In April 1999, Greg Lance was arrested for a double homicide in Cookeville, Tennessee. He was found guilty by a jury and is serving to two concurrent life sentences. The evidence presented at trial was either jailhouse statements or circumstantial evidence. Soon after his wrongful conviction, his daughter was born. In the 20 years that Greg has been imprisoned, he has had to watch his daughter grow up from behind prison walls. To date, all efforts to exonerate him have failed. This is the story of Greg's wrongful conviction and his fight to prove his innocence.
Greg’s case piqued the interest of the Undisclosed Podcast team of Rabia Chaudry, Collin Miller and Susan Simpson, three attorneys well-known for helping to get the convictions of many wrongfully convicted people overturned, including Adnan Syed. Their podcast investigates wrongful convictions and flaws in the U.S. criminal justice system by re-examining investigations, reviewing trial transcripts, re-interviewing witnesses, and finding new evidence that never made it to court.
In Season 4, the team of investigative lawyers have highlighted every detail in the case The State v. Greg Lance. The twelve-episode series covers everything from Greg’s alibi to details about who may actually be responsible for the murder of Victor and Alla Kolesnikow.
In a 1998 investigation of the double murder of Victor and Alla Kolesnikow, a Ukrainian couple known locally for owning and financing property, pointed to a few likely suspects. Oddly enough, only one of the suspects was ever arrested –– Greg Lance, the 27-year-old property manager of the Ford Mobile Home Park.
Greg was working to fully acquire the park from the Kolesnikows using owner financing. A few months prior to their deaths, the couple decided to foreclose on the property and regain ownership, leading investigators to believe that Greg had a motive to commit the murders.
Living in the home directly across the street from the Kolesnikows was a couple and their daughter –– Sam, Peggy and Samantha Horn. Like Greg, the Horn family was purchasing their property from Victor and Alla. Neighboring the Horn residence was James and David Redman, the brothers of Peggy Horn, who were also purchasing their property from the Kolesnikows through owner financing.
According to a former Putnam County Sheriff's deputy, on August 3, 1998, Victor Kolesnikow swore out a warrant against David Redman. The deputy served the warrant the next day, August 4th. In the early morning hours of August 5th, Victor and Alla were found dead in their home, shot multiple times and burnt beyond recognition. James Redman placed the 911 call at 3:30 a.m. on August 5th, 1998.
See the view of the Kolesnikow property from the Horn/Redman residence.
The State Fire Marshall, Phillip Gentry, used a K-9 unit to search the burnt home. The dog indicated that gasoline residue was present so arson was immediately suspected. Seven shell casings were also found.
Almost two months later, a tec-9 mm pistol was found about a mile from the crime scene on the passenger side of the road. It was determined by the crime lab to be the same weapon that was used to fire the seven shell casings found in the victims' home.
According to Putnam County Sherriff's Department documents, on the same day the gun was found, Sam Horn gave a statement to police and drew a picture of a tec-9 mm pistol claiming it was in the possession of Claude Wright. While Wright was one of the last people to see Victor Kolesnikow on August 4, 1998, he was never considered a suspect or a witness by the police.
The most damaging witnesses were some of Greg's former friends and co-workers: Mike Snow, Eric Tanner, and Keith Herbstreith.
Eric Tanner testified that prior to the murders, Greg asked him to find a “hot” gun but when initially questioned in the investigation, he never mentioned this encounter. The TBI record of Eric's lie detector test was never brought to light.
Keith Herbstreith testified that three weeks prior to the murders, Greg asked if he knew anyone who would kill for hire. Keith failed his lie detector test and later verbally recanted his statement to Greg's mother, Joyce.
Mike Snow had only known Greg for 4 months before he was hired to work for him, yet he alleged that Greg had approached him for help finding someone to make people "disappear." Snow had a rather long rap sheet, and in fact, he was in jail on domestic violence and parole violation charges when he had learned of the murders. From his jail cell, he gave a statement to police that Greg asked him to find a hitman. He was later released for his jailhouse statement and testified at Greg's trial. Following Greg's wrongful conviction, a friend of Greg's asked Mike Snow why he made those false statements. Mike’s response was: “The day I signed that statement against Greg they let me out of jail. What will Lance's parents do for me if I change my statement?”
Equally as damaging to Greg's trial was the court's refusal to allow Billy Cleghorn to testify in front of the jury. At a jury out hearing, Billy stated that he heard Peggy Horn say that she left her blouse over at the Kolesnikows' home and that she was afraid that law enforcement would be able to tie the blouse back to her. It wasn't until years later that through the Freedom of Information Act that the defense team discovered a receipt for a blouse that was collected by law enforcement at the crime scene. That piece of evidence along with many others are unaccounted for at this time.
After deliberating for less than a full day, the jury found Greg guilty of two counts of first degree murder and one count of aggravated arson. Greg is currently serving a 58 year sentence in the Tennessee Department of Corrections.
During a motion for a new trial, Greg's attorney called one of Sam Horn's acquaintances as a witness. Chris Henry testified that in a conversation with Sam Horn, Sam told him the way to take care of snitches was to knock on their front door, shoot them, burn their house down and leave. According to Henry, sometime prior to testifying, Sam threatened to kill him due to an argument over drugs. When asked if he had ever seen a tec-9 at Sam Horn’s house, he testified that he had not only seen one but that he had shot Sam’s tec-9. The court denied Greg's Motion for New Trial.
In 2012, the Justice For Greg Lance team spoke to one of the individuals selected as a juror in Greg's trial. According to this juror, the jury as a whole did not believe Greg actually committed the crimes but nevertheless voted guilty because they thought he at least knew who actually committed the crimes. This particular juror felt that Greg was not guilty. The former juror stated, “They deliberated for hours and couldn’t reach a verdict.” In order to break the deadlock, the jury agreed to be bound by a majority vote. This juror, along with two other jurors, have expressed their belief that Greg should be granted a new trial.
Following Greg's wrongful conviction, his family hired a retired FBI agent to assist in the investigation. Through his investigation, he obtained statements from several witnesses who were present at the Horn residence on August 4, 1998, or who had personal knowledge of events surrounding the murders.
Billy Cleghorn (Billy gave statements to the investigator both pre-trial and post-trial)
According to the statements taken by the investigator, Billy Cleghorn was present at the Horn residence between 3:30 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. on August 5, 1998. When he pulled into Sam’s driveway, the fire was burning at the Kolesnikows’ home. Sam came out of the house and instructed him to leave as the police were on their way. Cleghorn stated that Sam looked crazy and had been awake for some time due to his meth use.
Sometime shortly after the murders, Sam, Peggy, Samantha, Billy Cleghorn, and friends Lacy and Jenny Harness left the Horn residence on Poplar Grove Road and moved to Jackie Cleghorn’s residence near Austin Bottom. While at the residence, Peggy began crying and talking about dead people, leaving her blouse behind, and a gun with a flashlight hooked to see better in the dark. Sam told Billy that Peggy was crazy and out of her head on drugs.
According to Billy, Samantha told him that her mother, Peggy, had gone over to the Kolesnikows earlier in the day on August 4, 1998, and unlocked the bathroom window. Billy claims that Samantha stated that when she woke up between 1:00 a.m. and 2:00 a.m. on August 5th, she noticed the lights on at Victor’s and Alla’s house and recalled hearing gunshots. Upon hearing the shots, Samantha got scared and went into her residence. Samantha further stated her parents came in the house soon after she returned to the residence, smelling like gasoline and carrying an assortment of items.
Jackie Cleghorn
Jackie Cleghorn told the investigator that he and his wife (now his ex-wife), Rachel, stayed at the Horn residence for 3-4 months in the summer of 1998. Jackie claims that during that time, Sam and Peggy Horn got behind in making their payments to Victor Kolesnikow.
Sometime prior to the murders, Jackie and Rachel moved to an apartment primarily because of arguments with Sam and Peggy. According to Jackie, after Peggy accused Rachel of trying to frame Sam, the argument got heated and Sam put a gun in Jackie’s mouth. Cleghorn noted that he knew Sam was a dangerous man.
Rachel Cleghorn
Rachel Cleghorn is Sam Horn’s niece and Jackie Cleghorn's ex-wife. She stated that she and Jackie stayed at the Horn residence in June and July of 1998. According to Rachel, during their stay there was tension between Sam Horn and Victor Kolesnikow over a well pump. The Cleghorns moved out in July but the day following the murders they visited the Horn residence to find out what had happened. Rachel claims that Peggy was unsettled and stated that she could not stay there any longer and it was not safe for her and Samantha to be there. The witness states that Peggy talked about moving far away so she could be someone else because she was feeling responsible for things. When Rachel asked what she meant, Peggy went from crying to yelling. Sam came into the room, grabbed her arm and said, “Shut up Peg, you’re talking out of your head. Do you want to go for a walk? Maybe you want to go to the creek.” Rachel took that statement as Sam threating to kill her and leave her there.
Lacy Harness
Lacy Harness told the investigator he had no personal knowledge that Sam and Peggy committed the murders, but stated it was his opinion that Sam Horn was responsible. Harness feels that the murders occurred over the land Sam Horn was buying from Victor and Alla. The property was comprised of three parcels. One parcel was the Horn residence (about 16 acres) and the other two parcels consisted of properties with a trailer on each belonging to Peggy’s brothers, David and James Redman who were also working to buy property from the Kolesnikows. Harness stated that the brothers were making payments on the property but when David couldn’t meet the required payments, he would make up the difference by mowing Victor’s yard or helping him around the house. Harness claims that he was awake until about 10:30 or 11:00 p.m. on the night of August 4, 1998. Harness claims that when he woke up on the couch he noticed that Sam was entering the residence from the rear of the house. Harness claims that Sam was in his underwear and in the process of taking off a green sweatshirt. Sam later approached Harness, looked out the window of the house near to where Harness was and told Harness that Victor’s house was on fire. According to Harness, he believes that the shower was running when Sam woke him. He didn’t see Peggy but assumed that it was possible that she was taking a shower.
Harness stated that sometime after the murders he and the Horns stayed with Jackie and Rachel Cleghorn. Harness’s sister, Jenny, told him that Peggy admitted she did the killing and Sam burnt the house down. Harness claimed that he told Detective Burgess of the Putnam County Sherriff's Office that he did not believe Lance committed the murders.
Paula Lacommare
Paula Lacommare was interviewed twice by the investigator, the first time in November 1999 and the second time in June 2006. Paula did not know Victor and Alla but learned of their murders from her mother who had read it in the newspaper. Paula’s mother was a real estate agent and had previously shown property to Victor and Alla.
Paula’s first contact with Sam was in July 1999 when she visited the Horn residence. She did not return there until October 1999 when she went with Billy Cleghorn to pick up some of his personal items from the Horn residence. She stated that Cleghorn formerly lived at the Horn residence. Paula further stated that during the time she was involved with individuals who spent time at the Horn residence, she frequently heard comments made about Sam Horn being crazy and a murderer.
Paula met Samantha Horn through Billy Cleghorn. Billy moved out of the Horn residence in the middle of August 1999. Cleghorn said that he left after he woke up at the Horn residence and Sam was pointing a gun at him. Horn accused Cleghorn of stealing property from him, more specifically red phosphorus.
Paula recounted that her friend, Mike Henry, who worked on junk cars for Sam Horn, came by her residence in August of 1998, prior to the murders. Henry told her he just came from the Horn residence and heard Sam make the statement that he was going to kill the "foreigners". Horn said he was tired of them “geeking” on him and always meddling.
In her second interview, Paula explained that she had not been completely truthful with the investigator nor the two agents from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation who interviewed her. Paula claimed that she was telling the truth on the date of her second interview.
In her second interview, Paula said that in September 1999 Samantha Horn was at her residence on South Meade. Paula said that all of the statements made by Samantha occurred somewhere between midnight and daylight. Paula said that they were talking about Jesus and Samantha asked her if she knew something bad would she have to tell it. Paula told her that it was between her and Jesus. Paula said that Samantha then became emotional and started crying. Samantha then stated that everyone thinks her dad is bad but that her mother is just as bad. She then stated that her mom and one of her dad’s “emps” went to the residence and "killed those people". Lacommare said Samantha used “emps” to refer to individuals that worked for her dad. Samantha never identified the “emp.” Samantha stated the bathroom window was unlocked at the residence. Samantha said her mom let the “emp” in and she "killed the people". Samantha did not mention anything about how the people were killed.
In summary, the post-trial witnesses all tell a similar story. These witnesses were spoken to separately and at different times yet corroborate each other’s stories to be true. These statements contain much more detail about the happenings at the Horn residence on the night prior to the murders, the morning of the murders, and the days following the murders. The dynamics between the individuals in the Horns' inner circle are clearly defined, as well as the fear that Sam instilled in those around him.
Through the witness statements given to the investigator, it is clear that sometime on August 4th, Sam and Peggy Horn went to the Kolesnikows’ home and Peggy requested permission to use their bathroom. While in the bathroom, Peggy unlocked the bathroom window. The Horns returned to the Kolesnikows' residence in the early morning hours of August 5th and entered through the unlocked window killing both Victor and Alla Kolesnikow. The Justice For Greg Lance team believes that Sam and Peggy Horn should be considered as suspects in the murders of Victor and Alla Kolesnikow. While Sam Horn died on December 26, 2002, Peggy Horn is alive and lives in Alabama.
The justice system may have failed Greg by convicting an innocent man but it can only move forward by correcting the mistake. If you have any information that would be helpful in my case, please contact Joyce Argo, by email at joyceintennessee@gmail.com.
I have spent everything I have to pay for lawyers and investigators in an effort to prove my innocence. My family and I appreciate any help that you may have to offer. Thank you.
-Greg
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