Random Act of Madness

When divorced father of four Billy Greenwood was murdered in Portland, Maine, there was no shortage of suspects. There were also numerous false leads including two suspects, brothers, who boasted on the street they had committed the murder. This led to a particularly bizarre false lead when someone living 1600 miles who had been in gaol with them boasted to his girlfriend that he rather than they was responsible.

It would take 14 years for the case to be solved, and that was due entirely to the killer confessing. He turned out to be someone who had no apparent connection with the victim, and the reason for the murder is best summed up in the above title. This time there were no false leads and no false confession because the unlikely suspect led them to where he had dumped the gun, which although immersed in water for all that time was proved forensically to be the murder weapon.

In March 2010, Steven Cutting received an incredibly light 10 year sentence for manslaughter, something that disgusted the victim's family. They appear in this documentary as do the detectives who worked on the case. There are also reconstructions.