Photo: File photo of Rylen Quinn Svane-Morris | Santa Barbara County North Branch Jail
Written By: Robert L. McCullough
October 16, 2022 – Santa Barbara County, Ca. Once again proving the eternal verity that “you can run, but you can’t hide” from the long arm of the law, 24-year-old Lancaster resident Rylen Quinn Svane-Morris—suspected in the October 8, 2022 pre-dawn killing of 72-year-old Santa Ynez resident Terry Lee Wilson—was found 260 miles from the scene of the alleged crime in Santa Cruz County, taken into custody and arrested on October 12th.
According to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Raquel Zick, Svane-Morris “is known to frequent the Santa Barbara area” and allegedly fled the scene of the violent attack which killed Wilson and soon thereafter “stole a blue 2014 Chrysler minivan from a nearby neighborhood.” While Svane-Morris’ relationship to Wilson remains under investigation, he was reportedly “in a dating relationship” with Wilson’s daughter at the time of the killing.
Immediately following the discovery of Wilson’s body at his residence, the search for Svane-Morris was focused on locating the stolen minivan. Just four days later, “acting on a tip,” deputies attached to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Department located the vehicle. Moments later, contact was made with Svane-Morris and he was taken into custody “without incident.”
He was then transported to Santa Barbara County North Branch Jail, where, suspected of having beaten Wilson to death with a crowbar, he was booked on charge of murder. He remains in custody on a no-bail hold.
