In the winter of 2015, the life of 54-year-old Greg Carlson came to a tragic and violent end in Denver, Colorado. On November 21st, he was fatally shot in the face, an event that would lead to confusing and conflicting accounts from the man who claimed to be his best friend. The aftermath of the shooting was not immediately clear, as his death was not reported for four days.
The man at the center of the investigation was Joel Sovine.
It was Sovine himself who eventually contacted authorities on November 25th, but his initial communication was a call expressing suicidal thoughts. During this call, he confessed to killing Carlson. His explanations for what transpired, however, shifted dramatically. In one version of events, he depicted the shooting as a horrific accident, claiming a 9mm handgun discharged as he tried to put it down.
A starkly different and more disturbing narrative emerged during a jailhouse interview. Sovine described a reckless game he and Carlson had supposedly played for years, pointing guns at each other and pulling the triggers. On that fatal day, he claimed the gun Carlson pointed at him merely clicked, but when it was his turn, the weapon fired, striking Carlson in the head. He recounted seeing his friend's head hit a table, knowing instantly that he was gone.
Following his confession, Joel Sovine was arrested and subsequently charged with first-degree murder. The Denver District Attorney's office proceeded with the formal charges, signaling their disbelief in his portrayal of the death as an accident or a bizarre game gone wrong. Greg Carlson, a Marine veteran, was survived by his son, brother, sister, and a grandson.
