Mary Stauffer, Ming Sen Shiue: ‘Your Worst Nightmare’ Tells Terrifying Tale Of Minnesota Student Who Stalked, Abducted Former Teacher On Investigation Discovery
Mary Stauffer, the Minnesota teacher and Baptist missionary who was kidnapped, along with her daughter, by a former student, will have her story recounted in a new episode of Your Worst Nightmare on Investigation Discovery.
Your Worst Nightmare brings you some of the most bizarre cases of victims who have faced their worst nightmare. Many of the cases featured have ended in murder. In this latest Investigation Discovery (ID) episode, titled “High School Revenge,” Mary and her daughter, Beth, survived the kidnapping. Sadly, one other victim, a 6-year-old boy named Jason Wilkman, was killed after he saw too much. The kidnapper and killer, Ming Sen Shiue, was convicted and sent to prison. Today, he still sits in a Minnesota correctional facility, according to Twin Cities. He will most likely never be released. The case is heavily documented in the book Stalking Mary by Eileen Bridgeman Biernat.
In Wednesday’s Your Worst Nightmare, Investigation Discovery viewers will tag along as the show reviews the terrifying events that occurred back in 1980 in Minnesota. Authorizes say that’s when 36-year-old Mary Stauffer and her daughter, Beth (aka Elizabeth Stauffer), were snatched after leaving a beauty salon. An 18-year-old witness told police that he saw Mary being shoved into a car. The suspect, who was described as a chunky Asian man who wore thick glasses, was later identified as Ming Sen Shiue, a violent 30-year-old originally from Taiwan.
After Mary Stauffer and her daughter, Beth, were abducted at gunpoint, they were thrown inside the trunk of a car and taken to a remote wooded area. Scared to death, Mary Stauffer prayed as sincerely as she could. Her prayers angered Ming, causing him to stop the vehicle and open the trunk. It was then that a young 6-year-old boy named Jason Wilkman happened upon the bicycle trail. Wilkman ran up to the back of Ming’s vehicle, where he saw the two women in the trunk. Fearing that the boy would tell what he had seen, Ming Sen Shiue, scooped him up and threw him inside with Mary and Beth. The classmate that had been playing with Jason Wilkman ran home to tell his parents what happened.
In another documentary, Mary Stauffer said that she could hear the boy’s whimpers and did her best to keep him calm. At some point, Ming Sen Shiue stopped the car again. This time, he took Jason Wilkman out.
Your Worst Nightmare will also reveal that just after the boy was removed from the car, Mary Stauffer and Beth were taken to a home and locked in a closet, where they remained for seven weeks until Mary was able to escape. The body of Jason Wilkman was found six months after he was abducted. According to an old article in the Trenton Evening Times, he was found in the Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area, a wooded place not far from the beauty shop where the Stauffers were kidnapped. His body was badly decomposed and part of his skull was missing. It was determined that the young child had been beaten to death.
Investigators learned that Ming Sen Shiue was a former Algebra student of Mary Stauffer. They say the man harbored a sick crush on his teacher from 15 years prior. In recent years, Mary and Elizabeth Stauffer have been very vocal about the events that happened that day. However, they say that since the kidnapping, they were able to move on and live an enjoyable life. Ming Sen Shiue has since apologized for his actions, according to MPR News.
“The remorse and sorrow remains heavy on me. I regret acting in that matter. I chose to do wrong. I had no concern for anybody.”
Your Worst Nightmare airs Wednesday at 9/8 p.m. central on Investigation Discovery (ID). Here are two more of ID’s Your Worst Nightmare stories, including the cases of Nancy Ludwig and Jeff Maxwell.
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