Editing Colin Thatcher

{{Short description|Canadian politician and convicted murderer}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}

{{Infobox officeholder
| image =
| name = Colin Thatcher
| caption =
|birth_name=Wilbert Colin Thatcher
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1938|8|25}}
| birth_place = [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], Canada
| residence =
| office = [[Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan|MLA]] for [[Thunder Creek (1975–2016 electoral district)|Thunder Creek]]
| term_start = June 11, 1975
| term_end = 1984
| predecessor = first member
| successor = [[Richard Swenson]]
| party = [[Saskatchewan Progressive Conservative Party]] (1977-1984)
| otherparty = [[Saskatchewan Liberal Party]] (1975-1977)
| religion =
| occupation =
| parents= [[Ross Thatcher]]
| spouse = [[JoAnn Wilson]]
| children = 
}}

'''Wilbert Colin Thatcher''' (born August 25, 1938) is a Canadian politician who was convicted for the murder of his ex-wife, JoAnn Wilson.

==Early life==
Colin Thatcher was born in [[Toronto]], Ontario, on August 25, 1938.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZwbwAAAAMAAJ&q=Wilbert+Colin+Thatcher++1938 | title=Guide Parlementaire Canadien | year=1979 | publisher=P.G. Normandin }}</ref> His father, Saskatchewan-born [[Ross Thatcher]], was working for [[Canada Packers]], a predecessor of Maple Leaf Foods, at the time of his birth. He moved to Saskatchewan when his father returned home to run the family business. His father subsequently entered politics and became [[Premier of Saskatchewan]] from 1964 to 1971.

Thatcher began studying agriculture at the [[University of Saskatchewan]]. After one year, he transferred to [[Iowa State University]]. He graduated from Iowa State with [[Bachelor of Science|B.S.]] and [[Master of Science|M.S.]] degrees in agriculture, and returned to Saskatchewan to work on his father's ranch in [[Moose Jaw]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}}

==Political career==
After his father's death in 1971, Thatcher cultivated his own interest in politics. In 1975, he won the provincial [[electoral district (Canada)|riding]] of Thunder Creek as a Liberal, but he defected to the [[Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan|Progressive Conservatives]] two years later.<ref>{{cite news |title=IN DEPTH Colin Thatcher Timeline |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news2/background/thatcher_colin/ |access-date=27 October 2022 |publisher=CBC |date=November 30, 2006}}</ref> Thatcher served from 1982 to 1983 as the [[Executive Council of Saskatchewan|Minister of Energy]] in the government of Premier [[Grant Devine]]. On January 17, 1983, Thatcher resigned his portfolio, citing family and financial reasons.<ref>[https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1984/10/15/a-murder-case-goes-public A murder case goes public.] Macleans</ref>

==Personal life==
===Marriage and separation===
Thatcher met his future wife JoAnn Geiger at the University of Iowa.<ref name="SCC"/> They married on August 12, 1962, and had three children, Greg, Regan and Stephanie.<ref name="SCC"/> Thatcher admitted to infidelity during the course of the marriage and the couple separated in August 1979.<ref name="SCC"/> They ended up fighting a long, hotly contested series of custody, access and matrimonial property battles.<ref name="SCC">[https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/216/index.do R. v. Thatcher - SCC Cases] Lexum</ref> In 1980, they were divorced and Geiger was awarded custody of two of their three children, as well as $820,000 for her share of the marital property.  In January 1981, she married a local businessman, Tony Wilson, and became known as JoAnn Wilson.<ref name="SCC"/>

On May 17, 1981, Wilson was shot and wounded while in the kitchen of her home. A bullet fired from a high-powered rifle passed through a triple-glazed glass window and struck her in the shoulder.<ref name="SCC"/> As a result of the shooting, Wilson was hospitalized for about three weeks.<ref name="SCC"/> No one was ever charged with the 1981 shooting.<ref name="SCC"/>

===Murder of ex-wife===
On January 21, 1983, four days after Thatcher's resignation as Minister of Energy, Wilson was found bludgeoned and shot to death in the garage of her [[Regina, Saskatchewan|Regina]] home.<ref name="SCC"/> Thatcher was formally charged on May 7, 1984, after a lengthy police investigation.<ref>{{cite news |title=1983: Ex-wife of Colin Thatcher murdered |url=https://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/1983-ex-wife-of-colin-thatcher-murdered |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423213220/https://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/1983-ex-wife-of-colin-thatcher-murdered |archive-date=April 23, 2016  |access-date=October 27, 2022 |publisher=CBC |date=January 22, 2016}}</ref><ref name="SCC"/>

Thatcher was tried in [[Saskatoon]] for the murder of his ex-wife in the autumn of 1984. In addition to the evidence presented, he insisted on testifying so that he could try and explain the recorded conversation between Gary Anderson and him where they discussed hiring a hitman. He was found guilty under the prosecution of Crown Prosecutor [[Serge Kujawa]] and was given a sentence of life imprisonment, with no eligibility for parole for 25 years.<ref>{{cite web|title=R. v. Thatcher, 1986 159 (SK CA)|url=http://caselaw.canada.globe24h.com/0/0/saskatchewan/court-of-appeal-for-saskatchewan/1986/01/17/r-v-thatcher-1986-159-sk-ca.shtml|website=Globe24h|access-date=March 9, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402093622/http://caselaw.canada.globe24h.com/0/0/saskatchewan/court-of-appeal-for-saskatchewan/1986/01/17/r-v-thatcher-1986-159-sk-ca.shtml|archive-date=April 2, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In late April 1985, two weeks before his appeal, a package postmarked Winnipeg arrived at the ''[[Regina Leader-Post]]''. The package contained an anonymous confession to the murder of Wilson, a homemade hatchet the writer claimed was the murder weapon, and two photographs of a nude woman whom the letter claimed was Wilson. The newspaper turned the package over to the Regina Police. After numerous requests for disclosure of the photos and hatchet, the Crown eventually admitted to Thatcher's lawyer that they had been lost.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.macleans.ca/culture/books/colin-thatcher-on-how-he-thinks-he-was-wrongfully-convicted-of-his-ex-wifes-murder-and-on-his-children-his-faith-and-his-new-book/ |title=Colin Thatcher: How I was framed - Macleans.ca |date=August 26, 2009 |accessdate=October 26, 2022 }}</ref>

On November 30, 2006, Thatcher was granted full parole.<ref>{{cite news |title=Colin Thatcher granted full parole |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/colin-thatcher-granted-full-parole-1.582665 |access-date=27 October 2022 |publisher=CBC News |date=November 30, 2006}}</ref> He subsequently remarried in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |title=Thatcher's new marriage no concern: parole board |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/thatcher-s-new-marriage-no-concern-parole-board-1.961209 |publisher=CBC News |access-date=May 10, 2023 |date=May 4, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ex-wife killer Colin Thatcher married again: parole board |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/ex-wife-killer-colin-thatcher-married-again-parole-board-1.508872 |publisher=CTV News |access-date=May 10, 2023 |date=May 4, 2010}}</ref>

Thatcher wrote a 440-page book about his case, ''Final Appeal: Anatomy of a Frame''. It was released by [[ECW Press]] on September 1, 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://leaderpost.com/PART+Colin+Thatcher+Final+Appeal+Anatomy+Frame+seller/1953720/story.html |title=Part 4: Colin Thatcher's 'Final Appeal: Anatomy of a Frame' a big, big seller |publisher=Leader-Post |date=September 2, 2009 |access-date=September 13, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090904080443/http://www.leaderpost.com/PART%2BColin%2BThatcher%2BFinal%2BAppeal%2BAnatomy%2BFrame%2Bseller/1953720/story.html |archive-date=September 4, 2009 }}</ref> In reaction to the book’s publication, the Government of Saskatchewan introduced the ''Profits of Criminal Notoriety Act'' and a judge ordered the surrender of any proceeds to the Ministry of Justice. In 2011, funds from the sale of the book in the amount of $13,866.44 were turned over to the Ministry of Justice. The province subsequently donated the funds to two groups assisting victims of domestic violence and survivors of homicide.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 24, 2016 |title=Saskatchewan government used profits from book by convicted killer Colin Thatcher to help victims |url=https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/province-used-profits-of-colin-thatcher-book-to-help-victims |access-date=January 5, 2023 |website= |publisher=Leader-Post |language=en-CA}}</ref>

====In popular culture====
In 1985, author [[Maggie Siggins]] wrote the book ''A Canadian Tragedy: JoAnn and Colin Thatcher: A Story of Love and Hate''. A two-part television mini-series based on the book called ''[[Love and Hate: The Story of Colin and JoAnn Thatcher]]'' was produced by [[CBC Television]] in 1989, starring [[Kenneth Welsh]] as Colin Thatcher and [[Kate Nelligan]] as JoAnn Thatcher Wilson.<ref>{{cite news |first=Diane |last=Smith |title=The Thatcher murder: not just a family feud |work=[[The Globe and Mail]] |date=December 2, 1989}}</ref>

==Biographies==
*Bird, Heather. ''Not Above The Law: The Tragic Story of JoAnn Wilson and Colin Thatcher''. Toronto: [[Key Porter Books]] Limited, 1985.
*[[Francis Mankiewicz|Mankiewicz, Francis]], director. ''[[Love and Hate: The Story of Colin and JoAnn Thatcher]]''. (Television movie.) [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]], 1989. This film starred [[Kenneth Welsh]] and [[Kate Nelligan]] as Colin and JoAnn Thatcher.
*[[Maggie Siggins|Siggins, Maggie]]. ''A Canadian Tragedy, JoAnn & Colin Thatcher: A Story of Love and Hate''. Toronto: [[McClelland and Stewart|McClelland & Stewart]], 1985.
*Thatcher, Colin. ''Backrooms: A Story of Politics''. Douglas & McIntyre, 1985.
*Wilson, Garrett & Lesley Wilson. ''Deny, Deny, Deny: The Rise and Fall of Colin Thatcher''. Toronto: James Lorimer & Company, 1986.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040223181428/http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/family/colin_thatcher/index.html Crime Library article on Colin Thatcher]
*[http://www.cbc.ca/news2/background/thatcher_colin/ CBC's Colin Thatcher Timeline]
<!-- DEAD LINK *[http://www.cbc.ca/storyview/CBC/2003/10/01/thatcher031001 CBC News: Colin Thatcher still denies murdering his ex-wife] -->
*[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/colin-thatcher-returns-to-sask-legislative-building-1.570810 Colin Thatcher returns to Sask. legislative building]
*[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/colin-thatcher-writing-book-about-his-case-1.630686 CBC News: Colin Thatcher writing book about his case]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Thatcher, Colin}}
[[Category:1938 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan]]
[[Category:Canadian people convicted of murder]]
[[Category:Canadian politicians convicted of crimes]]
[[Category:Canadian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment]]
[[Category:Members of the Executive Council of Saskatchewan]]
[[Category:People convicted of murder by Canada]]
[[Category:People paroled from life sentence]]
[[Category:Politicians convicted of murder]]
[[Category:Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Canada]]
[[Category:Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan MLAs]]
[[Category:Saskatchewan Liberal Party MLAs]]