Facts of the Crime:
Gregory, Kendrick Bradford, and Richard Gonzales were Marines stationed at Camp LeJeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina, who, in the early morning of August 24, 1991, were driving to a club in Greenville, North Carolina. Gregory was driving a Nissan Sentra that he had borrowed from the mother of one of his children, and all three Marines were drinking E&J Brandy and Coca-Cola. When they came upon Wesley Parrish, Bernadine Parrish, and Bobbie Jean Hartwig, who were walking along the highway on their way to visit a friend in Ayden, North Carolina, Gregory stopped the car to offer them a ride. Because it appeared to Wesley Parrish that all six adults could not fit in the small car, he turned down the offer of a ride, and the Marines drove away. They turned around, however, returned to the pedestrians, and again offered them a ride.
Gregory then raised a shotgun and ordered the three pedestrians to hand over their money and wallets. After they complied, Gregory ordered the two women to enter the car and Wesley Parrish to walk away. As Wesley Parrish was obeying, Gregory fired three shots at him and drove away.
Although Parrish was seriously injured, he survived. He was later rescued by a passing driver and taken to the hospital. In the meantime, Gregory drove the car into a field near Pitt Community College, where the car became stuck in a ditch. Gregory ordered the women into a wooded area, where all three men raped them. Gregory then tried to strangle Bernadine Parrish, but when she regained consciousness, he snapped her neck. He stated that he killed Parrish to avoid going to prison. He then strangled Hartwig and left her in a ditch with Parrish. While the Marines were working to extricate the car from the ditch in which it had become stuck, using the women’s clothing for traction, Hartwig revived and began screaming. Gregory asked Bradford to “take care of business.” When Bradford picked up a pistol, Gregory told him not to use it because “if you use the pistol you are going to have to shoot her three or four times.” Bradford then shot Hartwig in the chest with the shotgun, killing her. The men eventually freed the car from the ditch and returned to Camp LeJeune, stopping at an automatic car wash along the way to wash the car.
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