Louisiana man confesses to 24-year-old Wayne County killing on the anniversary of the murder
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on April 5, 2017 5:04 PM
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A 1993 Goldsboro News-Argus story reports the details surrounding the fire that consumed the body of a man later to be determined Deaver's son-in-law.
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A subsequent Goldsboro News-Argus story updates the discovery of Sidney Maurice Gregory's body inside the burned home and his death being ruled a homicide.
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News-Argus/SETH COMBS
Wayne County Sheriff Larry Pierce looks on as Maj. Tom Effler discusses Allen Deaver's confession. Deaver was arrested in Louisiana April 5.
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News-Argus/SETH COMBS
Capt. Richard Lewis and Det. Lt. Shawn Harris talk about Allen Deaver's confession to killing his son-in-law in 1993. Deaver reportedly killed Sidney Maurice Gregory, 32, and then set fire to the mobile home his body was left in.
SEVEN SPRINGS -- A 74-year-old man is waiting to be brought back to Wayne County from Louisiana after confessing in February to the decades-old murder of his son-in-law in 1993.
Allen Deaver has lived in Livingston, Louisiana since shortly after the killing, according to law enforcement. Investigators learned Deaver confessed February 7 to killing Sidney Maurice Gregory ---- 32 at the time of his slaying ---- 24 years earlier to the day.
Authorities with the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office arrested Deaver on first-degree murder charges today after a Wayne County Grand Jury issued a warrant for his arrest.
According to the sheriff's office, Deaver confessed after being hospitalized for a medical condition in early February.
Lying in a hospital bed in Livingston, Louisiana, near the 24th anniversary the murder, Deaver called for his pastor to come to his bedside.
He struggled to get the words out, unable to say to his pastor what he needed to confess.
"He would start his conversation and start and stop and start and stop and start and stop, and he got really upset," said Det. Lt. Shawn Harris with the Wayne County Sheriff's Office.
"When he got upset he started crying, breaking down, and his vital signs shot up. He was already having heart issues, so when his vitals jumped, the nurses and everyone said, 'Hey, y'all got to calm down.'"
The pastor agreed the two men should meet later when Deaver left the hospital.
The next day, after Deaver was released from the hospital, the pastor went to his home and the two men spoke.
After a discussion, the pastor told Deaver he would return with a coroner's assistant and detective to continue the conversation.
Then came Deaver's confession.
Deaver admitted to beating Gregory and then setting his mobile home on fire with the aid of an accelerant. The fire charred his remains so badly that Gregory could only be positively identified by dental records.
The cause of death was officially ruled as blunt force trauma, according to Gregory's death certificate.
Shortly after Deaver's confession, the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office called the Wayne County Sheriff's Office.
Local authorities launched an investigation into the case to confirm Deaver's account.
The murder happened at Route 2 Box 318, and was called in as a fire by a woman who was passing by in a car with her husband.
"They were passers-by, going home and they saw the fire," Harris, said. "They stopped and he actually got out and knocked on Deaver's door and told him the trailer next door was on fire, and them two together went to the house and started trying to get in."
Deaver lived directly next to Gregory at Route 2 Box 382, with a barn between the two trailers.
The liquid burn accelerant used on the home -- thought to be either kerosene or diesel fuel -- was stored in that barn, Harris said.
The then-unknown man's wife, whose name is not being released, is the person who called 911.
Fire departments responded to the scene, she was parked in the driveway, they backed the car out so the trucks could get in, and then they left, Harris said.
What was originally ruled an arson was escalated to a murder investigation after officers found Gregory's remains inside.
Maj. Tom Effler with the sheriff's office confirmed the man whose wife phoned 911 has since died.
Deaver told law enforcement he killed Gregory because he believed his daughter and grandchildren, who were three and six at the time, were in danger because of a "domestic situation."
Gregory's widow refutes that herself, saying it was not the case, Harris said.
"He didn't think it was a good environment, and he felt his grandchildren and daughter were in danger and he was doing what he had to do to protect his family," Harris said.
Effler said while Gregory's widow and Deaver's daughter refute that notion entirely, they could not say on the record why she believes her father killed her then-husband.
Harris said 14 people --in addition to Deaver -- were interviewed during the investigation to confirm his confession.
Effler said law enforcement believes he confessed because of a guilty conscience, though they do not know exactly why he admitted to it after all these years.
"We feel like he was trying to get his stuff in order before he met his maker," Effler said.
Harris said the Deavers skipped town almost immediately after the murder.
Karen Deaver, Allen's wife, worked for a phone company at the time and requested a transfer to Livingston, Louisiana, shortly after the murder.
She is she is originally from that area, and said she wanted to be near family who lived there.
Officers could not confirm whether or not she knew her husband had killed their son-in-law all these years.
"A homicide is never too old to work, so if anyone ever has any information on a cold case, we would like to hear from them," said Wayne County Sheriff Larry Pierce. "We always actively pursue leads no matter how old they are on these homicide cases if they appear to be viable."