Maryann Mary Hagford was 28 when she was shot to death in her Crystal, Minnesota, home on December 19, 1993. The state’s theory at trial was that Maryann was kneeling to saw the base of the tree when Wilson shot her in the back of the head. Her body was found in a disordered living room with numerous alcohol bottles present, and Wilson placed a frantic call to his parents moments after the killing.

Wilson was arrested within an hour, charged with premeditated first-degree murder, convicted at a 1994 trial and sentenced to life in prison. Appeals and postconviction challenges were pursued and his conviction was affirmed. Maryann left behind her parents, four brothers and a sister.