FAYETTE COUNTY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A Fayette County man has been convicted of first-degree murder.
Anthony Ciliberti, Jr., Prosecuting Attorney, announces that on August 24, 2022, Douglas J. Greene, age 43, of Robson, Fayette County, West Virginia, was convicted of First-Degree Murder, a felony crime, following a three-day jury trial before Judge Thomas H. Ewing.
On February 18, 2021, police responded to 94 Carver Street in Robson, Fayette County, West Virginia, about a shooting. Upon arriving, the Defendant, Douglas J. Greene, advised law enforcement officers that he had shot and killed his neighbor, Craig Anthony Cottle. Greene spoke with a detective with the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department about the incident leading to Cottle’s death. Greene claimed that the two men had been drinking together that evening and that Cottle had attacked him after arguing.
Greene claimed that he had shot Cottle acting in self-defense. Mr. Cottle was found in a camper where he had been living, and it was determined that he had died from two gunshot wounds. Further investigation revealed numerous inconsistencies between Greene’s statement and evidence from the crime scene. It was further determined that Greene had also been living in a camper nearby and that the trailer had caught fire and burned two months prior. Greene blamed Cottle for setting fire to his camper and appeared to be seeking revenge for the destruction of his camper. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
This crime was investigated by the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department Detective Bureau. The case was prosecuted by Prosecuting Attorney Anthony Ciliberti, Jr. and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Sarah F. Smith.
