An unsolved double murder out in Montcalm County could be connected to a double murder in Eaton County.
Officials want to know if the man accused of murdering a Delta Township Couple in September is responsible for the deaths of another couple. Last fall, Michael and Terri Greene were found in their Delta Township home just west of Lansing on September 22. Christopher Perrien is charged with murder in connection with that case.
Now, investigators in Montcalm County want to see if Perrien is responsible for another double murder that happened one year earlier. A different man named Michael Greene and his wife Kathleen were found at their home in Pierson Township in October 2010. That murder remains unsolved.
The Montcalm County Sheriff says the two separate double murder cases have striking similarities. Now, officials are trying to find out if the two cases are connected or if it is just a weird case of coincidence.
"It's a double homicide... husband, wife similarities. You look at those kinds of trends," said Sheriff William Barnwell.
The sheriff says the most notable similarity is the fact that the victims' names match. Both cases involve a middle aged man named Michael Greene, found dead in his home along with his wife.
38-year-old Christopher Perrien has been charged with murder in the Eaton County case and now the Montcalm County Sheriff says he's looking into the possibility that Perrien could be responsible for both.
"What we need to do is continue to investigate these links... Possible links, see if there's any other similarities that would connect the two... What's the motive? What's the other issues.... Did they know each other? Those kinds of things, you know," said Barnell.
It's been found that Perrien lived just miles away from the Montcalm couple at the time they were killed. Both cases happened in the fall, about a year apart. The sheriff says right now, that's not enough.
"Coincidence and similarities are not enough to charge people, arrest people or even make us think this is an open shut case," said Barnwell.
