Naman Shrestha
In the episode titled ‘The Day My Mother Vanished’ of CBS’ ’48 Hours,’ the primary focus is on the sudden disappearance of Tammy Myers around Christmas 2006. Since she was living with her boyfriend, William Joseph Greer, the authorities believed him to be a person of interest. However, not long after she went missing, William vanished too. For several years, the fugitive managed to stay on the run until he was apprehended for the disappearance and murder of Tammy Myers.
William Greer Stayed on the Run From the Authorities For More Than a Decade
William Joseph Greer met with Tammy Marie Esquivel after the latter began working as an exotic dancer, following her divorce from Brian Myers, her former husband. The owner of a vending machine company, William, was a divorced and single father to two sons from his first marriage. In the initial phase of their relationship, they appeared to be a picture-perfect couple, but soon after they moved into a house in Spring, Texas, in 2006, things started changing. As per reports, William started being violent and abusive towards Tammy. It all worsened in the early hours of December 19, 2006, as he shot her inside the house during a heated argument. Nobody saw her after that night. A few days later, on December 22, 2006, William was arrested for public intoxication in Cleveland, Texas, and even confessed to killing Tammy. He was booked into the county jail, but was released the following day.
When the detectives questioned him further about Tammy, he recanted his drunken confession. A few months later, the detectives managed to gather enough evidence against him, leading to his official indictment for the murder of Tammy on March 16, 2007. By then, he had also vanished and moved to Savannah, Georgia, where he went to meet his half-brother, Daniel Dobson. With an active arrest warrant to his name, the detectives hunted down the fugitive for several years, and even gave their search a nickname, “Operation Catch a Toe.” The name was a reference to William losing his toe in a bicycle accident, making it a distinctive feature that was useful in identifying him. In July 2007, he reportedly got hired as a cook at the Quartermaster Deli in New Orleans, Louisiana.
For his next stop, he moved to Georgetown, Kentucky, where he found God and got baptized on August 26 of the same year. A few weeks later, when he featured on America’s Most Wanted, members of the church recognized him and tipped off the investigators. However, by the time they knocked on his door, he had run off to a new destination. Several years of searching for him later, in 2016, the police got a fresh lead when they learned that he had been living in Mexico for about six to seven years. On November 22, 2017, the Mexican officers received a tip that he was spotted in a tiny town called Taxco, where he lived off grid with his new wife and their two children — a son named William and an infant daughter. On the morning of November 28, 2017, William was ambushed by a team of undercover Mexican police officers and arrested. At first, he denied being the one that the police were searching for, but his missing toe confirmed his identity.
William Greer is Currently Incarcerated at a Texas Prison Facility, Awaiting His Release
After his arrest, William Greer was extradited back to Houston, Texas, where he was taken into custody without bond. During his interrogation, he hinted that he would fully cooperate with the authorities but ended up asking for an attorney. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other technical issues, his trial was postponed. Ultimately, he agreed to a plea deal and was convicted of second-degree manslaughter in connection with the murder of Tammy Myers. At his sentencing hearing on January 22, 2024, Nicki Bates, Tammy’s daughter, read out her victim impact statement.
She addressed the convict directly and stated, “She trusted you. We trusted you. … We had to look at the man who murdered our mom, walk around our neighborhood, trying to remember where he put her body. How do you not remember? How has that not eaten at you every day since?” In the end, William Greer was sentenced to ten years in prison. Since his time served behind bars was also taken into consideration, he would be eligible for release within three years of the sentencing date. Although he became eligible for parole right after his sentencing, the court denied his appeal and scheduled his next parole hearing for 2026. As of today, he is serving his sentence at the Charles T. Terrell Unit in Rosharon, Texas, with his release date scheduled for November 2027.
Read More: Tammy Myers Murder Details and Investigation Timeline
