Glen Stewart Godwin

Case record: Glen Stewart Godwin

Timeline

• August 3, 1980 — Eagle Mountain residents found a blown-up pickup truck with remains of a human body inside of it abandoned in the desert.
• 1982 — Frank Soto, Jr. was sentenced to twenty-five years to life in prison for the murder.
• 1983 — Godwin was sentenced for the murder and robbery to 26 years to life in prison.
• June 5, 1987 — Godwin escaped from Folsom State Prison by cutting a hole through fence wire and escaping into a storm drain that emptied into the American River.
• 1987 — Godwin attempted to escape during his incarceration at Deuel Vocational Institute in California and was moved to Folsom State Prison.
• January 1988 — Shelly Godwin was classified as a federal fugitive for her role in her husband's escape.
• February 7, 1990 — Shelly Godwin was captured by the FBI in Dallas, Texas.
• 1991 — Godwin was sentenced to seven years and six months in Puente Grande prison in Mexico.
• September 1991 — Godwin escaped again.
• 1996 — Godwin was added to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on December 7, 1996.
• 1997 — Godwin was reportedly seen once in California.

Background

Glen Stewart Godwin (born June 26, 1958) was an American fugitive and a convicted murderer who was added to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on December 7, 1996. He replaced O’Neil Vassell on the list.

In 1980, Godwin was living in Palm Springs, California, working as a self-employed tool salesman, a mechanic, and a construction worker, with no discernible criminal history.

The offence

Godwin and his roommate, Frank Soto, Jr., planned to rob a drug dealer and pilot, Kim Robert LeValley, who had been once a friend of theirs.

Godwin and Soto lured LeValley back to their condominium where Soto held him. Godwin punched and kicked LeValley, tried to strangle him, and then stabbed LeValley thirty-six times with his butcher knife.

After the murder, Godwin and Soto loaded the body into a truck and set off for the desert.

Godwin tried to blow up the evidence by using homemade explosives strapped to the body. The explosion was intended to disguise the murder of LeValley.

Investigation

After the murder, Eagle Mountain residents found a blown-up pickup truck with remains of a human body inside of it abandoned in the desert on August 3, 1980.

Police later identified the body and charged Godwin with first-degree murder.

Soto testified against Godwin.

Trial

Soto was sentenced to twenty-five years to life in prison for the murder in 1982.

Godwin was sentenced for the murder and robbery to 26 years to life in prison in 1983.

Sentencing

In 1983, Godwin was sentenced for the murder and robbery to 26 years to life in prison.

In 1991, after being arrested in Puerto Vallarta and convicted for drug trafficking in Guadalajara, Mexico, Godwin was sentenced to seven years and six months in Puente Grande prison.

Appeals

No appeals were described in the provided material.

Outcome

Godwin escaped from Folsom State Prison on June 5, 1987.

In June 1987, Karlic was arrested in Hesperia, California, and convicted for aiding Godwin’s escape.

In January 1988, Shelly Godwin was classified as a federal fugitive for her role in her husband’s escape.

Shelly Godwin was captured by the FBI in Dallas, Texas, on February 7, 1990.

Godwin fled to Mexico, where he unsuccessfully participated in illegal drug trade. Authorities were working on Godwin’s extradition proceedings while he allegedly killed a member of a Mexican drug cartel in prison; the new murder allegation delayed his extradition. This delayed extradition gave Godwin more time to execute another escape, which occurred in September 1991.

Godwin was reportedly seen once in California in 1997 and managed to elude the FBI, which had placed him on its Most Wanted List of fugitives the year before.

The FBI considered him a flight risk and believed he was involved in the illicit drug trade somewhere in Latin America, possibly using aliases such as Dennis Harold McWilliams, Nigel Lopez and Miguel Carrera. The FBI offered a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to Godwin’s capture.

Aftermath

Godwin was listed as a fugitive and remained wanted by the FBI after his escapes.

Other details

During his incarceration, Godwin attempted to escape during his incarceration at Deuel Vocational Institute in California and was moved to Folsom State Prison, a maximum-security prison.

Authorities believed Godwin’s wife, Shelly Rose Godwin, and his former cellmate in Deuel, Lorenz Karlic, helped to plan his escape. A hacksaw and other tools had been smuggled into the prison for Godwin.

On June 5, 1987, he cut a hole through fence wire and escaped into a storm drain that emptied into the American River. Godwin dropped through a manhole and crawled 750 feet through the pitch-black drain.

Either Godwin’s wife or Karlic, an accomplice, had left a raft that Godwin used to float down the river, following painted arrows on rocks that directed him where to go.

In the material, Godwin’s wife was named Shelly Rose Godwin, and the FBI captured her in Dallas, Texas, on February 7, 1990.