Lisa Greene wept loudly during Thursday’s court hearings as Cabarrus Detective Kevin Pfister read statements she allegedly gave to arson investigators the night her two children died in the Jan. 10, 2006, Midland mobile home fire, which she is accused of starting.
Pfister was called to testify in a hearing to suppress a confession Greene, 42, allegedly gave to investigators. Pretrial motions began Thursday after the third and final alternate juror was selected after a four-week seating process.
The detective testified that Greene quoted her son, Daniel Macemore, 10, as saying, “Momma, don’t leave us,” as flames filled his sister’s room.
During his hour-long testimony, Pfister said that Greene told investigators the night of the fire that she had attempted to enter the room but “the flames were too high” and that she had burned her foot attempting entry. He said Greene told investigators that Daniel had slept in the same room as his sister, Addison Macemore, 8, the night of the fire because “he couldn’t sleep by himself, ever.” Greene’s attorneys, in pretrial motions, argued that the fire began accidentally from two lighted candles in the children’s room.
Pfister testified that the statement was the first of three Greene gave to him.
The third statement, which prosecutors believe is a confession, was given three days after the fire, Pfister testified. Reading from that statement in court, Pfister testified that Greene told investigators the fire started when a blanket she was carrying caught fire and she did nothing to extinguish the blaze.
“I don’t know why I didn’t wake my kids,” Pfister read in court. “I wanted to lay down and forget everything. I wanted to go to sleep and forget everything.”
Greene’s attorney, Robert Campbell, grilled Pfister during cross-examinations because this was Pfister’s first homicide case since he was promoted to detective from community police officer. Campbell also questioned why Pfister didn’t record the conversation with video or audio devices.
In court documents obtained by the Independent Tribune, Greene’s court-appointed attorneys said she was on medication when the statement was given and she was distraught because detectives questioned her during the time of her children’s wake.
Cabarrus County Assistant District Attorney Ashley Shandley continually asked Pfister at Thursday’s hearing if Greene seemed to be incoherent, not in control or upset while investigators questioned her. Pfister testified that Greene seemed lucid during questioning and that her walk “wasn’t prohibited or bothered in anyway.” The detective testified that he wasn’t aware of the extent of her injuries, but that her bandaged foot “was pink and had a few black specks.”
Cross-examination will continue Friday, and others are scheduled to testify in the pretrial hearing, which could push the trial’s start date as late as Tuesday.
Greene is charged with murder and arson and faces the death penalty if found guilty. The trial is scheduled to last four weeks, and could be extended two more for death penalty considerations if she is found guilty.
-Josh Lanier
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