A decades-old cold case has finally been closed after a former deputy in Florida confessed to the 1979 murder of a store clerk while on his deathbed in Tennessee.
John J. Greer, who died in March 2024 at the age of 77, admitted to killing 25-year-old Adele Marie Easterly in a 2023 interview with cold case detectives.
Easterly was found shot to death at the Farm Store in Punta Gorda on November 5th, 1979. Greer, who was an on-duty Charlotte County Sheriff’s deputy at the time, reported discovering the body.
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The case had been plagued with suspicions surrounding Greer from the beginning. Just months before Easterly’s murder, Greer’s wife died from a gunshot wound, and although ruled a suicide, investigators had doubts about Greer’s account of the incident.
Over the years, several detectives examined the case, uncovering connections between Greer and Easterly and inconsistencies in his stories. A key break came in 2016 when the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office posted details about the case online, prompting a former Sheriff’s Office Explorer to come forward with information about Greer.
The Explorer revealed that Greer had sexually assaulted her and threatened to kill her, even mentioning Easterly’s name during one assault. She also provided details about Greer’s suspicious behavior on the night of Easterly’s murder.
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With this new information, cold case detectives were able to confront Greer in 2023 at an extended care facility in Kingsport, Tennessee, where he confessed to killing both Easterly and his wife. Due to his declining health, Greer was never able to stand 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,” said Sheriff Bill Prummell. “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 investigation into Greer’s past continues as authorities seek to determine if he was involved in any other unsolved crimes.
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