William Chandler Shrubsall

William Chandler Shrubsall (born February 3, 1971), also known as Ian Thor Greene and now Simon Templar (Ethan Simon Templar MacLeod), is an American inmate who served 17 years of a life sentence in Canada having been declared a dangerous offender for a string of violent assaults against women.

Early life Shrubsall was originally from Niagara Falls, New York, the son of William and Marianne (Marge) Shrubsall. He excelled academically and was named valedictorian of the 1988 graduating class at La Salle High School. Shrubsall was planning to attend the University of Chicago after graduation to study pre-law.

Death of his mother On June 25, 1988, twelve hours before he was to give his valedictorian speech, he beat his mother to death with a baseball bat. Originally charged with second-degree murder, the charge was eventually reduced to manslaughter following a plea bargain. He was examined by a psychiatrist after his arrest who diagnosed Shrubsall as a psychopath and compulsive liar and said that he could not be cured. Niagara County Court Judge Charles J. Hannigan rejected Shrubsall's petition that he be granted youthful offender status and sentenced him to a minimum of five years in prison without parole. In 1990, Shrubsall was granted youthful offender status by the New York State appeals court.

Release and post-secondary education He served 16 months for the death of his mother, as he was still a minor, and was released in March 1992. Prior to serving his sentence, Shrubsall attended Niagara University for two years. Upon his release, he attended and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1994.

In August 1995, Shrubsall sexually assaulted a 17-year-old female. On May 14, 1996, near the end of the trial, Shrubsall disappeared and left a suicide note claiming to have jumped into Niagara Falls.

Life as a fugitive On May 16, 1996, only two days after fleeing the United States, Shrubsall showed up in Halifax, Nova Scotia, using the alias "Ian Thor Greene" while checking into a homeless shelter.

On May 4, 1998, Shrubsall sexually assaulted and robbed a woman in a Tower Road driveway after following her back from a nightclub.

Interrogators also questioned Shrubsall's stories and found no records to support them, leading them to realize that Greene was an alias, but he refused to divulge further details.

In July 1998, police issued an international plea to help identify Shrubsall, including airing the story on CBC's The National which aired in parts of upstate New York.

In June 2000, he was found guilty of robbery, aggravated assault, and possession of a baseball bat in the commission of a crime in relation to the February 1998 incident.

In November 2000, he was found guilty of sexual assault in relation to the June 1998 incident. During the trial, Shrubsall testified that he assaulted the woman but he denied sexually attacking her.

A forensic psychiatrist diagnosed Shrubsall as a psychopath, saying that he separated women into two categories: "angels" and those that he would assault. The Crown, assisted by his former victims who had flown in to testify, had him declared a dangerous offender in December 2001, giving him no possibility of parole.

In 2002, while serving his life sentence, Shrubsall legally changed his name to "Ethan Simon Templar MacLeod" after the popular TV character.

Parole granted in Canada The Parole Board of Canada granted Shrubsall parole in late 2018 on the condition that he was deported to his home country. Shrubsall was deported in January 2019. He will have to serve the 7-year sentence from the sex abuse in absentia conviction in New York. In 2021, he was given an additional 2 to 6-year sentence for bail jumping.

His victims, the Crown attorney, and the lead investigator raised concerns about his release. The provincial justice minister advised he will be writing a letter to the Canadian Attorney General of Justice because he has concerns about his release.

Shrubsall tried to have his 2022 parole hearing overturned. On September 8, 2023, the New York State Supreme Court upheld the Parole Board's decision. In October 2024, the New York State Supreme Court rejected Shrubsall's appeal of their 2023 decision.

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