William Raymond Nesbit was born on June 1, 1899, in Marshalltown, Iowa.

On December 31, 1936, William Raymond Nesbit killed Harold Baker during a robbery gone wrong in Minnehaha County, near Sioux Falls, South Dakota. This incident involved a gunpowder explosion. Nesbit was arrested on February 26, 1937. He was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison on May 28, 1937. However, on February 18, 1946, his sentence was reduced to 20 years.

While in prison, Nesbit became a "trusty" and served as the personal chauffeur to the warden in Sioux Falls. On September 4, 1946, he did not return from running errands. Because of this, he was charged in absentia with unlawful flight to avoid confinement on December 26, 1946. He was placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on March 15, 1950, making him the third person ever to be listed. Three days later, he was captured in a cave in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

William Nesbit died on August 6, 1983, at a hospital in Sioux City, Iowa. He had been dealing with a long illness before his death.