WPBN: A former deputy from Florida has finally confessed to the murder of a store clerk in 1979 while he was on his deathbed in Tennessee, bringing an investigation that had been ongoing for decades to a successful conclusion.
An interview that took place in 2023 with cold case detectives revealed that John J. Greer, who passed away in March 2024 at the age of 77, had confessed to the murder of Adele Marie Easterly, who was 25 years old.
On November 5th, 1979, Easterly’s body was discovered at the Farm Store in Punta Gorda, where he had been shot to death. Greer, who was working as a deputy for the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office at the time, revealed that he had found the deceased individuals.
Since the very beginning of the investigation, Greer had been the subject of a great deal of suspicion. An investigation revealed that Greer’s wife had died from a gunshot wound just a few months prior to Easterly’s murder. Although the death was deemed a suicide, investigators had reservations about Greer’s account of the occurrence.
The investigation was looked at by a number of detectives over the course of several years, and they discovered ties between Greer and Easterly as well as contradictions in his stories.
One of the most significant breakthroughs occurred in 2016, when the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office published information about the investigation on the internet. This action prompted a former Sheriff’s Office Explorer to come forward with intelligence regarding Greer.
Greer had threatened to kill the Explorer and sexually abused her, even referencing Easterly’s name during one of the assaults, according to the Explorer, who disclosed this information.
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In addition, she gave information regarding Greer’s suspicious behavior on the evening of Easterly’s murder investigation.
In 2023, cold case investigators were able to confront Greer at an extended care facility in Kingsport, Tennessee, where he confessed to killing both Easterly and his wife.
This new information allowed them to confront Greer. Due to the fact that his health was deteriorating, Greer was never able to come to trial.
“I have always said that we will not hide from our past, no matter how dark. This case shows that we will always seek the truth, even when we may not like what we find,” Sheriff Bill Prummell stated. “I want to be clear that this individual does not represent the overwhelmingly great men and women who have worked for this agency over our century-plus of existence. I am angry at the scar he has left on our reputation, but I am even more upset about the people he hurt through his vile actions. My heart goes out to the victims and their loved ones.”
The authorities are continuing their investigation into Greer’s past in order to ascertain whether or if he was engaged in any other crimes that have not yet been solved.
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