Suvechha Sarkar
Mabel Chegwin Greineder, affectionately known as May, was a hardworking woman with a kind heart. However, her beautiful life came to an abrupt halt in October 1999, when she was found dead in a park in Boston, Massachusetts. What followed was a swift investigation that uncovered a chain of secrets related to someone closest to her. Investigation Discovery’s ‘Married With Secrets: Cold Blue Blood’ sheds light on the circumstances leading up to May’s untimely demise. It also features interviews with the officials who worked diligently on solving the case.
May Greineder Was Found Dead With Multiple Stab Wounds in a Local Park
Angel G. Chegwin and Martina Vargas welcomed their daughter Mabel Chegwin Greineder into their lives on August 13, 1941. She was born in Barranquilla, Colombia, and reportedly moved to New York with her family at a very young age. While growing up, she always received immense love and support from her parents, who fondly called her May. According to her family and friends, she had always been a fighter and possessed a kind spirit. At some point in her adulthood, she crossed paths with Dirk Greineder. It didn’t take them much time to start dating, and shortly after, they tied the knot. Over the next few years, they welcomed their children, Britt, Colin, and Kirsten Greineder.
Eventually, the family settled in Wellesley, a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts. By 1999, May was working as a nurse and was also pursuing a course to become a Nurse Practitioner. On October 31, 1999, May and Dirk went out for a walk with their dog at a local park. According to Dirk, May had allegedly hurt her back, which prompted her to stay behind to rest. However, when he returned with his dog, he was shocked to find her stabbed and covered in blood. He called 911 immediately and told them that his wife had been attacked. On the call, he reportedly told the dispatcher that she was likely not breathing. When officials arrived at the scene, they found May dead on the ground. They reportedly noted that she was stabbed multiple times in the neck and her chest.
Upon searching the area near her remains, detectives discovered a folding knife, a two-pound hammer, plastic bags, and a brown right-handed glove from a storm drain. Additionally, they found a matching left-hand glove in a storm drain near the parking area. According to reports, all of those items tested positive for male DNA and May’s blood. The autopsy reportedly uncovered wounds to the back of her head and forehead as well. May’s cause of death was determined to be a deep stab wound to the left side of her neck, which caused massive blood loss. She also had a fatal stab wound to the left side of her chest. May’s manner of death was determined to be a homicide.
DNA Evidence and a Secret Life Led the Detectives to the Killer
As the homicide investigation commenced, officials questioned Dirk. In his statements, he claimed that after leaving May behind, he had allegedly gone off to walk with their dog when their dog sensed something and ran back toward the area. He continued that he then allegedly discovered May’s remains. Investigative reports state that officials then found one of the gloves in a storm drain near the parking lot, which was located close to where Dirk had parked his van. At the scene, investigators reportedly collected Dirk’s clothing items and shoes. As per reports, experts found blood spatter on Dirk’s shoes and clothing. Court records indicate that when he was questioned about the absence of blood stains on his hands, he was unable to provide an answer. The DNA results soon revealed that the DNA on the gloves matched Dirk’s.
According to official records, when detectives executed a search warrant at his home, they discovered plastic bags whose material matched that found at the scene. Further reports suggest that they also took Dirk’s credit card bills and computers. When experts reportedly searched the hard drive of the computers, it revealed that he was involved in extramarital sexual activities, including frequent meetings with escorts. As per court records, further investigation revealed that Dirk frequently met with prostitutes at hotels and had intimate relations with them. His credit card bills reportedly revealed that he had used the name of one of his former batchmates to get a credit card. Police records indicate that when Dirk was questioned about that, he admitted to contacting escorts and allegedly having intimacy problems with May.
In his statements, Dirk claimed that he didn’t know if his wife was aware of his alternative lifestyle. Officials also learned that he reportedly had separate email accounts to contact escorts and maintained a dating profile. According to court records, the officials believed that Dirk killed May to hide his secret about extramarital sexual relations from the rest of his family after she allegedly found out or was close to finding out. Official reports indicate that a witness claimed seeing Dirk slowly sprinting away in the opposite direction from the location where May’s remains were discovered. The witness reportedly informed the officials that Dirk was allegedly not looking for help. Ultimately, Dirk was arrested in February 2000 and was charged with first-degree murder.
Dirk Greineder is Incarcerated at a State Prison Facility Today
The jury trial of Dirk Greineder began in May 2001. During the trial, the prosecution claimed that Dirk committed the premeditated and deliberate murder of May to allegedly hide his double life from the others. Besides presenting the forensic evidence, they reportedly called a spatter expert on the stand. The expert testified that the blood spatter on Dirk’s clothing and shoes that day would only occur if he were involved in the attack. On the other hand, the defense claimed that an unknown assailant killed May, and the investigators allegedly focused only on him as the suspect.
The defense reportedly insisted that infidelity alone is not proof of murder and also questioned the credibility of the blood spatter expert witness of the prosecution. They contended that the evidence against Dirk was circumstantial. Ultimately, the jury found him guilty of first-degree murder in June 2001. Dirk was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole shortly after the verdict. He reportedly filed a motion for a new trial in July 2005, which was denied by the trial court in 2007. Dirk then appealed, challenging the denial and his conviction, and the case was brought before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC).
According to reports, the SJC affirmed both his conviction and the denial of his motion for a new trial in November 2010. Dirk then petitioned the US Supreme Court to review whether the SJC made any error by allowing a DNA expert who did not perform the actual tests to testify about the DNA evidence. The Supreme Court then vacated and remanded the case to Massachusetts’ high court. On March 14, 2013, the High Court upheld Dirk’s murder conviction. As of writing, Dirk Greineder is serving his sentence at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution in Norfolk, Massachusetts.
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