45 years after Florida store clerk's murder, her accused killer is identified as a former sheriff's deputy
A former Florida sheriff's deputy has been identified as the suspect in a store clerk's murder that took place 45 years ago, the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office said.
John Greer has been named not only as the accused killer of the store clerk but also in the death of his wife a few months before that, the sheriff's office said. Deputies also investigated another suspicious death and some reported sexual assaults connected to Greer, but weren't able to gather conclusive evidence on those cases.
"I want to be clear that this individual does not represent the overwhelmingly great men and women who have worked for this agency over our century-plus of existence," said Sheriff Bill Prummell said in a statement about the case released earlier this week.
Endless suspicions, little evidence
At around 2 a.m. on Nov. 5, 1979, Greer radioed dispatch to say he discovered a homicide at The Farm Store, in Ridge Harbor, Florida. The victim, 25-year-old Adele Marie Easterly, an assistant manager at the store, had been shot once in the back and once in the head with a 12-gauge shotgun. The killer, the sheriff's deputy said, escaped with approximately $7.34 from the store.
Investigators interviewed Easterly's friends and acquaintances but not enough evidence or information was developed to establish a solid suspect, the sheriff's office said. No arrests were made. Some deputies were suspicious about Greer, but said they didn't have substantial evidence to connect him to the Easterly case.
A few months earlier, on Aug. 27, 1979, Greer had called the sheriff's office to report that his wife, Jackie Greer, had shot herself in their home in Port Charlotte. Investigators had suspicions about the incident, the sheriff's office said, but weren't able to link their concerns with evidence.
Greer remained free.
More possible victims, but little headway
Roughly a year later, on Oct. 3, 1980, Greer resigned from the sheriff's office four days after a female friend of his was found dead.
The sheriff's office suspected she overdosed on pills because empty pill bottles were found in the car and a suicide note was left behind. Her husband, however, told the sheriff's office Greer used to follow her around and attempted to have sexual relations with her. However, there are no records available to substantiate this theory, the sheriff said.
The sheriff's office said it followed up on numerous leads in the Easterly case — including a friend who said Easterly was having an affair with a married Charlotte County sheriff's deputy — but eventually, the case went cold.
Greer went to work at other police and sheriff's offices, usually near the west coast of Florida. He was also a pilot and held various aircraft positions.
A recent CBS News investigation documented examples of abuses and chronic misconduct in a number of sheriff's offices around the country, including oversight failures that can enable abuses to go unchecked.
Although the investigation focused on more recent years and mostly on situations involving use of deadly force, CBS News found misconduct was more prevalent in smaller, more remote communities where deputies typically had less training, fewer resources and limited oversight. In some cases, misconduct continued for years, and even then, sheriffs didn't always face consequences.
A break in the case
In 2016, the Cold Case Unit released a news statement detailing their suspicions in the case, without giving a name, "to let potential witnesses know a law enforcement officer was potentially involved." Their hope was that someone would come forward with information.
And finally, the sheriff's office said, came their break in the case. A former Sheriff's Office Explorer came forward and told investigators Greer had sexually assaulted her and spoken about killing Easterly. She was also working the night the store clerk died and said she saw Greer had blood on his bare hand.
The Cold Case Unit developed probable cause to arrest Greer, and in April 2023 investigators traveled to Tennessee, where he was living in an extended care facility in Kingsport. In his interview with investigators, the sheriff's office says Greer admitted to shooting both Easterly and his wife.
Greer died at the care center in Tennessee on March 2, 2024. He was 77.
After 45 years, the sheriff's office says the long-unsolved case is now closed.
