Exclusive: The Suburban Mom Who Was a Fugitive For 32 Years

The Oprah Winfrey Show: The Podcast

Original Air Date: 04/07/2011

To the outside world Marie Walsh was living the American dream. She had a happy 22-year marriage and was a devoted mother to three children. She played bridge, tennis and rode horses in her upper-middle-class San Diego suburb. In truth, Marie was living a life she had spent decades crafting to hide her identity. Marie was really Susan LeFevre—a fugitive who had been hiding from the law for 32 years. In 1975, 19-year-old Susan was arrested for selling 2.5 grams of heroin to an undercover Michigan State Trooper. She pled guilty and was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison. After a year behind bars, Susan's grandfather helped her escape. With just clothes, a toothbrush and $200, Susan fled to California to start a new life, under a new identity: Marie. It was a headline that grabbed the nation’s attention and deeply divided public opinion. Marie opens up to Oprah about how she lived a secret life for 32 years.