Christopher Perrien

A Sand Lake man has been charged in the murders of an Eaton County couple.
Christopher Allen Perrien, 38, of Sand Lake, was arraigned last week for the September 22nd murders of Michael and Terri Greene, of Delta Township. Perrien was charged with two counts of felony murder and two counts of felony firearms. He is being held in the Eaton County jail with no bond.
According to Eaton County Sheriff Mike Raines, Perrien became a suspect on September 27, within 5 days after the couple was found shot at their home. He reportedly became a suspect after policed discovered someone was using the victim’s cell phone and credit cards, and surveillance tracked the transactions back to Perrien. Evidence was also reportedly found in his storage unit.
Perrien allegedly committed the murders while out on work release. He was convicted and sentenced on a property crime on September 1 in Eaton County, and was granted work release by the court, despite a long criminal history.
“Perrien was assigned a probation/parole agent but his actual employment was never verified,” explained Sheriff Raines. “Our investigation determined he was on work release without actually having a job.” He went on to say that “work release is a valuable tool, designed for those convicted of relatively minor offenses to serve their time in jail, while maintaining their ability to support a family. However, in my opinion, Perrien never should have been granted the opportunity for work release, considering his lengthy criminal history, which began nearly 20 years ago.”
Michael Greene was a retired Michigan State Police sergeant. Perrien reportedly took his badge and police ID.
Some have wondered whether Perrien could also be tied to the murders last November of a Pierson couple with similar names, Michael and Kathy Greene. A sketch of a man seen in the area matches what Perrien looks like, and no suspect has been arrested in that case. The Montcalm County Sheriff’s Office is investigating whether it’s a coincidence or if it’s a possibility that Perrien murdered the Pierson couple in a case of mistaken identity.
Perrien’s preliminary exam is set for Thursday, January 5 at 10 a.m.