Case Details
- Photo URLs:
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- Missing Since:
- Missing Since 04/01/2000
- Missing From:
- Missing From Montgomery, Alabama
- Classification:
- Classification Endangered Missing
- Gender:
- Female
- Race:
- Race White
- Date of Birth:
- Date of Birth 10/29/1944 (80)
- Age:
- Age 55 years old
- Height and Weight:
- Height and Weight 5’5 – 5’7, 135 – 145 pounds
- Clothing/Jewelry Description:
- Distinguishing Characteristics:
- Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Graying dark brown hair, blue/green eyes. Judie’s ears are pierced. Some agencies may spell her first name “Judy.”
- Details of Disappearance:
- Judie Wilding disappeared from her Montgomery, Alabama home on April 1, 2000. Her van was found abandoned the next day near her pet store. Her husband, Albert, claimed she left him, but their marriage was rocky.
Police found things that didn’t match Albert’s story: Judie’s credit cards and license were still at home, and her wedding rings were in a safe deposit box Albert accessed.
Eight years later, Albert was charged with Judie’s murder. Police suspected he killed her for money. Judie’s pet store was struggling, she wanted a divorce, and Albert collected a large life insurance payout after having her declared dead.
This wasn’t Albert’s first brush with the law. He’d previously been convicted of killing his mother-in-law for her insurance money.
In 2011, Albert pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Judie’s death, claiming it was accidental. He said they argued, a gun went off, and he then disposed of her body. He was sentenced to prison but died there before his release.
Because of the suspicious circumstances and Albert’s history, police believe Judie’s death was not accidental.
- Agency:
- Montgomery Police Department
- Source Links:
This person was missing Missing Since 04/01/2000