New Details Emerge in Santa Ynez Murder

At 5’11” and 190 pounds, Rylen Quinn Svane-Morris seemed a little hefty to slip through the cracks. Yet that’s exactly what the 26-year-old Lancaster man did in the early morning hours of October 8, after allegedly beating Terry Lee Wilson, the 72-year-old father of an ex-girlfriend, to death in Wilson’s Santa Ynez bathroom.

Earlier, on October 4, Svane-Morris had been arrested on two felony charges for allegedly stealing a 1960 vintage motorcycle and for taking possession of a stolen Kia Optima. On October 3, he was also arrested by Sheriff’s deputies for assaulting the ex-girlfriend, Jennie Wilson of Santa Ynez, who claimed he tried to strangle her. He was not charged with attempting to strangle Wilson, however, because according to prosecuting attorney Laura Clinton, there was not sufficient evidence to prove the abuse allegations beyond a reasonable doubt. 

However, the probation report for Svane-Morris recommended that, though he was eligible for pretrial supervised release, he was ordered to stay away from Jennie Wilson and her father. In an interview with the Santa Maria Sun, Jennie Wilson said she’d filed several restraining orders against Svane-Morris, but that he always managed to avoid service.