By Jim Hannah
The Cincinnati Enquirer

LAKESIDE PARK - A manhunt continued Tuesday for a Children's Home of Northern Kentucky employee suspected of killing his wife during a domestic dispute.

Dennis R. Greene Sr., 31, of Hollow View Circle, is wanted on a murder warrant. Lakeside Park/Crestview Hills police say he killed his wife, Tara Greene, at a home they shared with their young son in the Derby Ridge apartments at the end of East Lakeside Avenue.

Greene is described as black, 5-feet-11, and 248 pounds with brown eyes and black hair. He has a tattoo on his upper left arm.

A bulletin issued Monday evening to local law enforcement officials described him as "armed and dangerous."

"None of our pre-hiring work indicated he had violent tendencies," said Kathy Stephens, CEO of the children's home in Covington. "And nothing in his performance indicated he was a violent man. This incident hit us out of the blue."

The residential program at the home provides individualized therapeutic treatment to 30 abused, neglected or troubled boys ages 9 to 17 who cannot remain with their families because of a neglectful or harmful situation.

Stephens said Greene, who worked with children at the home for 11/2 years, passed a series of background checks that included checking his criminal records in neighboring states.

A check on the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Web page, however, found Greene had frequent contact with the courts in Cincinnati. He was arrested on a domestic violence charge in 1995 and an assault charge in 1993.

Court records that were immediately available did not indicate how those charges were resolved.

The death of Tara Greene shook the community of Holmes Junior High School in Covington, where the 28-year-old was a popular math teacher for eighth- and ninth-graders.

"She was very well-liked by students and got high marks for her ability to deal with students," said Covington Independent Schools Superintendent Jack Moreland.

"We brought a team of eight intervention specialists in today for students to talk to about the death. The faculty and students are just taken aback by the news. They are in a state of shock."

Moreland said the death was hard on the entire district because Tara Greene's son, who authorities have not named, attends an elementary school in the district. In addition, Moreland said, Dennis Greene worked with children at the children's home who also attend district schools.

"Her students were tremendously fond of her," district spokesman Bill Weathers said. "She was very outgoing and caring."

Weathers said Tara Greene, a 1999 Northern Kentucky University graduate, used her youth and cheerful personality to connect with her students, even tutoring in an after-school program.

"Tara was extremely happy as a classroom schoolteacher,'' said Gary Griesser, business manager at First Church of Christ in Burlington, where Tara Greene and her parents, Bob and Karen Barrett of Florence, were active members. "She loved teaching. She loved kids."

Tara Greene was a 1992 graduate of the Hughes Center in Cincinnati, where she was salutatorian of her class.

Her body was found inside the Derby Ridge apartment Monday afternoon when a employee at the complex unlocked her door for police who were checking on her at the request of her mother. Neighbors reported hearing loud arguments inside the apartment, and hearing shots fired on Saturday evening.

Kenton County Deputy Coroner Ron Cook, who has been assigned the case, did not return a phone call Tuesday.

This is the second time in less than two weeks the Lakeside Park/Crestview Hills and Kenton County police have worked together on a homicide.

On April 27, the night manager of Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar in Crestview Hills was found shot to death in the restaurant's parking lot.

Police have made no arrests in that case and have said little about the investigation.

Anyone with information about Dennis Greene's whereabouts is asked to call Kenton County emergency dispatch at (859) 356-3191.

A trust fund has been established for Tara Greene's son. Donations for the ChiAn Greene Trust Fund can be mailed c/o Heritage Bank, 1911 Dixie Highway, Fort Wright, KY 41011. Donations can also be dropped off at any Heritage Bank branch.

William A. Weathers contributed to this report.

E-mail jhannah@enquirer.com