Wilbert Colin Thatcher (born August 25, 1938) is a Canadian politician who was convicted for the murder of his ex-wife, JoAnn Wilson.
[1] His father, Saskatchewan-born Ross Thatcher, was working for Canada Packers, a predecessor of Maple Leaf Foods, at the time of his birth.
[4] 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 home.
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.
After numerous requests for disclosure of the photos and hatchet, the Crown eventually admitted to Thatcher's lawyer that they had been lost.
[11] 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.
[12] In 1985, author Maggie Siggins wrote the book A Canadian Tragedy: JoAnn and Colin Thatcher: A Story of Love and Hate.