The Good Son Goes Bad
(“In the Bag,” Forensic Files)
Jack and Linda Myers were an enterprising couple who operated a food market and pizza shop in tiny Houston, Ohio.
Serving up hot fresh slices of extra cheese with mushrooms can be an amiable business, but the Myers had two sidelines that tend not to create many fans.
They rented out residential properties they owned, and Jack fixed up used cars and resold them, often on credit.
Smallest victim. So when the Myers’ great-grandson discovered the couple murdered in their own bed, investigators wondered whether an evicted tenant or a repossessed-vehicle owner pulled the trigger.
But, as it turned out, the killer was someone the Myers trusted and knew far more intimately than any of Jack’s buyers or renters.
For this week, I looked for information about what happened to the great-grandson who lived with Jack and Linda and was just 4 years old when they died. I also checked on where the murderer is today.
So let’s get started on the recap of “In the Bag,” the Forensic Files episode about the case, along with extra information from internet research:
Strange story. On March 27, 2003, a sweet little guy in bloodstained pajamas and boots showed up an hour late for preschool.
Dameon Huffman (Forensic Files used the pseudonym “Johnny Huffman”) had run a mile to get to the classroom, which was part of the Oakland Church of the Brethren.
Staff member Marlene Harris would later testify that Dameon said his great-grandparents were “melting.” She called the sheriff’s office.
Police found Jack and Linda Myers shot to death inside their farmhouse on Martin Road in Darke County, Ohio.
Monster’s not just a nightmare. It looked as though an intruder had disconnected the phone lines, shot Jack in his sleep, and then turned the gun on Linda after she woke up. She had a defensive wound, and the gunshot to her face made her unrecognizable.
The couple had been happily married for seven years and had full custody of Dameon. His mother, Linda’s granddaughter Amber Holscher, was too young to care for him and had put him in foster care at one point.
Dameon said that the night of the murder, a “green monster” had looked in on him in his bedroom and apparently thought he was asleep. The only other eyewitness was a neighbor who remembered seeing an unknown minivan in the Myers’ driveway before dawn.
Cash and valuables untouched. Worried that the perpetrator would try to find and kill Dameon, the authorities placed him in protective custody in a secret location, away from all family members, according to “The Green Dragon,” an episode of On the Case with Paula Zahn.
The killer hadn’t stolen anything valuable, so an outsider’s grudge seemed like a probable motive — until police started investigating the family.
Suspicion first fell upon Andrew Huffman, Dameon’s dad, after Amber told investigators there was a custody dispute between him and Linda, and he had threatened her.
But he was in Kentucky when the murders took place, and his employer confirmed his alibi.
Alienated son. Next up on the list came Jack’s first-born son.
Travis Myers, 28, and his father had warred over some financial matters, and Travis moved to Arizona to put as much distance between them as possible, according to On the Case.
Travis had returned to Ohio shortly before the murders, but he also had a solid alibi.
Surprisingly, investigators found a better suspect in Jack’s younger son, Gregg Myers, 25.
Forty acres and a fool. The mild-mannered Gregg had no criminal record, got along well with his dad, and was best man at his wedding, but had reportedly been rebuffed when he asked Jack for a loan to save his home.
Due to a bank foreclosure, Gregg was either scheduled for eviction the following month or had already been evicted (media accounts vary) from his house in the town of Piqua.
Gregg, who was the father of two small children, needed a new place to live pronto, and he conveniently stood to inherit Jack and Linda’s farmhouse and its 39 acres upon Jack’s death.
Evidence against Gregg began to stream in.
A family friend named Jon Helmandollar promptly ratted out Gregg, telling authorities that Gregg had asked him where he could get a gun to shoot his father.
Superstore spree. Gregg’s girlfriend, Jennifer Brown, told investigators that when she woke up on the morning of the murders, Gregg was already out of the house. It was earlier than he usually left for his job at NK Parts — when he showed up, that is. According to Forensic Files, Gregg had an absenteeism problem as well as a substance habit.
But it was the physical evidence that really made the case. A Walmart in the town of Sidney had receipts showing Gregg bought ammunition, masking tape, and batting two days before the homicides. Police had found remnants of tape and batting at the crime scene and believed the shooter used them to make a silencer.
A week before the killings, Gregg, who drove a van like the one spotted in Jack and Linda Myers’ driveway the day of the murders, had purchased latex gloves, a pair of Route 66 brand shoes two sizes too small, a green windbreaker, green pants, and black stockings.
After the murders, police discovered those items in a bag discarded in the Stillwater River, downstream from where they recovered a 12-gauge Winchester shotgun with the serial number rubbed out.
Firearm floating. One of the gloves had Gregg’s fingerprint inside, and the old “make foot impressions with the wrong shoe size” trick didn’t fool anyone for long.
Investigators uncovered enough of the gun’s serial number (Gregg clearly should have watched more Forensic Files) to trace it to a private owner named Eugene Adams who said he sold it to Gregg for around $175 on March 25, 2003.
Police arrested Gregg and set his bail at $500,000.
Taking his chances. Darke County Prosecutor Richard Howell offered a deal that would take the death penalty off the table in exchange for a guilty plea to aggravated battery and two counts of aggravated murder.
Gregg chose to go to trial.
Defense lawyer L. Patrick Mulligan said Gregg had the moral support of many people — even as they had to look at Linda Myers’ family members who came to court dressed in T-shirts with tribute silkscreened pictures of the murdered couple.
The jury convicted the baby-faced defendant on all charges after deliberating for eight hours.
Penalty phase. Travis Myers “buried his face in his hands” when he heard the verdict against his little brother, the Dayton Daily News reported.
“It tears us apart because we were close with Gregg,” said Linda’s daughter Kim Hudelson, according to the Dayton Daily News. “We got along with Gregg.”
At the sentencing hearing, defense lawyer George Katchmer played the unhappy childhood card.
He said Travis and Gregg “grew up in an abusive household without their father’s support,” the AP reported in a story dated May 2, 2004.
May Williams, Jack Myers’ sister, testified that Jack was the “family bully” and didn’t nurture his sons, the AP reported.
Spared the ultimate. It probably wasn’t much of a stretch to believe that a man who repossessed cars could be intimidating.
The jury spared Gregg the death penalty.
Instead, Gregg, then 26, received life without the possibility of parole plus five years for aggravated burglary and six years for use of a silencer.
The Ohio Supreme Court later upheld the conviction after Gregg filed an appeal alleging unfair jury selection in 2006.
Today, Gregg resides in Marion Correctional Institution, a severely overcrowded medium-security facility.
Marion was built to accommodate 1,452 inmates but has a population of 2,550, according to PrisonPro.
On the bright side for Gregg, who has no chance of parole, the facility “is known as having some of the most innovative programs of all institutions” and has a high percentage of inmates who complete certification programs.
Tedx even hosted an event, which inmates helped to plan and host, at Marion.
Littlest survivor. As for Linda’s granddaughter Amber Holscher, she had gotten married shortly before the murders and had been preparing to regain custody of her son.
Amber, who appeared on both Forensic Files and On the Case, said little Dameon had persistent nightmares about a green monster or green dragon during childhood but felt safer as time went on.
He got counseling to cope with the traumatic events of his youth and, at age 16, was doing well, according to the On the Case episode from 2014.
As of 2019, Dameon is a motorcycle enthusiast who works for a manufacturing company in Ohio.
Although he’s kept a low profile over the years, Dameon spoke on camera about the murders for “The Green Monster,” an episode of American Monster.
It includes never-before-seen home movies of family life with Jack and Linda Myers. You can watch the “The Green Monster” on the ID Network if you subscribe to cable. Amazon has the episode, too, but you have to pay, even with Prime.
That’s all for this post. Until next time, cheers. — RR
Watch the Forensic Files episode on YouTube or Amazon Prime or Hulu
I’ve never seen this episode, &a I watch Forensic Files A LOT!!! He must have thought he was pretty clever buying shoes two sizes too small to try & fool the cops. Still tho… In 95% of murder cases, it’s always someone the victim knows & unfortunately that means it’s usually family & involves M-O-N-E-Y.
I hate that the young lad was so tormented by this whole experience as he was just as much the victim as his grandparents in this case. It seems that those wounds have luckily healed in this particular case, but it could have gone very bad for him in that regard. Some young children never recover from PTSD events such as this, & these types of triggers can lead to a lifetime of mental illness. I will pray for his continued recovery.
You sound like a very decent person with a big heart. Your words are very consoling and comforting. Thank you.
It does stay with you forever. I can still smell it. It’s a smell you’ll never forget.
And a sight you’ll see forever.
Time helps you. You learn. Medication helps you sleep.
I’ve never forgotten the bravery of that little boy.
Thanks, Rebecca. Not seen this ep. Nothing unusual here: the perp was foolish in obtaining and disposing of ‘evidence.’ Though I don’t know the geography, I wonder if the stores he purchased from were near his home, such that police could narrow down to check? Did he use cash or credit card (the latter, with store discount cards, we know has caught a few out in other eps…) And why do perps throw evidence in bags in rivers? Bags float or get washed-up, and finders are curious… Perp George Hansen comes to mind, in FF “Frozen Assets” (only he threw the bag on an ice-covered river, found almost immediately).
Furthermore, did the perp wonder if he might be a suspect as having fallen-out with Jack and being desperate for money as a legatee? It doesn’t take a genius… Staging the scene as robbery might have helped too. And if Hellmandollar was going to snitch, why not tell police before the event that a friend has expressed an intention to murder and was seeking a gun. Far, far better that, for both victim and friend, than what he did do.
It all adds up to another dumb perp (albeit hindsight is 20-20) – foolishness which enables justice to be done.
I think Travis framed Gregg, Gregg looked like a boy whom can anybody can manipulate, since Travis knew Gregg would inherited the ranch, he (Travis) planned the murder of his father. So Travis sent Gregg to buy the ammunition and shoes to frame him in all the videos. And about the family friend I believe Travis paid him to frame Gregg. Even a blind person can see Travis guilty supposably in the American Monster show he was cleaning his tears, I didn’t see no tears rolling on his eyes. Gregg needs another trial. He’s innocent — I can feel it in my heart. Community sent wrong person to jail.
They are MY grandparents, and Gregg was NOT framed.
So sorry this all happened to you and your family. I just watched this segment on American Monster.
Greed sucks!
What happened to the farm?
How in the hell did you get THAT from watching this episode or following the case (if you even did). There is ZERO evidence of what you’re insinuating and it’s disgusting you’d even imply it.
This isn’t a Sherlock Holmes novel or. Christopher Nolan flick. Might want to get your “heart” checked.
You paint Travis as quite a manipulator who “framed” Gregg. How do you explain why the shot gun owner picked out Gregg as the person who bought it from him, not Travis? Further it was Gregg who phoned this shotgun owner to purchase that gun — it was on his phone bill. If you explain this away as further “manipulation” by Travis, then how do you account for Gregg’s fingerprint inside that latex glove?
This is Amber, Linda & Jack’s granddaughter. I’d like to say that although everyone is entitled to their own opinions, you are VERY wrong! My family sat in that courtroom every single minute of Gregg’s trial. The RIGHT man is in prison!
Glad to hear you think justice was served in the case of your grandparents — and thanks for writing in with your perspective!
Great he needs to be fr the rest of his sorry miserable life AKA what a piece of s***
Wow, totally absurd. He was a substance abuser and was losing his home. He was desperate. He did it.
An episode of “American Monster” actually has an interview with the grown-up Johnny.
You can watch it here.
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5thjyd
Many thanks for sending this — it has info that wasn’t available anyplace else! I’ll update the blog post accordingly. Thanks again!
Great post.
1. The poor kid thought the victims were ‘melting.’ Ouch.
2. Homemade silencer. Didn’t know there was such a thing.
3. And “six years for use of a silencer.” That’s against the law?
Don’t you always fashion your own silencers at home? I refuse to buy mine off the shelf, lol. Glad you enjoyed the post — thanks for your comment!
Apparently the oil filter off a car engine makes a good silencer.
Isn’t the classic home-made silencer a cushion against the muzzle?
I think all of you are forgetting that offer a “pillow” or an “oil filter” as a suppressor; that the murder weapon in this particular case was a 12 gauge shotgun!
Now I don’t know how effective the defendant’s homemade suppressor was… But I can tell you that a pillow, or an oil filter wouldn’t do ANYTHING towards muffling the report of a 12 gauge slug. (We know he used slugs & not buckshot as the forensics team dug them out of the mattress below the two victims.)
I’m assuming it worked b/c the child didn’t get out of bed until the next morning, although he did report seeing the killer look in on him, so it may have been loud enough to wake him. It would be extremely hard to muffle a 12ga without a purpose-built professional suppressor.
They call them suppressors mostly, but yeah, in every state they’re illegal. We can’t make it too easy for thugs to get away with murder, can we? There are a few episodes of FF that feature them. Someone with a better memory than me can tell you. How painful was it to hear the poor child use the word melting? That really tugs at everyone.
If you grow up on a farm you grow up very ingenious and self-sufficient. As my husband of 33 years said to me, if your water heater or furnace goes out in the middle of the night you’d better damned well know either how to fix it or get through until the repair guy can get to your farm. You learn machines, motor and equipment, animal care and home repair. You can’t always get the repair guy to your homestead when you live 250 miles from the next town.
The beginning of the episode, with the 4 year old running to school in PJs and boots, is haunting.
For those who don’t know, batting is the filling for the inside of quilts and stuffed animals. Used to be a thing when we sewed.
How tragic! Luckily the little boy made it after running away from the house. A normal person will never kill his/her own parents.
I agree with you
My grandparents were amazing people. You have no idea.
I grew up with Jack and the boys! I was shocked when I heard what Gregg did. Gregg was always a daddy’s boy! My Dad was Rick Smith he and Jack had been best friends for many many years. I think of Jack often. Many prayers for you!! My dad was in their wedding! He’s in the video in the documentary!
Thanks for writing in from the frontlines! The fact that Gregg was a daddy’s boy makes the crime even more haunting!
Perhaps a case of still waters running deep… and dangerous…, or (almost) to mix metaphors, ‘Gilded tombs do worms enfold.’
The latter could, of course, be the coda to many or most FF eps…
Just wondering if inherited property was the motivation, who ultimately ended up with the farm. Show I saw said older brother was in there for a dollar. But he’s next of kin after the murderer son.
I didn’t like the fact how they tried to make the victim look bad — his own sister said he was a bully to the children. On American Monster it said the killer kept getting money from the victims and wasn’t really doing nothing with his life so they stopped giving to him, which I don’t blame them. Just because a parent holds their children accountable and gives tough love to help make them better people in the long run does not mean the parent is a bully. After all, the boy could have gone to live with his mother. He just sounds like a simple-minded selfish lazy fool to me.
“Do you know where I can get a shotgun to kill my father,” Gregg Myers, master international assassin.
I’m sure he’s already acquired his certification in “extreme showering” offered by the prison’s extensive educational opportunities.
I had always wondered about Dameon. (Thanks for including that RR). I remember thinking each time I saw this episode he is depicted as running cross-country, for some miles in rubber boots and bloody pj’s, on a route he was not familiar with, to get help. *And he succeeded*! Safely!
He also had the wherewithal to pretend he was asleep when the clownsocket Myers checked to see if he would feel compelled to kill him too. What brave lad. Hope he has a very good and satisfying life.
Thanks for all you do. These follow ups are interesting and I read all the ones available for episodes I’ve seen of The Forensic Files. Thanks for all you do!!!
Thank you for the kind words, Walker — so glad you’re enjoying my blog!