William Chandler Shrubsall (born February 3, 1971), also known as Ian Thor Greene and now Simon Templar (Ethan Simon Templar MacLeod), is an American inmate currently serving a life sentence, having been declared a dangerous offender for a string of violent assaults against women.
[2][3] On June 25, 1988, twelve hours before giving his valedictorian speech, he beat his mother to death with a baseball bat.
[6] Niagara County Court Judge Charles J. Hannigan rejected Shrubsall's petition that he be granted youthful offender status and sentenced him to a minimum of five years in prison without parole.
On May 14, 1996, near the end of the trial, Shrubsall disappeared and left a suicide note claiming to have jumped into Niagara Falls.
[12] On May 16, 1996, only two days after fleeing the United States, Shrubsall showed up in Halifax, Nova Scotia, using the alias "Ian Thor Greene" while checking into a homeless shelter.
At that time, he was awaiting other charges and his true identity as William Chandler Shrubsall, American fugitive, was discovered.
[11] The woman's injuries were so severe that her contact lenses had to be surgically removed, her cheek bone was fractured, and her lip required 13 stitches.
[11] For a period of time after his apprehension, the Halifax Police Department as well as other law enforcement agencies were unable to determine the true identity of the individual known as Ian Greene.
Shrubsall was arrested after again fleeing the fraternity house upon police arrival and he subsequently identified himself as 19-year-old Ian Thor Greene.
[11][16] Interrogators also questioned Shrubsall's stories and found no records to support them, leading them to realize that Greene was an alias, but he refused to divulge further details.
[15] In June 2000, he was found guilty of robbery, aggravated assault, and possession of a baseball bat in the commission of a crime in relation to the February 1998 incident.
The Crown, assisted by his former victims who had flown in to testify, had him declared a dangerous offender in December 2001, giving him no possibility of parole.
[19] In 2002, while serving his life sentence, Shrubsall legally changed his name to "Ethan Simon Templar MacLeod" after the popular TV character.