Colin Thatcher Case

Wilbert Colin Thatcher was born August 25, 1938, in Toronto Ontario. Colin Thatcher studied Agriculture at the University of Saskatchewan, and later transferred to Iowa State University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science and Masters in Agriculture. It was during this time at Iowa State University that he met his wife JoAnn Wilson. The couple married in 1962 and relocated to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. In 1971, during the grieving of his father’s death, Thatcher cultivated his interest in politics. Son of the Premier W. Ross Thatcher, Colin followed in his father’s footsteps emerging as a political figure in the Liberal party and later the Progressive Conservative Party. While JoAnn cared for their three children, and simultaneously

This was the last time anyone reportedly saw Thatcher’s ex-wife alive. Less than an hour later a passerby discovered her beaten body lying in a pool of blood inside her own garage. She had been bludgeoned and shot in her Regina home. Speculation arose that Thatcher was in some way involved, though he was not formally charged until May 7, 1984. Colin Thatcher was charged on the grounds that he unlawfully caused the death of JoAnn Wilson contrary to s. 218 of the Criminal Code . Section 218(1) of the Code provides that,“every one who commits first degree murder or second degree murder is guilty of an indictable offence and shall be sentenced to imprisonment for life.” Section 214 classifies murder into two types: first degree murder and second degree murder. First degree murder is described as an intentional killing that is planned and deliberate. Second degree murder is described as an intentional killing that is not premeditated or planned, nor committed in a reasonable "heat of

JoAnn had been shot a year before the attack that ended her life. In this attack she was shot in the shoulder. No person was arrested for this crime. However, Lynne Mendell’s testimony brought an explanation to the table. Mendell told the Court that when Thatcher came down to Palm Springs a few days after his wife had been shot, he told her he’d rented a car; that he, Thatcher, wore a disguise in order to disguise him and his credentials while attempting to murder his wife. According to Ms. Mendell, he told her: “Gee, I didn't gauge the thickness of the glass so the bullet obviously deflected because I only got her in the shoulder.” She also stated that Thatcher told her he left Regina and ran into roadblocks, he then abandoned the gun, the wig, and the overalls in a field and made his way back to Moose Jaw. This testimony confirms Thatcher made previous attempts on his ex wife’s life, therefore there was a pattern, a motive, and invulnerability because of his previous attempt on her life with no