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Deborah Leann Burge was sentenced to 15 years in prison in Escambia County on January 26, 2015, after pleading no contest in September 2014 to a lesser charge of second-degree murder in the death of Harvey Ray Smith.

Smith, 43, of Pace, Santa Rosa County, Florida, was an acquaintance of Burge, 22, of Molino, Escambia County, also reported as Debra Burge. Her co-defendant was Zachary Vance Greer, 22, of Milton, also reported as Zachary Vince Greer. During questioning, Burge said she knew Smith through his daughter, a longtime friend of hers. She described Greer as an old friend who had recently returned to contact and asked to stay at her home for a week. According to an arrest report, Burge told investigators she invited Smith over so Greer could rob him.

Smith was stabbed outside Burge's home on Highway 97 in Molino in early May 2013. Florida Department of Corrections records list the offense date as May 3, 2013 for Burge and May 2, 2013 for Greer. In her statement reported at the time, Burge said she texted Smith to come over, where Greer was waiting. Smith drove them to a store in his Mercedes. After they returned, Burge went inside. She said she came back out to find Smith bleeding on the ground, and Greer told her he had killed him. Officials said Smith died of a stab wound to the heart.

Officials said Greer cleaned blood from his hands and Smith's black Mercedes, then put the body in the trunk. Burge took her two children, and they all traveled in Smith's car to a Motel 6 on Davis Highway in Pensacola. They stayed overnight and left the Mercedes in the lot with Smith's body inside. Reports said Burge took Smith's cell phone, iPod Nano and laptop on the way, and Greer threw the items from the window as they drove. Hundreds of dollars were also reported missing. Smith's family reported him missing in Santa Rosa County and searched for him. They found his car and his body at the motel on the morning of Saturday, May 4, 2013.

Escambia County Sheriff's Office investigators questioned Burge, telling her at the start that she was free to leave. She initially described a Thursday that included a stop at a Little Caesars in Pace, where she spoke with Smith. Later, she acknowledged the robbery plan. She said Greer was supposed to knock Smith out at the end of the driveway, leave, then return for her and the children. She said he was not supposed to kill Smith, that she told him to come inside because she did not want it to happen, and that she did not know Smith would be killed. Burge was arrested on Sunday, May 5, 2013, on charges of felony murder and robbery with a weapon. Santa Rosa County deputies arrested Greer at about 7:25 p.m. on Monday, May 6, 2013, at a Circle K at Dogwood Drive and Willard Norris Road, after a childhood friend spotted him in traffic and called authorities. By May 14, 2013, both had been indicted on first-degree murder charges, according to State Attorney Bill Eddins.

At his January 2015 trial, Greer testified on Friday, January 23, the second day of testimony. Under questioning by his lawyer, he said he and Smith got into a scuffle but stopped short of admitting he stabbed him. A jury convicted Greer of first-degree murder, and he was sentenced to life in prison. Florida Department of Corrections records give his sentence date as January 23, 2015, and as of October 25, 2026 listed him at Holmes Correctional Institution.

Burge entered state prison custody on February 23, 2015. Florida Department of Corrections records show she was released on May 18, 2026, and began felony probation that day, a 25-year term with a scheduled termination date of May 12, 2051.

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Part 2 of 2 of the recording described above.