{"id":201,"date":"2026-06-16T07:32:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T07:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mackenzieshirilla.com\/blog\/?p=201"},"modified":"2026-06-16T07:32:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T07:32:34","slug":"margo-freshwater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mackenzieshirilla.com\/blog\/margo-freshwater\/","title":{"rendered":"The Incredible True Crime Story of Margo Freshwater: Runaway, Fugitive, and the 30-Year Lie"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The history of true crime has many cases of murderers who disappeared into thin air, but few come close to the strange and movie-like case of Margo Freshwater. Freshwater was able to evade capture for over thirty years by reinventing herself as not just any escaped murderer but as \u201cTonya McCartor\u201d\u2014a grandmother who loved ballroom dancing in the suburbia close to her hometown. In this article, the full extent of this case is discussed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who is Margo Freshwater? The Early Life of a Troubled Teenager<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grew up as a girl in a blue-collar environment in Worthington, Ohio, a town near Columbus. Margo&#8217;s upbringing took an unfortunate turn from a very young age when at the age of five, she found herself abandoned after her father left the family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Throughout her teenage years, Margo was regarded as a tomboy and a talented sprinter in the track team at her school. Her life took a downhill turn in her junior year at school when Margo was involved in an unplanned pregnancy, attempted suicide, and consequently left her schooling behind. Giving her child up for adoption, she ended up befriending a bad element.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The 1966 Two-Week Murder Spree: A Southern Bonnie and Clyde<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"614\" src=\"https:\/\/mackenzieshirilla.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Margo-Freshwater-2-1024x614.webp\" alt=\"Margo Freshwater\" class=\"wp-image-203\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mackenzieshirilla.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Margo-Freshwater-2-1024x614.webp 1024w, https:\/\/mackenzieshirilla.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Margo-Freshwater-2-300x180.webp 300w, https:\/\/mackenzieshirilla.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Margo-Freshwater-2-768x461.webp 768w, https:\/\/mackenzieshirilla.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Margo-Freshwater-2.webp 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Margo Freshwater<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was during the fall of 1966 when 18-year-old Margo made a 15-hour trip by bus from Ohio to Memphis, Tennessee, in an attempt to help her boyfriend out after he had been arrested for committing an armed robbery. This is where she came across Glenn Nash, a 38-year-old lawyer working on her boyfriend\u2019s case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nash, who was subsequently diagnosed with severe schizophrenia, managed to exert full control over this impressionable teenager from the very start. And what ensued next was a horrifying 2-week crime spree across the southern part of America involving:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Hillmon Robbins Sr.<\/strong> \u2013 A liquor store worker shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Esther Bouyea<\/strong> \u2013 A shop assistant killed in Florida.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>C.C. Surratt<\/strong> \u2013 A taxi driver murdered in Mississippi.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The duo was finally arrested on December 28, 1966, in Greenville, Mississippi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Margo Freshwater: Case Profile &amp; Timeline<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A master class in a true-crime profile, this breakdown outlines the core components of the Margo Freshwater case\u2014fleshing out her double identity, the multi-state murder spree, and the legal anomalies that eventually set her free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Profile Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><td><strong>Category<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Profile Details<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Primary Subject<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Margo Freshwater<\/strong> (Alias: Sue Morrison, Tonya McCartor).<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Co-Defendant<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Glenn Nash<\/strong> (38-year-old defense attorney diagnosed with severe schizophrenia).<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Classification<\/strong><\/td><td>Multi-state crime spree accomplice \/ Prison fugitive.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Active Crime Era<\/strong><\/td><td>December 1966 (Murder spree); October 1970 (Prison escape).<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Fugitive Period<\/strong><\/td><td>October 4, 1970 \u2013 May 19, 2002 (<strong>31 years, 7 months<\/strong>).<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Primary Locations<\/strong><\/td><td>Memphis (TN), Florida, Mississippi, Columbus (OH).<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Primary Weapon<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>.22-caliber pistol<\/strong> (utilized in execution-style robbery homicides).<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Ultimate Outcome<\/strong><\/td><td>Conviction overturned (2011) due to hidden exculpatory evidence. Released on time served.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Crime Spree &amp; Victims (December 1966)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over a terrifying three-week stretch, Glenn Nash and 18-year-old Margo Freshwater traveled the American South committing armed robberies and execution-style murders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Crime 1 (Memphis, TN &#8211; Dec 6):<\/strong> Robbery of the <em>Square D Liquor Store<\/em>. <strong>Victim: Hillmon Robbins Sr.<\/strong> (elderly clerk). He was taken to a back room, his hands were tied behind his back, and he was shot dead.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Crime 2 (Surrounding States &#8211; Dec 1966):<\/strong> Armed robbery and homicide of shop assistant <strong>Esther Bouyea<\/strong> in Florida.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Crime 3 (Surrounding States &#8211; Dec 1966):<\/strong> Armed robbery and homicide of taxi driver <strong>C.C. Surratt<\/strong> in Mississippi.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Chronological Case Timeline<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Crime Spree<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">December 1966<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Freshwater runs away to Memphis to bail out an ex-boyfriend. She meets attorney Glenn Nash. Together, they embark on a three-state armed robbery and murder spree resulting in 3 deaths. They are arrested on Dec 28 in Mississippi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Trial &amp; Conviction<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">February 1969<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following multiple hung juries in Mississippi, Freshwater is tried in Memphis for the murder of Hillmon Robbins Sr. She claims she acted under severe duress and fear of Nash. The jury finds her guilty of 1st-degree murder, sentencing her to 99 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Great Escape<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">October 4, 1970<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Utilizing her athletic sprinting background, Freshwater and another inmate outrun a guard at the Tennessee Prison for Women in Nashville, scale a 10-foot barbed-wire fence, and flee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The 32-Year Ghost Life<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">1970 \u2013 2002<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Freshwater flees to Baltimore, then back to her hometown of Columbus, Ohio. She changes her identity to &#8220;Tonya McCartor,&#8221; gets married twice, raises three children, becomes a grandmother, and works peacefully at an insurance firm. In 1984, she is officially declared dead by authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Driver&#8217;s License Breakthrough<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">May 19, 2002<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">TBI and Ohio investigators cross-reference cold-case photos with driver&#8217;s license registries. &#8220;Tonya McCartor&#8221; matches Margo Freshwater perfectly. She is arrested outside a fitness club in Columbus, Ohio, and her identity is verified by fingerprints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Overturned Verdict &amp; Freedom<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">October 28, 2011<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Appellate lawyers uncover evidence that 1969 prosecutors hid a statement from Glenn Nash that completely exonerated Margo. Due to this prosecutorial misconduct, a Tennessee court grants a <em>Writ of Error Coram Nobis<\/em>, overturning her conviction. She pleads to a lesser charge, is granted time served, and returns to Ohio a free woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Trial and the Great Escape<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Glenn Nash successfully acted like he was insane and went to mental institutions (Nash later got released from the hospitals in 1983); however, Margo Freshwater did not get off easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Margo Freshwater was twice put on trail in Mississippi and then again for the murder of Hillmon Robbins in Memphis. Through out her trial, she claimed herself to be an innocent person who had been threatened and coerced into becoming an accomplice to the killing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The jury did not accept this claim; Freshwater was found guilty of the murder and given 99 years in prison in February 1969. She only served less than two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On October 4, 1970, Margo managed to use her speed which she got during her high school days as a sprinter and along with another woman managed to out pace a guard at the Tennessee Prison for Women in Nashville and escaped over a ten feet barbed wire fence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Living a Double Life: The Transformation into Tonya McCartor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whereas her partner was apprehended within a month after escaping, Margo disappeared off the face of the earth. The police declared Margo dead officially in the year 1984, which was after 14 years without any leads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the contrary, Margo was living in Ohio under the alias of Tonya McCartor. For the following 32 years, she lived a perfectly normal life with no criminal record at all. She had been twice married and mothered three kids. Moreover, she had also become a doting grandmother. She held employment at a MetLife insurance company, incredibly five miles away from her childhood home. As &#8220;Tonya,&#8221; she was known as an enthusiast for ballroom dancing and an extremely selective eater who also suffered from a heart ailment. She had not undergone any change in appearance either and neither did anyone from her family know of her nefarious background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The 2002 Arrest: How the TBI Broke the Cold Case<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Sunday, May 19, 2002, the bubble burst. Law enforcers from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), along with Ohio investigators, had been quietly comparing photos taken decades ago with contemporary pictures stored in driving license databases in order to locate a woman who went by the name of &#8220;Tonya.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It did not take long for one of these investigators to notice that the current photo taken of Tonya McCartor showed the same features that Margo Freshwater was known to have in the &#8217;60s. This led to the apprehension of the wanted woman at a health club in Columbus, Ohio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Final Legal Twist: Writ of Error Coram Nobis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What appeared to be a simple case involving the arrest of a fugitive took yet another surprising twist in court. Freshwater\u2019s lawyers worked hard at arguing against having her sent back to jail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the appeals process, it was discovered that there was a huge miscarriage of justice during the 1969 trial for Margo. Apparently, the prosecution deliberately suppressed a statement made by Glenn Nash, who had testified that Margo Freshwater did not participate in the murders. This damning evidence led to the issuance of a Writ of Error Coram Nobis against Margo, which resulted in her being declared innocent in 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In place of going through a highly stressful trial more than forty years later, she pleaded guilty to a reduced crime as part of a plea bargain arrangement with the prosecution on October 28, 2011. She was released on time served.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">FAQs<\/h2>\n\n\n<div id=\"rank-math-faq\" class=\"rank-math-block\">\n<div class=\"rank-math-list \">\n<div id=\"faq-question-1781594375959\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Did Margo Freshwater actually pull the trigger during the 1966 crime spree?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>No, the prosecution essentially stipulated during her 1969 trial that <strong>Margo did not shoot the victims<\/strong>. However, under Tennessee law.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-1781594395660\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">How did she manage to escape a maximum-security prison?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>On October 4, 1970, Margo took advantage of a vulnerability during a low-security movement at the Tennessee Prison for Women in Nashville.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Also read: <a href=\"https:\/\/mackenzieshirilla.com\/blog\/elisabeth-fritzl\/\">Inside the Elisabeth Fritzl Case: Secrets, Survival, and the Amstetten Dungeon Explained<\/a><br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The history of true crime has many cases of murderers who disappeared into thin air, but few come close to 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