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WATCH CLIPAfter eleven years of marriage, Kathi Spiars discovered that her husband had a secret identity, and her search for the truth about his past would eventually reveal the secrets of an unsolved murder mystery.
The story
Kathi Spiars was happily married to an exciting, romantic, wealthy man. Her husband, Stephen, had showered her with expensive gifts and told her thrilling stories of his CIA exploits. He even stored gold bars in the toilet tank of their Colorado home.
But, Stephen’s mysterious past began to worry Kathi, especially when he stormed out of the house one day after she received a strange phone call that she thought had been a wrong number. The name the caller had asked for was Eric Wright.
Determined to learn more about her husband’s past, Kathi went to his hometown in California. But, what Kathi found was devastating. A teacher at her husband’s old high school confirmed Stephen’s real name was Eric Wright, and he explained that Eric had disappeared years ago.
The teacher directed Kathi to Eric’s family; a family her husband had claimed was dead. When she confronted Eric with the information, he grew violent, threatening that the CIA would probably kill them both. And Eric promised to kill Kathi if she continued digging into his past.
Kathi went into hiding and spent nearly nine years tracking down Eric’s family and friends in California. She discovered that Eric had been married before, and had a child.
In 1980, he had disappeared from his previous life, firing bullets into his own car and smearing it with animal blood in an attempt to fake his own death. As Kathi gathered more facts, she feared that Eric was hiding something far more sinister than another family.
Recalling his threats on her life and the stories of how he killed “for the CIA,” Kathi went to the authorities. Her amateur detective work eventually helped police prove Eric Wright had killed a pawnshop owner in 1980, stolen his gold and dumped his body. Eric was arrested and charged. But, under a plea agreement, he received a sentence of only six years. Thanks to Kathi’s tireless efforts, after 23 years on the run, an admitted killer and con man was finally behind bars.
The story
Kathi Spiars was happily married to an exciting, romantic, wealthy man. Her husband, Stephen, had showered her with expensive gifts and told her thrilling stories of his CIA exploits. He even stored gold bars in the toilet tank of their Colorado home.
But, Stephen’s mysterious past began to worry Kathi, especially when he stormed out of the house one day after she received a strange phone call that she thought had been a wrong number. The name the caller had asked for was Eric Wright.
Determined to learn more about her husband’s past, Kathi went to his hometown in California. But, what Kathi found was devastating. A teacher at her husband’s old high school confirmed Stephen’s real name was Eric Wright, and he explained that Eric had disappeared years ago.
The teacher directed Kathi to Eric’s family; a family her husband had claimed was dead. When she confronted Eric with the information, he grew violent, threatening that the CIA would probably kill them both. And Eric promised to kill Kathi if she continued digging into his past.
Kathi went into hiding and spent nearly nine years tracking down Eric’s family and friends in California. She discovered that Eric had been married before, and had a child.
In 1980, he had disappeared from his previous life, firing bullets into his own car and smearing it with animal blood in an attempt to fake his own death. As Kathi gathered more facts, she feared that Eric was hiding something far more sinister than another family.
Recalling his threats on her life and the stories of how he killed “for the CIA,” Kathi went to the authorities. Her amateur detective work eventually helped police prove Eric Wright had killed a pawnshop owner in 1980, stolen his gold and dumped his body. Eric was arrested and charged. But, under a plea agreement, he received a sentence of only six years. Thanks to Kathi’s tireless efforts, after 23 years on the run, an admitted killer and con man was finally behind bars.
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