![\"Bartlett](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Bartlett-Lake.jpeg\")
Beautiful Bartlett Lake<\/p><\/div>\n
Here in the COVID capital of the nation<\/strong> we are hard pressed for something to do.\u00a0 \u00a0So last week we packed Dash the Wonder Dog in the car and drove the 30 miles up to Bartlett Lake, a picturesque body of water known for it’s massive display of wildflowers.\u00a0 Of course, that only happens in March so by June we were left with the stubby remnants.\u00a0 Still, it beat walking from the living room to the bedroom<\/strong> as an activity.\u00a0 As we drove into the marina I recalled the death of Margaret Lesher at this spot back in 1997.\u00a0 I hadn’t thought about her in years, but as I did so, I still marveled at her life.\u00a0 It was a cross between a Danielle Steel romance and a John Grisham murder mystery.<\/p>\n Margaret and Dean Lesher<\/p><\/div>\n I first saw Margaret Lesher<\/strong> back in 1995.\u00a0 I knew who she was, of course, because she had been married to Dean Lesher, publisher of 27 newspapers in California, most notably the Contra Costa Times<\/em>.\u00a0 They were prominent members of the community, forming a charitable foundation and sponsoring the performing arts center<\/strong> in Walnut Creek.\u00a0 In 1993 Dean died at the age of 90.\u00a0 They had been married for more than 20 years and by all accounts, despite the 31 year age difference, were devoted to one another.\u00a0 After\u00a0Dean died, Margaret was at loose ends,<\/strong> seeking solace in endless cosmetic surgeries, designer clothes and religion.\u00a0 She sold the newspaper chain in 1995, and she was reportedly worth as much as $100 million.<\/p>\n I was seated near her at a charity luncheon that day in 1995 and as she swept into the room you couldn’t help but notice her – Chanel suit, perfectly coiffed blonde hair and sparkly jewelry.\u00a0 Lots of sparkly jewelry.\u00a0 It was a Barbie doll look<\/strong> that I would come to know well when I moved to Scottsdale a few years later.\u00a0 But at the time I looked at her as a mongoose might size up a snake – completely transfixed.\u00a0 As a teenager she had been crowed “The Peach Queen” in her small Texas town and at age 62 she still had that beauty contestant strut.<\/p>\n Margaret,\u00a0 at her marriage party on Valentine’s Day<\/p><\/div>\n I didn’t give Margaret much thought after that until I read about her death in 1997<\/strong> at Bartlett Lake in Arizona.\u00a0 Margaret had been a very lonely widow.\u00a0 No amount of shopping or surgeries could make up for a lack of companionship.\u00a0 So when she signed up for a high-end trail ride in May 1996, she was vulnerable to the charms of a 39 year old buffalo-taming rodeo cowboy, TC Thorstenson.\u00a0<\/strong> A more unlikely pair would be hard to imagine and Margaret’s friends and family thought it a passing fancy.\u00a0 But as that year wore on, TC worked his charm on Margaret and she lavished him with gifts and affection – she was completely besotted.\u00a0 That October, on a trip to Hawaii, TC proposed marriage and told her it was a one time only offer<\/strong>.\u00a0 Margaret accepted the proposal.\u00a0 What she didn’t know was TC had been married twice before, not once, as he had told her.\u00a0 Moreover, his second wife had filed three complaints against him with the police for beating her.<\/p>\n Margaret’s friends and family were shocked when they learned of the marriage.\u00a0 To sooth everyone she threw a lavish wedding party<\/strong> at her Orinda home on Valentine’s Day 1997, complete with TC’s buffalo performing stunts in the foyer.\u00a0 Not long after that, TC convinced Margaret to buy a small ranch for $1.8M in North Scottsdale.\u00a0 She moved there with him, redecorating it in a cowboy style that he loved and buying him more toys, including a $6,000 pool table.\u00a0 TC occupied himself with his buddies and his horses, spending little time with Margaret.<\/strong>\u00a0 By the end of April when friends from California came to visit, Margaret admitted to them that the marriage had been a mistake.\u00a0 It was about this same time that Margaret became aware of TC’s second marriage and his history of abuse.<\/p>\n Margaret flew back to California in early May to attend a Lesher Foundation board meeting.\u00a0 She also took the opportunity to meet with her attorney to pick up a proposed \u201cpost-nuptial\u201d agreement that would sharply limit TC’s benefits<\/strong> in a divorce.\u00a0 He had repeatedly refused to sign it when they had been in California and when she returned to Scottsdale with it in hand he again refused, causing a heated argument between them.<\/p>\n TC Thorstenson, relaxing in Cave Creek<\/p><\/div>\n On Tuesday, May 13th, exactly four years to the day after Dean Lesher’s death, TC and Margaret took off for an impromptu camping trip<\/strong> up to Bartlett Lake.\u00a0 They hitched the boat to their truck and took off in the late afternoon.\u00a0 After tying the boat\u2019s mooring line to a rock, they pitched camp away from the water, lit a campfire, and unrolled their sleeping bags.\u00a0 From here on out, what really happened is open to conjecture.\u00a0 Thorstenson said he woke at 3:30 a.m. to find that Margaret wasn\u2019t in her sleeping bag<\/strong>. Thinking she might have gone to the truck to sleep, he looked for her there.\u00a0 Eventually he gathered up their belongings and drove to the nearest sheriff’s station.\u00a0 Later that day, Margaret’s body was found near the shoreline, clad only in her underwear and submerged in 8 feet of water.\u00a0 The subsequent inquiry cleared TC and ruled her death an accident.\u00a0 To this day Margaret’s friends and family are skeptical.<\/p>\n TC still lives in this area and continues to train horses.\u00a0 He sold the ranch<\/strong> he bought with Margaret several years ago for over $8M.\u00a0 In 2013 he opened a bar in Cave Creek, Hogs and Horses, which has since closed.\u00a0 \u00a0In 2014 two young women visited his bar and TC offered them free margaritas.\u00a0 The women became separated and when one wanted to go home, TC offered to give her a lift.\u00a0 Instead, he took her to his home<\/strong> and accosted her.\u00a0 She was able to get away and later that night he was charged with indecent exposure, assault and varying degrees of DUI.<\/p>\n Some times the more things change, the more things stay the same.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Suzanne Sparrow Watson Here in the COVID capital of the nation we are hard pressed for something to do.\u00a0 \u00a0So last week we packed Dash the Wonder Dog in the car and drove the 30 miles up to Bartlett … read more![\"Margaret\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Margaret.jpg\")
![\"Redone](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Redone-Margaret.jpg\")
![\"TC](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/TC-Thorstenson.jpg\")