Jury deliberations begin in Kingsport murder trial
BLOUNTVILLE — “He makes me mad. If I could kill him I would do it, and not think twice about it.”
These are the words one witness in a Kingsport murder trial said the defendant used to describe his feelings about the victim, his landlord.
James Leo Greenwell II, 38, 450 Allen Drive, Apt. 4, is accused in the Aug. 14, 2009, shooting death of Jimmy Wayne Mullins, 65, a retired engineer who had purchased some apartments on Allen Drive to supplement his income. Police located Mullins’ body in a small L-shaped shed attached to the apartments on Aug. 24, 2009.
Greenwell is being tried on charges of premeditated and felony first-degree murder, especially aggravated burglary, employment of a firearm during commission of a felony, possession of a firearm silencer, abuse of a corpse, and uttering a forgery. Jury deliberations have begun and are expected to continue this (Thursday)morning.
During closing arguments Wednesday afternoon, Sullivan County Assistant District Attorney William Harper reviewed the state’s proof and asked the jury to recall what the woman said she heard from Greenwell. He asked the jury to find Greenwell guilty as charged.
Greenwell’s defense attorney, Larry Dillow, argued the state’s evidence failed to prove Mullins’ death was not accidental, as Greenwell claims. He suggested police leapt to the conclusion that Mullins was murdered and failed to adequately investigate the possibility that an accident had occurred. He contended, as Greenwell has claimed, that it was an accident as a result of Mullins’ attempt to intervene as Greenwell was about to commit suicide.
“Mr. Mullins was coming to this young man’s aid. He’s sitting down, alone, not knowing what to do with himself or his life, gun loaded, gun cocked. Mr. Mullins, for whatever reason or how, comes to his aid, and then unfortunate events occur. ... Mr. Mullins tried to assist this man, with a cocked 9mm or whatever gun it was (.45-caliber, according to testimony), and for whatever reason he goes to his right, and as he steps on a hose, or something, starts going this way and the gun is fired, accidentally,” Dillow said.
Harper cited Greenwell’s actions following Mullins’ death as proof it wasn’t the accident Greenwell claims it was. Greenwell covered the body with a tarp, placed a bag of salt behind the door to block it, and tied it shut. Then, when Greenwell’s brother and other neighbors noticed the stench of Mullins’ decaying corpse, Greenwell concocted a story about a dead cat under the deck — a dead cat he later goes through the motions of cutting into deck boards to get out and throw away. He also took a newspaper dated Aug. 18, 2009, into Mullins’ apartment and placed it on the coffee table, hiding others under the stairs and deck outside. And he took one of Mullins’ checks, dated Aug. 17, 2009, and cashed it.
“Does that sound like an accident?” Harper asked.
Then, when confronted with the bag of dirt a neighbor discovered in the trash can instead of a dead cat, Greenwell admitted to killing Mullins but claimed it was an accident.
Harper argued Greenwell’s decision to conceal Mullins’ body under a tarp in a corner of the tiny, crowded shed in the hot summer month of August constituted abuse of a corpse, citing that the body suffered “massive decomposition” over that 10-day period as a result of Greenwell’s actions. The body had to be identified through dental records, he noted.
With respect to the burglary charge, Harper argued, “Mr. Mullins did not consent for him to enter that building (the shed), with a pistol, and shoot him in the back of the head.”
Greenwell’s use of a .45-caliber handgun and a “makeshift silencer” fashioned from a dishcloth and electrical tape constituted proof of employment of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm silencer, he said.
As to the uttering a forgery charge, Harper argued Mullins couldn’t have written the check dated Aug. 17, 2009, because he had already been dead for three days.
In the state’s final closing argument, Sullivan County Assistant District Attorney Lewis Combs contested Dillow’s argument that the prosecution had failed to do its job. He said the investigation of Mullins’ death did not stop in 2009, but continued all the way up to the beginning of the trial on Monday. He cited the 116 exhibits they had introduced and testimony of some experts as evidence of their investigative efforts, despite the case being “hampered by this defendant.”
If convicted on the murder charges, Greenwell faces the possibility of life in prison or life with the possibility of parole after 51 years.
To comment, you must register and verify your email address by telephone.
Comments are the sole responsibility of the registered user participating in online discussions. You agree not to post comments off topic, abusive, obscene, defamatory, vulgar, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned.
Browse Premiere Local Businesses
