JEFFERSON CO., Pa. (EYT) — An area man charged with the murder of his girlfriend may face the death penalty, albeit an unlikely scenario in a state that hasn’t executed a convict in almost two-and-a-half decades.
(Pictured above: Dakota Greeley mugshot provided by the Jefferson County Prison.)
Dakota Hamner Greeley, 20, is currently being held without bail in the Jefferson County Prison for the murder of his 25-year-old girlfriend, Thrish Renee Cole. Court records list the reason for his bail denial as “Capital offenses punishable by death or life in prison.”
A call to Jefferson County District Attorney Jeff Burkett asking to know if his office would seek the death penalty was not immediately returned. The Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct prohibits prosecutors from making extrajudicial comments about a case but allows them to make statements to inform the public of the nature and extent of a prosecutor’s action.
According to an affidavit of probable cause filed by Corporal Michael Meko of the Pennsylvania State Police, Greeley’s grandmother reported on November 9th at about 9:55 a.m. that he shot and killed Cole. She also reported that Greeley “was suicidal and wanted to commit suicide by cop.”
She stated he used a 30-30 long rifle to shoot Cole, the complaint states.
Trisha Renee Cole. Image via Facebook.
State Police arrived on the scene at a mobile home on Coyote Drive in Clover Township, Jefferson County, around 10:25 a.m. on November 9th, and were confronted by Greeley. He was advised to freeze, at which time he fired two shots from his rifle, according to the complaint.
As troopers returned fire, Greeley fled the scene in a black Ford F-150 pickup. He exited Coyote Drive onto Dickey Road, traveling westbound, the complaint states.
After traveling a short distance, Greeley crashed the truck into a wooded area on the south side of Dickey Road. He exited the vehicle and fled on foot into the woods, the complaint continues.
At approximately 11:00 a.m., troopers secured the truck and recovered a 30-30 lever action rifle that was in plain view, the complaint notes.
Greeley was located and taken into custody at about 11:36 a.m. He was attended to on the scene by EMS personnel. Greeley threatened to kill the emergency responders if they treated him prior to being transported to the hospital. He was subsequently transported to Penn Highlands DuBois for unspecified injuries, according to the complaint.
Corporal Meko interviewed Greeley at approximately 12:02 p.m. on the same day. Greeley was advised of his Miranda rights and warnings prior to the interview and consented to answer questions. During the interview, he asked Corporal Meko if Cole was dead. He was told that she was and asked what happened. Greeley responded, “I f***ing shot her,” according to the complaint.
Greeley told Corporal Meko that he used his 30-30 to shoot Cole in the back of the head. When asked where the gun that he used to shoot Cole was, he chuckled and said, “It was in my hand,” the complaint states.
At about 1:53 p.m. on the same day, Corporal Meko arrived at the Coyote Drive residence and saw Cole’s deceased body lying in the middle of Coyote Drive with a gunshot wound to the head and a tire track over her body, the complaint indicates.
Capital punishment has not been used in the Commonwealth for over 24 years. Since the US Supreme Court affirmed the legality of the practice in 1976, only three people have been executed—all men convicted of murder.
The last execution in the Commonwealth occurred on July 6, 1999, when Gary Michael Heidnik was executed by lethal injection for the 1987 murders of Deborah Dudley and Sandra Lindsay.
Heidnik, a serial torturer and rapist who held six women captive in a pit below his basement floor, was one inspiration for the Jame “Buffalo Bill” Gumb character in The Silence of the Lambs novel and subsequent film.
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