Deputy ‘discovered’ 25-year-old dead in 1979, but he was killer, Florida cops now say

The women in Deputy John Greer’s life kept dying.

But Florida investigators now say it was no coincidence. More than 40 years later, cold case detectives have identified him as a killer.

In 1979, the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office deputy had an affair with a 25-year-old store clerk, then the clerk and his wife died from gunshot wounds 71 days apart, the sheriff’s office said in a Dec. 31 news release.

Investigators announced that Greer admitted to shooting both women during an interview in 2023, but he was bedridden at the time, and detectives determined he would never be able to stand trial.

He died in March 2024.

A series of shootings

On Nov. 5, 1979, Greer called dispatch to report he had “discovered a homicide” at the Farm Store in Punta Gorda, deputies said. Someone had shot 25-year-old Adele Marie Easterly in the back and head with a 12-gauge shotgun, according to the sheriff’s office.

Investigators said they never had enough information to identify a suspect, but even at the time of Easterly’s death some of Greer’s coworkers were suspicious of him “because of an earlier investigation and other strange behavior.”

Less than three months before Easterly died, Greer had made another call to dispatch to report his wife had shot and killed herself in a closet in their home while he was asleep.

Investigators said they couldn’t determine if her death was a homicide or a suicide based on the forensic evidence but they knew she couldn’t have died the way her husband described.

“Greer told responding deputies he was sleeping and heard a ‘pop.’ He looked for his wife and saw smoke coming out of the closet,” according to deputies. “He opened the door and found his wife was in the closet and had been shot. Chemicals used to detect blood were used, and no blood splatter was found on the inside of the door. There was evidence of blood in the door jam, which would prove the closet door was open at the time of the shooting.”

Seven years after Easterly died, one of her friends gave an interview with detectives but said she was afraid to do so earlier because Easterly’s story involved a deputy, investigators said.

She told authorities Easterly had been dating a deputy, who she later found out was married, and he would visit her while working the night shift, authorities said. But the friend said Easterly confided that she was afraid of him and wanted to break up, authorities said.

The deputy reportedly told Easterly he was going to leave his wife, but when he told her he wanted a divorce, his wife got out a gun and was accidentally shot as they fought over the weapon, deputies said.

Greer eventually resigned from his post in 1980 during an internal investigation that detectives believe had to do with the death of a third woman he knew.

A female acquaintance was reported missing by her husband in September of that year, then she was found dead in her car in a wooded area nine days later, deputies said.

Suicide was the presumed manner of death, but her husband told investigators that Greer “had been following his wife around and was coming to their house while on duty and attempting to have sexual relations with her,” deputies said.

Continued search for answers

Cold case detectives believed Greer was responsible for Easterly’s death but didn’t have enough evidence to arrest him.

They continued working the case and in 2016 put out a call to the public, which they said led to sexual assault accusations against Greer and information from the night Easterly died that could be used to arrest Greer.

In April 2023, investigators said they traveled to Tennessee to speak with him at his extended care facility, but he couldn’t carry out a long conversation.

He did indicate he had killed his wife and Easterly, but it was unclear whether Greer shot his wife accidentally or intentionally, investigators said.

“Cold Case detectives determined Greer’s health was seriously compromised, and he would most likely never leave the care center,” deputies said. “It was determined Greer would never be well enough to stand trial, but the deaths of Adele Easterly and Greer’s wife were confirmed to have been at the hands of John Greer.”

Charlotte County is on the southwest coast of Florida, about a 30-mile drive north from Fort Myers.

This story was originally published December 31, 2024 at 1:29 PM with the headline "Deputy ‘discovered’ 25-year-old dead in 1979, but he was killer, Florida cops now say."