User:Fluffernutter/Ellis

Ellis Henry Greene was an American bookkeeper who was murdered on April 16, 1988 in a conspiracy to fake the death of Melvin Eugene Hanson. Hanson and co-conspirator Dr. Richard Boggs murdered Greene, then removed identification from the body and called police, claiming that Greene was in fact Hanson. Though this identification was originally accepted, and Hanson's life insurance policy paid out to his business partner John Hawkins, later investigation by Hanson's insurer proved that the body had been that of Greene and that Hanson was still alive. By then, however, Hanson and Hawkins had fled with the insurance payout. Hanson, who underwent plastic surgery to disguise his identity while on the run, was arrested by U.S. Customs in the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport in January 1989 when he was caught bring undeclared cash into the country. Boggs was arrested five days later in California. Hawkins was arrested in Sardinia in 1991, after an episode of America's Most Wanted caught the attention of a Dutch man who knew Hawkins, who was going by the name Glen Hewson. Boggs was convicted of first-degree murder in 1990 and sentenced to life in prison. Hanson, tried with Hawkins, was convicted of the same charge (among others) in 1995 and also received life in prison. Hawkins was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder (but not murder) (among other things) and sentenced to 25 years to life.

Biography
Ellis Henry Greene was born in Ohio. The family, eventually including seven children, was working-class, and Greene was reported to have struggled with "what he wanted to do, where he wanted to be, or who he was". Thirty-two at the time of his death, Greene had been married for a time in his native Ohio before moving to Glendale, California to begin again, having realized that he was gay. He took a job with a CPA there, where his work has since been described as bookkeeping, tax preparation, and "'selling porno material' and doing some tax work"; however, according to his twin brother Basil, Greene's ultimate goal was the founding of a company to sell cheesecake according to a recipe of his creation. He called his twin in April, 1988 to report that he had found potential investors for the cheesecake company. Greene was reportedly known in the gay scene of North Hollywood as a heavy drinker and someone who was promiscuous; he was also HIV-positive.

Last day
On April 15, 1988, Greene and his employer spent the day finalizing income tax work due that evening. They celebrated the completion of their work that afternoon at a gay bar in the area. Greene then went to another bar for drinks, but met up with a friend who needed to finish his tax return. Greene and his friend returned to Greene's office to type the returns, then did the same for a woman they encountered outside the office. The pair returned to the bar around 11 p.m., but Greene was refused service and instead left the bar to take a taxi home.

Biography
Melvin Eugene Hanson, known since childhood as "Gene", grew up in northern Floridaas the older of two children born to Melvin Eugene Snowden and Katherine Lawley. Lawley left Snowden when Gene was two years old and raised the children on her own until she met

to use

 * Boggs:
 * Article list: http://www.columbuslibrary.org/cmlcnix/searchresults.cfm?sort=&afterdate=&beforedate=&searchlist=HAWKINS%2C%20JOHN%20B%20(JUST%20SWEATS)&searchindex=S&pub=ALL
 * Book segment:
 * Another book segment:
 * Tv show: http://www.tvguide.com/detail/tv-show.aspx?tvobjectid=198476&more=ucepisodelist&episodeid=2361704
 * Other tv show, transcript: http://www.livedash.com/transcript/murder_by_the_book-(jonathan_kellerman)/5712/TRUTVP/Saturday_April_17_2010/263079/
 * Hawkins wrote books afterward: http://www.amazon.com/John-Barrett-Hawkins/e/B008O6F52K
 * LA Times blurbs: http://articles.latimes.com/keyword/melvin-e-hanson
 * News reports of convictions/mistrial: ,