George Edward Griller is a Minnesota man serving a 40-year prison sentence for the 1994 second-degree murder of James Keen, whose dismembered remains were found buried behind Griller’s Minneapolis home during an investigation into the financial exploitation and disappearance of two elderly men in his care.
How the Case Came to Light
In the late 1980s, Griller began caring for William Sawyer, then in his 90s, and Sawyer’s 76-year-old brother-in-law, Louis Michael. The two men lived in a house Griller owned at 426 Pierce Street in northeast Minneapolis. Griller split his time between that property and a second house he owned directly behind it on Fillmore Street.1Findlaw. State v. Griller
Court records established that Griller controlled all of Sawyer’s and Michael’s assets and accounts and engaged in fraudulent financial transactions involving both men. The Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported that he was accused of swindling the two out of nearly $400,000.2Newspapers.com. Man at Crux of Murder Dies By 1994, the Pierce Street house had been sold and Sawyer had been abandoned.1Findlaw. State v. Griller
In September 1994, the Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sheriff’s Department received a letter asking for an investigation into the financial fraud against Sawyer and the disappearance of Louis Michael. In January 1995, police and an agent from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension tracked Griller to his workplace. He told them Michael had moved to Chicago.3vlex. State v. Griller, 583 N.W.2d 736
That story collapsed when investigators canvassed the Pierce Street neighborhood. One neighbor recalled watching Griller dig a large hole in his backyard years earlier and had suspected at the time that he was burying an elderly person. Confronted, Griller changed his account. He admitted burying Michael in the backyard, saying he had come home one day to find him dead in a rocking chair and could not afford a funeral.1Findlaw. State v. Griller
Griller led police to the site. On the second day of excavation, the team unearthed a torso and arm bones covered in lime. Forensic anthropologists determined the remains belonged to a man in his late 20s to early 50s, far too young to be Michael. They were eventually identified as those of James Keen. Police recovered a complete human skeleton, and the investigation also uncovered Michael’s remains buried in the same backyard.1Findlaw. State v. Griller Michael’s cause of death was never determined, and Griller was not charged in connection with his death.
The Killing of James Keen
Once Keen’s remains were identified, Griller confessed to killing him. Keen was a large man, roughly 6 feet 3 inches and 260 to 270 pounds, who struggled with crack cocaine and alcohol abuse and was taking Antabuse. He was an acquaintance of Louis Michael, who had invited him to stay at the Pierce Street house.1Findlaw. State v. Griller
Griller claimed self-defense. He said he came home to find Michael crying on the floor and ordered Keen to leave, at which point Keen attacked him, pushing him, grabbing his ears, and trying to press his thumbs into Griller’s eyes. Griller said he struck Keen with a hatchet and a whiskey bottle. He then said he and Michael moved the body to the basement, where Michael dismembered it without his knowledge. Griller admitted burying the body parts in the backyard and using lime to mask the smell.3vlex. State v. Griller, 583 N.W.2d 736
Medical examiner testimony at trial contradicted that account. The physical evidence indicated Griller had attacked Keen from behind.1Findlaw. State v. Griller
Conviction and 40-Year Sentence
The Hennepin County Attorney charged Griller with one count of second-degree intentional murder and one count of second-degree felony murder. After an eight-day trial in April 1995, a Minneapolis jury convicted him on both counts.1Findlaw. State v. Griller The state was allowed to introduce evidence about Michael’s death and burial and about Griller’s financial control and fraud, which the court ruled was “inextricably intertwined” with the murder investigation.3vlex. State v. Griller, 583 N.W.2d 736
The presumptive sentence under Minnesota guidelines was 306 months. The district court departed upward to the statutory maximum of 480 months, or 40 years, citing four aggravating factors: concealment of the body, the particular cruelty of the killing, Griller’s “chilling lack of remorse,” and his persistent attempts to deny responsibility and shift blame to others.1Findlaw. State v. Griller
The Appeal That Briefly Overturned the Verdict
The Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed the conviction and ordered a new trial, finding the district court had given a materially incorrect jury instruction on defense-of-dwelling. Under the statute, a person may use reasonable force to defend their home without proving they feared death or great bodily harm, but the trial court’s instruction had required that higher showing.1Findlaw. State v. Griller
The state appealed. On July 30, 1998, the Minnesota Supreme Court agreed the instruction was technically wrong under its earlier decision in State v. Pendleton but held the error did not warrant a new trial. The justices called Griller’s version of the killing “wholly unbelievable” and said a new trial would be a potential “miscarriage of justice” and an “exercise in futility” given the strength of the evidence. The court also upheld the evidentiary rulings and the 480-month sentence, reversing the appellate court and reinstating the conviction in full.3vlex. State v. Griller, 583 N.W.2d 736
Where Griller Is Now
Griller remains incarcerated in the Minnesota state prison system, listed by the Minnesota Department of Corrections as an active inmate.4Minnesota Department of Corrections. Offender Details – George Griller With a 40-year sentence imposed in the mid-1990s, his maximum incarceration period extends well into the 2030s.