Massive manhunt ends at morgue for veteran lawman's killer Man grudge about handling of complaint against deputies

Police in Houston identified 64-year-old William Kenny as the man who killed Chief Deputy Constable Clint Greenwood on April 3, 2017, in Baytown. Police in Houston identified 64-year-old William Kenny as the man who killed Chief Deputy Constable Clint Greenwood on April 3, 2017, in Baytown. Photo: Harris County Sheriff's Office Photo: Harris County Sheriff's Office Image 1 of / 144 Caption Close Massive manhunt ends at morgue for veteran lawman's killer 1 / 144 Back to Gallery

A massive manhunt for the killer who ambushed veteran lawman Clint Greenwood came to abrupt end Monday, when investigators discovered their prime suspect had been lying in cold storage at the Harris County morgue.

After an exhaustive search for a suspect in the brazen slaying that had so far yielded few leads, investigators finally got their break Sunday and identified William Francis Kenny, 64, as the man behind the April 3 attack.

Shortly before they were set to announce publicly they were searching for Kenny, they learned he had killed himself the day after the lawman's death.

Kenny shot himself in the head about 8 a.m. April 4 near Ben Taub General Hospital with a gun just like the one he used to kill the lawman, police said.

"The man was a coward - a coward in life and death," said Montgomery County Sheriff's Lt. Tim Cannon, Greenwood's close friend since middle school. "This just proves it."

The incident ended a saga that gripped Houston for the last week, but raised nearly as many questions as it answered.

Kenny's animus appears to have originated from a Valentine's Day incident in 2012 in which his estranged father-in-law called police to say Kenny had threatened him, according to court documents.

No charges were filed against anyone, but the incident nevertheless appeared to consume him.

He wrote letters to the judge in his divorce case and posted rambling grievances on a website, www.fryroad.com, against dozens of officials - including Greenwood - from the Harris County Sheriff's Office, the District Attorney's Office and the County Attorney's Office.

Greenwood was one among those included on what one investigator termed a "hate list" that accused them of failing to take action against deputies who responded to the 2012 call without questioning the father-in-law's allegations.

"HCA (Harris County Administration) conspired to cover-up co-worker crimes by framing an innocent citizen," Kenny wrote on the website.

He told the judge that "a police cover-up occurred and a criminal is going unpunished," in a letter sent just one day before his divorce was finalized. He does not appear to ever have met Greenwood, noting on the website that he had made numerous failed attempts to contact Greenwood, who later oversaw the sheriff's internal affairs division.

"I'm thankful no other officers were injured, or we had to confront the guy," said Steve Marino, chief deputy at the Precinct 5 Constable's Office, another close friend of Greenwood's. "And that the family doesn't have to endure a trial."

Greenwood is survived by his widow, Leatha Greenwood, and their four children. They have said little publicly, asking for privacy in the case.

A man who identified himself as Kenny's brother apologized to Greenwood's family.

"I just wanted to express our condolences to the family of Constable Greenwood," John Kenny told reporters Monday outside his northwest Harris County home, where William Kenny had lived briefly. "We're so very sorry, our thoughts and prayers go out to him. I don't know what to say. We're in shock, too."

Lt. Steve Dorris, with the Baytown Police Department, said the gun used by Kenny to shoot himself was "consistent" with the type of firearm used to kill Greenwood. Ballistics experts won't be able to make a positive match until they compare the rounds that killed both men, he said.

Investigators had settled on Kenny by using the surveillance video to hone in on the car he used for two days, including the day of the shooting. A sticker on the windshield identified the vehicle as a rental car, and police contacted a number of rental companies to get records of customers who rented a similar car, Dorris said.

One of the names belonged to a man who returned a black Nissan Versa to rental agency the day Greenwood was killed.

The Texas Department of Public Safety provided driver's license photos of the renters, and police matched one of the images to the convenience store video.

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS: What's known about Clint Greenwood's killing

Kenny had struggled after a divorce, business problems, and troubles with his children, according to a source who knew him well.

Still, many questions remain.

At a Katy home where his ex-wife has lived, no one answered the door although there were four cars in the driveway and a the sounds of hushed voices inside.

Kenny had switched addresses frequently since his 2012 divorce, public records show. Records show he owned a technology company, but that it ended with tax troubles in 2012. At the time of his divorce, he told the court he was working for an online grocery-delivery site, that does not appear to still be in business.

Friends of Greenwood expressed relief that police had found the man responsible, even as they continued to try to process the loss of their friend and the bizarre way he was murdered.

Cannon recalled a strange encounter with a rambling, ranting Kenny at a past National Night Out event in 2015.

"I don't think anything could have been said that would have put his obsession to rest," he said.

Kenny's death brings uneasy solace.

"The feeling overall is a feeling of relief, that this alleged person that committed this heinous crime is not capable of doing any more harm," Cannon said. "But it does go to show the dangers of someone who has a beef or some kind of retaliatory methodology in their brain. It could happen to any of us at any time."

Scroll through the gallery above to see what's known about Clint Greenwood's slaying and things to know about the veteran lawman