On an autumn evening in Hollywood, South Carolina, 68-year-old Shirlee Greene was at her family home, comfortably settled in her bedroom watching television. It was October 23, 2015, and she was on the phone with her sister, making plans for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. In what should have been a moment of ordinary connection and anticipation, her life was abruptly and violently cut short.
Her husband of 48 years, David Greene Sr., then 71, walked into the room and fatally shot her.
When Charleston County deputies arrived at the residence, they found a grim scene. Inside, Shirlee Greene was deceased. Outside, David Greene Sr. was sitting on the front porch, a shotgun in his possession. He initially expressed a desire for the police to shoot him, but after a brief struggle, he was taken into custody. Investigators later learned that Shirlee had told her husband she no longer wished to be with him, and he claimed he had only intended to scare her with the weapon.
David Greene Sr. was subsequently charged with murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. In February 2017, he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter and the weapons charge. A judge sentenced him to a total of twenty-five years in prison. The sentence was described by the solicitor's office as effectively a life sentence for the elderly man, sending a strong message about the serious consequences of domestic violence.
