THE VILLAGES, FL – The echoes of a violent confrontation rippled through a quiet neighborhood more than three years ago, and now the man responsible has begun serving an 18-year prison sentence.
On the morning of Sept. 28, 2022, what began as another day in The Villages, a sprawling Florida retirement community, quickly turned to chaos. Just days after 71-year-old Margery Greene initiated divorce proceedings, her husband of several years, 75-year-old George Hachey, attacked her in their shared home.
Authorities say Greene managed to call 911 at around 7:40 a.m., her voice urgent as she relayed her desperate need for help. Sheriff’s deputies responding to the scene discovered Greene with multiple stab wounds, sprawled on the bedroom floor. Her injuries were severe, but she remained coherent enough to plead with first responders for her life.
Investigators later described the scene as grisly. Greene’s legs, chest, and abdomen all bore evidence of the attack, which deputies quickly linked to a domestic dispute spurred by the impending divorce.
In the living room, officers found Hachey slumped in a chair, unresponsive but still breathing. A pocketknife rested in his lap, and his clothing was soaked with blood. Authorities determined that he had attempted to take his own life after the stabbing.
Both husband and wife were rushed to the hospital for emergency care, surviving an ordeal that would change both of their lives.
According to deputies, Greene explained that her husband had confronted her in the moments prior to the attack, declaring, “You’ve ruined my life, and now I’m going to end yours.”
Detectives later interviewed Hachey at the hospital. He reportedly admitted to the assault, expressing a lack of remorse and a wish not to receive medical help, only wanting his life to end.
After a long legal process, Hachey entered a plea of no contest to charges of attempted murder. Last December, a judge handed down a sentence of 18 years in a state correctional facility, with credit for the time he had already served since his arrest in 2022.
Records from the Florida Department of Corrections show Hachey remains in custody. His projected release date falls in September 2040, when he will be 90 years old.
Despite suffering life-threatening wounds, Greene survived the brutal incident, marking a tenuous second chance after a morning that forever altered her world.