Son sentenced in killing father
Convicted murderer Neil Evan Green was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison on Friday by county Superior Court Judge Raymond Ayala Cota, who likened Green to a “smoking volcano” whose previous violent outbursts eventually culminated in the “eruption” that resulted in the fatal beating of his father on July 6, 2012. “Perhaps
Mr. Green, over a period of time you may be able to harness this horrible anger that you appear to have, and perhaps somehow to find peace with what you have done to your own father,” Cota said.
Green was also given credit for having served 1,527 days in custody, was ordered to pay various fees to the court and the state’s restitution fund and will eventually be eligible for parole.
Additionally, court-appointed defense attorney Jill Cremeans said after court adjourned that she had filed a motion to appeal Green’s conviction.
Jurors found Green guilty of first-degree murder on Aug. 16 after meeting on four separate days to deliberate. The jury’s verdict essentially rejected Green’s testimony that he had fatally beaten his father in self-defense after the elder Green had nearly choked his son unconscious during a physical altercation that had followed a verbal argument.
Prior to Green’s sentencing, his older sister Aprel Remkus delivered an alternately tearful and indignant victim impact statement that both admonished her brother for his “brutal” act as well as memorialized the life of her father, Melvin Green.
“Composing this victim impact statement has been the most agonizing experience of my life,” she said, “more than the murder trial itself.”
During her nearly 12-minute impact statement, Remkus went on to describe the devastation that her brother’s action had on her life and requested that Cota sentence her brother to life imprisonment since he failed to show any remorse.
Remkus, who at times directly cast her gaze and addressed her words to her brother, also described her pain from having to clean up her father’s and brother’s unkempt El Centro home after the fatal incident as well as making preparations for Melvin Green’s funeral.
She spoke about being prevented from having an open casket during her father’s funeral services as a result of his face having been “mutilated beyond recognition” by her brother.
Equally painful is having to spend the rest of her life knowing that her brother had killed her father.
“I am similar to an orphan, as I have no family left,” Remkus said.
On Friday, Remkus’ and Neil Green’s mother, Sara Green, was also given permission by Cota to read a statement of her own, but was directed to do so only if her statement fell in line with the express intent of victim impact statements.
However, Sara Green’s statement was cut short immediately by Cota once it became clear that its content was meant to advocate for Green’s innocence and upstanding character. Cota then instructed Sara Green to return to her seat in the gallery, which she did respectfully but reluctantly.
“Why can’t I express myself,” she said.
Cota’s action did not sit well with Green, who said after court adjourned that she was treated unfairly and that the trial itself was unjust.
“I’m just praying to God that justice will happen for (Neil),” she said.
When it came time for 33-year-old Neil Green to make a statement, he stood and faced his sister, telling her that he was sorry for his actions and that he had always loved his father.
He stated that there wasn’t anyone who spent as much time with or had intimately known his 62-year-old father as well as he did.
Although Green acknowledged his sister’s anger toward him, he also stated that some of the things she had testified to in court about him were not true.
“I’m sorry, Aprel, and I love you and I hope someday you will forgive me,” he said.
Despite her brother having been brought to tears during his statement, Remkus outright dismissed his sincerity.
“I felt that he is honestly and genuinely scared to death because he’s about to go to prison,” Remkus said after court had adjourned. “He’s about to be held accountable for his behavior.”
She also expressed disappointment about her estranged mother’s appearance in court and attempt to appear as a caring mother and read a victim impact statement.
Sara Green was largely absent from her children’s lives following her divorce from Melvin Green when they were young children, Remkus said.
Melvin Green had been a caring, patient, single father who had worked for 17 years as a detention officer at the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement processing center in El Centro, where he rose to the rank of sergeant, she said.
A 1967 graduate of Holtville High School, Melvin Green was also a Vietnam veteran who after returning from combat had obtained an associate’s degree from Imperial Valley College in 1981, and a business administration degree from San Diego State University in 1984.
“He was the epitome of a devoted father,” she said.