On November 30, 2017, authorities discovered the body of firefighter Jon Hickey in his home in southeast Baltimore’s Upper Fells Point. Officials revealed that they found Hickey’s body after someone requested a wellness check. As per reports, police ruled Hickey’s death as a homicide and started the investigation. Soon, they found a surveillance video that showed an unknown man trying to get inside Hickey’s house. The man in the video turned out to be Daniel Greene.
According to The Baltimore Sun, the man in the video was “positively” identified as Daniel Greene. The investigators described the slaying as “domestic in nature.” The police also noted that they discovered Hickey’s body with a single gunshot wound in the head. Subsequently, authorities apprehended Daniel Greene and charged him with the murder of Jon Hickey.
During the initial phase of the trial, Greene, a former firefighter, allegedly shot Hickey in the head while he was asleep, WBAL TV. The outlet also mentioned that authorities could never recover the murder weapon and stated that it was a “circumstantial case.”
After weeks of arguments and testimonies, the jury finally gave a verdict in June 2023. The court sentenced Daniel Greene to life in prison, per Baltimore Sun. Subsequently, he received additional 20 years for home invasion and other firearm charges.
Dateline NBC will examine the case in its upcoming episode on Friday, March 1, at 9 p.m. ET.
John Hickey murder case explored
From arresting Green until the guilty verdict, investigators and the prosecution team tried to prove Hickey’s death as homicide. Citing the prosecutors, WBAL TV reported that Daniel Greene shot Hickey “execution-style.” Meanwhile, the court documents showed that Greene’s ex-girlfriend saw the surveillance video and identified Daniel Greene as the man who entered Hickey’s home. For the uninitiated, Greene’s former girlfriend was dating Jon Hickey at the time of the murder.
On the other hand, the jury members saw the bodycam footage of a police officer who conducted a wellness check. According to the video, the officer found the firefighter dead on his sofa, per WBAL TV. After seeing the video, one of Hickey’s friends said, “It was horrible. I’m in the fire department; I haven’t seen anything like that. Disgusting. From what we’re hearing on the evidence is it was a total cowardly act from what I’ve seen so far.”
The trial also saw a woman testifying who told the court she contacted the police and requested a wellness check on Jon Hickey, per FOX Baltimore. The woman also noted that she met Jon Hickey after ending her relationship with Daniel Greene. As per her statement, she got into a relationship with Hickey the following month. Meanwhile, the court records showed that the woman was one of the witnesses who identified Greene in the surveillance footage.
Court sentenced Greene to life in prison
The outlet also reported that the prosecution indicated Greene searched for Hickey’s address. This piece of information was revealed after the investigators recovered Greene’s laptop. During the closing arguments, the prosecutors told the jury that Daniel Greene killed Jon Hickey.
WBAL TV reported that the prosecution team tried to portray Greene as a “jealous, obsessive stalker and pathological liar living a double life.” Following this, the jury found Daniel Greene guilty of the murder of Jon Hickey.
However, the sentencing got postponed after Greene asked for a new legal counsel. Subsequently, the sentencing took place in February 2024 and the court sent him to life in prison.
