Innocent Female Rancher Marries Intimidating Manipulator

 View Larger

Stephen Wilson shot a man execution-style, then buried him in the Mojave Desert in 1979. He pled guilty and was sentenced to 25 years to life at Folsom State Prison, but he escaped in 1984.

In 1978, Bill Thornburgh lived on a ranch in Olancha, California -- a small town with only 100 or so residents, a couple of gas stations, a post office, and The Ranch House Cafe.  It's there that he met a nice, strapping young man named Stephen Wilson.

Wilson and Thornburgh talked extensively about horses and soon became friends.  Eventually they worked together on Thornburgh's ranch, and it's there that Wilson met Bill's daughter, Callie.

Callie caught WIlson's eye, but according to her, she never felt all that comfortable around him, making "the hair on her neck stand up" whenever he was around.  He'd often exhibit strange behavior, driving up next to her on the local highway while she was jogging, or bringing her fruit on his way home to San Diego.

One day in late 1978, Wilson told Callie he had something to ask her dad.  He walked over to Bill and the two talked in private.  Moments later, Wilson strolled back to Callie and according to police reports, said "Well, we're gettin' married. I just asked your dad for permission, and he said 'yes'."

Callie had been prone to avoiding conflict her entire life, and this instance was no different. She barely protested, but her father told her she had to move on with her life and not stay on the family ranch forever.  It was set. Callie was going to marry Wilson, even though she really was not in love with him.

The pair got married in Reno, Nevada by a Justice Of The Peace, in a small ceremony where Bill and his other young daughter were the only two in attendance.

From the onset of their marriage, Wilson's true self began to show.  According to police reports and Callie's own statements, he became sexually aggressive and quite promiscuous, often bragging about his sexual conquests outside of marriage.

If he didn't get his way, both in and out of the bedroom, his temper would flare up, she says.  Wilson demanded his eggs get made a certain way every morning and on one particular occasion, he choked her dog because it growled at him. 

After two months of marriage, Callie couldn't take Wilson anymore and told her father, Bill, that she wanted a divorce.  But Bill told her to stick with it and make it work, so that's just what Callie did, even though she considered it to be 'torture'.

For the next month, Callie would often get up early and ride her bike to work before Wilson would wake up.  She would then work late, hoping to get home long after Wilson had gone to sleep. 

After only three months, Callie realized her marriage could not be reconciled, and she moved back home with her father.  After a little more than five months of marriage, Callie filed for divorce from Wilson.

Jealousy Leads To Murder In California Desert

 View Larger

Wilson broke out of prison and remained on the lam for 8 years before his capture in 1992.

Wilson didn't take kindly to the thought of divorce, as he felt betrayed, defeated, and that he'd lost all control in his relationship with Callie.  He blamed Bill for the impending divorce, and in so many words, Wilson told Callie that he would harm someone very close to her.  Not in a million years did Callie believe that person would be her father.

In late May, 1979, their divorce was nearly finalized, and Wilson could not handle the loss, so he decided to take action against Bill.

Wilson hid behind Callie's home on the ranch, waiting for Bill to park his truck.  He knew Bill would leave the truck before heading off to change the irrigation pipes, and when he did, Wilson removed the keys from Bill's truck's ignition.

Cops say Wilson then approached Bill, confronted him, and forced him to walk at gunpoint for nearly 1/4-mile before having Bill get into a red '79 Toyota pickup truck. Wilson then drove to the middle of a desert approximately 40 miles away, before having Bill get out of the truck.  The pair then walked to a secluded area, where a lone, open grave awaited an occupant.

Cops say Wilson forced Bill to his knees before standing behind him and putting a single bullet through the back of his head.  Wilson then buried Bill's body and drove back to Olancha.  Wilson soon disappeared, but was considered a suspect in Bill's disappearance.

Seven months later, on Christmas Eve, 1979, a teenage boy riding his bike through the desert stumbled upon Bill Thornburgh's remains.  Though the body was decomposed, authorities were able to positively identify the body through dental records.

Wilson was named a suspect and remained a fugitive for almost two and a half years, surfacing throughout the United States.  The FBI says Wilson was known to be in California, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Florida.  He took a number of construction jobs and lived with multiple people, including an unsuspecting lady who he met in a Fort Lauderdale bar.

Through their investigation, the FBI tracked Wilson to Florida and questioned his girlfriend, who informed them that he had literally just boarded a plane to Vegas.  They scrambled an arrest team in Nevada, who took Wilson into custody the second he stepped off the plane.

Prison Is No Match For Convicted Murderer

Wilson eventually plead guilty to first degree murder in November, 1982, and he was sentenced to 25 years to life at Folsom State Prison in Represa, California.  He began his stay there in December, 1982, but Wilson had other plans.

Less than two years into his prison term, Wilson devised a plan to get out.  On August 2, 1984, Wilson reported to his work assignment.  Two forklifts almost collided and three inmates involved got into a fight.  A truck driver and two supervisors were not paying attention to the other workers, and cops believe it was at this time that Wilson made his move.

According to police reports, Wilson entered one of the trucks that the driver had left, and hid himself with the furniture inside.  The truck was inspected at 9:30 am, but Wilson was not found inside.  More than two hours later, Wilson was reported missing.

Cops say Wilson used tin snips, or cutting shears, that he obtained from the prison workshop, to cut through the roof of the truck somewhere between Folsom State Prison and Sacramento, California.

Four months later, Wilson called a guard at Folsom, flaunting his escape prowess, stating that he will never be caught because he works too hard at laying low and remaining free.

His arrogance, brazenness and contempt for the law, as well as human life, are just a few of the reasons authorities were steadfastly determined to put Wilson back behind bars -- permanently.

AMW Capture #200

Transcontinental Manhunt Leads FBI To The UK

After AMW aired a segment on Wilson in 1990, tips came in pointing authorities to St. Cloud, Fla.  It is there that the tipsters said Wilson was living under an assumed identity of Glenn Moyer in a house he had built for his girlfriend, Laurie Fitch.  But before the episode aired, Wilson saw a magazine article about AMW profiling him in an upcoming episode, and he skipped town.

The FBI stepped up surveillance on Fitch's house, hoping to learn her routine and see if she made any moves that would tip them off to Wilson's whereabouts.  In late March, 1992, they got the break they were looking for.

Agents followed Fitch to a bank where she withdrew a large sum of money.  She then went to a Wal-Mart to buy some intimate apparel and the next day, she caught a flight out of Orlando to Newark, New Jersey.  Cops thought she was going to meet Wilson there, but they couldn't have been further from the truth.  Fitch then caught a connecting flight to a surprise destination: London, England.

FBI agents shadowed Fitch in secret, so as not to blow their cover.  When the flight arrived at Gatwick, the agents followed her through the terminal up to the Immigration counter.  It was there that Fitch almost got turned back to the United States, because she only had a one-way ticket, her carry-on was filled with almost $20,000 in cash, and the answers she was providing to the Immigration agent raised some suspicions.

But the FBI secretly intervened with British authorities, and Fitch was allowed into the country.  However, now in London, the FBI took a step back and let British authorities take over Fitch's surveillance.

British Cops Take Wilson Down In London

British agents followed Fitch through the airport and saw her meet up with an unidentified male, acting as her guide.  The pair then took a train from Gatwick Airport and arrived at Victoria Station in the heart of London.

They then boarded the Tube, changed trains and eventually headed for Holland Park, an upscale neighborhood in central London.

When Fitch exited the station, British police thought they spotted a man who matched Wilson's description, but he never made contact with Fitch. Instead, Fitch checked herself into a hostel.

A few minutes later, Fitch left the hostel, crossed the street, and it is there that cops say she was met by Stephen Leslie Wilson.  The cops followed the pair for a few blocks until they were positive it was him, and then they made their move.

The police identified themselves, at which point Wilson ran until the cops caught up with him.  He swung at the cops, punching one of them in the face before being restrained.  They asked him if he indeed was the man they thought him to be, as well as if he was wanted for murder, and he said yes to both inquiries.

Though Stephen Wilson was only the second man to escape from famed Folsom State Prison, his eight-year international escapade had finally come to an end, thousands of miles from United States soil.