A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

Greis trial in the hands of the jury; charged with wanton murder in deaths of five in October crash


(Editor’s Note: Update coming. Greis found guilty on five counts of wanton murder. Jury is deliberating sentencing.)

By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune managing editor

The fate of Daniel Greis is in the hands of the jury.

Daniel Greis, right, listens to closing arguments Friday morning. A jury is considering whether to find Greis guilty or innocent of wanton murder, or second degree manslaughter, in the deaths of five members of the Pollitt family in a crash on Staffordsburg Road in October.

Greis, 58, is charged with five counts of wanton murder in the deaths of a family in a crash on Staffordsburg Road in Independence, in October.

The case is being heard in the Kenton Circuit Courtroom of Judge Patricia Summe.

Greis was traveling on the wrong side Staffordsburg Road on October 26, when he struck a Honda Accord driven by Rodney Pollitt, Jr. head-on. Pollitt, 26, his fiancé, Samantha Malohn, 27, and their three children, Halieann, 9, Brenden, 8, and Callie Pollitt, 6, were all pronounced dead at the scene.

Greis said Jesse Phillips, a driver he was attempting to pass, kept his Dodge pickup truck alongside Greis’s Honda Pilot SUV as the two approached a rise in the road. He said Phillips would not allow him to pass, or get back behind him into the proper lane.

Witness testimony concluded Tuesday.

The day began with jury instructions, followed by closing arguments from defense attorney Stacey Graus and Kenton Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders.

In his closing, Graus expanded on his argument that Phillips shared responsibility for the crash because of his actions and said police failed to consider that.

“Police simply disregarded the evidence, as it pertains to Jesse Phillips,” Graus said. “This has never been a murder case.”

Sanders said that, while intoxication, marijuana use and fatigue were factors that contributed to the crash, the case has always been about the decision Greis made to crest a blind hill at 86 miles per hour on the wrong side of the road.

“What this was, was murder, plain and simple,” Sanders said.

Greis had a blood alcohol content of 0.89 at the time of the crash and had marijuana in his system. He also had barely slept since getting off of work at 6 a.m. The accident occurred at about 4:32 p.m.

The jury can acquit Greis, or find him guilty of wanton murder, or the lesser-included offense of second degree manslaughter.

Wanton murder carries a sentence of 25 to 50 years, which is capped at 70 years, or life in prison.

Second-degree manslaughter carries a sentence of five to 10 years, capped at 20 years.

Contact Mark Hansel at mark.hansel@nkytrib.com


Related Posts

Leave a Comment