Criminology - Presenting: "Murder in the Orange Grove: The Troubled Case Against Crosley Green"

Episode Date: September 25, 2024

On a dark night in April 1989, a young man named Chip Flynn was shot in a Florida orange grove. His ex-girlfriend Kim was the only surviving witness and claimed a Black man had robbed, kidnapped, and killed Chip. A year later, Crosley Green was sentenced to death by an all-white jury for Flynn's murder. After 32 years behind bars, a judge ruled Green was wrongfully convicted — so why is he still in prison? Here's a preview of the new "48 Hours" podcast, "Murder in the Orange Grove: The Troubled Case Against Crosley Green," which offers the most comprehensive deep dive into this shocking case that leaves one man fighting desperately for his freedom. "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty has followed this controversial case for 25 years, delving into inconsistencies — from coerced confessions to allegations of a racial hoax — that challenge the integrity of the verdict. You can hear the rest of this episode by searching for "Murder in the Orange Grove: The Troubled Case Against Crosley Green"wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey everyone, Mike and Mike here. Today we're bringing you something a little different. It's a preview of a new podcast, Murder in the Orange Grove, The Troubled Case Against Crosly Green from 48 Hour. In the early 90s, Crosley Green, a Florida black man, was sentenced to death by an all-white jury for the murder of Chip Flynn. A crime Green insists he didn't commit. It's hosted by 48-Hours correspondent Aaron Moriarty, who has spent a whole white judge. the last 25 years following Green's controversial case looking into the inconsistencies like coerced confessions and allegations of a racial hoax that challenge the integrity of the verdict.

Of all the cases Aaron has covered, she says this is the one that has troubled her the most. With new never-before-heard interviews with experts involved and Crosley himself, Murder in the Orange Grove shines a new light on the case that holds Crosley's freedom. I'm about to play you a clip from Murder in the Orange Grove. Chip Flynn's then-girlfriend recounts the night of his death and the traumatic event that changed three lives forever. On the morning of April 4th, 1989, police were interviewing 19-year-old Kim Halleck about a trauma that began unfolding the night before.

one that would forever change the lives of Kim, her ex-boyfriend, Charles Chip Flynn, and Crosley Green. You solemnly swear the statement you're about to give is true and correct the best of your knowledge to help you got. Yes. Okay. At the time of this recording, Kim had already been with investigators at the sheriff's office for four hours. But this was the first time they were recording her sworn statement. Let's start by what was a... first time that you saw the victim who is Charles Flynn. We call it you calling Chip.

Yeah. Okay. Kim Hallick and Charles Flynn, he went by the name Chip, both lived in the city of Titusville. Kim was white with dark eyes and hair cut above her shoulders. Those who knew her described her as a fairly smart, nice-looking girl. 22-year-old Chip was also white, with shaggy, sandy brown hair and a smile always on his face. They dated a little over a year and a half, but had broken up about two months earlier. Chip had moved on. He had a new girlfriend and didn't talk about Kim anymore to his family or friends. But he hadn't fully cut ties with Kim either. When was the first time that you saw Chip yesterday, which would have been four, three of 89? About 10 o'clock at night, he came over to my house.

Kim said that she and Chip watched a movie together, Pretty in Pink. It was around 11 p.m. when he asked her if she wanted to go for a ride in his pickup truck. It was an 82-ship relay, stepside, 4-by-four pickup truck. What call it? Dark blue. Chip had a manual transmission truck, a stick shift. There was only one row of seats, so Kim sat on the passenger side while Chip drove to Holder Park. in the nearby town of Mims.

They parked the truck on the dunes by the baseball field under some trees. After about 15 minutes, a patrol deputy drove by, but he didn't see the couple. Another few minutes passed, and Kim said she saw someone else walking towards them from the baseball fields. It's after that a block guy walked up in front of the truck. Kim told the police that she and Chip were instantly unsettled. by this unknown man, who she called, quote unquote, the black guy. You'll hear Kim say this over and over again when speaking with police. I was looking out and I looked down and I saw the black guy come up and I told Chip,

there's a black guy on her side and he rolled up the window real quick. Kim said she was unnerved by the encounter and told Chip she wanted to leave the park, but Chip said it was all right because the man had left. Kim said that about 20 minutes later, Chip got out of the truck to go to the bathroom, and that's when she heard him say. Wait a minute. Hold on. Wait a minute, man. And I just looked and I saw a black guy. According to Kim's timeline, the time would be between 1130 and midnight. Kim said that she remembered that Chip had a pistol in the glove box, so she pulled it out

and hid it under a pair of jeans on the seat beside her. And that's when the man, she said, told Chip to get on the ground. Did you see that the black male was armed at that time? Yes, I did. Because he was in front of the door. Okay. She said he asked how much money they had and started calling them names. He even calling him Crackhead, Crackerhead.

And me, it's a lot. Chip just said, just let her go. You have me. Their assailant said he would let them go, but first Kim said he threw one of Chip's sneakers at her and then told her to take the shoelace out. She said that while the assailant was tying up Chip's arms with that shoelace, his gun went off. Nobody was hurt, and Kim told police that she didn't think the gunshot was intentional. But on the moonless night, it would have been terrifying. Kim said that at this point, Chip was on his knees, no shoes on, his arms tied behind his back with a shoe lace.

The assailant pulled Chip's wallet out of his pants pocket. And he opened up the wallet and then he threw it at me and told me to take out the money and count it. And approximately how much money was in the wallet? $185. Okay. The assailant allowed her to get out of the truck, Kim said. and then come around where he and Chip were standing before instructing her to start the truck.

What is he doing with the gun while he is instruction, giving you the instructions? He's got it on Chip. He's holding the gun on Chip? Yeah. Then, according to Kim, all three of them got back in the pickup truck on that one row of seats.

Chip is now in the passenger side, with his hands tied, Kim in the middle, and they're now kidnappers steering and shifting gears. They begged him to let them go, with Chip once again offering himself up to save Kim. Take me do what he wanted to let her go. He said he was going to, but I knew he wasn't.

This might have been the best chance Kim Hallett got to really look at the assailant, although it was still pitch black, and according to Kim, the truck's interior light might not have been working. The police officer questioning Kim was eager to try to pin down a physical description of the assailant. From his height... How tall was he? Between 5'8 and about 6 foot. Mm-hmm.

And his weight... About 1008 pounds. Mm-hmm. Kind of a big bill. To his clothing... Had a big heavy jacket on, a dark heavy jacket. Remember what cost of? Possibly green, a real bold green, blue jeans and big, heavy boots, like working boots.

To his hairstyle. Just afro and there, nothing fancy, nothing weird. Was it thick, long, short? Just thick. Kind of long, not long. A little bit of an asphalt. Uh-huh. But Kim was unable to provide a detailed,

description. Anything else unusual about the face? Not really. Not, I really didn't need a real good look at him. I was really scared. In her terror, Kim said she did not get a good look at the assailant. Another police officer pressed her about the man's footwear again later in the interview. Describing his footwear, are you certain of what type of footwear he was wearing?

Yes or not real certain. So the answer is no. Right. Could he have been wearing tennis shoes? That's possible, isn't it? Yeah, but it seems like tennis shoes weren't heavy enough for the way he was. Okay. Your recollection in describing his footwear is not based on something you visually saw and remember.

It's a sound you heard. Kim told police that the man made her and Chip ducked down as they drove out of Holder Park. And when Chip lifted his head, Kim said, the assailant yelled at him to put it down, or he'd blow his head off. Okay, what was he doing with the gun at the time? He had it at me. Where was he pointing at? My side. Mm-hmm.

Was he holding it there while he was shifting to? How was he doing that? He had his hand on his shift. For sure. If you couldn't quite hear, Kim said that their kidnapper was holding the gun, pointing it at her, while shifting gears and driving. At this point, Chip found his own gun, the one that Kim said she hid under a pair of jeans on the seat. Chip motioned to Kim to scoot up so he could get a clear shot at their assailant. But Kim said she couldn't move without the driver noticing.

Ten minutes later, the assailant stopped the truck at a familiar landmark, the Orange Factory. Nevin's Orange Factory? That too. Kim and Chip were in an orange grove in the city of Titusville, Florida. Their assailant, she said, shut the car off. It was completely dark. Then he yanked Kim out of the driver's seat by her arm. Kim said she pulled free and then ran around to the passenger side of the truck,

opening Chip's door. And just as she put one foot inside, the assailant yanked her out of. again, and she fell to the ground by the back rear tire. The assailant got one arm around her and held his gun on her. Kim said that when she started to cry, the assailant shouted that he was going to quote, blow her brain out if she didn't shut up. And that's when, according to Kim, chip leaned out of the passenger seat, his pistol still clutched in his shoelace-bound hands. His hands were behind his bag.

He leaned out of the truck and somehow shot at the guy, and the guy stepped back, Chip dumped out of the truck. I jumped in the truck, shut the passenger door, and then I reached over and locked it, and I heard about five or six gunshots. So if you're following, Kim said that Chip shot at the assailant and then jumped out of the passenger side of the pickup truck. all with his hands still tied behind his back. The police officer asked him exactly how Chip got out of the truck.

No, like face first on the ground on his stomach. Mm-hmm. So I could get in and leave. And then ask Kim about those other gunshots. Okay, the other shots occurred after you got into the truck. After I got in the truck. Do you recall how many shots Chip fired? He might have shot, too.

So I'm not sure. The second one went from Chip. I'm not real sure. But then, like, four or five came from the black guy. Kim said Chip yelled at her to go and in her haste to leave the Orange Grove. Kim said she might have accidentally run over Chip's leg. Kim drove for about four miles, going past a gas station and even a local hospital. Stopping at a trailer park where Chip's best friend David Strupe lived,

It was just about a minute away from her family home. David was asleep and didn't hear Kim when she banged on his trailer door. I went back to where his bedroom is and I beat on the door and I told him I think Chip got shot. If you like what you heard, you can get the rest of this episode on Murder in the Orange Grove, the troubled case against Crosley Green.