In the early hours of a summer morning in Biddeford, Maine, the life of a young man, a White / Caucasian male named Derek Greene, age 21, was tragically cut short. On June 30, 2009, Derek and his younger brother, Gage Greene, 19, were fatally shot on a downtown street. The incident shattered the quiet of the neighborhood and left a family grieving the loss of two sons.
The events of that night unfolded near the South Street home of Rory Holland, a 55-year-old former mayoral candidate.
Tensions had reportedly been simmering in the neighborhood, and just six weeks prior to the shooting, Derek Greene had been charged with assaulting Holland. As a condition of his bail, Derek was ordered to have no contact with the older man. However, in the early morning hours of that fateful day, a confrontation occurred. Eyewitnesses later testified that after Gage Greene pushed Holland, Holland pulled a handgun from his waistband and shot Gage. When Derek ran towards his fallen brother, yelling, Holland then fired at him.
Responding to calls from neighbors about gunshots, Biddeford police arrived to find the two brothers wounded. They were transported to Southern Maine Medical Center, but their injuries proved to be fatal. Following the shooting, Rory Holland barricaded himself inside his home, leading to a five-hour standoff with a York County SWAT team. He eventually surrendered to authorities and was charged with two counts of murder.
The investigation that followed painted a picture of ongoing conflict between Holland and the Greene brothers. Despite the tensions, friends of Derek and Gage remembered them as part of a close-knit group. The trial, which was moved from York County to Penobscot County due to pretrial publicity, brought forth emotional testimony from those who witnessed the shootings. They recounted a night of partying that ended in a fatal encounter, stating that the brothers were unarmed. Holland's criminal history, which included a previous conviction for attempted murder, was also brought to light.
