135-137 Colin Thatcher and the Murder of JoAnn Wilson

REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN

Content warning: episodes contain mentions of domestic violence.

This is the high-profile tale of one of Canada’s most controversial political families. Several twisted tragedies are wrapped up in this decades-long saga with themes of love and hate, violence and revenge, power and control, divided families and shattered lives—all set against the 1980s backdrop of rural Saskatchewan.

More information:

• True Crime Byline podcast episode three: We should have seen JoAnn Wilson’s murder coming.

  • Also, read Barb Pacholik’s article for the Leader-Post that accompanied the episode.

• A Canadian Tragedy: JoAnn and Colin Thatcher: A Story of Love and Hate by Maggie Siggins

• Deny, Deny, Deny (Second Edition): The Rise and Fall of Colin Thatcher by Garrett Wilson

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This month we have donated to the Regina Transition House, an emergency crisis shelter for women and children in the city. Learn more at www.reginatransitionhouse.ca.

• Cycle of Abuse: Understanding the 4 Parts

• The Facts about Gender-Based Violence

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Credits:

Research: Gemma Harris
Writing, research, sound design: Kristi Lee
Audio editing and production, theme songs: We Talk of Dreams
Production assistance: Jesse Hawke
Script consulting: Carol Weinberg
Disclaimer voiced by Erik Krosby

Music credits:

Theme Song and other original music: We Talk of Dreams

Blue Dot Sessions: Campsite 9 _ Minimal, Coal Hollow - Long and Soft, Idle Ways, Game Lands, Fissure Forming, Sunset at Sandy Isle, Uncertain Ground, An Unknown Visitor_Minimal, Roadside Bunkhouse, Access Road 442, Jog to the Water, Access Road 214, The Coal Hollow, Drizzle, Pigeon Falls, Lone Elm

Kai Engel: Global Warning, Mist and Clouds

Kevin McLeod / Incompetech: Plague

RESOURCES AND INFORMATION SOURCES

Court documents:

• Thatcher v. R., 1984 CanLII 2755 (SK KB) https://www.canlii.org/en/sk/sksc/doc/1984/1984canlii2755/1984canlii2755.html 

• R. v. Thatcher, [1987] 1 S.C.R. 652 - Supreme Court Judgment  https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/216/index.do?site_preference=normal&pedisable=true&&alternatelocale=en 

• R. v. Thatcher, 1986 159 (SK CA) - Saskatchewan Court of Appeal 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 

• 1987 CanLII 53 (SCC) | R. v. Thatcher (Supreme Court)

Books:

• A Canadian Tragedy (Revised): JoAnn and Colin Thatcher: A Story of Love and Hate (Revised): Siggins, Maggie: 9780771080593: Books - Amazon.ca 

• Deny, Deny, Deny (Second Edition): The Rise and Fall of Colin Thatcher by Garrett Wilson

• Final Appeal: Anatomy of a Frame by Colin Thatcher

  Reviews and commentary about the book’s release:

  • https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/review-final-appeal-by-colin-thatcher/article4291014/

  • https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/6368182

  • https://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/ 

News archives: 

• Leader-Post Special: The Colin Thatcher Story: https://www.newspapers.com/image/498485583/ 

• Canadian Press audio clip (Part 3) courtesy of Earbank Media Vault

• CBC News In Depth: Colin Thatcher 

• https://web.archive.org/web/20210423064935/https://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/1983-ex-wife-of-colin-thatcher-murdered 

• Ex-wife killer Colin Thatcher married again: parole board | CTV News 

• Colin Thatcher: How I was framed - Macleans.ca  

• Colin Thatcher still denies murdering his ex-wife | CBC News 

• Colin Thatcher has personality problems says psychiatrist | CBC News 

• Woman fundraising for mural to commemorate JoAnn Wilson | CBC News 

• http://archive.macleans.ca/article/1984/11/19/playing-out-a-tragedy 

• Murder trial of Canadian millionaire-politician opens Monday - UPI Archives 

• Thatcher guilty of slaying wife - UPI Archives 

• https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1984/11/12/saskatchewans-courtroom-sensation 

• Sask. takes Thatcher to court over book profits | CBC News 

• Thatcher book spurned by some | CBC News 

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/496022338/?terms=%22joann%20wilson%22&match=1&clipping_id=123163756

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/496007345/?terms=%22joann%20wilson%22&match=1 

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/496030484/?terms=%22Regan%20thatcher%22&match=1 

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/510414453/?terms=%22Regan%20thatcher%22&match=1 

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/496261239/?terms=%22Regan%20thatcher%22&match=1 

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/498237558/?terms=%22Patrick%20hammond%22

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/493811662/?terms=%22joann%20wilson%22&match=1 

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/496322362/?terms=%22colin%20thatcher%22&match=1

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/510422700/?terms=%22colin%20thatcher%22&match=1

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/510433530/?terms=%22colin%20thatcher%22&match=1

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/496323400/?terms=%22colin%20thatcher%22&match=1

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/496325149/?terms=%22colin%20thatcher%22&match=1

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/498475803/?terms=%22shower%20box%22&match=1

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/498548272/?terms=%22colin%20thatcher%22%20appeal&match=1

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/498485649/?terms=%22colin%20thatcher%22 

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/737575817/?terms=%22sergeant%20street%22%20%2B%20regina&match=1 

• The residential schools settlement's biggest winner: A profile of Tony Merchant - Macleans.ca

• Children plead for Thatcher's early release - The Globe and Mail

• Thatcher's children support early parole | CBC News

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/498480723/?terms=%22gary%20anderson%22%20%2B%22colin%20thatcher%22

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/498237433/?terms=%22garry%20anderson%22%20%2B%22colin%20thatcher%22

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/498237056/?terms=%22colin%20thatcher%22

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/511910858/?terms=%22Maggie%20siggins%22&match=1 

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/497177391/?terms=%22colin%20thatcher%22%20allan%20rock&match=1

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/511909780/?terms=%22sandra%20silversides%22&match=1

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/498218413/?terms=%22Colin%20Thatcher%22%20sentenc%2a&match=1 

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/496654540/?terms=%22Colin%20thatcher%22%20foreclosure&match=1

• Faint Hope and Parole Board hearings:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faint_hope_clause

• Canadian Government - myths and realities of parole https://www.canada.ca/en/parole-board/corporate/publications-and-forms/parole-decision-making-myths-and-realities.html

• https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thatcher-faint-hope-hearing-enters-final-week-1.222076 

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/514001595/?terms=%22Colin%20Thatcher%22%20&match=1 

• https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/last-of-thatcher-s-children-testifies-at-hearing-1.240353

• https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thatcher-testifies-at-faint-hope-hearing-1.357113 

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/465954316/?terms=%22Colin%20Thatcher%22%20&match=1

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/498615964/?terms=%22Colin%20Thatcher%22%20&match=1

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/486170356/?terms=%22Colin%20Thatcher%22%20&match=1

• https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/grieving-siblings-tell-victims-story/article25474485/

• https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa-will-investigate-why-murderer-lives-in-luxury-1.186606

• Throne Speech controversy:

  • https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/reaction-to-colin-thatcher-invitation-throne-speech-2022-1.6632508

  • https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/thatcher-sask-throne-speech-1.6633569

  • https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/colin-thatcher-returns-to-sask-legislative-building-1.570810

  • https://twitter.com/charlesadler/status/1585653310555844608 

  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saskatchewan_Party

  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyle_Stewart

Other online sources:

• JoAnn Kay Geiger Wilson (1939-1983) - Find a Grave Memorial 

• https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1704487684 

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RY6cRrsC0w

• Ross Thatcher: Thatcher, Wilbert Ross (1917-71) 

• Richard “Dick” Collver: Dick Collver - Wikipedia

• Toronto Public Library images: https://digitalarchive.tpl.ca/search/colin%20thatcher 

• https://confluence.gallatin.nyu.edu/context/independent-project/the-single-woman-from-spinster-to-self-partnered

• http://web.archive.org/web/20050310185340/http://cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2000/11/03/thatcher_001103

• J. R. Ewing - Wikipedia