Repo Man Murderer Out on Parole

Robert Willner murdered 24-year-old recovery agent of three weeks and young father, Steve Morgan, on December 10th 1990. After Colorado Governor Bill Rittner commuted his sentence from Life to 25 years, Willner became eligible for parole and last year, it was granted. After over 30 years in prison, at the age of 70, Willner is a changed man. And while according to a recent news article about him, he is remorseful, his parole has undoubtedly reopened old wounds for Steve Morgan’s family.

Steve Morgan had been in the repo business just three weeks and was still in training, when he went to Robert Willner’s Jefferson County home to repossess Willner’s pickup truck. An angry Willner fired four shots through the windshield as Morgan backed the truck out the driveway.

In court, Willner tried to argue that he thought Morgan was stealing the truck. But prosecutor’s told jurors Willner had taken out the transmission and knew the truck would not start.

Morgan’s family had fought his sentence commutation and parole since at least 2014, but their grief fell on deaf ears.

“I have bits and pieces of memories,” said Chris Harris, Morgan’s son, who said all the years have not eased the pain of only knowing his father through photos. “The hardest part for me was not having a dad to help me through life, to teach what his dad taught him.”

Wilner 1990 (L) Bullet holes in the truck

In a Brush News Tribune article published yesterday, Willner openly admits that he fired the shots that killed Steve Morgan while he was in the process or repossessing Willner’s Chevy Silverado. Willner claims that he was awakened from a “drunken stupor by the sound of the truck starting”.

According to Willner, he grabbed a gun and ran out into the street where he fired the four fatal shots at the truck but maintains that he didn’t intend to kill Morgan. Willner claims that he fully accepts responsibility for what he did.

“It wasn’t the booze that made me do that,” he said. “It was me. I was that guy. My life was in a downward spiral. I was consumed with materialism, and somebody was taking my truck, my baby, and I had to stop them.”

Willner was soon after convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole at the age of 40.

Willner claims that his conviction served as a wake-up call to his self-claimed “moral bankruptcy.” Upon entering Limon Correctional Facility for his first sentence stretch Willner was drafted as a chaplain’s assistant. Maintaining good behavior, Willner earned his way out of maximum-security prisons and earned an associates degree and became a certified paralegal through Morgan Community College. Willner then earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from the University of Iowa.

Willner, now 70-years-old, spends his parole as a legal assistant for the California law firm Tron & Tron and works out of an office at a half-way house. In the aforementioned article, Willner states; “I want my life to count for something,” he said. “If I can help one guy not make the mistakes I made, my life will have been worth living.”

While his parole may be upsetting to many in the repossession industry, it must be remembered that forgiveness is an ever-present tenant of the Bible. And while apparently repentant, his regret can not erase his actions of that night or their consequences. Let us hope that his sorry tale is a cautionary one that someone, somewhere, learns from and spares themselves and all of the others affected from having to live through any similar tragedy.