|
THE MURDER On October 31, 1999, 58-year-old Mabel Greineder was murdered while taking her customary walk with husband Dr. Dirk Greineder near Morses Pond in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Mabel, known to friends as May, was hit twice in the head with a hammer and stabbed ten times. Dr. Greineder, 60, claimed that he separated briefly from Mabel during their walk and returned to find her mutilated body on the ground. After four months of police investigation, he was charged with her murder. Considered a flight risk, he was held without bail. Defense lawyers claimed a mysterious stranger — possibly a serial killer — attacked Mabel when the couple separated. They said the attacker left tiny traces of unidentified DNA on her glove. Prosecutors claimed Greineder killed his wife of 31 years because he was afraid she would expose his secret life of adultery that included phone sex, escort services, and hookups with swingers on the Internet. Defense attorney Martin Murphy did not contest allegations that his client cheated on his wife or engaged in unusual sexual behavior. He noted that many people are unfaithful to their spouses, but don't kill them. Recognized as one of Boston's top allergists, Greineder made a career investigating childhood asthma and allergen immunotherapy. He received a degree from Yale University and a doctorate in pharmacology. At the time of his arrest, he was the director of Clinical Allergy at Boston’s Brigham & Women's Hospital and an assistant professor at Harvard University. "He is in a fight for his life," lawyer Murphy said before the trial opened. "He wants to stay and fight that fight because at the end of the day when it is all over, he will be vindicated." THE LAWYERS Initially, the Greineder defense team asked Superior Court Judge Paul Chernoff to exclude evidence the doctor led a secret sex life that included trysts with escorts as well as a taste for Internet porn and phone sex. His lawyers argued that the sexually oriented allegations would unfairly “prejudice” jurors against his client. "There is no logical connection between the types of activities the commonwealth has described and the claims of motive, " Martin Murphy said. “That is simply a non-sequitur.” "What (prosecutors) are trying to do, " he said, “is send a none-too-subtle message that if this man is capable of making 1-900 calls, capable of frequenting prostitutes ...capable of seeking out partners for a threesome, then he is the kind of man who is capable of this murder." Murphy also argued that extramarital affairs and Internet pornography are so prevalent that it rendered Greineder’s actions irrelevant. He claimed the allegations would prevent his client from getting a fair trial, and noted the Supreme Judicial Court has frowned on admitting evidence of extramarital sex in a spousal murder case unless prosecutors can show it created “direct evidence of hostility” between the husband and wife. But prosecutors countered that jurors should be allowed to hear about Greineder’s appetite for prostitutes and pornography, because extramarital dalliances may have been the motive behind his wife’s murder. In the week before his wife’s murder, Dr. Greineder had sex with Brooklyn prostitute Nora Lopez during a business trip to New Jersey, joined an Internet dating service called People2People and chatted online with swinging couple Harry and Amy Page to set up a threesome. Computers taken from the home revealed reams of pornographic material accessed on a regular and continued basis. Lead prosecutor Richard Grundy cited telephone records showing Greineder tried to contact prostitute Deborah Doolio the day before and the day after his wife’s slaying. “If that’s not a sign of hostility, I don’t know what is, “ Judge Chernoff eventually decided to include the evidence. THE WITNESSES Thomas Young /Dirk Greineder Outwardly, Greineder maintained the impression of a loving husband, while “Thomas Young” was free to pursue the low life. Credit cards obtained in that name were used to pay for $1,100 worth of calls to phone sex lines in 1997, hotel trysts with hookers and encounters with swingers he met over the Internet. During the initial investigation, a trooper asked Greineder about his sexual relationship with his wife. The doctor said "he hadn't had sex with her that morning or that night or that week. He hadn't had sex in a few years.” This prompted investigators to seize a box from the garage containing a 12-pack of condoms with 11 left, two self-prescribed vials of Viagra, a toothbrush, toothpaste, batteries, and a knotted nylon rope. When Greineder later took the stand in his own defense, he admitted to a double life that he said resulted from his wife's loss of interest in sex in the mid-1990s. He admitted hiring prostitutes and visiting porn sites, but said he and his wife were still able to maintain a happy family life. He repeatedly declared his love for May. The real Young, Greineder’s roommate from Yale whom he hadn’t seen in 30 years, testified that he was contacted by investigators months after May’s murder and informed that Greineder was using his name to apply for credit cards and pay for Internet porn. Elizabeth Porter She said Greineder was waiting in a room with champagne, roses, chocolate-covered strawberries, and " a lot of expensive stuff." She said Greineder told her he lived in California and "researched cancer and stuff." When Porter asked about his wedding ring, Greineder told her he had a wife and children, but was separated. He said he was no longer attracted to his wife, she had gone “old and soft,” there was no passion in their marriage, and he was seeking a divorce, Porter testified. She said Greineder called her after their Natick encounter and said “he really liked me and wanted to see me again.” Porter said they met again five days later at the Westin Hotel in Boston where Greineder paid her $450 for 90 minutes. They had sex, then Greineder watched her shower, and massaged her with roses and oil. Deborah Doolio She received a telephone call from the defendant the next day. "He thanked me for meeting with him, " she said. The next time Doolio heard from Greineder was in September of 1999, but he was unsure about meeting for another tryst. Speaking to the jury softly, Doolio testified that he spoke about the need for discretion "for the sake of his children." "I told the gentleman that he was indecisive, and I felt (he was) confused and I told him that maybe seeing an escort wasn’t the best thing for him to do until he found some peace within himself, " said Doolio. A representative from Verizon Wireless confirmed that Greineder made cellphone calls to Doolio — that were not answered — the day before his wife’s murder and again the day after. Nora Lopez Harry Page "I am white, married but she does not play, so I am looking for very discreet couple with whom to play…would love to exchange e-mails to see if we can fit. I’m basically straight but can be flexible in group situations. I cannot host but would be willing to arrange for hotel accommodations if we get along. " Greineder boasted in another e-mail, "I think that I have dabbled with almost anything you can think of, though my preferences remain pretty vanilla (if you call threesomes vanilla!!)" Harry Page said he and wife Amy exchanged e-mails with Greineder until two days before the murder. Page said the doctor sent a nude "frontal" picture of himself after Page e-mailed five nude shots of Amy. Page testified that the couple never met with the doctor in person. Internet Services Several other members of People2People testified that they interacted with Greineder, who used the login name casual_guy2000. Catherine Irwin and Joanne Nichols both read aloud messages they received from casual_guy2000 in response to their advertising for sexual partners. Casual_guy2000 was looking for an "uncomplicated" relationship, they testified. Peter Brennan from People2People and Cathy McGoff from Yahoo also testified Greineder paid for their services with a corporate American Express card he had obtained in the name of Thomas G. Young. Luis Rosado Prosecutors admitted they did not have definitive proof of this, but asked the jury to consider she may have used her husband’s equipment without his permission in the weeks and days before her murder, and stumbled upon the truth. Builder Luis Rosado testified he was in the Greineder’ home working on a renovation project and overheard Greineder ask his wife if she had been using his computer. Later, May burst into tears after Rosado informed her the wrong cabinet door handles had arrived. A State Trooper who examined Greineder’s home computer showed activity late the night before her killing, in two files that contained a term paper on asthma that May was writing. Children At one point, his 26-year-old son, Colin, rolled his eyes then rested his chin on his hands before shaking his head. Kirsten Greineder, 30, looked trance-like at times, while 28-year-old Britt, the most outwardly supportive of her father, often sat with a pained expression. In his testimony, Colin Greineder said he had discovered his father had used Internet sex sites several years ago when he was working on his father's computer. He said he "couldn't get the words" to confront his father. "I felt embarrassed and I was sad," he said. "I was just sad." THE VERDICT In late June 2001, Dr. Dirk Greineder convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. The verdict was unanimous. In interviews, jury members admitted their verdict relied heavily on DNA evidence recovered from the crime scene. One said the revelations about Greineder's predilection for sex with prostitutes and Internet chat room pals did not turn the jurors against the doctor, but it did provide them with a plausible motive. A Superior Court jury in Dedham sent the shackled doctor into an angry, chanting mob that gathered around the van that whisked Greineder to the state prison where he will die behind bars. "I want everybody to remember why we're here today," said prosecutor Rick Grundy, holding up a picture of 58-year-old Mabel "May" Greineder. Source: www.townonline.com |
copyright 2004 one angry girl designs ®