CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – A couple accused of killing an elderly woman by medically neglecting her are on trial this week at the Montgomery County Courthouse Center.
William “Bill” Norris Greene, 61, and his wife, Deadra Tidwell Greene, 56, both of Cumberland Furnace, are each charged with one count of second-degree murder and one count of battery disabled adult in Elsie’s death. Mae Greene, who died on July 17, 2018, aged 65.
Elsie Mae Greene (contributed)
Prosecutors: They left her on the floor
Prosecutor Crystal Morgan told jurors that when EMTs responded to a call at the couple’s residence, Elsie was unresponsive.
“On June 19, 2018, EMS arrived at 765 Green Lane; what they found was horrible,” he said. “They found a 65-year-old woman, lying on a naked mattress, in the corner of a room, with no air conditioning, lying in her own urine, her own feces , her own body fluids; she was unresponsive. Her blood pressure was 50/30.” Morgan said the woman had nine open, bleeding ulcers, some of which reached the bone. “It was a skeletal era.”
Morgan said Elsie, who was Bill Green’s brother, had been in the care of the defendants for a year and a half, and they had voluntarily assumed the duty of care for her because she had Parkinson’s disease.
Eight months before she called 911, Elsie had fallen and hurt her hip. Morgan alleged that the defendants did not seek medical attention, but instead took her to their home, where they placed her on a mattress on the floor.
“I didn’t have a phone to call others for help, no visitors were allowed in the house, I was at the mercy of the defendants,” Morgan said.
Morgan said Elsie died of septic shock. “Of the nine sores of discovery that surrounded his small frame; the same ulcers he developed while in the care of the defendants,” he said.
John Parker, who represented Bill Greene, said the case was not cut and dried. “We wouldn’t be here if it was,” he said.
The trial continues this week.
