About 36 hours after he was sentenced to life for the death of his ex-wife, Kenneth Greene was pronounced dead from injuries suffered from a suicide attempt.
Greene, 52, was found guilty Friday afternoon following a weeklong trial. At about 2:45 p.m. Saturday, Walton County Sheriff’s Office jail staff found his body hanging in his cell and immediately took him down and began medical treatment. Greene still reportedly had a pulse when he was transported to Walton Regional Medical Center but was pronounced dead at about 1:45 a.m. Sunday.
“I hate that it happened, but it did,” Sheriff Joe Chapman said. “We check the cells every 15 minutes and we just don’t have the personnel to do more than that.”
Greene was not under suicide watch after a doctor interviewed him shortly after being sentenced and determined he could be placed into a cell, according to officials. Greene was in a cell by himself and was awaiting proceedings later this week on revocation of the probation he was on for past conviction of domestic violence against his then-girlfriend Christina Robinson.
The death is currently under investigation by the GBI and is the fourth suicide to take place in the jail since it opened Jan. 1, 2005. An autopsy performed Monday confirmed strangulation as the cause of death.
Following jury selection, testimony from the trial last week included that of past incidences of domestic violence by Greene against his ex-wife as well as Robinson, who testified to a drug-laden relationship and violence which led to Greene’s arrest in 2008. The jury also heard testimony from Greene’s son, Dustin, who witnessed his father become violent with his mother prior to the date of her death.
Much of the case centered around a $600 phone bill, which the prosecution set up as the possible motive for a fight between Greene and his ex-wife on the night of her death. Greene denied ever fighting with his ex-wife over the bill and said he left her passed out on the bathroom floor. He said she had a problem drinking and seemed “spacey” on the date of her death. Greene maintained throughout his interviews with authorities the injuries that riddled the body of his ex-wife were sustained from a drunken fall down stairs a week prior, an incident confirmed by other testimony.
Perhaps the most damning testimony came from that of the GBI medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Joyce Greene. With graphic pictures of a battered woman’s body, the family of the victim often looked away, some with tears in their eyes.
Dr. Douglas Posey, associate medical examiner with the GBI, testified to a number of blunt injuries on the face and head of Joyce Greene, as well as bruised and broken ribs, all suffered within at least 48 hours of the time of death. One, a 3-inch laceration on the top of the head, rested next to a similar injury Posey said was about seven to 10 days old. Assistant District Attorney Cliff Howard asked if a pool cue could have been the cause but the GBI doctor could not confirm if the injury was caused by those included as evidence in the case.
“It was something long and cylindrical,” Posey said. “The business end of a pool cue, what you hit the ball with, is certainly something that might do this, among many other possible items.”
But none of the injuries sustained were the cause of death. According to Posey, the cause of death was manual strangulation. But without finger, nail or ligature marks, there was no way to determine what was the source of strangulation.
It took the jury a little more than an hour Friday to return a guilty verdict on all counts.
Greene sat without emotion as the guilty verdict was read for malice murder, felony murder, felony family violence battery and cruelty to children in the third degree. After the verdict was read, each juror was polled and agreed with the decision.
Before the sentencing, Jonnie Lang, the youngest sister of Joyce Greene, took the opportunity to address the court, thanking everyone involved for their role during the proceedings.
“My sister was not perfect, but she did not deserve the way she died,” she said. “Her son does not deserve what he has suffered through. He was just a child. I appreciate what you all have done for her. The verdict we got today was justice for her.”
Greene would have been eligible for parole after 30 years.
No comments:
Post a Comment