8 months ago
Lockport police believe the murder of a youth counselor inside a group home on Monday was a "thrill kill." Captain Richard Podgers, says the killing of Renee Greco was planned by the teenagers now charged with murder.
The NYS Office of Child and Family Services has a team of people reviewing the case, including interviewing workers and clients.
They will determine if one staff member was adequate for the facility at night, based on the clients backgrounds.
One person wrote to 2 On Your Side, "Why in the world was that poor woman working by herself with those kids? No one should ever work alone with this population of people."
New Directions, the operator of the group home, says it followed state policy when it allowed Renee Greco to work alone in its group home the night of her murder.
Anthony Allen, 18, and Robert Thousand, 17, remain in jail, charged with Greco's murder.
Lockport police say the two teens put a blanket over her head and then brutally beat her Monday night.
Police say the two teens were concerned about getting arrested after money went missing from the home over the weekend.
Five, teen boys were in the home at the time. State law allows up to six juveniles per youth counselor.
New Directions' Director of Performance & Quality Improvement Julie Tomasi says Greco had the training, was capable of keeping the home under control, "I guess my reaction is, first of all as a woman who has worked in that program for the past ten years, I never once [felt] that I was unsafe or unable to do my job as a woman."
Tomasi says she doesn't know if Greco felt overwhelmed, but Greco's best friend Lisa Fullone says she did express concern, "Yea, a lot of times she did say it was too much, but she kept doing it because she kept wanted to help them."
Tomasi says it is reviewing its policies and training to see if changes are needed. Child Protective Services is also in Lockport conducting its own investigation.
