On the night of February 16, 2023, 69-year-old Freddie E. Patterson was found dead inside a Greenfield home on East U.S. 40. Officers responding to a 911 call discovered Patterson seated in a living room chair with severe facial trauma; investigators say he had been beaten to death with a hammer. The call came around 10:19 p.m. from Patterson’s half-sister, who lived in the house with her son, Daniel James Smith, and reported being awakened by a loud banging before finding Patterson unresponsive.

Smith, then 39, surrendered outside with his hands up and was soaking wet. He was taken into custody and later charged with murder. In interviews he made disjointed statements referencing events from 1980, a cult, trafficking and being programmed to hit Patterson with a hammer, and said he believed Patterson was molesting a minor; he also admitted drinking that evening. The case was set for a bench trial with the defendant entering a plea of not guilty; the defense and prosecution reportedly agreed most evidence, leaving Smith’s mental state at the time as the central issue.

Did anyone in Greenfield know Patterson or have information about his relationship with Smith?