Joshua Greaves

A Mercer County man pleaded guilty Thursday to murdering a man in 2017.

Under a negotiated deal, Joshua K. Greaves pleaded guilty in Butler County Common Pleas Court to a reduced charge of murder in the third degree and a felony charge of theft.

Greaves, 37, was charged in March 2017 with criminal homicide in the death of Gregory W. Bosko, 55, of Kittanning, during a drug deal in Lyndora.

Prosecutors initially charged Greaves with homicide and other charges related to the circumstances surrounding Bosko's death.

But on Thursday, Greaves accepted a plea deal reached with Assistant District Attorney Ben Simon.

The murder charge calls for a prison sentence of 11 and a half to 40 years. The theft charge calls for one year to seven years in prison.

Judge William Shaffer accepted the plea deal, telling Greaves he can sentence him to up to 47 years. Greaves will be sentenced June 19 after a pre-sentence investigation.

Greaves appeared in person, and the hearing was attended by several members of Bosko's family.

In addition to homicide, Greaves initially faced charges of felony robbery, robbery of a motor vehicle, theft, two counts of receiving stolen property, hindering apprehension and abuse of a corpse. He also faced several charges involving conspiracy.

Greaves and Tiffany N. Hilliard, 30, of Butler, originally were charged in the case. They were arrested March 24, 2017, after being found in a vehicle owned by Bosko in the 300 block of West Wayne Street.

Bosko's body was found April 1, 2017, in a wooded area along Redbud Road north of Chicora. It was wrapped in a green blanket.

Butler County Coroner William Young III ruled Bosko's death a homicide. He said the cause of death was “sharp trauma of the neck,” and that Bosko's throat had been slit “multiple times.”

The pair initially gave police false names, according to court documents, but Hilliard eventually told investigators where to find Bosko's body.

District Attorney Richard Goldinger previously indicated he would pursue the death penalty if Greaves was found guilty.

But with the criminal homicide charge reduced, that option no longer is available.

Simon recited the evidence that would have been used in the case had it gone to trial. He said that after Greaves killed Bosko on March 21, the couple stole Bosko's car and drove around the Butler city area for a few days waiting for Hilliard to have a welfare check directly deposited to her debit card so that the couple could cross state lines.

As Simon recalled the story, several members of Bosko's family were visibly distressed, and several of them cried.

“Everyone is happy with this deal,” Goldinger, who attended the hearing, said. “We got what we wanted from this plea deal.” He noted that the hearing originally was scheduled for March, but after coronavirus precautions were enacted, the hearing was postponed. With the county moving to the yellow phase under Gov. Tom Wolfe's orders, all parties involved, Goldinger said, were comfortable holding the hearing again.

The removal of the death penalty is one of the reasons Greaves took the plea deal, said his court-appointed lawyer Christopher Capozzi.

Wolf issued a moratorium on all Pennsylvania executions in 2015, calling the death penalty system “flawed.”

“We were able to reach an appropriate sentence that didn't involve the death penalty and didn't involve a life sentence,” Capozzi said. “Greaves is accepting responsibility.”

Greaves remains in Butler County Prison, where he has been since March 24.