Harry Edward Greenwell:Serial Killer

   

  Harry Edward Greenwell was born in Louisville, Kentucky on December 9th, 1944. 

Greenwell approx. in his 20’s. 

   He married a young lady named Jenny in 1980. They divorced on June 7th 1991 in Washburn, Wisconsin. They had five children, I believe. 

   He married again, this time to a lady named Julie but that marriage also ended in divorce in 1999 in Allamakee, Iowa. 

  His Obituary says he was the husband of Julie so maybe they reunited?  

  He had a total of six children between the two marriages. 

  He lived as an adult in Wisconsin and later in New Albin, Iowa but traveled frequently because of his job. He was employed for years by the Canadian Pacific Railroad Company doing track maintenance. His job had him traveling quite a bit. 

  He became known as the I-65 Killer and/or The Days Inn Killer in 1989.  The identity of the I-65 killer was not known, however, until 2022 when investigators identified him through DNA and genetic genealogy. 

   I thought he was a trucker because I simply assumed he was. He did travel frequently for work but not necessarily in a big rig. It was probably a truck with toolboxes and the like but probably not an 18 wheeler.  It might have been one of those Hi-Rail trucks that also have train wheels on it that can be lowered and then driven along the rails. I don’t know if he drove one of those but it seems possible. 

  When he died no one knew he was a serial killer. His obituary reads like just about any other man of his age. 

   We know from DNA evidence that he definitely killed Mary Margaret Gill on March 3rd 1989. We know that he killed Jeanne Gilbert that same night. Both of those women were working in hotels along I-65. 

  In February 1989, Vicki Heath was murdered in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. We know that her killer was Harry Edward Greenwell. 

  Another woman working at a hotel along I-65 was attacked near Columbus, Indiana in 1990 but she survived. 

  The I-65 Killer and the Days Inn Killings was big news. He robbed these businesses as well as murdering and assaulting these women. Hotels along the interstate changed their staffing and safety protocols. Security cameras were around then but more began being installed. 

  All of those crimes were committed against women alone in a business. 

   

  So, committing more crimes on I-65 was possibly trickier now. 

  Was he also the I-70 Killer?  Robin Fuldaur was murdered while working alone in a Payless Shoe Store on Pendleton Pike in Indianapolis in 1992. Michael McCown of Terre Haute was also murdered. He was shot in the back of the head as well. The killer may have thought Michael was a woman because he had long hair and was turned away from the killer when he was ambushed too. Both of those locations were fairly near I-70 but were also only a block away from railroad tracks. I remember thinking when I wrote about them that they didn’t seem like easy places to park an 18 wheeler. But, Greenwell didn’t drive an 18 wheeler. He wasn’t a trucker. (Remember he might have driven a hi-rail vehicle and could have driven to and from these places on the railroad tracks.)

 When I lived in Terre Haute, people always said John Dillinger never robbed a bank in Terre Haute because there were so many railroad tracks there. -Too easy to get stopped by a train. But, if you are driving along on those tracks and are aware of train schedules that might be a different story. 

 If this is Greenwell, maybe he decided not to risk robbing and assaulting victims at hotels but maybe he switched to small businesses during daylight hours. Retail was largely staffed by women. During the day there might only be one or two women there. Smaller business in strip malls might be less likely to have cameras. 

 

  In 1992 he was divorced and had five children. He might have been seeking an easy way to get extra money and was also angry enough about life to kill people to get it. (We know Greenwell was already killing in 1989.) 

  In Wichita, two women were murdered at a bridal store. A witness got a good look at the murderer. A sketch was developed and it looked like about 85 percent of the white male population in 1992. The suspect described a white man around 25-35, without any big prominent features. Here is Greenwell next to that sketch:

  Harry Edward Greenwell died at age 68 on January 31st, 2013 in Iowa and was cremated. A funeral Mass was held for him at a Catholic Church there. He had a wife and children there. He had five children living in Maryland from a previous relationship. 

  No one knew he was a serial killer. No suspicion fell upon him in his lifetime. 

  His work could have taken him all over North America. Canada Pacific rail is a big network. He could have killed in Canada as well as the United States. 

   Who else did he rob? Who else did he attack and kill? 

    Is he also the I-70 killer? Those I-70 murders are  a little different than the I-65 killings but…serial killers don’t have rules. They change, adapt and experiment. 

  Harry Edward Greenwell was cremated and interred in Louisville, Kentucky near his family members. 

   I think he murdered many other people. I think there are many cold cases out there that he is responsible for. I think it is worth looking into. I’m not the first person to put forth this idea. But, I do support the idea that these two interstate serial killers are one and the same.