Devout Christian Studies Student Allegedly Kills Fiancee, Makes It Look like Suicide

By Lee Moran
New York Daily News
February 17, 2014

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/devout-christianity-student-allegedly-kills-fiancee-article-1.1616924

A devout Christian studies student learning about moral decision-making shot his fiancee dead then tried to make it look like a suicide, police said.

Charles Pittman, 21, allegedly gunned down long-term lover Olivia Greenlee as they sat inside her Toyota Corolla in Union University, Jackson, Tenn., parking lot last Tuesday night.

He is then accused of staging the scene to make it look like the music education student had killed herself.

Charles Pittman, 21, has been arrested for the murder of Olivia Greenlee, also 21.

Greenlee, also 21, was found dead inside the vehicle the following morning.

Cops claim they found a gun, belonging to a pal of Pittman that was taken without his knowledge, inside the car.

Charles Pittman was arrested on Friday and charged with first-degree murder in his fiancee’s death.

Pittman, from Milan, was arrested on Friday and charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence, reports The Jackson Sun.

The Union University senior's arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday in Jackson City Court.

Police have not yet revealed a possible motive for the alleged murder.

Charles Pittman is accused of staging the scene to make it look like his fiancee had killed herself.

Pittman's Facebook profile shows him as a devoutly religious student, who quotes biblical passages and spiritual sayings to his 990 friends on an almost weekly basis.

In February 2011, he posted an update about his "best friend."

The couple had been engaged since May 2013 and planned to marry in August.

"(She) never fails to help me break my feelings of inadequacy and … always helps me to strive to be the man of God that I should be!" he wrote.

He also wrote about a series of incidents in which he was apparently targeted for his religious beliefs and was dubbed a "Jesus Freak."

In January 2012, he wrote: "Three people just hit my truck with oranges and yelled 'Jesus Freak!!' I can smell the love ..."

Olivia Greenlee from her theater days at Dyersburg High School.

The following day he posted a picture purportedly showing his burnt out van.

"To answer all the multiple messages at once, here is a picture of the truck. They came, set it on fire and yelled 'Jesus Freak!' as they ran," he wrote.

The music education major performed in 'Just Another High School Play.

"I may not have a vehicle anymore, but I still have Jesus," he added.

The couple, who both attended the evangelical college, lived separately off campus. They got engaged in May 2013 and planned to wed in August.

News of Greenlee's death has shocked the private Christian liberal arts university and its 4,200 students, with hundreds gathering at its chapel Friday to pay tribute.

"Many of us are baffled, in disbelief, sad and grieving, yet grieving not without hope because of our faith and our confidence in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ," Union President Dr. David Dockery told the assembly, according to the Jackson Sun.

"The Bible tells us to weep with those who weep. And across campus this week, there have been plenty of tears," he added.

Hundreds of tributes have also been left for Greenlee, who had two sisters and graduated from Dyersburg High School in 2010, with friends saying she was "sweet" and "beautiful."