Karen Greenlee
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Karen Margaret Greenlee (born 1958) is an American criminal who was convicted of stealing a
hearse A hearse () is a large vehicle, originally a horse carriage but later with the introduction of motor vehicles, a car, used to carry the body of a deceased person in a coffin to a funeral, wake, or graveside service. They range from deliberately ...
and having sex with the corpse it contained. She is considered as the "best-known modern practitioner of
necrophilia Necrophilia, also known as necrophilism, necrolagnia, necrocoitus, necrochlesis, and thanatophilia, is sexual attraction or acts involving corpses. It is classified as a paraphilia by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its ''International ...
", and her case was the subject of much research due to her sex as only ten percent of known necrophiles are women, as well as because of the highly detailed interview she gave about her extensive practice of necrophilia in the anthology book ''
Apocalypse Culture Adam Parfrey (April 12, 1957 – May 10, 2018) was an American journalist, editor, and the publisher of Feral House books, whose work in all three capacities frequently centered on unusual, extreme, or "forbidden" topics. A 2010 ''Seattle Weekl ...
''.


Early life

Greenlee's father, Al Meyers, said Greenlee had been sexually molested at age 8 and raped by a teacher at 14 while living in
Sonoma County, California Sonoma County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 488,863. Its seat of government and largest city is Santa Rosa. Sonoma County comprises the Santa Rosa-Petaluma ...
. Afterwards, Greenlee moved with her family to
Colfax, California Colfax (formerly Alden Grove, Alder Grove, Illinoistown, and Upper Corral) is a city in Placer County, California, at the crossroads of Interstate 80 and State Route 174. The population was 1,995 at the 2020 census. The town is named in h ...
, where she graduated from high school. Greenlee was married but separated at the time of her arrest. After her arrest, Greenlee worked as a desk-clerk receptionist at a motel in a state in the
southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...
, but was unemployed at the time of her trial.


Arrest

Greenlee worked as an apprentice embalmer at the Memorial Lawn Mortuary in
Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...
. On December 17, 1979, she stole the 1975 Cadillac hearse she was driving to a private burial along with the body of a 33-year-old man (who had died a week before) it was carrying. According to
Lynne Stopkewich Lynne Stopkewich (born 1964) is a Canadian film director. She attracted attention for her feature film directorial debut '' Kissed'' (1996). Life and career In 1987, Stopkewich obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in film studies from Conco ...
, who directed ''
Kissed ''Kissed'' is a 1996 Canadian romantic/erotic drama film directed and co-written by Lynne Stopkewich, based on Barbara Gowdy's short story "We So Seldom Look on Love". It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 1996 ...
'', a film based on Greenlee's story, she was driving the hearse to the funeral as intended until she saw the departed's family, then "did a big
donut A doughnut or donut () is a type of pastry made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and fran ...
and took off". She was found days later near Alleghany in Sierra County. According to Robert Rocheleau, the physician who pumped Greenlee's stomach, she was "extremely depressed" and had attempted to commit suicide by
overdosing A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended. Retrieved on September 20, 2014.
on about 20 pills of
Tylenol Tylenol may refer to: * Paracetamol (acetaminophen), a medication used to treat pain and fever * Tylenol (brand), an American brand of drugs containing paracetamol * Chicago Tylenol murders The Chicago Tylenol murders were a series of poisoning d ...
and
codeine Codeine is an opiate and prodrug of morphine mainly used to treat pain, coughing, and diarrhea. It is also commonly used as a recreational drug. It is found naturally in the sap of the opium poppy, ''Papaver somniferum''. It is typically use ...
but survived. She was found with a four-and-a-half page long written confession where she admitted having had sex with 20 to 40 other bodies of young men, calling it "an addiction". Because necrophilia was not illegal in California at the time, Greenlee was only accused of stealing the hearse and interfering with a funeral, for which she pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay a $255 fine and spend 11 days in jail. After her release, her
probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...
included mandatory therapy, which she says helped her make peace with herself. Greenlee and Memorial Lawn Mortuary were sued for $1 million by Marian Gonzales, mother of victim John L. Mercure, for "severe emotional distress". At the Superior Court hearing, the defense psychiatrist Captane Thomson said he did not think the event had "much of a lasting impact" on the victim's mother, who he said had a history of
alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...
and depression. Richard A. Kapuschinsky, a fellow embalmer and former colleague of Greenlee, testified to the jury that "there was no reason to suspect" Greenlee would commit such a crime, describing her as quiet and competent. The lawsuit was eventually settled for $117,000 in general and punitive damages.


Interview

A few years later in 1987, Greenlee gave a detailed interview entitled ''The Unrepentant Necrophile'' about her necrophiliac interests to Jim Morton for his book ''
Apocalypse Culture Adam Parfrey (April 12, 1957 – May 10, 2018) was an American journalist, editor, and the publisher of Feral House books, whose work in all three capacities frequently centered on unusual, extreme, or "forbidden" topics. A 2010 ''Seattle Weekl ...
'', published by
Feral House Feral House is an American book publisher founded in 1989 by Adam Parfrey and based in Port Townsend, Washington. Feral House is known for its taboo and provocative publications, but has had significant influence in both underground circles an ...
. In it, she stated that " e of my brothers ... still isn't comfortable around me. My other brother was more supportive, but even he had to ask ''How'd you do it?''" She described her appreciation of "the cold, the aura of death, the smell of death, the funereal surroundings" associated with her activity. She further discussed topics such as suicide and
psychotherapy Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...
. Greenlee later reportedly regretted the interview, changed her identity, and moved to another city.


Cultural impact

Greenlee's story inspired
Barbara Gowdy Barbara Gowdy, CM (born 25 June 1950) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer. Born in Windsor, Ontario, she is the long-time partner of poet Christopher Dewdney and resides in Toronto. Literary career Gowdy's novel '' Falling Angels'' ...
's 1992 short story "We So Seldom Look On Love", which in turn inspired the 1996 Canadian independent film ''
Kissed ''Kissed'' is a 1996 Canadian romantic/erotic drama film directed and co-written by Lynne Stopkewich, based on Barbara Gowdy's short story "We So Seldom Look on Love". It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 1996 ...
'', directed by
Lynne Stopkewich Lynne Stopkewich (born 1964) is a Canadian film director. She attracted attention for her feature film directorial debut '' Kissed'' (1996). Life and career In 1987, Stopkewich obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in film studies from Conco ...
. Like Greenlee, the movie's main character was a young woman working as an embalmer fascinated with dead bodies and who engages in necrophilia.
Molly Parker Molly Parker (born June 30, 1972) is a Canadian actress, writer, and director. She garnered critical attention for her portrayal of a necrophiliac medical student in the controversial drama '' Kissed'' (1996). She subsequently starred in the tel ...
's portrayal of the controversial role earned her an award for "Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role" at the
18th Genie Awards The 18th Genie Awards were held on 14 December 1997 to honour Canadian films released that year. to honour the best Canadian films of 1997. The ceremony's hosts were film critics Geoff Pevere and Cameron Bailey. For this year, CBC Television dec ...
. As of 1996, Greenlee was reported to be touring North America with her poetry, conferencing about necrophilia and
sexual liberation The sexual revolution, also known as the sexual liberation, was a social movement that challenged traditional codes of behavior related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the Western world from the late 1950s to the early 1 ...
. According to ''Esoterra'', a leading extreme culture and horror magazine of the 90s,
Sally Jessy Raphael Sally Lowenthal (born February 25, 1935), better known as Sally Jessy Raphael, is an American retired talk show host, who is best known for her program '' Sally'' (originally called ''The Sally Jessy Raphael Show''). Early life and education Lo ...
taped an interview with Greenlee but refused to air it because Greenlee refused to show repentance for her actions. Greenlee described herself as a "morgue rat" and considered necrophilia an addiction. Greenlee contributed a chapter to ''
The Gospel of Filth ''The Gospel of Filth'' (variously subtitled "A Black Metal Bible" and "A Bible of Decadence & Darkness") is a book by Dani Filth and Gavin Baddeley, documenting the history of the band Cradle of Filth Cradle of Filth are an English extrem ...
'', a book detailing the history and occult influences of
extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...
band
Cradle of Filth Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved originally from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic metal and other metal genres. Their ly ...
. Greenlee's story was also the inspiration for a "raucous
rock musical A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and concep ...
", entitled ''The Unrepentant Necrophile'' and created by The Coldharts, presented at festivals like the fourth edition of the
Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...
Horror Festival, as well as the 2017 Orlando Fringe Festival.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenlee, Karen 1956 births Living people 20th-century American criminals American female criminals Crime in California Criminals from California Embalmers Female necrophiles People from Sacramento, California