Ontario man declared dead in 1986 found alive in U.S., police say

[Rainstorm]

He sure went to some lengths to "kill" himself off. Then live a whole new life. Makes you wonder how many others have and still do this.
He should do jail time.

 

[newone]

Huge article today..

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201...ronald_stan_lust_lies_and_a_new_identity.html

"It was 1977 when Stan bolted into the forest to begin a new life. Now, 37 years, three more wives and another child later, Stan’s world would turn to ash again. The Ontario Provincial Police discovered he was living in Oklahoma as Jeff Walton, a 69-year-old plumber with a wife and 35-year-old son. His family there had no knowledge of the barn fire, his disappearance, and the Canadian wife, toddler and newborn child left behind.

For those 37 years he lived a clumsily constructed lie, stumbling and crawling through the boozy corners of New Orleans and leveraging his charm with women to forge and temper his new identity. His first American wife, Rose Ann Walton, says he could charm a snake.

He is a man consumed by remorse but aware of the self-wrought nature of his plight. His most recent wife, Debra Proctor, unceremoniously divorced him, taking everything after she uncovered the lie beneath Jeff Walton."

from your link:

''In 1990, Walton began to step outside his faulty persona and reach into his past. He phoned his Canadian wife.

“I did call her and talk to her. After that, she didn’t believe I was who I said I was. Thought someone was playing a joke on her. But I knew things that other people had no idea, and she gave all the (insurance) money back. It’s the truth,” said Walton."

bbm:

Sadistic or what: he reaches out to abandoned first wife ((and grief stricken for years - talk about psych abuse -- ba*tard!))
and she pays back insurance money. The woman is a saint - many at that point would have mentioned to insurer why she would be doing that as well as mentioning it to authorities including the courts!! (MOO)

 

[mayqueen]

I'm amazed that his ex-wives and Canadian family (parents/siblings) knew his secret for 20 years, and said nothing. They all seemed pretty okay with it, if we're to believe what he says in the Star article. (His family even used his fake name in his mother's obit!) The only people still in the dark when the story broke last month were his American son, and his current wife (who understandably immediately dumped him and took EVERYTHING in the divorce agreement.) Just... wow. He's so cavalier about the whole thing.

Does anyone believe his assertion that he didn't start the barn fire? Just curious. I feel like he's saying "I know I've lied about everything, but I swear I'm not lying about that one particular thing" because he doesn't want to face legal repercussions or societal backlash for not only killing innocent animals and negatively impacting the man who owned them, but for also putting human beings at risk. The fire could've spread to human-occupied structures, firefighters could've been injured or killed...