Stewart Wilken

Stewart Wilken

The murder of his daughter is possibly the most interesting part. By all accounts, Wilken loved Wuane. Her half-sister testified that Wilken and Wuane had a good relationship, that he visited her frequently and brought her presents. She said that he loved her. Both his wives stated that he was very kind at times, particularly toward children.

Why did he kill her? Perhaps he truly believed he was saving her from being sexually abused as he had been.

He kept her body close to him even when she was completely skeletalized. He spread her clothes out next to him and talked to her. To this day, he denies having had any sexual contact with her (which may or may not be true). This does not conform to the behavior of a truly psychopathic killer.

Still, this post-offence behaviour begs the question: Was it because he loved Wuane, or because he grieved for himself?