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Gary Anderson's Case Summary

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The third key piece of evidence in the crown’s case was Gary Anderson’s testimony. Anderson’s testimony proved that the murder of JoAnn was not only at the hand of Colin Thatcher but that it was premeditated. Gary Anderson testified he had met Thatcher in the fall of 1980 and Thatcher had asked him if he was interested in killing JoAnn Wilson for a fee of $50,000. Anderson stated he knew another person named Charlie Wilde who might be interested. Wilde suggested a third person, Cody Crutcher, who would be willing to take on the job. Anderson stated that Thatcher gave him $15,000 to pass on to Crutcher, and that Anderson paid some $14,500 to Crutcher, together with a picture of JoAnn Wilson and a set of her car keys. Nothing came of this and …show more content…

Before doing anything, however, Charlie Wilde was arrested in Winnipeg on an unrelated matter. Anderson also testified that Thatcher got him to purchase a .303 Lee Enfield rifle and some ammunition. On May 16 or 17, 1981, prior to the wounding of Mrs. Wilson, Anderson, at Thatcher's request, rented a car for Thatcher and turned it over to him by dropping it off at a prearranged location. On instructions given by Thatcher, Anderson waited for the call from Thatcher informing him that JoAnn had been shot. After this call he returned to the place where he had left the car, retrieved the vehicle, cleaned it and returned it to the rental dealer. He noted that the car was dusty and that the licence plates were smeared with mud. This matches Joan Hasz testimony as she observed a blue car near the scene of the crime. She attempted to read the licence plate but was unable to read all of it as it was smeared with …show more content…

Barbara Wright, the wife of Thatcher’s farm manager, testified that she saw Mr. Thatcher drive into his ranch between 5:00 and 5:30 p.m. on the day of the murder. She estimated this time partly by reference to her belief that she left work shortly after 4:00 p.m. that afternoon. She was in the kitchen when Thatcher drove into the yard in his truck shortly after 5:00 p.m. She said she did not speak to him and only observed his movements through the window. He left after about twenty minutes. She testified that at about 7:00 p.m., Thatcher telephoned to say that Mrs. Wilson had been murdered. In cross‑examination, she acknowledged that her work records showed that she was not working on the day of the murder, but she explained this discrepancy by stating that she had exchanged shifts with a fellow employee and that this exchange did not show up in the records. The second testimony regarding Thatcher’s whereabouts was given by Mr. Patrick Hammond, a railroad employee who had done a "substantial amount" of work on Mr. Thatcher's vehicles. He testified that he saw Mr. Thatcher, on the day in question, driving in to Moose Jaw at approximately 5:30 p.m. In cross‑examination, he acknowledged that, when he was interviewed by the police a few days after the murder, however he did not inform the police that he saw Mr. Thatcher. He stated that he did not think this information was important until after Mr. Thatcher was arrested and

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