Kriti Mehrotra
When 55-year-old Mississippi Ridge Boarding Kennels operator Angela Prichard was shot to death at her workplace on the morning of October 8, 2022, it truly left her loved ones shattered. That’s because, as explored in CBS’ ’48 Hours: Could Angela Prichard Have Been Saved?,’ they all knew precisely what had transpired since her estranged husband had been stalking her for months. However, arguably, no one was more heartbroken than Angela’s sister, Wendy Budde, who had been caring for her in more ways than one for not just months but years and years and years.
Wendy Budde Was Extremely Close to Her Sister
While it’s true that Angela Marie Odefey Prichard was born on April 14, 1967, in Dubuque, Iowa, to Barbara and William Odefey as one of their five kids, she reportedly never felt unheard. The Odefeys were actually an open and tight-knit group, so there was never even any question about wheather any child believed they were out of place since they hailed from a big family. This persisted as the years passed, but Angela and Wendy Budde, in particular, grew closer with age since they both settled down in the small town of Bellevue, 85 miles northeast of Cedar Rapids.
Therefore, Wendy knew all about Angela’s personal as well as professional experiences, including when she took over the operations of her beloved kennel or when her husband became abusive. According to the former’s testimony in court, she initially believed her sister and Christopher Prichard “seemed like a perfect match,” but things changed in the spring of 2022 as he grew violent. “He was turning into a different person,” she said during her ex-brother-in-law’s 2024 trial for murder. “Very angry. You could see the changes. [Angela] started to get very scared, upset, worried.”
This reportedly went on to such an extent that Angela not only left Christopher but also called the police nearly 20 times that same year before seeking a temporary restraining order against him. As if that’s not enough, she even moved in with Wendy to feel safe, especially after discovering a tracking device on her jeep, cameras in her home, and threatening texts and notes from him. The sister also obviously became concerned for her well-being during this time, so she took some extreme measures, too – she tried never to let her out of sight or to always know her whereabouts.
Wendy Budde Still Vividly Remembers The Morning of October 8, 2022
Wendy was so worried about Angela that she often accompanied her not only to places like the grocery store or her workplace but also to just the backyard if she wanted to take her dogs for a walk. However, on the morning of October 8, 2022, she chose to stay behind and said an easy goodbye to the mother of two at around 7:20 am, unaware she would never hear or see her alive again. She texted Angela a short while later but didn’t get a response, and then she heard the police as well as ambulance sirens rushing to the area of her workplace, which left her completely panicked.
Wendy actually followed the sirens out, only for her worst fears to be confirmed when she noticed several police officers outside her sister’s beloved Mississippi Ridge Boarding Kennels. She still asked them, “Is she alive?,” and their response left her hysterical – she fell to the ground in tears, follwoing she said something along the lines of, “I knew something like this was going to happen.” After all, Christopher had been intimidating and stalking Angela for months, with his last straw allegedly being her reporting his restraining order violation, which resulted in him spending a night in prison.
Where is Wendy Budde Now?
There’s no denying that the loss Wendy and all of Angela’s loved ones have endured is something they can never really let go of, but it does seem like they are doing their best to turn negatives into positives. That’s why they are willingly sharing her story with the world through productions like ’48 Hours,’ hoping others in similar situations get the protection and support they need before it’s too late. As for closure, they do have a sense of it following Christopher’s 2024 trial, conviction, as well as sentencing, but they are also trying to hold the City of Bellevue responsible for their alleged inaction despite all of Angela’s reports.
According to the 2024 federal lawsuit filed by Angela’s family, they believe her death was the result of a “state-created danger” through the reckless or intentional behavior of the Bellevue Police Department. They claimed local officers showed “favoritism toward Christopher” and also deliberately concealed information about their personal amicable relationship with him. Their suit was later dismissed, with the judge’s verdict being that he was “skeptical that more aggressive conduct by the officers would have changed anything,” but the family is now appealing the decision.
Coming to Wendy’s personal standing, from what we can tell, like her sister, she is a family woman too – she is happily married to Jim Budde, with whom she has built a family of her own. On a more professional level, this Bellevue, Iowa resident is a Project Manager at New Knowledge United, an academic learning solution business, which is a field in which she has over 15 years of experience. It’s evident that while she and all her remaining siblings – Lisa Klein, Amy Remy, and Scott Odefey – are trying to move on with their lives these days, they are also keeping the memories of their late loving sister alive in their hearts.
Read More: Christopher Prichard: Where is Angela Prichard’s Husband and Killer Now?
