Ray, Dani and Jazzy Green (Photo: CBS 48 Hours Screenshot)
Woman Blames Murder of Ex-Husband on Their Dog
Two days after Memorial Day in 2014, police responded to a call about a man who may have been killed by the family dog. His ex-wife told them they were welcome to search anywhere — except a large, padlocked toolbox. After finding no signs of her ex-husband, police cut the lock on the box. Inside, they discovered a naked, decomposed body with 10 bullet wounds. The remains were later confirmed as those of the woman’s ex-husband, 62-year-old Ray Green.
His former spouse, Danielle “Dani” Green, then 42 years old, initially said their German Shepherd, Jazzy, had killed Ray by biting him on the throat. She later admitted to shooting him, claiming it was self-defense after he had threatened to kill her. An autopsy revealed that she actually shot Ray once in the temple, four times in the back of the head, and five times in the body while he was asleep in his bed.
Dani and Ray met back in 2002 in San Antonio, Texas. She was a piano teacher and avid equestrian and Ray was a horse breeder and trainer. They later married and moved to Palm Beach, Florida. They lived there on a 10-acre property while Dani trained to compete in Olympic dressage, an event in which horses and trainers are judged on their ability to complete a pattern evaluating the horse’s flexibility, harmony, and obedience to the rider.
The Greens later became involved in Cowboy Action Shooting which allowed people to dress in Old West-style clothing and target shoot for speed and accuracy. By all accounts from friends, Dani had a much better head for the business and was a considerably better shot than her husband. She went by the moniker “Dani Oakley” and Ray was known as “Doc R Green” when participating in the shooting events.
In 2008, the financial crisis resulted in the Greens being forced to sell their house and land at a loss. Dani moved back to Indiana in 2012 to care for her dying parents and Ray joined her a year later. Their financial situation led them to divorce in 2014, but they continued living together on her now-deceased parent’s 300-acre farm in Dillsboro, Indiana.
They were still living there just after Memorial Day 2014, when Dani called Ray’s 84-year-old mother, Betty, and told her that the family dog had killed Ray by biting him on the throat. After hanging up with her daughter-in-law, Betty Green called the police and requested a welfare check. When officers arrived, Dani was sitting in a lawn chair outside. She told the officers that her husband was not dead, but on the road where he worked as a truck driver. Police weren’t buying it, as Ray’s truck was still parked on the property. A trace of Ray’s cellphone location showed it still on the farm.
Dani told police that they could search the property but refused them access to a large metal toolbox with a padlock on it. The toolbox sat outside and was covered with swarming flies and emitting a horrible odor. Investigators had to get a search warrant to open the box. That is when they discovered Ray’s body inside.
Evidence showed that Ray had been murdered on May 26, 2014, while asleep in his bed. Dani had called his boss the next day to say he had died in an accident. She called him back later, this time saying Ray was killed by the family dog. An examination of her computer revealed internet searches that included “headshot from .38 at close range, “if you shoot someone with a .38 caliber handgun in the head is it lights out of possibly survive,” and “what happens when you get shot in the head.” Danielle’s true motive for the murder seems to have been that she simply wanted to be free of Ray in order to begin a relationship with a cowboy nicknamed Angus McNasty back in Florida.
A jury didn’t buy her claims of self-defense and convicted her of murder in 2015. She was sentenced to 60 years in prison. The verdict was upheld by the Indiana Court of Appeals in December 2016.
The Greens’ German Shephard, Jazzy, who had been falsely accused of the murder was not present on the farm when officers arrived to investigate the scene and has never been found.
Oh well another cac dead
