This week marks the capture of the last member of the Symbionese Liberation Army, or SLA, who had

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skipped out before she could stand trial in 1976.  Kathleen Soliah, who when arrested had changed her name to Sara Jane Olsen, was one of the women who played a role in not only kidnapping Patty Hearst, but who is also at least partly responsible for several murders and bank robberies.

After being showcased on America’s Most Wanted in 1999, several people who lived in the St. Paul, MN area called in tips that finally brought her out of hiding and back into the spotlight to stand trial.  After having gone from hostage to SLA member, Patty Hearst drove the getaway car during a bank robbery in California where one woman was killed during the heist.  She was the one who said Soliah was in the bank when the bank customer was killed.  A few months later, a bomb was placed under a police car but never detonated.  It didn’t take long to figure out the SLA was behind it as well.  During this time, Soliah patiently waited for the right time to make her escape.  Before she ever stood trial, she’d dropped off the radar.  When she was arrested in MN, she was the epitome of an American soccer mom and doctor’s wife.  She led several local charities and was a community advocate for many projects within the St. Paul area.  With her pleasant domesticated life and the fact she is an excellent mother and wife, it was difficult to reconcile this woman with the one in the 1970s who played such a big role in so much destruction and tragedy.

After she was brought back to California, her lawyer managed to work out an agreement with the district attorney that meant her only having to serve five years in prison.  The Board of Prison Terms decided it wasn’t an acceptable sentence and promptly upped it to fourteen years.  Naturally, a judge overturned it later and said the board abused its discretion.  But this first sentencing had nothing to do with the deal her lawyers would have to negotiate for her role in the bank robbery.  She ended up with an additional six years.  She’s still in prison, but should be set free within the next twelve months.