Bradley Wetzel had a relationship with Marc Greene’s wife, and that’s likely what drove Greene to hit his former friend with a pickup truck, the victim’s mother says.
On Tuesday, Kosciusko County officials upgraded the charge against Greene to murder. Sgt. Chad Hill, spokesman for the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department, said it is a sign that investigators believe the 41-year-old Greene, of Mentone, intended to kill Wetzel on Saturday afternoon.
According to the probable cause affidavit filed Tuesday in Kosciusko Superior Court, one witness told police he saw Greene get out of his pickup, yell in the driver’s-side window of the victim’s Chevrolet El Camino, drive away, then make a U-turn and block Wetzel’s vehicle.
The witness then told police the men got out of their vehicles and started arguing in the road before Greene got back in his Silverado, put it into reverse, revved the engine and then drove straight at the victim, pinning him between the vehicles for at least 30 seconds.
The probable cause affidavit goes on to say the witness tried to keep Greene at the scene, but he drove away.
A second witness told his wife to call 911 and told police Greene "taunted" the injured Wetzel as he lay injured in the ditch.
Greene originally faced a charge of reckless homicide, a lesser crime that carries a maximum prison sentence of eight years. Murder carries a maximum sentence of 65 years unless prosecutors seek the death penalty or life in prison without parole.
Police said the two were arguing near Dewart Lake on Saturday when Green got into his truck and hit Wetzel, 40, of Syracuse, with the truck, pinning Wetzel against his El Camino.
When investigators arrived, Wetzel was still conscious and told police what happened, Hill said.
Police later arrested Greene and initially charged him with reckless homicide and operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death. Those charges have been dropped in lieu of the murder charge, Hill said.
Wetzel’s mother, Cinda Woods, 61, said she believes her son’s death was related to a love triangle involving Wetzel, Greene and Greene’s wife. Greene and his wife were separated but still legally married, she said.
Hill declined to comment on any possible motive in Wetzel’s death and said he could not comment on Woods’ story.
Woods said her son was an affable man who loved country music, especially Conway Twitty.
Wetzel had begun to turn his life around about six months ago. He was trying to find a steady job and was starting to think about the future, his mother said.
"He was happier these last six months than I’d ever seen him," Woods said.
mzennie@jg.net
