January 14, 1999

DEFENDANT SENTENCED TO 33 1/3 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR 1993 NURSING HOME SHOOTING DEATHS OF 81 YEAR OLD WHEELCHAIR-BOUND MOTHER AND HALF SISTER

 Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced today that 61 year old Harold Greene convicted on charges of killing his 81 year old mother and his 64 year old half-sister in an April, 1993 shooting at the Jamaica Nursing home where his mother resided has been sentenced to 33 1/3 years to life in prison.

District Attorney Brown said, "At trial the evidence of the defendant's guilt was overwhelming. The key issue was his mental state at the time of the shooting. The jury weighed all of the evidence presented and concluded that the defendant was criminally responsible for his actions. The result was more than justified."

The defendant was convicted of murder in connection with the death of his half-sister, Margaret Galvez, and of manslaughter in the shooting death of his mother, Dorothy Simpson. The crimes took place on April 18, 1993 inside the Highland Care Center, located at 91-31 175th Street, where Mrs. Simpson resided. The defendant was convicted after a six week trial held before Supreme Court Justice Jaime A. Rios who will impose sentence on January 13, 1999.

According to the testimony at trial the defendant and his half-sister had been embroiled in a dispute over finances and over their mother's living arrangements and medical case for many years before the shooting. On the day of the shooting, witnesses testified, the defendant went to the nursing home where his sister was visiting their mother in the facility's day room. He approached the woman carrying two plastic bags containing small gifts for his mother. After a brief conversation with the two woman, the defendant took out a loaded gun, assumed a combat stance and shot his half-sister five times. She fell to the floor mortally wounded. The defendant then stepped over her body and, while embracing his mother, held the gun to his mother's chest and fired a fatal shot. He then fled the premises and was arrested later that night.

Assistant District Attorney Richard B. Schaeffer prosecuted the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Daniel A. Saunders, Chief of the District Attorney's Homicide Trials Bureau.