WAYNE COUNTY

‘Rough’ night cancels appearance by mom of slain kids

Oralandar Brand-Williams
The Detroit News

The mother of four children found slain in their Dearborn Heights home a week ago was not able to attend a news conference Wednesday to speak for the first time about her children and the outpouring of support since the tragedy.

The organizers of the news conference said Faith Harris-Green had a very “rough” night and “definitely expressed her gratitude” to the public.

With tears in his eyes, Ozie Henry Pye IV, the executive director of the O.H. Pye III Funeral Home, said Harris-Green continues to take the murders of her children hard.

She’s expected to attend Wednesday’s visitation, which 3-8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.

Harris-Green wanted to thank the public for its outpouring of support and to talk about her children, said a spokesman for the funeral home. “She didn’t want them to be forgotten in all of this .... tragedy that has taken place,” Lloyd Banks said Wednesday. “That was going to be the message today ... just to talk about her children.”

Harris-Green’s husband, Gregory Green, 49, is accused of killing her four children: Kaleigh Green, 4; Koi Green, 5; Kara Allen, 17; and Chadney Allen, 19.

Harris-Green’s youngest children were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning and the older children, the husband’s stepchildren, were shot to death. The younger girls were found in the upper portion of the family’s home in the 4400 block of Hipp. The younger children were both pronounced dead at the hospital.

The bodies of the teenagers were found in the basement of the house. They died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Harris-Green was bound with duct tape and zip ties, had her face slashed, was shot in the foot and forced to watch her husband kill the older children, according to authorities. She was found in the basement with the bodies of her teenaged children, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.

Green met police in the driveway of the family after a 911 call to the home around 1:15 a.m. Sept. 21.

Harris-Green “wanted to ensure that the (children’s) story was told,” Banks said Wednesday.

Green’s court-appointed attorney Charles Longstreet said Tuesday he plans this week to file a motion for an insanity defense on Gregory Green’s defense.

“I intend to refer him for a mental competency exam before his probable-cause conference (Oct. 5),” said Longstreet, adding he met with Green on Tuesday.

Green’s preliminary examination, scheduled for Oct. 12, could be adjourned for up to four months if a Dearborn Heights judge grants Longstreet’s motion for a mental competency examination.

Green remains locked up with no bond in the Wayne County Jail and is on suicide watch.

Harris-Green had filed for a personal protection order in Wayne County Circuit Court against Green in February 2013. In her petition — which was denied — Harris-Green did not cite any physical assaults by her husband, but she did say Green “jumped at me like he was going to attack me. This went on for hours.” She also said he was “being belligerent, kicking things ... threatening me and saying if I didn’t leave things are going to get ugly, ” according to the court filing.

The filing did not mention that Green had been released from prison five years earlier after serving 16 years for second-degree murder in the death of his first wife, Tonya Green, who was seven months pregnant, on July 14, 1991. It’s unclear if Harris-Green knew of her husband’s conviction for murdering his first wife. In that case, Green also filed a notice of an insanity defense with the court in October 1991 for stabbing his then-wife to death. Green pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the deaths of his wife and unborn child and was sentenced in March 1992 for the crime.

A GoFundMe page was set up Thursday to raise $50,000 to help the family bury the children.

The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Friday at the Detroit First Church of the Nazarene, 21260 Haggerty, Farmington Hills. The children will be buried at St. Hedwig Cemetery, 23755 Military in Dearborn Heights.

The services are open to the public.

“I have two (children) of my own…I can’t imagine doing this level of cruelty to anyone. I’ve seen a little of things, but this takes the cake,” Pye said.

Nikki Harris, Harris-Green’s sister said in a statement Tuesday: “Words cannot describe the horrific tragedy our family is experiencing over the untimely deaths of Chadney, Kara, Koi, and Kaleigh. We are devastated by this loss and at this time we are asking for privacy during this extremely difficult time.

“We are relieved to advise Faith Harris-Green is home and on the road toward recovery. As a family — we don’t understand every experience we encounter in life, but we do know that all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord.”

The family also expressed its gratitude to Dearborn Heights authorities and city officials who worked on the case

Pye funeral home is providing free caskets and funeral services for the deceased children.

“This is simply a tragedy and in the 36 years my family has been in business, we have never seen anything like this,” Pye said. “My wife and I were compelled to help this mother properly bury her children.”

bwilliams@detroitnews.com

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