Canadian True Crime - 136 Colin Thatcher and the Murder of JoAnn Wilson—Part 2

Episode Date: May 14, 2023

[ Part 2 of 3 ] After JoAnn Wilson was shot in the shoulder in her kitchen, she backed down from the custody fight. Colin Thatcher was rewarded for outlasting her, but his fixation was far from over. A series of witnesses would come forward with information almost impossible to believe, revealing a political liability hiding a multitude of secrets behind closed doors.Content Warning: this episode contains mentions of domestic abuse.The final part of this series will be released on Sunday, May 21.LISTEN EARLY & AD FREE: Part 3 will be released mid-week on the premium feeds, where you can listen without any of the ads. CTC premium feeds release episodes at least 24 hours early and are available on Amazon Music (included with Prime), Apple Podcasts, Patreon and Supercast.More information:A Canadian Tragedy: JoAnn and Colin Thatcher: A Story of Love and Hate by Maggie SigginsCycle of Abuse: Understanding the 4 PartsFull list of resources, information sources, credits and music credits:See the page for this episode at www.canadiantruecrime.ca/episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Canadian True Crime is a completely independent production, funded mainly through advertising. You can listen to Canadian True Crime ad-free and early on Amazon music included with Prime, Apple Podcasts, Patreon, and Supercast. The podcast often has disturbing content and course language. It's not for everyone. Please take care when listening. This is part two of a three-part series. Where we left off, Joanne Wilson had divorced Colin Thatcher and remarried, but their custody and property settlement had turned into a bitter fight that lasted several years, because he refused to compromise. After Joanne was shot in the shoulder in her own kitchen, she realized the personal cost she was paying to stand up to her

ex-husband was becoming too high, and she backed down. Colin had outlasted her in the battle, and he was rewarded by getting what he wanted by default, custody of both of their boys. In the following year's provincial election, not only was Colin Thatcher re-elected as the MLA for Thunder Creek, but the incoming Premier Grant Devine named him Minister of Energy and Minds, a prestigious government position. Five months after that, Colin arranged an abandoned farm meeting with his associate, Gary Anderson, who would tell police that Colin gave him a magnum revolver and asked him to have a silencer made for it. That was October of 1982. Gary took the revolver and enlisted the help of a welder friend to make a silencer.

After the first one was produced, they testified the revolver, but it didn't really silence anything. They made a few more, but none of them worked that well to reduce the noise of the gunshot, so they threw them away. Gary then moved up north for a while to find work. At the end of 1982, Colin took his sons Gregory and Regan to Palm Springs, California, to spend Christmas and New Year. By this point, he'd been Minister of Energy and Minds for about seven months, but his political success wasn't to last. Just a week after they returned to Saskatchewan in January of 1983, the then Premier of Saskatchewan, Grant Devine, announced that Colin Thatcher had resigned from his portfolio. Typically, a politician would

announce their own resignation, as would most people, so the fact that Colin wasn't present for the announcement and didn't make himself available for questions or comments indicated that there was likely much more to the story. All the Premier would say was that it was a mutual decision, and quote, at this time he has too many other responsibilities. He has some financial issues and, as a single parent, family responsibilities that are taking up more and more of his time. Over the following days, the Leader Post would report that Colin Thatcher had been productive as Minister of Energy and Minds, and he'd started making changes that were viewed as positive within his first few weeks. Just like his father Ross, Colin wasn't afraid to make bold moves, but quote,

he couldn't hide his contempt for Premier Devine's leadership. A few years later, the paper would report that Colin Thatcher hadn't actually resigned. He'd been expelled after he ignored an order given to him by the Premier. That may have been the last straw. Many of Colin's colleagues thought of him as a political liability, someone who wasn't a team player unless it suited him personally. His attendance at cabinet meetings was sporadic, and when he did show up, he constantly ruffled feathers. And Colin was facing other problems as well. While he was perceived to be a millionaire rancher with a home and separate ranch in Saskatchewan, as well as the condo in Palm Springs, the reality was that he was in serious financial trouble. The wealth he projected as

part of his image was dwindling fast, thanks to his extravagant out-of-control spending and the various legal battles that had cost him dearly. The leader post would report that Colin Thatcher was asset rich but cash poor. He was weighed down by a heavy debt load and had borrowed money from at least four financial institutions worth close to $1.5 million, and several of them had either initiated foreclosure or were planning for it. Colin was struggling to pay his bills for the day-to-day running of the ranch. And there was more. His financial status had of course been negatively impacted by his divorce and the property settlement, even though Joanne had eventually settled for around half the amount originally awarded to her by the judge. It was to be paid off

over five years in installments, and Colin had paid the first installment in February of 1982. But it was now January of 1983, and in just a few weeks Colin would need to pay the second installment of almost $90,000. You'll remember their property settlement had several clauses about payment. If Colin defaulted on any of the payments, the entire amount would become payable to Joanne immediately. So instead of just paying his $90,000 installment for that year, he would have to pay around $350,000. And there was another clause. It stated that if Joanne were to die, the next installment payment could be deferred for another year. In the meantime, Colin's associate, Gary Anderson, was back in Saskatchewan. He'd been working up

north for a few months, and when he returned, Colin requested another abandoned farm meeting. By this point, it had been three days since Colin's sudden resignation as cabinet minister, and the two men spoke briefly about that before Colin brought things back on topic. Gary would later tell police that Colin told him he'd been stalking Joanne's house for about a week, including the night before, but he, quote, did not get her. Colin reminded Gary about the Ruger Security 6357 Magnum Revolver he'd given him a few months earlier. He didn't mention the silencer he'd requested, but he did tell Gary he wanted the revolver back, and there was something else. Colin had another urgent task for Gary, and it had to be done as soon as possible.

He wanted him to procure another car and then park it near Colin's house in Moose Shore and wait. So Gary did what he was told, buying a car for Colin, a brown 1974 Mercury with a V8 motor. The next day was Friday, January 21st, 1983, and Gary parked the car a block away from Colin's home in Moose Shore, just as he had the last time. He then waited for Colin, who jumped into the driver's seat wearing a black ski-type jacket, blue jeans, and sunglasses. Gary handed over the Magnum Revolver, and Colin told him to listen to news reports. Again, if he heard of anything happening to Joanne, he was to go back and collect the 1974 Mercury at the same location he'd parked it, clean it, and hide it. That same Friday evening, Joanne Wilson returned home from work,

pulling into the driveway in her green Audi 5000 sedan. It was a few minutes before 6pm. She was likely looking forward to seeing her nine-year-old daughter Stephanie and second husband, Toni Wilson, who had both been home sick that day. She pulled into the garage and parked next to Toni's station wagon. But a man was lying in wait for her in the garage at the rear of her home, and ambushed her as soon as she got out of the car, likely grabbing her from behind by the collar of her fur coat. Joanne fought for her life, screaming as she attempted to fend off repeated blows by a heavy instrument with a sharp curved blade as it cut into her scalp, hands, and wrists, and fractured her forearm and fingers. The 43-year-old endured a brutal

beating that left the walls of the garage covered in blood spatter. She sustained multiple wounds and bruising to her head, and then her knees and legs as though she'd fallen to her knees and was dragged along the garage floor. The man then shot her in the back of her head and exited the scene. Joanne Wilson passed away on the floor of her garage. She was murdered just five days after the sudden announcement that her ex-husband Colin Thatcher resigned from the legislature as minister. In just three weeks before, he was due to pay her the second installment of the property settlement. Craig, the man walking home who heard the screams and found Joanne's body, told police about the man he'd seen walking out of the garage a few minutes

before 6pm. He stressed that he'd only seen the man briefly in passing, but described a man with darker hair and a scraggly beard, about 30 years old with a medium build and average height. Craig recalled the man wearing dark trousers underneath a dark coat that was either leather or pleather, and he seemed to be hiding something under his jacket as he walked off. Meanwhile, police found the first piece of evidence only 15 minutes after they arrived at the scene. That credit card receipt lying on the ground a few feet away from the garage. It was for gasoline purchased from a Shell station on January 18, three days before Joanne's murder. And the gas station was not local. It was located about 100 kilometres from Regina, near the town of Karen, the same rural area that

the Thatcher Ranch is located. Investigators would attend that gas station to speak with the owner and see if he remembered anything about the purchase. In the meantime, a composite sketch was commissioned based on Craig's description of the man walking away from the garage. Soon, copies of that sketch would be sent around to police forces across North America, as well as the media. Locally, more than half of the Regina police's homicide department was dedicated to the case, working around the clock to investigate one of the highest profile murders in the history of Saskatchewan. Later in the week following Joanne's murder, Regina police would offer a $50,000 reward for the capture of her killer. The day after Joanne's murder, Colin Thatcher

had custody on his mind. He drove to Regina to meet with his longtime lawyer, Anthony Tony Merchant, who had represented him throughout the contentious custody battle, where Colin was found in contempt of court for refusing to speak about Regan's whereabouts. This time, Colin wanted to know how he could get physical custody of nine-year-old Stephanie, now that her mother was dead. His lawyer told him that he had the legal right to take her. So, he did, and he brought an entourage with him that included that lawyer, Anthony Merchant, and his wife, Panna, as well as Colin Thatcher's eldest son, 17-year-old Greg. When they showed up at Tony Wilson's house to take Stephanie, they learned, presumably from the housekeeper, that the little girl was with a friend down the

street. There they went. Stephanie's friend's mom, Susan, would report that there was a knock at the front door at around 1 p.m., and she opened it to a woman who identified herself as Tony Merchant's wife. She asked about Stephanie, and after a short conversation, Susan went back inside the house, but she soon realized the whole thing had been a ruse, because standing on her back porch was none other than Colin Thatcher, his lawyer, Anthony Merchant, and another younger man that she couldn't identify, who was obviously Greg. Colin asked to see his daughter, and Susan said it was fine, but she had to check with Tony Wilson's Stephanie's stepdad first. Colin wasn't having it, and he started pushing past Susan to get into her house, and Susan pushed back to

defend herself, resulting in a scuffle. Nine-year-old Stephanie saw the whole confrontation and fled to a bedroom. Susan followed her there and shielded her, but Colin was right behind them, yelling that he had a right to see his daughter. Susan would tell the leader post that the younger man was hot on his tail, yelling, Let her go, she's my sister. Another physical struggle ensued, where Susan was holding Stephanie with both arms as Colin and Greg tried to pry her arms apart. Stephanie was screaming, Please daddy, let me go, but Colin wouldn't. Eventually he was successful in dislodging his daughter from Susan's grip, but Susan continued to fight him as he escorted Stephanie out, which resulted in several of his belt loops being torn. Susan remembered little

Stephanie apologizing profusely to her for causing so much trouble. Shaken, Susan called the police straight away. She would say that she felt completely violated in her own home. Hours later, officers recovered Stephanie from her father's home in Moose Jaw. She was unharmed, physically at least. Stephanie was placed back in the care of her stepfather, Tony Wilson, and her father, Colin and his lawyer, Anthony Merchant, were both charged with abduction. In response, Colin immediately launched a new custody action to get Stephanie back. This action would go the same as all the others, a bitter fight where Colin and his lawyer never backed off, wearing Tony Wilson down to a point where he would surrender the action and Colin would be awarded custody. The abduction

charges against them would eventually be dropped, but Anthony Merchant would plead guilty to a lesser charge of mischief in exchange for absolute discharge. Meanwhile, Colin turned his attention to the property settlement, in particular the second installment payment of about $90,000 that was fast approaching. Joanne had been murdered just three weeks before the payment was due, and as per the clause in their contract, Colin immediately applied to have the payment deferred for another year. He would end up defaulting on that payment as well. Investigators had been working around the clock on the case. They'd been speaking to neighbours of the Wilsons who either knew each other or knew of each other as well as what cars they drove.

In several of them reported seeing two suspicious looking cars, one in the days leading up to Joanne's murder and another seen around the same time that she was attacked. In the days beforehand, one neighbour reported seeing a dark blue car parked near the Wilsons residence, with a man sitting in the driver's seat. He noticed that the man rarely moved his head, except when people were walking past, and he would visibly turn his head in the other direction. This neighbour noticed the man's face was either heavily tanned or olive in colour, which contrasted with his hands which were stark white, as though he was wearing tight rubber gloves. He was also wearing a toque, and this neighbour's housekeeper had also seen the car

parked with the man sitting in the driver's seat. She described it as a blue Oldsmobile, and she first saw it three days before Joanne's murder, between 3 and 5pm in the afternoon. She didn't think much of it until she saw it again the next day at the same time, again with the driver just sitting inside the car. She said the man had a neatly trimmed dark moustache and beard, dark collar length hair covered by a toque, and was possibly wearing sunglasses and a dark coloured jacket. This new description would prompt the police to revise the composite sketch, which previously described a man with a more scraggly beard and hair. The third time the housekeeper saw the suspicious car was Thursday, January 20th,

the day before Joanne's murder. The housekeeper was leaving the home she worked at, and the car was parked in front of hers so she took the opportunity to look at the number plate. It was mostly obscured by mud, but she was able to make a note of the last three numbers on the plate, 292. On January 23rd, two days after Joanne was murdered, investigators went to Collins' home in the town of Moose Jaw. They spotted a car parked just down the street, a blue four-door 1981 Oldsmobile, which looked suspiciously like the car Joanne's neighbours had reported seeing parked on the street. Police noticed the licence plate was partially obscured, but they saw that this one ended in 292 as well. As it turned out, the car had been checked out of

the government's Central Vehicle Agency by Colin Thatcher on January 10th, the day after he returned from Palm Springs after Christmas vacation with the boys. The police took photographs of the car, noting that the interior was clean. They left it there for the time being, but would return five days later to seize it. The neighbours who saw the car parked outside the Wilson home would confirm that this car was the same car they had seen or that they were confident it was. But the blue Oldsmobile was only seen in the days leading up to the attack in the afternoons. No one reported seeing it the day that Joanne was murdered. There was a different suspicious car spotted by neighbours that day, parked near the Wilson home at around the same time that Joanne

was murdered. The police would announce that this car resembled a 1975 two-tone green Chrysler Cordova, although a Ford Mustang was also mentioned in some of the media reports. But no green car was ever located, perhaps because the car had only been spotted once when it was dark outside, whereas the blue Oldsmobile was seen on three different days during daylight hours. The police may have been diverted looking for a green Cordova, but Gary Anderson knew that the only other car in play was the brown 1974 Mercury V8 that he had delivered to Collins home in Moose Jaw the day of Joanne's murder. After he saw the news that Joanne had been murdered, he went back to get the Mercury V8 from

the same location he parked it. The car's license plates were clean when he left it there, but now they were smeared with mud. He drove the Mercury back to his mother's farm to clean it up and would later tell police what he found inside the car. A black ski-type jacket, a pair of blue jeans, sunglasses, grey work socks, a receipt and a tuft of hair which appeared to come from a wig. He burnt the items in a barrel on the farm, cleaned the plates, vacuumed out the car and left it at the farm. Gary Anderson and Colin Thatcher wouldn't speak again for 18 months, but Gary did speak to the police before then. Investigators had been looking into Collins' known associates and saw that he leased some of his land from Gary Anderson's family. So investigators

spoke with Gary, but he was uncooperative and deliberately vague. He denied any knowledge of what had happened to Joanne Wilson. A funeral for Joanne K. Wilson was held on January 25th of 1983. The leader post published a photo of her second husband, Tony Wilson, walking in with his nine-year-old stepdaughter, Stephanie. But absent from the service was Stephanie's older brothers, Gregory and Regan, as well as their father, Colin. The murder of the ex-wife of Colin Thatcher, only five days after his sudden resignation as Minister of Energy and Mines, had made massive headlines. That alone would have been shocking to people across Saskatchewan, but in this case even more so because of the prolonged and very public custody battle,

not to mention the fact that Joanne had been shot in the shoulder in her own home less than 18 months earlier. Her husband Tony Wilson would tell the media, quote, we were very much in love. She was very beautiful with a lovely smile and she was extremely loyal. Joanne's friends and family all agreed that the two years she was married to Tony were the best of her life, describing him as just the kind of husband that she needed and deserved. Tony would sign a sworn affidavit that Colin Thatcher, progressive conservative MLA, quote, orchestrated the death of his former wife. Colin's account of his whereabouts on the day Joanne was murdered included him driving between his home in Moostore and his ranch near Karen. He said he arrived home

at about 5.45pm and then sat down to eat dinner with his sons Greg and Regan, as well as their longtime babysitter Sandra. Dinner was at 6pm. As you'll remember, Joanne was seen driving into her garage in Regina a few minutes before 6pm and Regina is 70 kilometres from Moostore, about a 45 minute drive according to today's Google Maps. Colin said that after dinner he received a phone call from his lawyer Anthony Merchant with the news that something had happened at the Wilson home in Regina but he didn't know for sure. Anthony promised to call again when he found out more. At about 7pm, Anthony called again with the news that Joanne Wilson had been fatally shot. Colin told the police that this is how he learned that his ex-wife was dead.

He then made a phone call to his girlfriend in Palm Springs, California to let her know. The girlfriend's name was Lynn Mendel and when investigators tracked her down, she denied having any knowledge of what happened to Joanne Wilson. The police looked at what they had. There was quite a bit of interesting evidence but most of it was circumstantial. They needed more. Fortunately, there were three more prime witnesses that knew things about Colin Thatcher. They hadn't come forward to police yet, but they would. One of them was Gary Anderson. After Joanne's murder in January of 1983, investigators were trying to locate the two cars that witnesses had seen near the Wilson house

and one of their tactics was to contact car rental companies to see if any cars that matched those descriptions had been rented out at the time. Obviously, the Blue Oldsmobile scene the days before Joanne's murder had been checked out by Colin from the Government Central Vehicle Agency and the Mercury V8 had been procured by Gary. Neither were rented. But while investigators were checking those records, they decided to also look into cars rented out the first time Joanne was shot in May of 1981. You'll remember that witnesses said they saw a late model rust coloured car with a lot of chrome around the tail lights speeding away from the scene. The police had never located that car or the person driving it. They didn't even have an official suspect.

But after Joanne's murder, investigators found a rental car contract for a car that matched the description released by police rented just before Joanne was shot the first time and the contract was signed by Gary Anderson. This was the first time that Gary had been instructed to rent a car and park it in Moose Jaw just a few blocks away from Colin's home with the keys hidden in a designated spot. The police approached Gary for a second time and found him to be just as uncooperative as the first but afterwards he got to thinking. He decided he had to do the right thing and come clean but he was afraid for his safety. Gary was acutely aware of Colin Thatcher's public profile in Saskatchewan and he had a unique vantage point to see what the man was like in

private as well. Gary Anderson decided to hire a lawyer and over many months he negotiated an agreement for immunity in exchange for his testimony at trial. This immunity covered both times that Joanne was shot. Gary told them all about the original meetings with Colin bringing Charles Wilde into the scheme as well as Jack Gold and all the times Colin thought Joanne was going to be murdered but arrived home to find out she was still alive. The police would question Charles Wilde and Jack Golde whose real name was Cody Crutcher. Both would back up Gary's story. Gary told the police that the reason for all the different vehicles was in case one was spotted by a witness it would make it difficult for the police to tie Colin to the crime. Gary

also told investigators about Colin asking him to make a silencer for the revolver he purchased in Palm Springs. He directed them to the location behind his brother's home where he threw out the doomed silences. He told the police that while he was willing to help Colin arrange things he refused to commit the murder himself and eventually Colin gave up trying to hire a hitman and decided to just do it himself. So the police had one key witness to testify against Colin Thatcher and people to back him up but a confession from Colin himself would be even better. They convinced Gary to wear a wire and meet with Colin to try and get him to say something incriminating. By this point it had been 18 months since Gary had spoken to Colin the morning of Joanne's murder but Gary came up with

the ruse to contact him and arranged another abandoned farm meeting. On May the 1st of 1984 Gary was kitted up with the wire as well as a bulletproof vest before heading off to meet Colin. After the two caught up Gary started talking about their previous business together in an attempt to elicit an incriminating statement from Colin. The following quotes have been slightly edited for clarity and brevity. Gary told Colin that after he picked up the 1974 Mercury he quote, got rid of the stuff out of the car. Good, replied Colin. Gary then spoke about cleaning out the car, had a bitch of a time getting blood and stuff off. Colin asked if there was ever a chance that it would surface and Gary said no. They spoke about how the car story was confusing to police because they had two cars to track.

Colin commented that investigators had been diverted looking for a two-toned green Chrysler Cordova seen parked near the Wilson home on the night of the murder. That car was actually the brown 1974 Mercury V8. Gary continued talking about the crime. You kind of gave me a scare there, I found the stuff laying in there and then I wondered what what the hell you done with the gun. Colin replied, don't even talk like that. Now there are no loose ends at all and you know, they've gone at every which direction. Was there any way a loose end from a couple of years ago can ever resurface? This may have been in reference to the first time Joanne was shot and the involvement of Charles Wilde and Jack Gold in the lead-up. Colin then asked if there was a chance of

any problems surfacing and Gary implied there wouldn't be. They spoke about the fact that the police had already questioned Gary but he said it wasn't an interrogation. Colin then gave him some advice. If the police approached him again, he had to remember his rights. You don't even have to talk to them. He cautioned Gary that they should be careful about not being seen together but told him not to worry about being caught. It ain't coming to that because they have no way of there's only two places to put the connection together and they got zero else. You know what there is to put together and it ain't possible and it ain't coming from me. I mean just always remember that if they ever say that I said this or that it's a crock of garbage it's just always

deny, deny, deny. So Colin did say several things that implied he was involved in the crime but nothing that amounted to a smoking gun confession. He mentioned several times during the conversation that he was paranoid that the police were listening to his conversations and that he may have been bugged. At one point Gary had mentioned that he was low on cash and Colin asked him do you need some bread? This is a colloquial term for money. Gary said he could use some since he'd purchased that mercury v8. Colin said he'd leave a payment for him at an agreed upon location and time. As they parted ways Gary yelled back at Colin. I'm glad you got her. Colin's response was okay. So he didn't give any statements that were directly incriminating

but his responses and evasiveness in conjunction with the other circumstantial evidence convinced investigators that he was the mastermind. After this recorded conversation the police went to the location where the money was supposed to have been left for Gary. They returned several times before finding a green plastic bag with an envelope in it containing $500. Proof that Colin had paid Gary to do something. So the police had now spoken with one important witness. The second would be Colin's girlfriend in Palm Springs, 33 year old Lynn Mendell. She was 12 years younger than Colin. By this point almost 18 months had passed since Joanne's murder and investigators circled back to Lynn to ask her for another interview.

This time they found a completely different Lynn. She and Colin had long since broken up and she'd remarried. Lynn told investigators that the reason she pleaded ignorance last time was because she was afraid of Colin and she feared for her own life but now she was ready to talk. Lynn told investigators about the history of their relationship. They met in Palm Springs in October of 1980 which was around the time that Colin and Joanne's divorce went through and their custody over Regan was becoming extremely contentious. Colin was making a lot of trips to California where he had that vacation condo and that's where he met Lynn after a mutual friend set them up on a blind date. Lynn said that she found him charming and fun at times. Early on she noticed that he

seemed to be fixated on how his ex-wife had wronged him but after he asked Lynn to move into his condo she put that out of her mind. After they'd only been dating a month Colin invited Lynn to visit him in Moose Jaw and while she was there she attended a parliamentary event with him in the city of Regina and met members of his family. She told the police that she got to know the Thatcher family quite well. Lynn described her relationship with Colin as committed and serious but also explosive. Quote, Colin could be very charming but he had some dramatic mood swings. On several occasions he hit me. She said his volatile personality made him strangely attractive at times and extremely dangerous at others. Quote, there was a little boy quality about him

but in a willful sort of way he can't imagine not getting his own way. Lynn described a Jekyll and Hyde persona which she chalked up to stress from his ongoing custody battle but soon she started to think he was completely obsessed with his ex-wife. Colin always referred to Joanne as that bitch and because Lynn had only heard his side of the story she did sympathise with him. She would later testify that, quote, much of his conversation was taken up with his bitterness about his ex-wife and the entire proceedings that had gone on before the divorce and a lot of and a lot of hatred, a lot of bitterness. Many times he mentioned he wanted to kill her and it went on and on and on. He wanted to arrange for someone to. It was highly on his mind all the time.

Lynn knew exactly when Joanne had been shot the first time in May of 1981 because Colin had spoken to her about it. He told her that he'd met someone that he wanted to hire to kill Joanne but eventually he told her the plans had fallen through and he would have to go about it himself one way or another. After Joanne had been shot in the shoulder Lynn said that Colin told her that he drove to Regina in a car someone else had rented for him and he put on a disguise consisting of a wig, a long shaggy beard and overalls. He told her that he approached Joanne's home with a high powered rifle and shot her through the triple glazed glass. Afterwards Lynn remembered him saying with a laugh, gee I didn't gauge the thickness of the glass so the bullet obviously deflected

because I only got her in the shoulder. Colin told Lynn he drove back to Moose Shore avoiding road blocks by taking back roads and when necessary winding through fields. He said he got rid of the gun, the wig and the overalls in a field somewhere before he arrived home. He told Lynn, the only thing that saved me is that the police didn't go actually go physically to my house to see that I was there. You'll remember that both times Joanne was shot, Colin's alibi included his children. In the aftermath of the first shooting Lynn Mandell reported that Colin told her Joanne and Toni Wilson were very scared now and he expected that they would compromise on the property and custody settlement which they did. Lynn would say that she took all of his talk

with a grain of salt but she happened to catch Joanne's press conference on TV where she set the record straight about why she felt she had no choice but to abandon her fight for custody of Regan. Joanne described being personally terrorized but didn't name the person responsible. Lynn was watching with interest and told police she could see how scared Joanne was. Her attitude about the situation started to change after that especially in light of the fact that Colin's obsession with his ex-wife didn't seem to be dying down. Lynn would tell the leader post that he spoke often about doing away with Joanne. Quote, when Colin talked about getting rid of his wife his big justification was getting Stephanie. He was ticked off because he wanted Stephanie.

Lynn Mandell was the one who told police that Colin had purchased the Magnum Revolver in January of 1982 in Palm Springs. She told him the exact shop he purchased it from and the police attended the store to corroborate that purchase with the store's owner. Lynn said she saw Colin practice shooting with the revolver and she watched him pack it up to take back to Canada with him because he didn't want to declare it at customs or register it under Canadian firearm legislation so he wrapped it in newspaper and packaged it up in a Barbie doll shower box. Lynn told the police that in May of that same year she was visiting Colin in Moose Jort just after he'd been appointed Minister of Energy and Minds. It was an exciting time. She would say that over the years they were

together Colin had asked her to marry him multiple times but she couldn't get him to make any actual plans and he still seemed fixated on his ex-wife but now that he was divorced and a government minister she assumed that everything was in place and they were finally headed toward marriage. She told the police that when she tried to speak to him about it the conversation devolved to a point where he physically assaulted her. Lynn was so upset that she took an overdose of painkillers which landed her in hospital in Moose Jort. She would later tell the leader post that quote it was embarrassing to admit I was beaten up that night I was embarrassed he told me we were going to get married. Relationships marred by domestic violence typically flow through a sequence commonly

called the cycle of abuse. Tensions build leading to an incident whether it be verbal emotional or physical abuse. Then there is reconciliation where the abuser charms and love bombs the survivor back into their good graces. There's apologies and promises not to do it again but it's often accompanied by gaslighting and victim blaming where the abuse is downplayed or the survivor is told they were somehow responsible for making the abuser behave that way. Once the survivor has been suitably convinced to stay in the relationship comes a period of calm but because it's a cycle it doesn't take long before tensions are building again. Lynn told police that after Colin beat her up that night he wheeled out his charming side and convinced her to stay in the relationship.

After that Lynn continued to split her time between California and Saskatchewan but she was starting to grow wary of their stormy relationship. Lynn would say that about a month before Joanne's murder she started to realise that their relationship was a sham and Colin didn't even know who she was other than quote a tanned little blonde a nice prop. Lynn had much more to say and agreed that she would come to Canada to testify against Colin if need be. So Gary Anderson was one prime witness. Lynn Mendell was a second. There was one more prime witness yet to come forward but the police had enough evidence to arrest Colin Thatcher. A week after Gary Anderson's recorded conversation Colin Thatcher was arrested without incident at his moose jaw home and charged with the murder

of his ex-wife Joanne Wilson. The next day a pack of news photographers were waiting outside the courthouse when he arrived for his first bail hearing. Despite a number of his supporters submitting sworn affidavits in support of his release on bail it was denied. The same day the Regina police got a search warrant for Colin Thatcher's moose jaw home. In a small closet off the main bedroom they found a Barbie doll shower box with a label on it that indicated it had been purchased in Palm Springs. There was also some old newspaper from the Los Angeles Times. This finding lent a great deal of credibility to Lynn's version of events. The leader post would describe the police investigation and subsequent trial as the most

spectacular in the history of Saskatchewan. A case that received international press coverage and mesmerized the entire province. So much so that the trial was meant to be held in Regina but Colin Thatcher's lawyer argued he wouldn't receive a fair trial there so it was moved to Saskatoon. In October of 1984 the 46-year-old pleaded not guilty to murdering Joanne Wilson. If convicted he would get the mandatory sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. No one was ever charged for the first time Joanne was shot in the shoulder and Gary Anderson had immunity as part of his testimony but this incident would be referenced several times by witnesses during the trial.

What if you were trafficked into a cult over shot nine times or fell in love with a vampire or went into a minor surgery and woke up one week later paralyzed? What would you do? I'm Whit Missildine the creator of This Is Actually Happening a podcast from Wondery that brings you extraordinary true stories of life-changing events told by the people who lived them. From a young man that dunes his entire future with one choice to a woman who survived a notorious serial killer you'll hear their first-person account of how they overcame remarkable circumstances. Each episode is an exploration of the human spirit and personal discovery. These haunting accounts sound like Hollywood movies but I assure you this is actually happening. Follow

This Is Actually Happening wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen ad-free on the Amazon music or Wondery app. The Crown's case was that Colin Thatcher likely killed Joanne Wilson intentionally himself but that didn't exclude the possibility that he arranged to have someone else kill her and aided or abetted them in doing so. Either way it was murder but the jury wasn't tasked with deciding if Colin Thatcher himself actually murdered Joanne. The only decision they would be making was if Colin was ultimately responsible for her murder. In opening statements Crown Prosecutor Serge Kuyava compared Colin to the infamous fictional

character J.R. Ewing from the Dallas TV series played by Larry Hagman. The character's Wikipedia page states quote, as the show's most famous character J.R. Ewing has been central to many of the series' biggest storylines. He is depicted as a covetous, egocentric, manipulative and a moral oil baron with psychopathic tendencies. The Crown's circumstantial evidence included Colin's purchase of a Ruger Security 6 357 Magnum Revolver in Palm Springs a year before Joanne's murder. The gun shop's owner Ron Williams testified about remembering this transaction as well as a subsequent visit Colin made to the shop where he purchased two boxes of ammunition to go with the revolver, a special kind that had only been on the US market for less than a year.

He also purchased a holster. Colin's executive assistant testified that in the fall of 1982, about three months before Joanne's murder, Colin had asked him to pick up a government vehicle from his home and return it to the Central Vehicle Agency in Regina. The assistant told the jury that he did as instructed and was surprised to find a gun holster under the front seat. When he mentioned it to Colin, there was no indication that it caused him any concern. The assistant ended up keeping the holster and handed it over to police weeks after Joanne's murder. The owner of the gun shop testified that this holster found under the seat was consistent with the holster he sold to Colin Thatcher.

The court heard evidence about Joanne Wilson's cause of death. The autopsy determined that her most significant injury was the gunshot wound to her head, a massive disruption of the brain that caused her death. About 14 bullet fragments had been recovered and sent for ballistic analysis. The jury heard that they were consistent with the same kind of special bullet that Colin had purchased in the United States and likely fired from the same magnum revolver that he purchased. The court heard that the revolver was never found. There was some debate about whether this special ammunition was sold in Canada and the judge would conclude that it wasn't readily available but could be purchased in Canada if needed. The jury

also heard about the brutal beating that Joanne sustained before the gunshot, the fact that she had been brutalised and cut with a heavy instrument with a sharp curved blade. Whatever this weapon either. The court heard that the extent and severity of the beating strongly suggested that this attack was not the work of a hitman. This was presented as circumstantial evidence of Colin Thatcher's personal involvement. As you'll remember, one of the first pieces of evidence found by investigators was a credit card receipt found on the ground just a few feet away from the garage. The receipt was for the purchase of gas from a shell station near Carran located 100 kilometres from Regina in an area where the Thatcher Ranch is also located. And the receipt

itself had part of Colin's surname printed on it as well as the scribble of his signature. Investigators visited the owner of the gas station who testified that he remembered Colin Thatcher purchasing gasoline from him on January 18, 1983, three days before Joanne's murder. There appeared to be no reason for that receipt to be at the Wilson home in Regina the same night that Joanne was murdered. Colin would provide an answer for this when he testified in his own defence. Gary Anderson was the crown star witness but he was a no-show on the first day he was supposed to testify. The following day he explained that he was afraid and felt like the police weren't protecting him enough so he took an overdose of a headache medicine the night before he was due

to take the stand. The 38-year-old testified about supplying Colin Thatcher with guns, ammunition, cars and cleanup services. He told the jury that he'd introduced Colin Thatcher to Charles Wilde who connected them to Jack Gold aka Cody Crutcher. Gary said he helped Colin plot an attempt on Joanne Wilson's life in 1981 when she was shot in the shoulder and again in 1983 when she was murdered in her garage. He testified that Colin had driven him into Regina and showed him how easy it would be to kill Joanne showing him the house that she lived in, where to enter the yard and where to stand to get a good view of the house and then how to leave. Gary told the jury the reason he participated in Colin's plans was quote, because I was a fool. In a later special feature

on the case published by the leader post several of Gary's acquaintances described him as a person who was lost in life but always wanted to be a big player in something and Colin Thatcher was a big player in Saskatchewan. But according to one former associate it was on brand for Gary to refuse to be the one to pull the trigger. He was a criminal but he was described as having a sense of honor and ethics, a line that he wouldn't cross. Gary testified that he didn't speak with Colin for more than a year after the first time Joanne was shot and how when they met again he asked Colin how he'd managed to miss killing Joanne at that close range. Colin responded that he did not know. Although Gary helped Colin with the planning and organizational tasks for the two times that

Joanne was shot in Regina he told the jury that it was Colin himself who fired the firearms. Gary Anderson also testified about the recorded conversation where Colin advised him to deny, deny, deny and said there were no loose ends when it came to his own alibi. The jury heard the full recording. On cross-examination the defense suggested to Gary that there was nothing in the recorded conversation resembling a confession and the comments Colin Thatcher made were generalized and could refer to any number of things. But Gary didn't agree. He pointed out parts in the conversation where Colin said he was paranoid about phones being bugged and the fact that Colin often spoke in code. When the cryptic conversation is

considered in that context it's still pointed to Colin's role in Joanne's murder. The defense also accused Gary of making the entire story up to try and collect the $50,000 reward which Gary denied. Charles Wilde also testified and corroborated Gary Anderson's story. Charles told the jury that he brought Jack Gold aka Cody Crutcher into the group as the proposed hitman. Charles testified about the first direct meeting with Colin Thatcher himself at the abandoned farm after one of the planned shootings didn't go ahead. Colin demanded to know what had happened and offered Charles a large sum of money to do it himself. Colin's plan was for Charles to travel to the United States and kill Joanne when she

was visiting her family for Easter. Charles told the jury that he agreed to the contract but he never intended on actually carrying it out. In fact neither did Jack Gold. They just wanted the easy money, the whole thing had been a scam. Lynn Mendel testified about her three-year relationship with Colin, his obsession with Joanne and quote, how many times he mentioned he wanted to kill his wife or arrange for someone to kill her. Apparently there was a lot of times. Lynn told the jury that he spoke with her about his negotiations with the men back home to get it done although he never gave her any of their names. She confirmed she did not know Gary Anderson or any of Colin's other associates and had never even met them. She knew about each time the plans

had fallen through and testified that eventually Colin told her quote he was going to have to go about it in another way. She told the jury about the first time Joanne was shot, how Colin joked about the fact he'd only managed to hit his ex-wife in the shoulder. Lynn Mendel also testified about Colin's purchase of the Magnum revolver which was wrapped up a newspaper and a Barbie doll shower box to be taken to Canada. An investigator would testify about finding that Barbie doll shower box and LA Times newspaper at Colin's home in Canada. Lynn testified that by December of 1982, the month before Joanne's murder, Colin told her to be available by phone at certain times every day in case he called and because he was very paranoid about the police listening in, he spoke

to Lynn and coded messages in those calls. Over the next few weeks, they spoke on the phone frequently, she said, with him feeding her bits and pieces of coded information that she knew was about Joanne and his plans for her. In one call, he implied he'd been going to Regina every night to find out how long the drive took and also to find an opportune time to kill Joanne. Lynn testified about receiving two phone calls from Colin on the day that Joanne was murdered, January 21st of 1983. There's no indication that she gave the specific times about when she received these calls other than the fact that the first one was earlier in the evening. In that call, she said that Colin told her, quote,

Well I'm going out now, this might be the night, stick around. In the later call, Lynn said he told her, quote, Oh my God, I've just been called. Apparently Joanne has been shot in her home and has been killed. Lynn testified that this was a coded comment that she understood to mean that Colin had gone into Regina and had been instrumental in Joanne's murder. When Colin returned to Palm Springs a few days later, Lynn said she told him, Well, you really did it, didn't you? She told the jury that Colin nodded a yes, but scowled as he pointed to the walls of the condo. It was a reference to his paranoia about bugging. The most damning part of Lynn Mendel's testimony was about a conversation they had

when they were outside the condo and Colin was no longer worried about listening devices. Lynn told the jury that he shook his head and told her, quote, I have to admit it is a strange feeling to have blown your wife away. Over the next few days, Colin read the Los Angeles Times and the Desert Sun, the two newspapers they got delivered to the condo. Lynn would say he told her, quote, I don't know why they said Joanne was beaten. I didn't beat her. Lynn didn't know whether that comment was for her benefit. She told the jury that they broke up not long after that. Colin returned to Saskatchewan and she moved out of his Palm Springs condo.

Several months later, she married someone else, but she said she did continue to maintain some contact with Colin after that. When Lynn was asked why she didn't speak to police much earlier, like after Joanne was shot the first time and certainly after she was murdered, Lynn said she was extremely afraid. After all, Colin was the high-profile minister of energy and minds for the Saskatchewan government, quote, what was I supposed to have done? There were a couple of times when I said, I've got to call Joanne, but I didn't. If I'd phoned the Regina City police and Colin found out, I'd be dead. Lynn said she didn't really want to know what had happened with Joanne and she was scared, so she didn't ask Colin any questions about it.

Lynn Mandel was a US citizen who lived in the States and as such, she couldn't be compelled by Canadian courts to testify. She chose to testify, but she told the jury about several threatening phone calls and the lead up to the court proceedings. One anonymous caller warned her as a friend not to get involved in something that was none of her business. Another caller told her, quote, you're safe and you'll remain safe as long as you don't go up north. On cross examination, the defence suggested that Lynn fabricated her whole story because she was just very bitter that Colin wouldn't marry her and that her overdose on painkillers after being beaten by him meant she was mentally unstable and therefore couldn't be trusted. She denied

these suggestions. The defence also asked her, what kind of woman sleeps with a man knowing he committed murder? Lynn answered, someone who was very afraid that if she doesn't she would get smacked around. The court also heard testimony from Tony Wilson who testified that his wife Joanne also feared for her life before she was murdered. He said he wouldn't mind it all if Colin Thatcher was convicted of murder. Neighbours gave evidence about the apparent surveillance of Joanne Wilson's home for a number of days leading up to her murder. Specifically, the bearded man spotted sitting in the blue Oldsmobile with a number plate that ended in 292. Investigators testified that it was the same car that Colin had checked out from the government's central vehicle agency

almost two weeks before Joanne's murder, making it a key piece of circumstantial evidence. But the identity of the bearded man sitting in the car was less clear. He was described as having dark hair, a toque, white gloves and skin that was either heavily tanned or olive in colour. One neighbour testified that the man he saw did not look like the accused Colin Thatcher. Now it should be noted that the leader post described Gary Anderson as quote, a hulking bearded figure. But Gary's testimony never mentioned anything about conducting surveillance outside Joanne Wilson's house in the days before her murder. He did testify that Colin Thatcher told him he'd been stalking Joanne's house for about a week and the morning

of the murder when they met up, Colin lamented that he didn't get Joanne the night before. The identity of the person sitting in the blue Oldsmobile in the days before Joanne's murder was never confirmed, but it didn't really matter. The Crown wasn't trying to prove who murdered Joanne, only that Colin Thatcher was ultimately responsible for it. Gary Anderson also testified about the day that Joanne was murdered, how he arranged the Mercury V8 and parked it near Colin's home in Moose Shore as instructed and waited, how when Colin arrived, Gary handed him the Magnum Revolver and they drove off. According to a court document, Colin dropped Gary off at the bus depot in Moose Shore and he

caught a bus to Regina for reasons that weren't explained. It's assumed that the police knew what those reasons were but decided it wasn't relevant for the trial. Gary was still in Regina two days later when he saw the news of Joanne's murder. He asked a friend to lend him a truck so he could drive back to Moose Shore and pick up the Mercury V8 as instructed. Gary testified about the car's license plates being cleaned when he left it there and now they were smeared with mud. And when he got the car back to his mother's place, he found a black ski type jacket, a pair of blue jeans, sunglasses, grey work socks and a tuft of hair which appeared to come from a wig. He destroyed these items by burning them. Gary was asked if he saw a fake beard

or anything similar with those items and he told the jury that he did not see anything like that. When it came to the man seen walking away from the murder scene, the only person who saw this man was Craig, the man walking home from work at the nearby legislative building. He testified that he only saw the individual for just a moment at a distance of about 30 to 40 feet away. He didn't even look directly at him because at that point he didn't know there had been a murder and was focused on identifying the source of the screaming. Craig said it was only after he saw Joanne's body that he realised the man he'd seen was a suspect. But Craig said he was never confident of the accuracy of his description of the man leaving the garage or the composite drawing that came out

of it. He had described a man with dark hair and a scraggly beard. He may have been about 30 years old with a medium build and height, wearing dark trousers underneath a dark jacket that seemed to be either leather or pleather. There's no public information about Colin Thatcher's height and weight at the time, but photos depict him as being of average height and weight. At 45 years old, he was quite a bit older than 30 and he was clean shaven with foppish brown hair that was graying parted at the side. During cross-examination, Craig agreed that the description he gave police didn't resemble Colin Thatcher as he knew him. He emphasised that if he had seen Joanne's body first, he would have paid much closer attention to the person he saw leaving the garage.

Gary Anderson had testified that he helped Colin with the planning and arranging, but it was Colin himself who fired the firearms both times that Joanne was shot. The problem was, Colin had an alibi for them both. The first time when Joanne was shot in the shoulder in May of 1981, Colin said he was at home with their middle child Regan. You'll remember this happened during the most contentious part of their custody battle. And when it came to the day that Joanne was murdered, Friday, January 21st of 1983, Colin told police that he spent the day driving between his home in Moose Shore, about 70 kilometres or 45 minutes drive away from Regina, and his ranch at Karen,

which is even further away, an additional 20 minutes drive, according to today's Google Maps. He never mentioned anything about driving to or from Regina that day. We know that Joanne Wilson was murdered in Regina just before 6pm. At that same time in Moose Shore, Colin said he was just about to sit down to eat dinner with his kids and the babysitter. He said he took the first phone call from his lawyer, 15 to 30 minutes after dinner, and then he called his girlfriend Lynn after that. The court heard testimony from investigators who wanted to find answers to some logistical issues that didn't quite make sense. If Colin Thatcher did murder Joanne Wilson in Regina just before 6pm,

they wanted to know how fast he would have had to drive to make it back to Moose Shore in time to take the call from his lawyer. They decided to conduct a driving reconstruction to find out. Joanne had been murdered in January when the roads were a little snowy and the reconstruction was done in October when the roads were clear, but it was conducted on the same day of the week, Friday evening, at the same time. The jury heard that at 5.50pm, an investigator parked his police car around the street from the Wilson residence in Regina. He went to the garage and then set a stopwatch, running back to the police car and then speeding back to Moose Shore on the highway at about 100 to 110 miles per hour, which is the equivalent of at least 160 kilometres per hour.

The leader post would describe it as a high-speed race. The investigator told the jury he completed the drive in 28 minutes. By this point, Gary Anderson had confirmed that he'd procured the Brown Mercury V8, that very fast car that he said he parked near Collins Moose Shore home. The investigator told the jury that the Mercury was a heavier car than the police cruiser, and it would drive very well on the highway. The police concluded that it was tight, but it was possible for Colin to murder Joanne in Regina just before 6pm and then be back in Moose Shore within 30 minutes to take and make phone calls. The problem was, his alibi placed him at home in Moose Shore sitting down for a family dinner.

Colin Thatcher was capable of many things, but being in two places at the same time was not one of them. So if investigators were to consider the possibility that he had driven to Regina, murdered Joanne and then sped home, they would also have to assume that Greg, Regan and their babysitter Sandra all lied to the police about Colin being home for dinner, or perhaps they had an incorrect perception of time. They would all testify for the defence. So, there was a lot of circumstantial evidence against Colin Thatcher. His credit card receipt found meters from the garage and the apparent surveillance of the Wilson residence by a person in a blue Oldsmobile in the days leading up to Joanne's murder. There was the fact that that

same blue Oldsmobile was found near Colin's house and that it had been checked out by him from the government's Central Vehicle Agency. There was Colin's purchase of a revolver, special ammunition and a holster in the United States, and the Barbie doll shower box and LA Times newspaper found at his home in Moose Shore, as per Lin Mendell's statement to police. Other circumstantial evidence included the highly acrimonious custody battle, the fact that Joanne had been shot in the shoulder 18 months before she was murdered, and the fact that that assailant had never been identified. And the savage nature of the brutal beating Joanne sustained before the gunshot that killed her was circumstantial evidence

that suggested it wasn't just an ordinary hit. It was deeply personal, a crime of passion. The direct evidence presented by the Crown included the statements Colin gave to various people, including Gary Anderson when arranging the contract, as well as the recorded conversation 18 months after Joanne's murder. There were the statements Colin made to Charles Wilde and money paid to him regarding the Easter hit in the United States, as well as statements Colin made to Lin Mendell, both before and after Joanne's murder. But there was one more important witness that hadn't yet come forward. That's where we'll leave it for part two. Part three will be released to all in a week.

And if you're subscribed to one of our premium feeds on Amazon Music included with Prime, Apple Podcasts, Patreon and Supercast, it'll be available ad free well before then. For more information and for the full list of resources we relied on to write this episode, visit canadiantruecrime.ca. Thanks to Gemma Harris for research in this series. Audio editing and production was by We Talk of Dreams, who also composed the theme songs. Production assistance was by Jesse Hawke with script consulting by Carol Weinberg, writing, narration, sound design and additional research was by me and the disclaimer was voiced by Eric Crosby. I'll be back soon with part two. See you then.