MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — It took a Monongalia County jury less than a day to reach a guilty verdict against Brian Greeson, 48, for the December 2014 murder of Leslie Fields. Greeson was convicted of second-degree murder Friday morning.
Greeson and co-defendant Charles Shaffer were indicted on first-degree murder for the brutal attack on Fields at the residence the three shared on Forest Avenue in Morgantown. However, Shaffer previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Greeson, now faces the same fate when he is sentenced at a later date.
During the trial, Greeson’s defense tried to build a case that Shaffer acted alone on Dec. 15, 2014 in the attack on Fields. Forensic experts testified during the trial, Fields suffered more than 60 stab wounds to his neck, neck and arms.
Greeson testified that he was asleep when the attack occurred and was later woken by Shaffer yelling from downstairs. He told the jury that’s when he found the nightmare scene.
But prosecutors painted a different picture. Detectives told jurors two knives were recovered at the scene and explained the Greeson’s body was and clothes were covered in blood the night of the murder. There was also surveillance footage from the police station of Greeson talking to himself saying “I wasn’t trying to kill him.”
Greeson was also found not guilty on conspiracy charges.