AURORA | Kimmy Greene’s family spent the past 17 years holding out hope that one day, Greene’s killer would be brought to justice.
That day finally came Nov. 15 when an Arapahoe County jury convicted Greene’s husband, Michael Medina, of first-degree murder for killing Greene back in 1996. The conviction means Medina, who is already serving a 48-year prison sentence for killing his son in 2005, will never be released from prison.
Stefanie O’Bryan, Greene’s aunt, said Friday’s verdict left her elated.
“Finally we can rejoice in her life, instead of having to concentrate on how she died,” O’Bryan said.
Greene was last seen alive in October 1996. Medina told police she left the couple’s Aurora apartment to buy cigarettes and never came back, leaving behind him and the couple’s two young daughters. Greene’s family never believed that story and always suspected Medina of killing her when she tried to end the abusive relationship.
Police never found Greene’s body or any trace of her after she left the apartment that night.
After Greene’s disappearance, Medina moved to his native Alamosa and had a child with a new girlfriend.
In 2005, when that girlfriend tried to end her relationship with Medina, he threatened to kill the couple’s 2-year-old son, Deegan. To prove to his girlfriend that he was capable of doing it, Medina told her he killed Greene and gave a detailed account of how he did it.
A few days after he made the confession, Medina killed Deegan by drowning the tot in a drainage pond near Monte Vista. He was later arrested and sentenced to 48 years for the crime.
Medina’s confession lead Aurora police to take another look at the case and eventually in 2012, a grand jury indicted Medina for killing Greene.
Deputy District Attorney Cara Morlan, one of the prosecutors who handled Medina’s case, said the passage of time since Greene’s disappearance actually helped the prosecution’s case. That’s because there isn’t a single record of Greene since 1996, not in federal state or local databases around the country.
At trial, Morlan said that was an important piece because it shows that Medina’s contention that Greene just left him and the girls wasn’t plausible.
Not having a body and relying heavily on an 8-year-old confession made for a tough case for the prosecution, but Morlan said prosecutors never doubted Medina’s guilt.
“We knew it would be a tough case to prove but there was never a question of ‘did he do this,’” she said.
Morlan and fellow prosecutor John Kellner said the case proves that justice is possible even in cases as cold as Greene’s.
“This case really stands as a potential message of hope for other families,” Kellner said.
Brandon, thank you for the great coverage you have given to Kimmy’s case over the past years. When you have a missing loved one (presumed murdered) and you are frantically looking for them, you want to shout it from the mountaintops! You want everyone to hear and come forward if they know something. May God bless you.