Craig Anthony Cottle was a 59-year-old White man whose life ended during a violent confrontation at his home in Robson, West Virginia, during the early morning hours of February 18, 2021. Known by some as Tony, Cottle was born in Montgomery and worked as a self-employed mason. He had served in the United States Marine Corps, enjoyed fishing and hunting, and was remembered by his family as a proud veteran, a loving father and grandfather, and a loyal friend.
Shortly before 2:00 a.m., Fayette County authorities received a report that Cottle had been shot. Deputies responding to 94 Carver Street found him inside the camper where he had been living. He had suffered two gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators identified his neighbor, Douglas Joseph Greene of Robson, as the person responsible for the shooting.
Greene was taken into custody and transported to a sheriff’s department detachment for questioning.
Greene told investigators that he and Cottle had been drinking beer together when an argument began. He admitted shooting Cottle with a. 22 Magnum revolver but claimed that he had acted in self-defense, reportedly telling deputies that it had been “either him or me.” Investigators, however, found no visible injuries on Greene that supported his description of being attacked. A search of the camper also revealed no clear physical evidence of the struggle Greene said had occurred, and authorities found several inconsistencies between his statements and the condition of the crime scene.
The conflict appeared to have been building before the shooting. Greene had lived in another camper nearby until it burned in December 2020, and he blamed Cottle for the fire. On February 17, only hours before the killing, Greene called authorities and accused Cottle of trying to set fire to a storage shelter where Greene was then living. Greene claimed that the hostility was connected to a dispute over property that he had obtained through a tax sale. An officer told Greene that the allegations would require further investigation rather than an immediate arrest. During that encounter, which was captured on the officer’s body camera, Greene became angry and warned that somebody was going to hell and somebody was going to prison.
Prosecutors later argued that the statement showed Greene’s anger, motive and possible premeditation. Their theory was that Greene armed himself, went to Cottle’s camper to confront him over the suspected arson and then shot him during the resulting argument. Greene was arrested shortly after the killing and charged with first-degree murder. He was initially held at the Southern Regional Jail without eligibility for bond.
The case went before a Fayette County jury in August 2022. During the three-day trial, Greene continued to maintain that the shooting had been an act of self-defense. The prosecution presented his recorded statements, the earlier body-camera footage, evidence from the camper and testimony concerning the lack of injuries or other signs supporting his account. The jury rejected the self-defense argument and convicted Greene of first-degree murder. Jurors recommended mercy, preventing the conviction from carrying a sentence of life imprisonment without any possibility of parole.
On November 18, 2022, the Circuit Court of Fayette County sentenced Douglas Joseph Greene to life in prison with mercy. Under that sentence, he may eventually become eligible for parole consideration after serving the minimum period required by West Virginia law, although eligibility does not guarantee release. Greene appealed his conviction, arguing in part that the trial court should not have allowed the jury to hear statements he made while he had allegedly been drinking and that certain evidence supporting his self-defense theory had been improperly restricted.
The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia reviewed those claims and affirmed the conviction and sentence on July 31, 2024. The court concluded that Greene appeared lucid and capable of understanding his rights when he spoke with investigators, despite having consumed alcohol. It also found that his statements accusing Cottle of arson and threatening that someone would go to hell or prison were relevant to establishing motive and premeditation. With the appeal rejected, Greene’s first-degree murder conviction and life-with-mercy sentence remained in effect, bringing the prosecution of Cottle’s killing to a final affirmed judgment.
