer inspection, she saw that same man who wanted to take photos of her two weeks ago.
“She now knew his real name,” explains Kirsten. “My mom came face-to-face with Christopher Wilder.”
For those who may not know, Christopher Wilder was an Australian man who went on a six-week-long killing spree across America in 1984. He’s widely known as the “Beauty Queen Killer,” as he primarily targeted beauty queens and aspiring models.
Thankfully, Kirsten’s mom is alright, although she’ll always live with some extra anxiety after this story. In a follow-up video, Kirsten and her mom expressed how important it is always to trust your gut, even if you’ll hurt someone’s feelings.
You can view the original TikTok video here.
