‘America’s Most Wanted’ Suspect Arrested after 39 Years in Hiding & Working as a Public Official

A man committed a heinous crime in the 1980s in Florida before evading authorities for decades and appearing on "America's Most Wanted." He has finally been arrested when a task force tipped off authorities.

On June 28, 2023, Donald Michael Santini, 65, was finally brought to justice after evading police officers for almost four decades. The man featured three times on "America's Most Wanted" was extradited from San Diego, California.

His first appearance on the show was in 1990, and he was featured two more times in 2005 and 2013. He arrived at the Orient Road Jail at 3:03 a.m. after the Federal Bureau of Investigations and other agents had worked continuously on his case for years.

Sheriff Chad Chronister said Santini's arrest brought closure to a cold case and justice for his victim and her family. Chronister praised those who "tireless[ly] work[ed]" on the case over the years, using different resources and skills to get justice.

Investigators reached California, Texas, and Thailand in search of the suspect. Finally, the Florida/Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force tipped authorities off, leading US Marshals to San Diego County.

In San Diego, Santini was charged with first-degree murder and extradited to Tampa, Florida's Hillsborough County Jail. The suspect was wanted for taking the life of a young woman who was going through a divorce in Florida.

What Exactly Did Donald Santini Do All Those Years Back?

Santini was arrested on June 7, 2023, in San Diego as the main suspect in the murder of Cynthia "Cindy" Ruth Wood, 33. Wood's lifeless body was found on June 9, 1984, in Hillsborough County in a canal after Santini was the last person to see her on June 6, 1984.

At the time, the woman was going through a divorce with her husband, and the suspect called her, promising to give information about her spouse. Santini claimed he could assist Wood in winning custody of her children before they met.

Hillsborough court documents revealed that the victim's body was discovered filled with water in a Riverview ditch. The autopsy on Wood's body found that the Bradenton woman had been strangled, and Santini was identified as a suspect shortly before he fled the county. After the death of the mother of three, Santini disappeared for almost forty years using thirteen aliases.

The suspect's brush with the law began in 1978, when he served in the US Army in Frankfurt, Germany, and was convicted of sexual assault.

When he returned to Texas, his home state, he was also charged with aggravated robbery in a convenience store in 1983. After confessing, he disappeared from the state a few days later and reappeared in Longboat Key as "Charles Michael Stevens," where he worked as a janitor.

Santini relocated to California after the Wood murder, where he built a new life as an upstanding citizen. Those who got to know him only knew good things about him and were shocked to learn about his criminal past.

What Life Did Donald Santini Lead All These Years, and How Did His Community React to His Disturbing Background?

While living in Campo, San Diego, Santini went by the alias Wellman Simmonds. During the time he lived in the small suburb, he worked as the president of the local water board and frequently attended board meetings.

The unidentified board member said they were still processing what was happening.

The suspect wrote a sixteen-page letter in jail to a local San Diego news station where he explained that he evaded the authorities for so long because he lived "a loving, respectful life." Santini also owned a Thai restaurant and volunteered at the Rotary Club. He also ran an apartment block.

In his second letter to "On Your Side" reporter Trevor Sochocki, the suspect said he'd listened to his wife and granddaughter "cry and scream with hurt." Santini shared how they felt they'd never see him again, stating:

"I can hardly talk without crying."

Campo is a small community with less than 3,000 people and is an hour's drive east of San Diego. Rick Fox, a neighbor who recently bought a property next to Santini's, said the suspect had gone by the name "Wells."

A Lake Morena Views Mutual Water Company member shared how the board was in disbelief, saying: "We are all flabbergasted." The member revealed how Santini had been seen as an upstanding citizen who was non-confrontational, an advocate, and hardly hid, adding:

"He was a pillar of the community."

The unidentified board member said they were still processing what was happening. During a court appearance, the suspect allegedly admitted that he was the person Florida authorities were looking for in connection with Wood's death after being charged with murder.

Subscribe to AmoMama on Google News!