Michigan Man Forced Wife to Watch as He Murdered Her 4 Children
A Michigan father who served time for viciously stabbing his pregnant first wife to death in 1991, snapped again Wednesday when he shot and tortured his current wife, then forced her to watch as he gunned down his two teenage stepchildren and poisoned their two younger children.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Gregory Green, a 49-year-old ex-con who served 16 years in prison for fatally stabbing his pregnant wife in Detroit 25 years ago, was given a second shot at life when he was paroled.
Records cited by the Detroit Free Press show that Green used a steak knife and stabbed his then pregnant wife, Tanya Green, 10 times in the neck, cheek, chest and back. Both of her lungs were punctured in the attack. She had two children, ages 5 and 8, at the time. Green pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 15–25 years in prison.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
At about 1:15 a.m. Wednesday, police say Green called 911 to report the killings of his own two children, Koi, 5, and Kaleigh, 4, and his stepchildren, Chadney Allen, 19, and Kara Allen, 17.
When police arrived and went into the home in Dearborn Heights they discovered Green's 39-year-old wife, Faith, in the basement bound with duct tape and zip ties, according to Press & Guide. Green allegedly cut her face with a box cutter and shot her foot before shooting the two older children in front of her. She is currently recovering at a local hospital from her injuries.
Green allegedly killed his biological children by asphyxiating them using exhaust from a car parked in the driveway of the family's home.
Green was formally charged on Thursday with four counts of first-degree murder, one count of assault with intent to do bodily harm, and one count of torture by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's office.
At his hearing, District Court Judge David D. Turfe denied bond for Green, who appeared in the courtroom shackled and barefoot.
"Due to the nature of these charges, and the seriousness of these charges, I am going to remand you to the Wayne County Jail without bond," Turfe said.
"I don't care about it," Green replied when asked his thoughts on bond.
"I don't need bond … I mean, I don't think I deserve it," he added.
Family members of the victims have launched a GoFundMe campaign seeking to raise $50,000 to bury the children.
"Words cannot describe the horrific tragedy our family is experiencing over the untimely deaths of Chadney, Kara, Koi, and Kaleigh. There is no way that a mother could fathom laying to rest one child, let alone all four of her children at once without life insurance," the family said in the campaign.
"Today we are asking for donations of any size. Unfortunately, with such short notice there are not proper funds available for such activities. The family is asking for your help to support the actions that need to take place to properly lay to rest the four souls who were tragically stolen from our world," they explained.
According to the Detroit Free Press, after Green murdered his first wife, family members and other supporters begged a judge to show him mercy. They called him a "remorseful, loving, polite, sincere, respectful and God-fearing person" in letters reviewed by the publication.
"I don't believe Gregory is a threat to society," Green's mother, Tommie Green, reportedly wrote to a judge in 1992. "I don't believe a long sentence will (make) him any better because he has suffered already and he will continue to suffer the rest of his life. ... I hope that you will find it in your heart to give Gregory another chance at a new life."
About a month before Wednesday's murders, however, Faith Green reportedly filed for divorce after six years of marriage.
Three years earlier, the Detroit Free Press said she also filed a request for a personal protection order against Green, claiming: "He's trying to make me leave our home. … We're filing for divorce. He's being beligerant (sic), kicking things. He kicked the couch while the baby was sleeping on it. Just kicking things threatening me and saying if I don't leave things are going to get ugly. Jumped at me like he was going to attack. This went on for hours."
Her request was denied by Judge Deborah Ross Adams due to insufficient evidence.
"There is nothing that better illustrates the silence of violence than this case. A confluence of events led to the deaths of four beautiful children," Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement cited by the Detroit Free Press. "The alleged evidence in this case will show an appalling level of domestic violence that was cataclysmic."
More than 100 people led by the Rev. Ed Pila of Grace Church of Wayne County gathered at Polk Elementary School in Dearborn Heights to mourn the victims late Thursday night.
"Does anyone here have any doubt that evil exists? This is the worst city tragedy we've seen," he said.
"I am just speechless," Elaine Kroczak, a Dearborn Heights resident and mother of four, said. "I have anger. So many emotions. … My heart breaks for that poor mother."
