Kevin Greenlee
Appearances
Serial Killers
The Smiley Face Murder Theory (with Murder Sheet)
So I get my interest in true crime partly from my mom. And this is one of those cases that I know she's followed over the years and would often talk about and show a lot of interest in. So my awareness about the smiley face killer's theory sort of comes from her and then looking into it myself. Personally, I am somewhat skeptical.
Serial Killers
The Smiley Face Murder Theory (with Murder Sheet)
I know from my own personal experience in my hometown's bakery, They would make these yellow smiley face cookies that I was obsessed with it as a kid. And I think that, you know, when we talked about smiley faces in my family, we were often referring to those cookies that I always wanted.
Serial Killers
The Smiley Face Murder Theory (with Murder Sheet)
And in addition to that, it's a pretty common motif in art, as you mentioned, with everyone from Banksy onward using smiley faces in their artwork as sort of an expression of happiness.
Serial Killers
The Smiley Face Murder Theory (with Murder Sheet)
It seems it could be confirmation bias. If you're looking for a smiley face, you can probably find one.
Serial Killers
The Smiley Face Murder Theory (with Murder Sheet)
So for me, when I'm looking at whether I think a death could be a homicide, a suicide, or some sort of accident, I like to look at the totality of all the circumstances and sort of figure out what does most of the evidence point to? So while the presence of GHB in a lot of these bodies definitely gave me pause,
Serial Killers
The Smiley Face Murder Theory (with Murder Sheet)
The fact that it is known to naturally occur in bodies after people die also makes me think that that could very well just again point to an accident rather than some malfeasance on a killer's part.
Serial Killers
The Smiley Face Murder Theory (with Murder Sheet)
In our experience covering different crime cases, we often see, especially in high-profile cases, families take a leadership role when it comes to advocating for someone who's disappeared or who has been murdered.
Serial Killers
The Smiley Face Murder Theory (with Murder Sheet)
And I personally just reflect when I see that about how incredible and strong it is for these folks to be doing that while also grappling with the fear and grief and anguish that comes with a tragedy like this.
Serial Killers
The Smiley Face Murder Theory (with Murder Sheet)
I'm a big believer in going where the evidence points to, right? It's not about which theory sounds best, it's about what does the evidence fit best. And when I see things like Chris not appearing on video footage from the bridge and this high level of GHB in his body, I have a lot of questions. I think that sounds like it could be potentially a homicide.
Serial Killers
The Smiley Face Murder Theory (with Murder Sheet)
And I would hope that investigators would very much work diligently to rule that out before dismissing it. So I tend to think, from what we know here, that Chris's death at the very least looks very suspicious.
Serial Killers
The Smiley Face Murder Theory (with Murder Sheet)
Like Smiley, with a Z. I will say that that is certainly an odd and slightly disturbing coincidence. Although when I'm looking at the story of Jeremy and his alleged connection to this crime, I am struck by the fact that there is not a lot of direct evidence tying him to anything. So certainly it's interesting that he didn't have an alibi and that he may have boasted about killing Chris.
Serial Killers
The Smiley Face Murder Theory (with Murder Sheet)
But we do know that people make claims in prison, whether those are, you know, prison house informants or people who are trying to sound tough.
Serial Killers
The Smiley Face Murder Theory (with Murder Sheet)
And so without necessarily any further information or something only the killer could have known, I'm inclined to say that it sounds like there's some definitely intriguing possibilities there, but I'm not hearing anything where I'm like, oh yes, this guy must have been the one who did this.
Serial Killers
The Smiley Face Murder Theory (with Murder Sheet)
I personally, when I look at Chris's case, I think that there is indications that that was a homicide. I don't believe it is connected to any wider conspiracy or serial killing. I think that it may very well just likely be an isolated and very tragic incident. I do not believe in the smiley face killer theory. I just don't think it holds any weight.
Serial Killers
The Smiley Face Murder Theory (with Murder Sheet)
And I think that, in fact, it can be harmful to try to connect things based on very scant reasoning and evidence. That being said, I can agree with some of the folks behind the smiley face killer theory in a few respects. And one of those is the importance of treating each case like it might be a homicide until you get information that disproves that theory.
Serial Killers
The Smiley Face Murder Theory (with Murder Sheet)
And I guess I would just add that at the end of the day, even if Kevin and I don't believe in the smiley face killer theory, we do think that some of these cases very well could be homicides and should be looked at and should be given the resources necessary to break them open. And even if some of these young men died by accident, it doesn't take away from the absolute tragedy that that happened.
Serial Killers
The Smiley Face Murder Theory (with Murder Sheet)
I personally think that we live in a society where we often apply a lot of the rules of fiction to true crime. I think people tend to gravitate toward what is interesting over what is most likely to be true. And I think that's where it's important for people to kind of maybe think about true crime in a way that's not just entertainment, but is also what is closest to the truth? What is realistic?
Serial Killers
The Smiley Face Murder Theory (with Murder Sheet)
What is fact-based? And it can be difficult to do that, but I think it's an important exercise as we engage with these real-life stories of tragedies. This isn't just a story. This is their lives. And so we try to come into every case we do with a level of respect because At the end of the day, it's not just a homicide. It's not just a name. It's a person.
Serial Killers
The Smiley Face Murder Theory (with Murder Sheet)
And that person had people who loved them.