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

Canadian True Crime donates monthly to help those facing injustice.

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