In the early morning hours of August 27, 2019, 31-year-old Danielle Cretacci was tragically killed in a violent home invasion in the Town of Tonawanda, New York. The assailants also shot her two young daughters, who were eight and eleven years old at the time. Miraculously, both girls survived the attack. One of the children feigned death until the intruders left and then bravely sought help from a neighbor.
The investigation into the brutal crime revealed the motive was robbery.
Cretacci had recently received a significant worker's compensation settlement, a fact that authorities believe made her a target. For months, the case remained unsolved, prompting public pleas for information and the offering of rewards to help find those responsible for the young mother's death.
A break in the case came with the indictments of Ernest B. Green, Jr., Daniel Rodriguez, and Sharee Bailey. Investigators identified Green and Rodriguez as the individuals who unlawfully entered the Ebling Avenue home and carried out the shooting that ended Cretacci's life and wounded her daughters. Bailey was described as the 'common thread' who had a connection to Cretacci and was also linked to a separate double homicide in Buffalo that shared a similar robbery motive.
Following a trial, a jury found Ernest B. Green, Jr. and Daniel Rodriguez guilty of one count of Murder in the Second Degree and two counts of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree. Both men received the maximum sentence of 75 years to life in prison for their roles in the crimes against the Cretacci family. Sharee Bailey entered into a plea agreement for her involvement in the related Buffalo robbery and murders, receiving a 10-year prison sentence in exchange for her testimony against her co-defendants. A fourth individual, Wayne Robbins, was also convicted in the separate Buffalo homicides alongside Green.
