Elisha Anderson, and Tresa Baldas

Detroit Free Press

Two decades after murdering his pregnant wife, a Dearborn Heights man has been charged in another grisly crime, this time with killing four children and torturing his wife, who police say witnessed the killings of her two older children while bound with duct tape.

Gregory Green, 49, is charged with fatally shooting his 17- and 19-year-old stepchildren early Wednesday in their home and fatally poisoning his 4- and 5-year-old girls with carbon monoxide.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy charged Green with four counts of first-degree murder in their deaths and one count of torture and one count of unlawful imprisonment for allegedly tying his wife up in the basement, torturing her and shooting her two children in front of her. Green also is charged with three other felonies, including assault and felon in possession.

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The killings happened about one month after Green's wife filed for divorce.

Green wore orange jail garb and walked barefoot with a chain between his ankles and his hands cuffed in front of him when he appeared before 20th District Judge David Turfe today. Bond was denied in the case.

Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Trisha Gerard argued against any bond because the “heinousness” of the crimes. She also said he faces five potential life offenses, has a previous criminal history and prosecutors believe their chance of convictions in the case are "very strong."

Green, who did not have a lawyer with him, addressed bond, saying in a quiet voice: "I don’t need bond.”

He gave his name in court and nodded when asked by the judge if he understood the charges against him.

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According to Worthy's office, Dearborn Heights police received a 911 call at 1:15 a.m. Wednesday that led them to the home on the 4400 block of Hipp. When they arrived, police arrested Green in the driveway of his home and then went into the home to discover a grisly scene. They found his 39-year-old wife in the basement of the home, bound with duct tape and zip ties.

Green allegedly bound his wife, cut her face with a box cutter and shot her foot and then shot the two older children in front of her, authorities said.

Green's stepchildren, Chadney Allen, 19, and Kara Allen, 17, were discovered by police in the basement with multiple gunshot wounds. They were both pronounced dead at the scene. The Wayne County Medical examiner said both died of multiple gunshot wounds.

In the garage, duct tape was found on the muffler of a car and a plastic tube was attached to the car. Police discovered Koi Green, 5, and Kalieh Green, 4, in the upstairs of the home. Authorities believe Green poisoned them with carbon monoxide. They were taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.

According to police, it was Green who called 911 and said that he had killed his family. He was waiting on the front porch when they arrived. Green’s wife, who was shot and stabbed, survived the attack.

"‎There is nothing that better illustrates the silence of violence than this case. A confluence of events led to the deaths of four beautiful children," Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement. "The alleged evidence in this case will show an appalling level of domestic violence that ‎was cataclysmic.”

On the front porch outside the family's home is a growing memorial that includes dozens of stuffed animals, burning candles, heart-shaped balloons, bouquets of flowers and messages to the family.

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One, written on a mirror, said "We love you forever and always."

A steady stream of cars drove down the tree-lined street this afternoon. Amanda Palmer, 30, unrolled her window and said: "One of the saddest things I've ever seen."

Some of those who stopped to pay their respects wiped tears from their eyes as they left the brick home.

Tonya Ryan, 39, of Allen Park said she has known the family for 15 years. She brought a candle for each of the kids and one for their mother, Faith Green, along with balloons.

Ryan said she's experiencing mixed emotions right now and is "hurting" and "pissed."

"They didn't do anything wrong," she said. "None of them. And then you have this system that lets somebody out that's already killed somebody."

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Green served 15 years in prison for the murder of his first wife, who was pregnant. He stabbed her in their Detroit home in 1991.

According to court records, Green's wife had filed for divorce in August.

He is due back in court Oct. 5 for a probable cause conference. A preliminary examination, which determines if his case proceeds to trial, is to take place Oct. 12.

Police said after Green’s five-minute hearing today that they don’t have any domestic runs on record with the department.

When asked if they had a possible motive, Dearborn Heights Captain Michael Petri said: “I think only the defendant can answer that question.”

He declined to say if Green has been talking to investigators. Police, Petri said, have put their feelings and thoughts about their own families and children aside to facilitate the investigation.

“This is the time where you start getting everything done, sitting back and really realizing the ramifications and the gravity of the situation,” he said. “It’s horrific.”

Video: Green charged in court

Contact Elisha Anderson: 313-222-5144 or eanderson@freepress.com