Ricky Lee Green: Texas Serial Killer
Ricky Lee Green was an American serial killer whose known murders took place in North Texas during 1985 and 1986. Born in Fort Worth, Texas, on December 27, 1960, Green became associated with four confirmed killings marked by extreme violence, repeated stabbing, blunt-force injuries, sexual assault, and mutilation. His victims included both men and women and ranged in age from 16 to 28. The murders remained disconnected for several years before information supplied by Green's wife, Sharon Green, helped investigators recognize the pattern and obtain confessions. Green was eventually convicted of capital murder for killing television advertising executive Steven Fefferman and was executed by lethal injection in Texas on October 8, 1997.
Background and Pattern of Violence
Green grew up in the Fort Worth area and left school after the eighth grade. Evidence presented during his later trial described a severely abusive childhood. Family members testified that his father subjected Green and his siblings to frightening and violent punishments. As an adult, Green developed serious problems with alcohol and drugs and worked at jobs that included radiator repair. His defense attorneys later argued that childhood abuse, substance abuse, and psychological problems had contributed to his violent behavior. Prosecutors, however, emphasized the deliberate and repetitive characteristics of the killings.
The four known murders displayed striking similarities. Victims were repeatedly stabbed or cut, and several were also beaten with a hammer or another blunt object. Sexual violence or sexual mutilation was present in the cases. Investigators described the level of violence as far greater than what would have been necessary simply to cause death. The similarities eventually became important evidence that the killings were the work of the same offender. During Green's capital-murder proceedings, an expert familiar with serial murder investigations described him as an organized serial killer.
Known Victims
- Jeffrey Lynn Davis — March 27, 1985 — Fort Worth, Texas. Davis was 16 years old when he disappeared on March 27, a date commonly used in homicide case records as his death date. His body was discovered in April 1985 in a swampy area near the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge. He had suffered severe cutting injuries to the neck and had been sexually mutilated and castrated. Green later confessed to killing him.
- Betty Jo Monroe — October 12, 1985 — Boyd, Wise County, Texas. Monroe was 28 years old. Green took her to the Green residence near Boyd, where she was sexually assaulted, stabbed approximately 17 times, struck in the head with a hammer, and mutilated. Her body was dumped in a rural area near Flatwood in Wise County and discovered on October 13. She remained unidentified for years before investigators established her identity through fingerprints.
- Sandra Lorraine Bailey — November 23, 1985 — Wise County, Texas. Bailey was 27 years old and had been celebrating her cousin's birthday at a Fort Worth club before encountering Green. She was taken to the Green residence, sexually assaulted, stabbed approximately 30 times, and beaten with a hammer. Her body was later abandoned in a drainage culvert near Henrietta in Clay County and was discovered on December 2, 1985.
- Steven Michael Fefferman — December 27, 1986 — Fort Worth, Texas. Fefferman was a 28-year-old advertising and sales executive for KXAS-TV. Contemporary execution reporting records his death as December 27, while his body was discovered at his East Fort Worth condominium on December 29. He had been bound with neckties, beaten, repeatedly stabbed and cut, sexually mutilated, and killed by a deep cut to the throat. Green took property and left in Fefferman's automobile.
The Murder of Jeffrey Lynn Davis
Sixteen-year-old Jeffrey Lynn Davis was the youngest of Green's confirmed victims. Davis disappeared in Fort Worth on March 27, 1985. His remains were found the following month in a swamp near the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge. The condition of the body immediately demonstrated that this was an unusually violent homicide. Davis had sustained an extensive wound to the neck that was described as nearly decapitating him, and his body had been sexually mutilated and castrated.
The killing remained unsolved for several years. When Green was finally questioned in 1989, investigators obtained a confession connecting him to Davis. Green later received a life sentence in connection with Davis's murder. The case also became important because the mutilation resembled injuries found on Green's other victims, helping establish a recognizable pattern of violence.
The Murder of Betty Jo Monroe
On October 12, 1985, Green encountered 28-year-old Betty Jo Monroe, who had lived in Amarillo and had worked as a topless dancer. Monroe accompanied Green to his mobile home near Boyd in Wise County. Sharon Green was also present and was later prosecuted for her involvement in this killing and the murder of Sandra Bailey.
Monroe was sexually assaulted and subjected to an extended attack. She suffered approximately 17 stab wounds as well as blows from a hammer. Her body was also mutilated. After the killing, her remains were taken away from the residence and left in a rural area near Flatwood. The body was found on October 13, but authorities initially could not determine who she was. Her identity was eventually confirmed through fingerprint records after the Green investigation developed in 1989.
The Murder of Sandra Lorraine Bailey
Twenty-seven-year-old Sandra Lorraine Bailey encountered Green on November 23, 1985. Bailey had gone to a Fort Worth club to celebrate her cousin's birthday. She eventually accompanied Green and was taken to the residence where he and Sharon lived. Bailey was sexually assaulted and attacked with both a knife and a hammer. Investigators determined that she had been stabbed approximately 30 times.
Bailey's body was removed from the residence and abandoned in a drainage culvert near Henrietta, northwest of Fort Worth in Clay County. Her remains were discovered on December 2. The combination of repeated stabbing, blunt-force trauma, sexual violence, and the disposal of the body strongly resembled the violence associated with Green's other murders. Green later confessed, and he ultimately received a life sentence for Bailey's murder.
The Murder of Steven Fefferman
Steven Michael Fefferman was a 28-year-old local sales executive for the Fort Worth television station KXAS. Green's account to investigators stated that he encountered Fefferman around Casino Beach in the Lake Worth area. The men obtained beer and eventually went to Fefferman's condominium in Fort Worth. Inside the residence, Green persuaded Fefferman to allow himself to be tied to the bed with neckties.
Green then launched a prolonged attack. Fefferman was beaten around the face and head and suffered numerous stab and cutting wounds. He was also sexually mutilated. An autopsy determined that although at least one stab wound could have been fatal, the actual cause of death was a deep cut to the throat. Investigators believed the injuries had been inflicted over a significant period of time.
After the murder, Green searched the bedroom for valuables. Fefferman's wallet was later found without money, and several personal possessions were missing. Green also drove away in Fefferman's automobile. The car was recovered along Interstate 30. Green's fingerprints were subsequently matched to prints found inside the condominium, providing important physical evidence in addition to his confession. Fefferman's murder became the case for which Green was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death.
Sharon Green and the Break in the Investigation
The murders might have remained separate cases much longer without information from Sharon Green. In April 1989, Sharon contacted Crime Stoppers after discussing the crimes with a counselor. Her information directed police toward Ricky Green and described involvement in more than one killing. Investigators arrested Green on April 27, 1989.
Once in custody, Green gave investigators statements concerning four murders. Details in the confessions corresponded with evidence from the crime scenes. The similarities among the victims, particularly the repeated stabbing, beatings, and sexual mutilation, further strengthened the connection. Sharon Green was prosecuted for involvement in the Monroe and Bailey killings and ultimately received a 10-year probated sentence.
Trial, Conviction, and Death Sentence
Green was indicted for the capital murder of Steven Fefferman during the commission or attempted commission of robbery. Because of extensive publicity surrounding the case, his trial was moved from Tarrant County to Travis County. On September 14, 1990, a jury found Green guilty of capital murder. During the punishment phase, prosecutors introduced evidence concerning the three other murders to which Green had confessed, along with evidence of other violent behavior.
The jury returned the findings required for a death sentence later that month. Green subsequently received life sentences connected with the murders of Sandra Bailey and Jeffrey Davis. His capital conviction went through years of state and federal appeals, but the courts ultimately allowed the death sentence to stand.
Other Suspected Crimes
Authorities investigated Green in connection with additional violent crimes, and he made claims suggesting that the true number of people he had killed could have been higher than four. At one point he reportedly told a mental-health examiner that he had killed numerous additional people. Investigators also considered him a possible suspect in other unsolved murders. Those allegations, however, were never established with the same level of evidence as the Davis, Monroe, Bailey, and Fefferman cases. For that reason, the four victims above remain the confirmed victims most securely connected to Green.
Execution
After unsuccessful appeals and earlier stays of execution, Ricky Lee Green was executed by lethal injection at the Huntsville Unit in Texas on October 8, 1997. He was 36 years old. In his final statement, Green expressed regret to the families of his victims while also saying that he believed another killing would not resolve what had happened. He was pronounced dead shortly after the lethal drugs were administered.
Green's crimes remain notable in Texas criminal history because four murders that initially appeared to be separate cases were eventually connected through confessions, physical evidence, similarities in the attacks, and information supplied by someone close to the killer. Jeffrey Lynn Davis, Betty Jo Monroe, Sandra Lorraine Bailey, and Steven Michael Fefferman came from different circumstances, but each became a victim of the same repeating pattern of violence. The investigation that finally connected their deaths ended a murder series that had remained hidden for approximately four years and resulted in Green spending the remainder of his life in custody.
