The Cowboy & The Con Man - Olancha, California

Summary

Small Town Murder – Episode Summary

Podcast: Small Town Murder

Hosts: James Pietragallo & Jimmie Whisman
Episode: The Cowboy & The Con Man – Olancha, California
Date: September 5, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode, James and Jimmie dive into a wild, twisting true crime tale set in the tiny, isolated community of Olancha, California. The show explores the town's odd history, introduces its rugged local legend, a massive ranch-owning cowboy, and uncovers the chilling saga of a conman whose manipulation, violence, and cunning left a trail of tragedy, headlines, and an infamous prison break. As always, the grim is offset by the hosts' dark wit and sharp banter.

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Olancha, California: The Setting

[03:41–11:24]

• Location & Vibe:
  Olancha is in east-central California, near Inyo County, surrounded by mountains, with just 158 residents ("There's way more cattle than people" – James, 05:01).
• Accessibility & History:
  Isolated, hard to access due to the terrain; originally founded in the 1860s.
• Recurring Review Theme:
  Only one café, the Olancha Cafe—wildly mixed reviews and a quirky local flavor.
  • "Fucking place is Radiator Springs." – Jimmy, 08:15
  • Complaint: “Bring a goddamn sandwich with you.” – James, 09:18
• Local Attractions:
  Golden Cactus Ghost Town, Olancha Sculpture Garden, and a history tied to the Manson Family (famous fugitives hid out here after the Sharon Tate murders).

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Meet the Main Characters

William “Bill” Thornburg: The Cowboy

[11:25–18:19]

• Legendary rancher, born in the 1920s, classic tough cowboy—took over the family ranch at 16 after his father's death during the Depression.
• Persona:
  Towering, “leather-skinned, calloused,” eternally sun-baked; expanded the family ranch from 100,000 to 900,000 acres (“That is bigger than the state of Rhode Island.” – James, 13:33).
• Community Standing:
  Local leader and philanthropist; discreetly funded scholarships and supported neighbors, hired ex-convicts to give them a second chance, and was generous with water and resources.
  • “He was an Inyo County Board of Supervisors member... a Lutheran church deacon, donated large sums... anonymously.” – James, 17:10

Callie Thornburg: The Daughter

[14:36–16:53]

• Raised in rugged cowboy fashion after her mother’s death in 1968.
• Learned ranching from her dad, won a junior rodeo, hands-on with everything from horses to heavy equipment.
• Known for independence, athleticism, and eventually at the center of the story’s tragedy.

Steve Wilson: The Con Man

[18:19–23:31]

• Drifter appears in 1976, age 30, “charming son of a bitch,” can work any job, claims a San Diego past, little detail about his life.
• Military background, multiple trade skills (licensed pilot, electrician, welder), rumored martial arts and law enforcement skills, and “a bit of a temper.”
  • "Make you think he's the nicest guy in the world." – James, 22:02

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The Courtship & Collapse

[23:11–25:57]

• Steve and Callie meet at the ranch; he sweeps her off her feet; nine months later, they’re married in Reno.
  • “On the ride to Reno, Callie started to have some second thoughts ... but ‘her father approved of the marriage’...” – James, 23:48
• Two months in, abuse begins.
  • Physical violence starts on the wedding night; Steve tries to isolate Callie, seeks control over her finances, and threatens her beloved animals.
  • Rumored (unconfirmed) that he killed her dog; classic escalation of abusive control.
• “She takes off and heads back to the ranch and doesn’t want anything to do with him anymore.” – James, 25:42

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Escalation: Threats, Stalking, Violence

[25:56–28:40]

• After Callie leaves, Steve becomes threatening:
  • “I will hurt you worse than you’ve ever been hurt before. I’ll take everything you love away from you. You will pay..."
  • "You will learn that loving me is easier than being away from me." – Steve, via James, 26:51
• Steve shows up at the ranch, attacks Bill's truck with a crowbar:
  • “You don’t fuck with a cowboy’s truck.” – Jimmy, 27:54
• Bill arms himself; Callie persuades him not to shoot to avoid escalation.

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The Murder: Bill Thornburg Disappears

[33:16–38:19]

• Bill vanishes on the morning his daughter’s divorce is to become final (May 29, 1979).
  • Last seen doing his usual morning routine; coffee left steaming in the truck, then disappears without a trace.
  • Callie searches, employees haven't seen him. Simultaneously, Steve also can’t be found.
• Investigation fails to turn up leads; Steve’s truck is found in San Diego but not him.
• Months later, Christmas Eve 1979:
  • A teenager on a dirt bike finds human remains—brings home a skull to prove it.
    • “He brought a whole ass skull on Christmas Eve. He walked into the house holding a human skull. ‘Hey, Dad, I found this.’” – James, 37:25
  • Evidence shows Bill was made to dig his own grave and was executed with two shots to the head.

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The Long Manhunt & Steve’s Fugitive Years

Arrest & Prison

[39:15–41:21]

• Steve found in Kodiak, Alaska (1981) living under the radar, arrested in Las Vegas; immediately confesses.
  • “I had a gun, and I ambushed his ass ... forced him to dig his own grave and then shot him in the fucking head twice.” – James, 40:29
• Sentenced to 25 to life at notorious Folsom Prison.

Escape & Global Manhunt

[41:24–72:29]

• Steve uses his charm and skills to rise in the prison work ranks (shipping clerk, warehouse supervisor with key access).
• Stages a dramatic escape (1984): hides in a delivery truck, cuts a hole in the roof, and vanishes (“First inmate in 15 years to escape from Folsom.” – James, 43:59).
  • Cover orchestrated with a staged three-forklift collision.
  • Authorities "lost him, fuck it, we'll get a new one." – James, 49:53 (hosts mock lax response).
• Manhunt spans years and several America's Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries features.
• Steve lives under false IDs as "Glenn Charles Moyer" in Oklahoma, Texas, then Florida.
  • Marries a widow with a half-million-dollar insurance payout; builds a house, beloved neighbor.
  • “He was the nicest guy you ever want to meet, … always waved as you passed by the house.” – Neighbor quote, 59:52

FBI Profile & Takedown

• FBI builds a psychological profile:
  • “Extreme narcissism ... ability to obtain false identities ... no empathy ... need for control ... superficial charm masking deep rage" – Profile summary, 55:41–55:54
• Lived as a model citizen, but couldn’t sever ties to long-term girlfriend Laurie Fitch
• Final capture (1992):
  • FBI tails Laurie to London, where she meets Steve at a hostel.
  • Attempted escape on foot, but he's tackled and arrested by U.S. and British authorities.
    • "He needed pussy. That’s his downfall. And he’s loyal." – James, 69:55

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Aftermath & Legacy

[72:50–76:22]

• Steve is extradited but, due to treaty limitations, cannot be charged for the escape—serves out his murder sentence in supermax (Pelican Bay).
• Continued to plan escapes, had contraband mailed to him, further punished with isolation.
• Callie’s Life:
  • Sells the ranch, lives incognito, struggles with PTSD.
  • Founded a victims' rights support group and has testified for legislative reform.
    • "This destroyed her fucking life." – James, 75:10
• Steve’s Release:
  • Released around 2010; Laurie Fitch and son disappear, change identities.
  • Callie remains in hiding and in therapy:
    • “People ask why I still fear him... They don’t understand. He promised to come back.”

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• “That is bigger than the state of Rhode Island.” – James, [13:33], about the ranch.
• “You will learn that loving me is easier than being away from me.” – Steve Wilson, [26:54], as recounted by James.
• “He brought a whole ass skull on Christmas Eve.” – James, [37:25], on the kid who found Bill’s remains.
• “He wasn’t just running, he was performing.” – FBI agent Joe Judge, [71:01], on Steve as a fugitive.
• “This destroyed her fucking life.” – James, [75:10], on Callie's long-term trauma.

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Olancha, CA Background: 03:41–11:24
• Bill Thornburg’s Story: 11:25–18:19
• Arrival and Background of Steve Wilson: 18:19–23:31
• The Marriage and Abuse: 23:31–25:57
• Violence, Escalation, and the Murder: 25:57–38:19
• Search, Discovery, and Steve’s Confession: 38:19–41:21
• Prison, Escape, and National Manhunt: 41:24–72:29
• Arrest Abroad, Aftermath, and Legacy: 69:35–76:22

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Tone & Takeaways

James and Jimmy balance genuine horror at the conman’s manipulations and the tragedy that befell the Thornburgs with caustic humor and sharp asides, especially about law enforcement’s seeming ineptitude and Olancha's small-town oddities. The hosts don’t shy away from the ongoing trauma experienced by survivors, offering empathy for Callie and local victims, while skewering both the criminal and systemic failures at every step.

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For those who haven't listened:
This episode delivers everything Small Town Murder is known for: an unforgettable cast of real-life characters, bizarre twists, genuine empathy for victims, and comedic resilience—and a reminder that in a place as remote as Olancha, it only takes one dangerous stranger to unravel a whole community.

Transcript

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[James Petregallo]

Hello everybody and welcome back to small Town Murder Express.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah. Choo choo.

[James Petregallo]

Oh yay indeed, Jimmy. Yay indeed. My name is James Petregallo. I'm here with my co host Jimmy.

[Jimmy Whisman]

I'm Jimmy Whisman.

[James Petregallo]

Thank you folks so much for joining us today on another wild crazy adventure known as Small Town Murder Express. Again, ten pounds of murder in a two pound bag here. This is just a wild, crazy story that we have for you today. Insane stuff. But before we get to that, definitely head over to shutupandgivememurder.com Number one, get your merchandise. All the stuff is there. Coffee cups to skateboards to shower curtains. It's all there. Then when you're done with that, get your tickets to a live show. That's a good thing to do. Seattle is the one we're pushing right now. Everything up to that sold out. So Seattle.

[Jimmy Whisman]

The more theater.

[James Petregallo]

Let's go. Oh, we can't wait. The more we've been wanting to play that theater since the first time we went to Seattle. We're so excited to do it. And there's some tickets left, but not a lot. So get them. Right now. It's in the middle of October. Don't remember when. I don't know. So get in there and you'll see on Shut up and give me murder.com. get in there. Also listen to our other two shows, Crime in sports. Trust us, you don't have to like sports. Get you have to like funny stuff and idiots being made fun of for crime, which I think if you like this show, you'll like that. And also your stupid opinions where we take people's reviews of everything and anything from around the Internet and make fun of them, which is also very fun. Do that. Then get yourself Patreon. That's what you need. Patreon.com crimeinsports that's where you get all the bonus material. Anybody $5 a month or above. You're gonna get hundreds of back episodes of bonus stuff you've never heard before as soon as you subscribe. And then new ones every other week. One Crime in Sports, one Small town murderer, and you get them all. You get it all. You get it all. This week for Crime in Sports, we're going to talk about athletes that made tens of millions of dollars and have now lost it all, which is a really funny, sad, weird thing. And then for Small Town Murder, we are going to talk about what's going to be part two of Ted Bundy. I call it Bundy versus the Green River Killer. Basically, Ted Bundy trying to save his ass by giving valuable information on the Green River Killer. And it's fascinating, fascinating. That celebrity death match that you want to watch right there back then. So there you go. Patreon.com CrimeInSports you also get all our shows, Crime and Sports, your stupid opinions and Small Town Murder, all ad free with your Patreon subscription as well. Can't beat that. And you get a shout out at the end of the regular show too. That's a lot. It's all we can do. So there you go. Patreon.com CrimeInSports Sign up today. That said, I think it's time everybody to sit back. What do you say here? Let's all clear the lungs and here we go. Arms to the sky. Let's all shout shut up and give me murder. Let's do this.

[Jimmy Whisman]

All right.

[James Petregallo]

Let's go on a trip, shall we? We are going to California.

[Jimmy Whisman]

We are.

[James Petregallo]

We're leaving very soon. We're recording this like right before we go to San Diego for that show. So this is Olancha, California. O L A N C H A California. It has never heard of it, right?

[Jimmy Whisman]

No.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah, it's not one of those that you drive through on the way from Phoenix to LA or San Diego? No, this is east central California in kind of the no man's land of California out there near Bakersfield. It's, it's in close in mileage to Bakersfield, but you have to like go around a giant mountain to get there. So it's like, it's real weird. Like to get, to get to a place that's closer takes twice as long than it is to go the other direction because of the mountains. So it's about three and a half hours to LA from here, about three hours and 45 minutes to Vegas. So kind of in between.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh, wow.

[James Petregallo]

Those two places about four hours to Sunnyside, California, which was Our last California episode, Mountain Millions to Murder. That was crazy. With that kid who idolized the billionaire boys club people. God, that was a wild one. This is in Inyo county, area code seven six zero. This place, by the way, is almost 3,700ft elevation.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Wow. Up in the mountains.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah. This isn't like Death Valley type shit. This is up there. Population here, 158 people. People. There's way more cattle there, but not way more cattle than people in this area. There's giant ranches like one that we'll talk about in this episode. Median household income here, about 61,964, which is beneath the national average by about 8,000. And then the median home price here is $235,500, which is well below the national average as well. This is in the middle of nowhere, as you might imagine. This is a place you drive through while going to another place, unless you own a giant ranch. It was established by Maynard Farley. That's the guy came in 1860 and discovered silver ore. So obviously, people, the name Olancha is believed to be derived from the nearby Yaudanshi tribe, Yodanchi tribe. Now, this place is famous kind of a little bit, because on August 11, 1969, that's when Charles Tex Watson and Diane Lake, the two Manson family members, went and hung out there and basically hid out. After the Sharon Tate murders, this is where they went to hide out. There's nobody here. Three hours away, all the way to Olancha up in the mountains. Yep. Tex bought a newspaper in Olancha and it said that they still didn't know who did the murders. They found out that they weren't looking for them at that point. And that's when he turned to Diane Lake and said, I killed her. Charlie told me to do it. And it was fun. So that's where all this happened. And then Diane Lake was actually taken into custody after complaints from Olancha residents that she was swimming nude. So this place helped take down the Madsen family, sort of. So they hung out here for weeks though, really. And then they went to Death Valley. And that's when, you know, you know, they got caught, taken in. So reviews of this. Now there are no reviews for the town. There's nobody here. But we do have a review of the county for Inyo county. Four stars. Great scenic views. Inyo county has great fishing, horseback riding, boating, camping, hiking, swimming, mountain biking, golf, off road adventures for the whole family to enjoy.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Wow.

[James Petregallo]

Fresh air does the body good in our little valley.

[Jimmy Whisman]

I love it.

[James Petregallo]

That sounds nice. But I found there's a restaurant in town, the Olancha Cafe. And that's it. That's all there is. And so we're looking at a couple reviews of that.

[Jimmy Whisman]

How the fuck do these people get food?

[James Petregallo]

I don't know. People? No clue. But I mean, middle of nowhere, you got to have these rest stop basic places. So it's 4.3 stars out of 252 reviews. A lot of people saying just extremely overpriced because you're in the middle of nowhere. It's like, well, don't buy it here. Wait two more hours, then that's it. Here's five stars. Now that the $3.95 doesn't pass by here, it was a bit hard to find. Make sure to try the Olancha Burger. Plenty of adult beverages available in a refrigerated cooler behind the counter. Cool motif. And plenty of outside seating. Glad I stopped to sample this cafe. Well worth the stop.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Fucking place is Radiator Springs.

[James Petregallo]

That's what it sounds like. And then here's a one star. Not a nice place.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh.

[James Petregallo]

We arrived for dinner at 5:45pm According to Google Open. The owner came out. He said the cook would be an additional hour and 45 minutes. What are you gonna do? There's nobody there. Well, sometimes it happened. I asked if he could sell us a glass of hot water then because our three year old son is very hungry. And we have ready made porridge, which is porridge. Wow. What are you looking for? A fucking cabin with bears in it. What are you talking about? Porridge which just needs to be poured.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Bears in the car.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah. What is he doing?

[Jimmy Whisman]

Warm water.

[James Petregallo]

Of course he can't. They don't have boiling water. Only in the coffee machine. Or maybe a microwave stove. I'm asking. We do not have. He says, thank you for such treatment. A hungry child and no update on Google. I will definitely not be back.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Be a better parent. Jesus Christ.

[James Petregallo]

Bring a goddamn sandwich with you. How's that? They have just a packet of porridge ready to give this kid like he's a. Like he's a 19th century like tiny Tim over here. He's gonna limp in with his crutch. Can I have some porridge, please?

[Jimmy Whisman]

Please, sir.

[James Petregallo]

Please, sir. More porridge. Things to do. Well, first of all, all the shit mentioned in that one review. Lake Olancha shit. There's also the Golden Cactus Ghost Town and Old West Museum, which is temporarily closed. Yeah, yeah. But I found there's these people talking about it. Under this post. About it. And one guy says, I spent a lot of time there training with my old SAR team on the cliffs. Beware, there's a landowner nearby who will point his gun at you if you get too close to his property line. We never even saw any markings to indicate we were leaving public lands. It's all a goddamn desert. It's not like they have a fence up. There's no, like, white picket fence across his property. Who the hell knows where your property starts and any other property ends. Then somebody said, my dad and I found a body at one of the picnic areas here. It was a suicide. It's a good place to off yourself. Everybody enjoy.

[Jimmy Whisman]

It was a suicide.

[James Petregallo]

Then there's the Olancha sculpture garden.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Okay.

[James Petregallo]

Which is here is the peak of the artwork here. It's just okay. Big metal. Terrible big metal shit. Sitting in the desert with mountains behind it.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Colors and circles welded to it. All right.

[James Petregallo]

That's it. And they call. They say it's about a dozen or so large and often darkly humorous metal sculptures. They're not darkly humorous. The garden is the work of Jael Hoffman. I think we talked about this during a Patreon episode.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Really?

[James Petregallo]

Or either that or there's another one of these somewhere else because we talked about, like small town, bad shit to do. So this is a small town, bad shit to do. This one of a. Like a metal T. Rex says. T. Rex says private property. Trespassers will be devoured. And it's got a T. Rex with a guy dangling from his. Yeah, there you go. That said, let's talk about a murder.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Here we go.

[James Petregallo]

So now we have the setting. I think middle of goddamn nowhere is where you can set it. Let's talk about a man here. This is William Clarence Thornburg. Bill, he goes by. Bill's born in the 1920s here. And he's. He is a rugged Sartre. Basically. He's a rugged guy. He's a real old time cowboy. That's what he is. I mean, that's it. I mean, he grew up on a ranch. His father ran a ranch. His father died when he was 16, forcing him to take over the ranch. At 16.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Good Lord.

[James Petregallo]

That's what you had to do. This is during the great depression and shit. Take over that ranch and we're all gonna die. That's it.

[Jimmy Whisman]

You're start taking care of those horses or you're gonna be dead.

[James Petregallo]

Horses, dead people. We're f. Otherwise. So he did that. Really. A big horseman known to be able to break A wild mustang, no problem. I mean, that's just. He's been doing it since he was a little kid out here. It's just how he does things. He's also good at business of ranching as well, which is a totally different thing. You can be great with cows and horses and shit, but if you don't know the business part, you're screwed. But he does that. He's a big guy to six one, which is big for back then. It's a big guy when they're born in the 20s there. And like the typical cowboy, he's described as lean and weathered from decades of ranch work.

[Jimmy Whisman]

You bet.

[James Petregallo]

I mean, he's a real cowboy. For real.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Those guys are not to be trifled with. Nope.

[James Petregallo]

Permanent sun damage. That leather skin, calloused hands. He's got a slight limp from an old horse injury.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Hell yeah.

[James Petregallo]

You couldn't draw a cowboy like this. Like, if you did a movie and this was your character, they'd go, all right, take it down a notch. Jesus Christ. You know, come on, what are we doing here? This is ridiculous. So he builds this cabin bar ranch into a giant thing. His dad had 100,000 acres. That's the ranch they had for us. He built it over 30 years into 900,000 acres.

[Jimmy Whisman]

What is that? How do you even quantify that?

[James Petregallo]

That is bigger than the state of Rhode Island. He owns more land than the state of Rhode Island. Granted, there's no water nearby or anything like that, but it's still a shitload of land. 900,000 acres. It's huge. I mean, it's a giant, giant place here. He's known as being kind of a legend in horse circles in California. Everybody knows him. And he's that old real cowboy guy that everybody knows here that owns the giant ranch. He's a nationally recognized horse breeder. He's also was at the forefront of desert water management techniques and shit like that. He's always been much into that. Like, I saw an old newspaper article where they're looking for the windbreak trees. What are they like to keep shit from blowing. And it was like you could just call the town and that you could get free ones, free trees, because they needed it for the town. And it said he was one of the people you could call and get trees from. So, like, he's like kind of, you know, the town, basically.

[Jimmy Whisman]

And he's out in just Olancha.

[James Petregallo]

Olancha. That's where his land is. That's where it is all around there. His wife's name Is Margaret. They're gonna have a couple of kids here. They're gonna have a daughter in 1956 named Callie. C, A, L, L, I, E. Like Callie, except with an a. And then 1960, they have a daughter named Tracy as well. So he has no sons to drag out the ranch.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Unless these gals want to get rugged.

[James Petregallo]

Cali. She's the one.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah.

[James Petregallo]

Since she can walk, he's got her out on the ranch. Just raised her just like he was raised out on there. She can break a horse. She's just as badass as anybody. Yeah, Callie can do it. 1968, Margaret dies.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Mom.

[James Petregallo]

Mom. So leaving this old rugged cowboy with two. With a 10 year old and a 14 year old.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh, boy.

[James Petregallo]

Wow. That's tough. But so he's a single father and he just basically takes his daughters out on the ranch and teaches them cattle. That's it. That's what he does.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Good Lord.

[James Petregallo]

Callie works alongside her dad, learns the business from the ground up. He teaches her everything what to do and it's a lot. Taught her to ride before she could walk. Homeschooled her until high school, which I think that's right when the mom died. So probably she would go to high school. Then she wanted to attend college, but chose the ranch instead. It's like, what are you gonna go to college for? You're gonna come back and work the ranch anyway, so just stay at the ranch. Yeah. If you already have a giant business to go into and you know how to run it right, You've got a.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Plan for the rest of your life.

[James Petregallo]

This shit needs you, not like you need a job. So she's about five, six, real athletic. You know, she's a horse chick. You know, that kind of thing. She went to Oluancha High School, did a little bit of community college, and then just came back to the ranch here.

[Jimmy Whisman]

But.

[James Petregallo]

But she's known to be able to operate every piece of ranch equipment that there is by 15 years old.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Dang.

[James Petregallo]

The biggest things that she can deal with, cows and bulls. Yep. She won a junior rodeo championship in barrel racing. But she also, as a teenage girl, was kind of isolated here and wanted to do things outside of here too, like every teenager does. Yeah, she wants to. Now, Bill has very specific habits that are going come into play here.

[Jimmy Whisman]

What do you mean?

[James Petregallo]

He wakes up at 5:30am every day.

[Jimmy Whisman]

That's a lifestyle right there.

[James Petregallo]

That's a lifestyle. Has black coffee, three cups and same, same. He got a tin cup in 1955, and that's his coffee cup. Drinks out of it every day. Three cups of black coffee in the morning.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Dents in it.

[James Petregallo]

Three of them. Oh, yeah, yeah, those are. I remember that. That's when the horse kicked it. Yeah, that's a good day, that day. So never misses a day of work, even if he's hurt because he can't gotta do that. He also is a big reader. He reads everything. He's a real smart guy, Bill. I mean, he knows about water management and things like that. He's not just a guy that's like. All I know is horses. That's not him at all. He reads. He definitely tries to better his mind a little bit here too. And he also would secretly fund college scholarships for local kids. But he did it anonymously. Oh. Which is pretty interesting. He was an Inyo County Board of Supervisors member from 1970 on. He's a Lutheran church deacon. He donates large sums of money to the local hospital anonymously as well. Helps neighbors during droughts by giving them his water and never wants repayment. Just a good guy known for hiring ex convicts to try to give him a second chance.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Hell yeah.

[James Petregallo]

I mean, the guy's a good guy. Just a nice good guy.

[Jimmy Whisman]

He's the coolest there is.

[James Petregallo]

He's goddamn cool, dude, man. Yeah, like, he's like, you know, like I said, like he's what a guy. Like a John Wayne wanted to play was a guy like that. You know what I mean? If you're an old cowboy actor, you'd want to play a guy like that, you know?

[Jimmy Whisman]

I like when. I like when cowboys and ranch guys, they pick their ranch hands based on that because what else opportunity those people have? And they also deliver unbelievable work because they're just grateful to be able to do this.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah, or sometimes they'll steal something and run away, but you never know. It's just like a kitchen. A kitchen's the same thing. It's hard work that nobody else wants to fucking do. These people need an opportunity, you're willing to give it. And the ones that are trying to make it make something of themselves will do something with it. So 1976 comes along and there's a guy named Steven Leslie Wilson. Okay, he goes by Steve. Steve Wilson. He's about 30 years old and he rolls into a lancha. Now, he's a good looking guy, kind of rugged good looks. People say he is a charming son of bitch, man. I mean, he can charm the pants off anybody. Immediately everybody ingratiates himself all over. Oh, he is. He said he's from San Diego. And that's all he'll say. So he just shows up in the desert and he's just like, I'm from San Diego. And they're like, what else? And he's like, what else? And he just looks and turns the other direction, stares out into the horizon.

[Jimmy Whisman]

It's that way.

[James Petregallo]

Just don't answer anything. Yep. So. And nobody questioned it. It's a small town, but they're mainly like kind of mind your own business then. Yeah, what you see is what you get. If this guy seems like a nice guy right now, great. He turns out to be a piece of shit, great. But what do we know? So the thing is, he's so charming that nobody cares. He's a blond haired guy described as having a round baby face, short but extremely powerful and extraordinarily strong. He's a weightlifter. So he's a stocky, short, stocky guy. Also a guy who can kind of get a job and work anywhere because he's a jack of all trades. He's a licensed pilot, he's a certified electrician. He can weld, he can fix engines, he frames houses.

[Jimmy Whisman]

I mean, great guy to have on the ranch.

[James Petregallo]

That's what I mean. He's also was in the military. He was in the air force for a while. And he's. Everybody says he has some military police training as well. He's a real organized kind of cat. He's a real physical fitness fanatic. And people say he's a martial arts expert as well. I don't know how true that is. A lot of people say that about themselves. He does possess a pilot's license, also speaks fluent Spanish and is known for having a bit of a temper as well. He the. Apart from that, the only thing that he tells anybody is that he's from San Diego, he got divorced before he came to Elantra, and that sometimes his small child comes and stays with him for a little bit. That's all people know about him at this point. He gets involved with the local college because they have a weightlifting program. So he wants to be involved in that. And yeah, everybody says nice guy, helps you, helps you with stuff around the yard. They're nice to the ladies, they all like him too, and just a short temper. Charming guy. Here he gets a job making industrial talc, which sounds horrifying.

[Jimmy Whisman]

What's industrial talc?

[James Petregallo]

I don't.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Something for all that seems industrial.

[James Petregallo]

Oh, it seems like not shit you want to breathe in constantly.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Probably something that really sucks moisture out of your skin.

[James Petregallo]

No shit. Yeah, this is, I guess the Owens Valley was known for talc at the time. So he gets a job managing the Olancha Mill, which produces industrial talc. A guy that works with him, Terry McRoberts, who worked under him, Steve was his boss, said that his boss was real easy to get along with. He said he also liked to demonstrate his strength by picking up fellow workers with one hand. Yeah, I don't know if that's like in the crotch like always Sunny, when he picked d up like that or what. I don't know how he's the Napier neck. I'm not sure how he did. Like a cat. He picks you up by the scruff. I'm not sure. So he's very likable. And one guy close to him said he can make you think he's the nicest guy in the world. And Steve starts picking up odd jobs at the ranch, at the Cabin Bar Ranch under Bill. And he meets cali there, who's 22 at the time, or 20ish at the time. And she is, you know, looking for someone to talk to, really. I mean, that's it. So immediately they start kind of talking to each other and getting close to each other.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Say his age again.

[James Petregallo]

30. Yeah, 30 and 20. That's fine, that's fine. He took an immediate interest in Callie, though. He was all about her. They get together and they're boyfriend and girlfriend. And, you know, Steve's a gentleman. Bill gives his blessing.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah.

[James Petregallo]

Says if you want to be with this guy, that's fine. You guys get married and do whatever you want to do. So they're together for about nine months when in 1978. She's 22, he's about 32. They head to Reno, a five hour drive to get married.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Wow.

[James Petregallo]

They took a longer way to Reno when you could have gone to Vegas. That's weird. Now on the ride to Reno, Callie started to have some second thoughts. She said she was hoping that something would happen and they wouldn't get there. She didn't want to do it, but she said her father approved of the marriage and everybody was approving. And so it's like, well, it's kind of hard to back out now. So she just got married now at this time too. Bill does very well for himself. This is in 1979. He was making an annual revenue of between 2 and 3 million dollars a year. A year in 1979?

[Jimmy Whisman]

How?

[James Petregallo]

Fuck massive. That's like 15 million dollars. Now.

[Jimmy Whisman]

He must be renting some of that land for agriculture. There's probably animals.

[James Petregallo]

Crops. He's got. It's 900,000 acres, for fuck's sake. I mean, he's got things going. So two months later, after this whirlwind reno marriage here, you know, Steve and Callie break up. She takes off and heads back to the ranch and doesn't want anything to do with him anymore. Now she says behind closed doors, he turned into a different man, just a different cat. She said this was physical violence. Began on the wedding night. On the wedding night. Puts a ring on her finger and then gives her a black. Gives her a ring around her eye too. One of those for you. Isolated her from friends and family. Wanted financial control of all her shit. Meanwhile, she had all of this financial slave too. Inherent. Yeah. All this inheritance stuff coming. He would threaten violence against her horses because he knew she cared about them. He would wake her up in the middle of the night to deprive her of sleep just to do it. Weird shit. And then there's a rumor. No one knows if this is true, but there's a rumor that he killed her dog as well. Okay? Now eight weeks of marriage. She's had enough.

[Jimmy Whisman]

That's fast.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah, that's real fast. Because Callie's the sane person whose dad didn't fucking abuse her. So she's not putting up with that for very long. You know what I mean? She's had no part of that shit. It's not gonna happen. So. Makes sense. So she heads back to her father's ranch, and at this point, after Bill, think about this old cowboy. He won't hear anybody roughing his daughter up, any of that shit.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh, you better watch yourself.

[James Petregallo]

Steve is no longer welcome at the ranch. Put it that way. No longer. He is Persona non grata. And that is when he started calling constantly. Steve started really bothering. Here are some of the quoted threats that he made. One is quote, I will hurt you worse than you've ever been hurt before. I'll take everything you love away from you. You will pay. This is my favorite. You will learn to love me. Really? Okay.

[Jimmy Whisman]

You'll see this is my affection.

[James Petregallo]

Then he clarifies it in another one that makes more sense. You will learn that loving me is easier than being away from me. That's more likely. You'll learn that if you just love me, it's easier than me harassing you constantly.

[Jimmy Whisman]

That torture is so much easier than this torture.

[James Petregallo]

Jesus. So this goes on for about three weeks after the breakup. Really, he's not allowed. He's calling her constantly, making nasty threats. Then one Day about three weeks after the breakup, he shows up at the ranch.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh boy.

[James Petregallo]

And it's on now because he's showing up saying, I love you, I want her back. Bill comes out and says, the fuck out of here. Go. You're not welcome on my property. She doesn't want you and I'm not gonna let you be here.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Get off of Rhode Island, California.

[James Petregallo]

That's it. Get off of it. He said, my daughter doesn't love you anymore and she doesn't want you. So Steve grabs a crowbar and doesn't attack. Bill attacks Bill's truck, just starts destroying it in front of him.

[Jimmy Whisman]

You don't fuck with a capitalist truck.

[James Petregallo]

Just smashing in his windows, dentin it. Just completely go and bat sh. I mean, like crazy where they were, like, what the fuck is wrong with this guy? So Bill went and grabbed his gun.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Atta boy.

[James Petregallo]

Well, I mean, if he's doing that to the truck, you don't know if you're next.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah, right. So you fuck a stranger in the ass. James.

[James Petregallo]

Come on. That's a good crawfish. Now he gets the gun. He comes back. Cali stops him though, really from shooting Steve. She says it's not worth it. Not worth it. And if you. If you heard him because she was thinking if you shoot him and you don't kill him, then he's gonna come back for revenge and it's just gonna. You're gonna escalate the whole thing by shooting him, essentially. Or you could just kill him. But I mean, it's your ranch. You could say anything happened.

[Jimmy Whisman]

A lot of cowboys too.

[James Petregallo]

900,000. Say 900,000 acres. You probably could just put them out there somewhere. No one will ever find him.

[Jimmy Whisman]

That's gonna be hard for the sheriff to search that much room.

[James Petregallo]

Here's. Here's who. What ladies I wouldn't fuck with ones with fathers with tons of guns and 900,000 acres of land to put me on. That's a guy to avoid putting on.

[Jimmy Whisman]

900,000 acres of private land.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah. Imagine going, he's somewhere in Rhode Island. Find him. That'd be a big dad.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Walking Rhode island with a ground probe is not going to be easy to do.

[James Petregallo]

Nope, nope. Especially out in that desert. Dogs aren't going to like it. Hey, everybody. Just going to take a quick break from the show to tell you about our safest sponsor, simply safe.

[Jimmy Whisman]

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[James Petregallo]

That's right. We want to talk to you about your home security for just a minute here. I used to think home security was an alarm that goes off after, you know, there's a break in and the guy would get scared and oh God, people are going to hear this and they run away and maybe they get your neighbor's attention, but that's pretty reactive. I mean, things are already happening. By that time an intruder is in your home, it's too late. You've heard small town murder. You're listening to it right now. It's way too late. If someone's in your home, you're already dead. So we can't have that. That's why real security should stop a crime before it even starts. That's why we trust Simplisafe. Their system is designed to be proactive, not reactive. And really could have made half of our episodes not happen. If people at Simplisafe. It's amazing. I love it. My whole house, my studio, Jimmy's house, studio, everything is covered by SimpleLife because it's Simp. It's the best. It's simply the best. That's all there is to it. They use AI powered smart cameras to identify threats lurking outside your home. They immediately alert Simplisafe's professional monitoring agents. Boom. There you go. These agents intervene in real time before things even happen. They can talk. They have access to two way audio to confront the purse. Hey, stupid, get out of the yard. It's amazing. Trigger sirens, spotlights to scare them. They request rapid police dispatch when needed. All helping to stop this intruder while they're still outside your house. That's security. So join the more than 4 million Americans who trust Simplisafe with their home security every day, including Jimmy and myself here. And with a 60 day money back guarantee and no long term contracts, Simplisafe earns your business by keeping you safe and satisfied every single day. Visit simplisafe.comsmall to claim 50% off a new system. That's Simplisafe. S I M p l I safe.com small there's no safe like Simplisafe.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Now back to the show.

[James Petregallo]

Hey everybody. Just going to take a quick break from the show and tell you how to get your fashion a little bit better with quince.

[Jimmy Whisman]

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[James Petregallo]

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[Jimmy Whisman]

Over already?

[James Petregallo]

Yep. So at 6am Bill leaves the ranch house like he always does. He, you know, has a couple cups of coffee in the house, leaves with his extra with his last cup of coffee, you know, heading out. So that's what he does. Same thing he always does for 40, 50 years. Callie arrived at the ranch at 6:15. Her dad was always punctual and he was supposed to be waiting for her, but he wasn't there. So she waited 15 minutes and then she couldn't find him. He didn't show up at the part of the ranch they were supposed to meet. So she walked out to the water lines where her father usually started his morning rounds. Checking all the water lines, making sure they're good. She found his truck out there. Good sign. There he is. Driver's door is open. His morning coffee's on the dashboard with steam still coming out of it. Yeah, so I mean it's just, he's just been here a second ago. So she figures he'll come right back. She waits at the truck for him. He never shows back up.

[Jimmy Whisman]

He never comes back ever.

[James Petregallo]

He never shows back up.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Wow.

[James Petregallo]

She waits there for hours. He never comes. She searches around, talks to all the employees. Nobody talked to him, nobody's seen him. He just disappeared. Like aliens beamed him up from his truck in the middle of the ranch. It's insane. At the same time, nobody can find Steve Wilson either. Not a soul can find him. So that was May 29, 1979. So it's insane. So a week later in the newspaper it says still missing. The search continues for him, saying that, you know, he's the. Him and his son in law are both gone, basically. Was what the newspaper said.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah.

[James Petregallo]

And the investigators are saying in the newspaper though, that they suspect he may have been murdered. And they've actually issued a warrant for Steve Wilson because they'd like to talk to him about that already. They don't even know he's dead, but whatever. So they said there's an extensive search being conducted. Divers from all around are searching the reservoir on speculation that Bill's body may have been thrown into the aqueduct and floated into the reservoir. So the power and Department of Power and Water. Lowered the flow of water so they could search. I mean, they're looking for him. July 12, 1979, month and a half later, here, they issue an official warrant for Steve. Here. It's been issued by the Inyo Justice Court for his arrest. And his bail was increased from 50,000 on the original warrant just to hang out with him for a minute to 250,000.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Shit. Five times.

[James Petregallo]

That's it. Now they have discovered one thing about where Steve might be. One clue is they found his pickup truck in the San Diego area. Okay, so they found his truck. That's it though. But they don't find him. Seven months pass. What from the time Bill disappeared. We're talking Christmas, 1979. Comes along.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Hallie's running the ranch now.

[James Petregallo]

She's running the ranch. She had no idea where dad is. Dad's gone, Steve's gone. No sign of anything from either of them. Did they have a duel and both lose?

[Jimmy Whisman]

Right?

[James Petregallo]

I mean, what happened?

[Jimmy Whisman]

Murder, suicide? What's going on?

[James Petregallo]

So Christmas Eve, 1979, a teenager riding a dirt bike might have been. Just got it for Christmas or something. He's tearing ass through the desert. He's in the sand canyon area and he sees something sticking out of the sand there. It's about 45 miles south of the ranch house. This Is what he found was human skeletal remains.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Bones.

[James Petregallo]

Bones. Now he's a teenager. You know how your parents don't believe you a lot when you're a teenager? They think you're lying.

[Jimmy Whisman]

No, he didn't.

[James Petregallo]

He said my parents aren't going to believe me, that I found a body out here. There's no way I'm going to get dad to walk out here with me. So he picked up the skull and brought it back with him. How about a finger? How about a finger? A skull is what you pick. That's what you fucking ride back holding while you're riding your dirt bike as a human skull.

[Jimmy Whisman]

It's too dumb to recognize a metatarpal.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah. What the fuck? He brought a whole ass skull on Christmas Eve. He walked into the house holding a human skull. Hey, Dad, I found this. What?

[Jimmy Whisman]

There's a whole bunch more of this back there.

[James Petregallo]

Holy shit. That is terrifying. So the parents call the sheriff's department, who go out to the spot. They believed him once they saw the skull. And they found clothes that matched what Bill was wearing at the time. On the ranch, they found personal effects identified as Bill's. And they found evidence that this was just a pure execution style killing. They think that he had been forced to dig his own grave is what it looks like. Forced to dig his own grave and then just shot and fell in the hole. Basically like a Vietnamese prisoner.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Right.

[James Petregallo]

Fucking horrifying.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Head, probably. Head, huh?

[James Petregallo]

Head. Headshot. Headshot, yeah.

[Jimmy Whisman]

So this kid brought a skull. Jesus christ, kid.

[James Petregallo]

So 1980, there's a memorial ski race. A ski race to honor Bill Thornburg. The first annual Bill Thornburg Memorial Invitational Ski Race will be held on Mammoth Mountain. It'll be for students. It's to raise money for students of small schools in Inyo and Mono counties. That's nice. The school that wins the cup. That wins. Will hold the Thornburg cup for a year. It's like the Stanley cup, they're going to trade it back and forth. So 1981. Where the fuck is Steve? Two years have gone. Two and a half years have gone by. Nothing. He could be anywhere, really. I mean, who the hell knows where he is, but can't stay hidden forever. And that's how it happens. In 1981, of all places. A game warden in Kodiak, Alaska.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Wow.

[James Petregallo]

Dude, you couldn't make this up. You couldn't make Bill up. It would seem, you know, too cliched. And you couldn't make this up either. He ran away like Dexter, for Christ's sake.

[Jimmy Whisman]

He's running. He's doing nothing for the stereotype of Alaskans being just criminals going there to run.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah. To run from your problems.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah.

[James Petregallo]

So a game warden spotted him there and had seen his picture and thought he looked familiar and went back and rechecked it and went, that's the son bitch we're all looking for. Look at that. So after that, the cops track him back down into the States, and they arrest him in Las Vegas in the next couple of weeks. So that's where he goes back to. Now, Tracy Thornburg, the younger sister of Callie, says that, you know, she said she's terrified because he was gone. She said all of her relatives and friends, everybody's been arming themselves, waiting for Steve to come after them.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Jesus.

[James Petregallo]

They said they're, you know, afraid, basically. So Steve gets in, they sit him down, and you think a guy like this who seems pretty slippery and smart would have an excuse or have a. An alibi that he made up and worked on. He just confesses.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Really?

[James Petregallo]

He says, yep, I did it. He said, I ambushed him when he came out of his house. I had a gun, and I ambushed his ass. And said, you get in your truck and forced him at gunpoint to drive out to the desert. And he said, yep, I forced him to dig his own grave. And then shot him in the fucking head two times.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Wow.

[James Petregallo]

Made him dig his own grave, then shot him twice. That's what happened. Then I left him there.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Really?

[James Petregallo]

That's. That's it. That's what he said. So they're like, okay, well, you're a murderer. We're going to charge you with murder and all that.

[Jimmy Whisman]

You're not going to Juneau.

[James Petregallo]

No. This is wild. So he pleads guilty. Wow. Pleads guilty to murder. I mean, once they got him, he's like, nope, you got me blood. Yeah, that's it. I did it. I'll take my fucking medicine, James. Oh, it's coming. Don't you worry. Yeah. You're like, hey, this is too early for this.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Get the fuck out of my life with this dumb story.

[James Petregallo]

So sentencing comes around. You, sir. They fuck off. 25 to life for Steve Wilson. So, yeah, that should be the end of the story, right?

[Jimmy Whisman]

Should be.

[James Petregallo]

It's not by any stretch of the imagination the end of this fucking story. Okay. He's sent to Folsom Prison.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah.

[James Petregallo]

Which if you've heard any Johnny Cash songs, you know, is not a place you really want to be of the.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Place that Johnny's never been, except for to sing.

[James Petregallo]

Yep. Not a good place here. But Steve figures some shit out, okay. And I've heard this a lot. If you read books that people out there in prison and shit like that and just knowing people have been to prison, basically a lot of people in prison act like fucking animals. Sure they do. They act like crazy people. They act like animals. They act like I want people to be scared of me. They have that kind of thing. Now the staff tends to look at those people as crazies. Those are a bunch of crazies that we have to keep in. But there's a few prisoners that are, have charm and have outside skills and things like that. And they tend to get extra, extra shit from the staff of the prison because they are people that don't give them trouble and are actually act like human beings and talk to them. So those people are very easy to basically manipulate when it comes to that. Now the other prisoners don't like it, but you know, there's a balance to be played there. So he figured out be nice to the guards, be nice to the administrators, show them you're an educated guy who's willing to follow the rules and they'll let you do shit and give you privileges. And that's exactly what it was. That's exactly what happened. He joined the in house work program where he's very smart, knows how to fix shit. Welds does all this shit they need in prisons. Within two years he worked his way up to the clerk in charge of shipping, which is like the most sought after position in the jail.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah. Cause then you get to shift yourself out.

[James Petregallo]

Yes. Well, there's a lot of freedom to this. Minimal supervision and that sort of thing. A lot of freedom of movement throughout the warehouse. You're trusted, basically. You're like a trustee. So yeah, he has access to the loading dock, knows all the delivery schedules, has contact with all the outside truck drivers. He's the point of contact for the outside world.

[Jimmy Whisman]

I hate this warehouse.

[James Petregallo]

I hate this so much.

[Jimmy Whisman]

He's so dangerous.

[James Petregallo]

Within two years he got this. So, yeah, anyway, he becomes the first inmate in 15 years to escape from Folsom Prison that way.

[Jimmy Whisman]

God damn it.

[James Petregallo]

First one. This is insane, dude. It's absolutely insane. I guess. He was last seen at 8:30am in the prison's industrial shops about 9:10am a system 99. I think that's the, the company. System 99. Tractor trailer truck pulled into the industrial area, picked up a load of prison made items and left the compound at 9:30. So the guard suspected that Wilson hid inside the truck. Trailer and correctional officers then called the System 99 depot in West Sacramento. They said the rig that stopped at Folsom had been parked at the company dock for about an hour before they got the call.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yep.

[James Petregallo]

So he's had plenty of time. And they said. We got a call from prison officials. They asked if the trailer had been opened and I said no. They said not to open it because they thought one of the prisoners was in there. They told us to call the yolo. There's a YOLO County?

[Jimmy Whisman]

Amazing.

[James Petregallo]

Wow. I had no idea there was a YOLO County. Wow. Okay, call up the YOLO County Sheriff's Department who just comes with. Like, they don't give a fuck, these people.

[Jimmy Whisman]

You only live once, James. God damn it.

[James Petregallo]

That's it. And they said, luckily nobody was in there when they got there. Luckily. Seems like they would want to find this guy, right? Unluckily.

[Jimmy Whisman]

What are you talking about?

[James Petregallo]

Yeah, what are you talking about? It's a prisoner, a murderer. You're looking for a bad man. Very bad man. Apparently he had a pair of tin snips that he smuggled out from one of the shops and he cut a 1 foot by 2 foot hole in the trailer's roof and escaped out that way. So he didn't have to open it? Yeah, somewhere along the 25 mile route from Folsom to West Sacramento.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh, he got out before it was parked.

[James Petregallo]

Before it was parked? Yeah, he got out when they probably stopped at a light. He jumped off. That was that. That must have been weird in traffic. What the fuck is that guy doing? Holy shit. Did that guy just jump off a tractor trailer and run away numbers on his shirt?

[Jimmy Whisman]

Like almost.

[James Petregallo]

No, he didn't. Because they said he left behind a drenching, wet prison. Prison Levi type shirt. He left his denim shirt with his numbers on it in there. That was found near the rig? Near the rig and a piece of steel that had been cut out of the roof of the truck. Now, the truck's driver was out on a delivery when prison officials called and he offered the theory that Wilson probably made his getaway when they stopped at a coffee shop in Folsom. You think? Yeah. He was like, we've been stopped for a while. This doesn't seem like a red light. He said the prison officials wanted to know if I had made any stops between the prison and the company. I had stopped at the bowling alley in Folsom to have a cup of coffee on my break. Then I went straight to our terminal. He said he was at the bowling alley for about 20 minutes. Never noticed anything unusual. He said it was weird. I'm thankful I stopped and had coffee. If I had brought the trailer to the dock and they had opened it, it could have been some bloodshed, I guess. I guess I should thank our union for giving us a coffee break.

[Jimmy Whisman]

What are you talking about? All they had was tin snips.

[James Petregallo]

Tin snips? Yeah. He would have ran away, by the way, is what he would have hid from you and then ran away. So, yeah. They said two to four times a day, the tractors use the prison's north gate to make deliveries and to pick up mattresses, metal desks, and other items made by the inmates. They said the warehouse supervisor watches the truck being loaded, then places a seal on the trailer doors. By the way, he's the warehouse supervisor. That's a problem. If the seal is broken, the truck's not allowed to pass through the gate. The seal on this truck seemed to be intact and it was allowed to leave. However, they said as it was being loaded, the guard's attention was diverted for less than a minute by a nearby collision of three forklifts.

[Jimmy Whisman]

I wonder what happened.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah, I've worked in warehouses before. I have never, ever, ever seen forklifts run into each other. Have you?

[Jimmy Whisman]

I could see how. Two.

[James Petregallo]

Two around a block. Three.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Three.

[James Petregallo]

Okay, Three. Three of them. Yeah, exactly. That's exactly it. So that's what they suspect as well. They suspect that he had. That happened. They said the warehouse supervisor started to look for Wilson, who was the clerk in the industry area. And when he couldn't be found, that's when the alarm sounded. When the truck was already gone. They said it was sounded three times. And inmates began filing back to their cells where emergency count was taken. And there's 3,500 fucking inmates. They had to count quick and they couldn't find Wilson. So they said the prison breaks from the maximum security area are pretty rare. Normally the escapes are generally walkaways from the honor farms located outside the prison walls. Most of the escapes aren't because of a breach in security. It's just trusted people do shit that they were not supposed to do. So they said they're trying to find out what went wrong. Obviously, the three inmates driving the forklift are being interviewed. All the forklift drivers there. They've determined that the collision was deliberate, although they haven't charged them yet. Cause they can't really prove that that was deliberate. How do you prove you ran into somebody there?

[Jimmy Whisman]

He's proven three of them gotten a little thunder Bender.

[James Petregallo]

They also said this escape is a carbon copy of the last prison break from Folsom in 1969, when two convicts also fled in a delivery truck. The truck was found in Broderick with a two foot hole cut out of the roof. Wow. The escapees were caught within a month and returned to custody, though Wilson still missing. At the end of the day, he escaped here, but there was reports that he had been seen on Walnut Avenue in Orangevale, which is adjacent to the city of Folsom. Four days after this escape, prison authorities have called off a search for him. Can't find him. Lost him. Fuck it. Fuck it. We'll get a new one looking. They said, screw it, we'll get a new one. That's what they did. Like, it was like your phone charger in a hotel room. I can't find it. Fuck it. I'll get a new one at the airport, okay? I don't care, whatever. I'll pay an extra $8. Whatever. It's fine.

[Jimmy Whisman]

For an off brand.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah, for the off brand, one that will. It'll say weird accessory attached or some shit on it when you plug it in.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Accessory does not.

[James Petregallo]

It's not recognized or whatever. Yeah. The lieutenant, a prison spokesman said, we made what we believe was the maximum effort to saturate the community and unfortunately we were unable to apprehend him. So murderer out there. Careful, everybody.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Real casual ass approach to escaped murder on the loose.

[James Petregallo]

It gets worse if you're a person sitting around in this town, you know, just scared of a murderer. He said, we don't have any idea where he could be. I'll tell you where he's not. He's not at Folsom Prison. He's a real character, that guy. Wow. 40 officers had patrolled a 10 mile radius of the prison hoping to find him. Wow. They said that Wilson was very intelligent and had been planning the escape for several months. They found since then. So now the state, the State Department of Corrections and the FBI are going to look for him. He's not our responsibility anymore. December 19, 1984, he escaped. Earlier in the year, a Folsom prison guard gets a telephone call at his home. It's Steve Wilson.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah.

[James Petregallo]

Yes. Steve Wilson calls him, said, where the fuck are you? He said, well, I can't tell you that, obviously. He said, I just want to call and say Merry Christmas. Oh, the guard then this guard said, he just said that he was in the country to the north of us. That could mean anything from the foothills to the Canadian border. I'm in country north of you. Great. This is, you know, central California. That could be anything. So, yeah, the prison official said that Wilson's call was to wish him a merry Christmas, and that's the first time anybody's heard of him. They said, quote, he also gave the guard a list of people he would like to pass on holiday salutations to. Hey, make sure to. Make sure to tell me. Give him a card for me.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah, I don't have cards. I got a list.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah. When asked if that was weird, they said, well, we've never gotten it from escaped people. That's weird. He goes, when people get paroled, he said they frequently get Christmas cards from inmates who they were nice to or whatever.

[Jimmy Whisman]

But this man is so intelligent and so cunning and fluent in Spanish. I'd be in Mexico looking for him.

[James Petregallo]

Fuck. Yeah, well, I'd be in Mexico hiding from them if I was him.

[Jimmy Whisman]

That's my point. He's telling us he's going north. He's fluent in Spanish. I'm going to Mexico. I'm looking all over that goddamn place.

[James Petregallo]

Especially if he said, I'm north of you. I go, he's south of us.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah, he's not up there at all.

[James Petregallo]

He also told the guard that he'll never be taken alive as well. He goes, oh, they'll never take me alive. Don't you worry about that. Yeah, they said that it's not that unusual as you might think. When some of them come in, they establish a rapport with some of the personnel. March 1986. Now where the fuck is Steve? Where'd he go? Yeah, well, he's living under an assumed name, Glenn Charles Moyer. He's going by Glenn with two N's. He obtained fake driver's licenses, passports and Social Security numbers. He just turned into another cat.

[Jimmy Whisman]

This guy's genius.

[James Petregallo]

And this is before all the interconnected databases of the Internet and everything. This is the 80s. So you could just. If you could get the documents, you could be anybody back then.

[Jimmy Whisman]

They're on the road.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah, he moved to Oklahoma. Then he moved to Austin, Texas.

[Jimmy Whisman]

That makes sense.

[James Petregallo]

In Austin, Texas, he met a woman named Lori Ann Fitch, who's about 10 years younger than him. Here she was a widow with a young son. Her husband had just died of cancer or some shit at a young age, in his 20s. She didn't know who the hell he was. She's a dental hygienist who's a 23 year old widowed dental hygienist with an infant son. She also has an insurance settlement of $500,000 from her husband's death.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah.

[James Petregallo]

And she met Steve at a country western bar in Austin in 1984. In March of 86, they moved. The whole family moved to a place near Orlando, then to a subdivision about five miles east of St. Cloud, Florida. He built his own house in Florida. Gave his occupation as a construction worker also to people that asked. He knew how to do plumbing, roofing, framing, house painting, carpentry. He did. Literally built the entire house by himself.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Wow.

[James Petregallo]

You know, with his wife helping too. Like the two of them together. He did most of the work himself. He's the perfect neighbor. Also, they love him. Now, at the same time, the FBI is still looking for him. They have not forgotten about him.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Right.

[James Petregallo]

He is being profiled, actually by the FBI and they say they're looking at several key personality traits. And during this profile, they said extreme narcissism, crazy narcissism, Christmas calls to the guards and everything else. He's got a lot of technical skills as well. Successful long term planning and ability to obtain false identity. So he's got to be very smart, superficial, charm. Neighbors will love him, police officials will trust him. He'll be able to attract romantic partners. No empathy. Forcing a victim to dig his own grave and traumatizing everybody is not good. And also the need for control. About all the threats to Cali, that's obviously when he loses control of somebody, that's when he spins out. So, yeah, psychological profile, they say his IQ is estimated at over 130. Based on problem solving abilities.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah.

[James Petregallo]

Narcissistic personality disorder with antisocial features, obsessive compulsive tendencies regarding planning, pathological need for control, inability to accept rejection, superficial char masking, deep rage.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yes.

[James Petregallo]

So they Also, the guy, Dr. James Gilligan, studies prison escapees and identified a particular mindset in the successful ones.

[Jimmy Whisman]

What is that?

[James Petregallo]

They don't see prison as a punishment. They see it as a puzzle you have to solve of how to get out of here. It's not a I'm in here for a while, how do I make my way? It's okay now, how do I get out of here? That's all they're thinking about the second they get there. Wow. They said every wall, every guard, every routine, they're clocking it, trying to figure out how to get around it.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Dangerous man.

[James Petregallo]

They said he spent two years doing this. Basically after his escape. There's a bunch of prison reforms in the California correctional system as well as enhanced screening for work program assignments. You could just start with that. Not put a murderer who's got 25 to life, by the way. A lot of reason. It's not like he's getting paroled next year. And so he doesn't want to fuck up. Get a guy who's about to get paroled, that's the guy who's going to do a great job because he doesn't want to stay. Not this guy. Increased supervision in warehouse and loading areas. Probably should have had that to begin with. Regular security audits to prevent complacency, Better tracking of tools and materials. Again, that should have been from the start. And construction of new supermax facilities like Pelican Bay. That's. He caused shit like that to happen. Because the politicians, when they run for office and say, we need more prisons, they reference a murderer escape from Folsom Prison and still missing. If we had. We had these supermax prisons that I've been paid so much money from lobbyists to try to get past, then we'll be fine. So February 18, 1990, is on America's Most Wanted now. He's been on America's Most Wanted a few times, I think twice on there and twice on Unsolved Mysteries. He's been on. So February 1990, he's getting ready to sell his house in Florida and build another one. He's just sitting around trying to see what's going to be on TV in the next few days.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh, boy.

[James Petregallo]

People used to get a TV Guide and they'd look a couple days ahead and they'd see what might. Hey, that's on in a couple days. And whatever. He saw that the two days from now there's an America's Most Wanted on and he's gonna be on it.

[Jimmy Whisman]

They show who their what the program's gonna be.

[James Petregallo]

Escape Murderer from California. He knows that's him. You know what I mean? So he said, shit. So he disappears from St. Cloud. They were like, his wife didn't. She's there with the baby. I don't know what's going on. All the neighbors are like, why did Glen disappear? He helped me build my deck. Why'd he take off? What's going on here? So an agent in the FBI, Agent Barkley, said he was in Washington, D.C. watching the show and remembered the first call that he got was from one of Wilson's neighbors who recognized him.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh, shit.

[James Petregallo]

One of his neighbors gave him up. But he knew that was gonna happen and fucking took off. The FBI then went to Florida and found that Wilson took off the night before the show aired because they went to go get him. Cause they said, oh, I know where he lives. They were like, oh, they had the whole team outside. They go in, it's just some dental hygienist holding her baby, nowhere to be found. So he was profiled four times on America's Most Wanted and twice on Unsolved Mysteries. Four times on America's Most Wanted. How wanted are you now? The neighbors. The neighbors. Here is one neighbor, Kevin Wasek said, I'm stunned. The whole thing is beyond belief. He was such a nice man. He would always do anything he could to help someone. He didn't. Piss him off.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah, he didn't want you to. Yeah. He didn't want you to turn him in.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah. One of his other neighbors said he was very likable, always helping people with their houses. He helped a lot of the neighbors build their homes. Another guy, neighbor said he was the nicest guy you ever want to meet. He was never violent toward anyone. And he always waved as you passed by the house. Oh, well, he can't be. You know what, Never mind. Let him go. He's a waiver everybody.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Murderers don't wave.

[James Petregallo]

You guys, guys, there's no way fugitives don't wave. That's a rule.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Fascinating. He kept zero low profile.

[James Petregallo]

No, he just blended in in plain sight. I have a different name. I don't know if I look like that guy, who cares? But I guess then another neighbor said, now when residents move into the neighborhood, people wonder if they're criminals on the run. That's the big joke around here. So still missing six, seven years later, the prison warden, Robert Borg, said it's a matter of pride. We want him back. We lost him and we can't find him and we don't like it. So he said it sounded. They talked about getting, getting him on Unsolved Mysteries and all that. And William Barkley, the FBI agent, said it sounded fine to me. And he said, just the other day we got another sheet from America's Most Wanted. Somebody called in and said they saw him. We get them all the time for a while. We get 50 to 60 tips a week. But they never planned out, it was never actually him. He says a round faced guy looks like a lot of other guys. So they, yeah, they said we've put a lot of pressure on his family to the point where he is telling us that through them to leave his family alone. We told him, as long as your family might know where you are, we're going to stay on them. So January 30th to the 1991 is another unsolved mysteries. By the way, he did a videotaped interview with Inside Edition.

[Jimmy Whisman]

What?

[James Petregallo]

He did. He sent a fucking. He did a videotaped interview with Inside Edition. Think about how cocky that is. Because that's saying, this is what I look like now.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah. This is me. Yeah.

[James Petregallo]

And he said that he justified the murder, said he needed to do that, it was self defense or whatever. And he said he's too smart to be caught, so stop trying.

[Jimmy Whisman]

You'll never find me.

[James Petregallo]

He said I work every day at not being caught. That's what he does. Now the FBI thinks he could possibly be overseas.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Really?

[James Petregallo]

Because he's got the documentation, he's got fake passports. They don't know how many names he's got. So now they've kept the heat on. His parents in Southern California and his brother in Texas. And Fitch, the woman, Lori, the woman that he was living with his wife or whatever. Apparently at times, Wilson would complain to the news media and the FBI about the interviews and surveillance on his relatives. They said he kept telling us his family didn't know where he was. If we had backed off, we would have been playing right into his hands. 1992. April of 1992.

[Jimmy Whisman]

What the fuck is going on?

[James Petregallo]

Still saying, what's up with this shitty story or what?

[Jimmy Whisman]

This story is bullshit.

[James Petregallo]

Where's the twist now, motherfucker? The FBI figured they just have to watch. They thought it would be through either Wilson's brother or Fitch the woman. Either one. So they began following Fitch as she went from Orlando to Newark, New Jersey to go to the airport.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Okay, why would you do that?

[James Petregallo]

Exactly. She flew to London, England.

[Jimmy Whisman]

He went to England.

[James Petregallo]

Hey, everybody. Just gonna take a quick break from the show to tell you about Rocket Money.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Rocketmoney.com you know it.

[James Petregallo]

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[Jimmy Whisman]

Back to the show.

[James Petregallo]

Hey, everybody. Just going to take a quick break from the show to tell you about our SafeST sponsor, SimpliSafe.

[Jimmy Whisman]

SimpliSafe.com S I M P L I Safe.com.

[James Petregallo]

That'S right. We want to talk to you about your home security for just a minute here. I used to think home security was an alarm that goes off after, you know, there's a break in. And the guy would get scared and go, oh, God. People are going to hear this and they run away. And maybe to get your neighbor's attention, but that's pretty reactive. I mean, things are already happening by that time. An intruder is in your home, it's too late. You've heard Small Town Murder. You're listening to it right now. It's way too late. If someone's in your home, you're already dead. So we can't have that. That's why real security should stop a crime before it even starts.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Right?

[James Petregallo]

That's why we trust Simplisafe. Their system is designed to be proactive, not reactive. And really could have made half of our episodes not happen if people had Simplisafe. It's amazing. I love it. My whole house, my studio, Jimmy's house, studio, everything is covered by Simplisafe. Because it's the best. It's simply the best. That's all there is to it. They use AI powered smart cameras to identify threats lurking outside your home. They immediately alert Simplisafe's professional monitoring agents. Boom. There you go. These agents intervene in real time before things even happen. They can talk. They have access to two way audio to confront. Confront the purse. Hey stupid. Get out of the yard. It's great. It's amazing. Trigger sirens, spotlights to scare them. They request rapid police dispatch when needed. All helping to stop this intruder while they're still outside your house. That's security. So join the more than 4 million Americans who trust Simplisafe with their home security every day, Including Jimmy and myself here. And with a 60 day money back guarantee and no long term contracts, Simplisafe earns your business by keeping you safe and satisfied every single day. Visit simplisafe.comsmall to claim 50% off a new system. That's Simplisafe. S I M p l I safe.com small there's no safe like Simplisafe.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Now back to the show.

[James Petregallo]

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[Jimmy Whisman]

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[James Petregallo]

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[Jimmy Whisman]

Really?

[James Petregallo]

He tried to run. When they caught him, he took off. He tried to run and they tackled him in a little scuffle and then they brought him in and that's that. So he kept up going with his longtime girlfriend, Laurie Fitch. That was the problem. Needed pussy. It's a man's break. That's his downfall. And he's loyal. He wanted her.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah.

[James Petregallo]

So, yeah, they had followed her all the way from her house to the plane to London. And Robert Borg said, we take any escape personal. That's the warden. Any escape personal. We're grateful and thankful to get Wilson back in custody. So then Barkley, the FBI special agent who's been following him this whole fucking time, he's been on the force or in the FBI for 27 years, said, quote, I guess I can finally retire now. It's fantastic. He was, he said he wasn't going to retire until he found this guy.

[Jimmy Whisman]

I'm not going home until we get him.

[James Petregallo]

He said it's been almost eight years since he got out. I never doubted that we would catch him. Another guy, FBI agent Joe Judge is his name that was on him. Joe Judge, known as the Hunter. Yeah, he worked the case from 90 to 92. He also had worked the Oklahoma City Bomber. Associates and a bunch of drug cartels. That's his main bag. He said about Wilson, this guy by far is one of the most difficult fugitives we've ever apprehended. He wasn't just running, he was performing.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah.

[James Petregallo]

Yep. So they said. They maintained constant surveillance on Laurie Fitch for two years. Can you imagine what that cost us as taxpayers to follow this broad for two fucking years? Tracked 14 false Wilson sightings across eight states and, you know, did all of this shit, so. And by the way, the profile that they got when he was first out predicted taunting behavior. They said, he'll taunt you. He's going to taunt you. Laurie complain. Claims complete ignorance of his true identity. Has no idea what's going on. Okay, but maintain contact with him after it was obvious who he was and what was going on. They documented 47 phone calls between the two of them. The FBI and she had flown to London using her maiden name. Not her. Fitch was her first married name. So that's the other reason why they didn't like it. And she's never charged with aiding a fugitive due to lack of evidence that she actually knew anything about anything. They thought about her, that this was probably some kind of trauma bonding situation with her financial dependence, despite the fact that it's her money. She thinks that, like, he knows better. And also her dead husband and her had this baby that Steve's been raising as his own. So it's like her son's father at this point. The other thing. Yeah. And she said to Inside Edition, quote, the Glenn I knew wouldn't hurt anyone. Okay, now there's an extradition battle. This is interesting. Okay, he's extradited, but under the treaty between the two countries, when California tried to prosecute him for the escape attempt, the UK refused to waive the rule of specialty. Escape is not an extraditable offense under the treaty. So you can't charge him. If you want to extradite him, you can't charge him with escape.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Escape?

[James Petregallo]

No, you can put him back in for the rest of his sentence and whatever else, but you can't. So he could not be criminally prosecuted for the escape, but he could face prison, disciplinary proceedings, loss of commissary, and. You gotta go stay over here for a while. So he's found guilty, back in prison, loses his privileges, has his classification score increased, which means extra security and all that kind of thing. Yeah, he argued that this violated the extradition treaty and took it all the way to court.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Really?

[James Petregallo]

He also wants to get married and they won't let him.

[Jimmy Whisman]

No, no, fuck You?

[James Petregallo]

Nope. They won't let him do it. They said that it's prohibits family visits for several categories of inmates, including people who are on life to life without a parole date. So he has no parole date and so he can't do that. He was allowed contact visits after his return in 1998, though, he was transferred to Pelican Bay. Why was he transferred to Pelican Bay? Because he got a. He got a package in the fucking mail that had escape paraphernalia in it. He had people sending him shit to escape with again. Again. So they sent him to the supermax. Wow. He got denied conjugal visits as well. He writes his transfer to Pelican Bay is an adverse consequence because it's notorious for its harsh conditions. So that's what they said. He said. He also asked to remain at Pelican Bay after a while due to his susceptibility to skin cancer and wanting to live in a northern cooler climate.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh, okay. It's Northern California. It's nice up here.

[James Petregallo]

It's nice. It's not bad. He was eventually transferred to there. So he's now Cali. By the way, she said she's lived in fear for decades now.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah.

[James Petregallo]

She said I can never really relax. I don't like being alone. I'm constantly looking over my shoulder in fear that he will come back for me. She sold the ranch to developers in 1982 for a fraction of its value. Just because she couldn't be around it anymore. She moved to Sacramento, got married twice. Both ended in divorce. She never had any children. She said she's too afraid to bring kids into a world.

[Jimmy Whisman]

With Steve Wilson, this destroyed her poor life.

[James Petregallo]

Destroyed her fucking life. She did start a folk families of the escaped support group in 85 testified before the California legislature on victim notification laws, campaigned for GPS monitoring of violent offenders and published a memoir called the Desert took everything in 1995, but it's out of print now. We looked for it. We couldn't find it.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Damn it.

[James Petregallo]

2003, all of his appeals are exhausted. Steve's fucked. But he's not that fucked because 2010ish he's released from prison. Bye, Steve. Have a nice life. Laurie Fitch moved from Florida immediately after this all came out. Son Shane changed his name so they wouldn't know who he was. She disappeared into the ether and never gave another interview after 92. I think she was embarrassed of her stupidity. And then Callie lives under an assumed name for safety. Undisclosed location. Still in therapy for PTSD now in 2025. She said, People ask why I still fear him. They don't understand. He promised to come back. That's Olantra, California, everybody.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Holy shit.

[James Petregallo]

Now what was that you said in the middle of the story?

[Jimmy Whisman]

Where the fuck is the twist?

[James Petregallo]

A little bit. They're coming. Don't worry.

[Jimmy Whisman]

We're gonna get out of here early.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah, this is done. So there you go. Holy shit. If you like this show, tell the world about it. Get on whatever app you're on. Give us five stars. It helps a ton. Tell your friends. Post on social media, do all that stuff. Head over to shutupandgivemerder.com get your merchandise. Tickets for live shows. Seattle, middle of October, Moore Theater. It's a beautiful place. Come hang out with us. It's going to be so much fun to do that. Shutupandgivemerder.com Patreon.com CrimeInSports is where you get all of the bonus material. $5 a month or above gets you a huge back catalog of hundreds of episodes you've never heard before. New ones every other week. One crime in sports, one small town murder. This week, athletes going broke who had tens of millions of dollars for crime and sports. Small town murder. Part two of Ted Bundy versus the Green river Killer. We'll call it Ted Bundy trying to save his ass by helping them find the green river killer. Patreon.com CrimeInSports follow on social media. Nstagram on smalltown. Murder on Instagram at smalltown. Pod on Facebook. Shut upandgivemerder.com drop down menus take you anywhere you want to go. Keep coming back. See us next week. Thank you so much, everybody. Until next week, everybody. It's been our pleasure.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Bye.

[James Petregallo]

Sam.