A preliminary hearing was held Wednesday morning in the case of William Collins, who is charged with multiple felonies in the murder of Linda Childers, 71, of Fort Calhoun in August.
Collins, 30, is charged with first-degree murder, a Class 1 felony; two counts of possession of a deadly/dangerous weapon by a prohibited person, a Class 1D and 3 felony; two counts of use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, a Class 2 felony; first-degree assault, a Class 2 felony; burglary, a Class 2A felony; stolen firearm, a Class 2A felony; and theft by unlawful taking, a Class 2A felony.
Collins was located and arrested near Galveston, Texas, after a tip from an individual from Indiana reported he had confessed to killing Childers.
Chief Deputy Washington County Attorney Erik Petersen represented the state in the matter, and presented two witnesses to testify at the hearing: Detective Greg Corns of the Washington County Sheriff's Office and Sgt. Ryan Hinsley of the Omaha Police Department's homicide unit.
Collins was represented by attorneys Pat Dunn and Brian Craig.
Corns testified he was called to the scene of the crime in the 6500 block of County Road P43 just outside Fort Calhoun on Aug. 14 at 1:31 a.m. and arrived at 2:17 a.m.
Corns said the home was "in disarray" when he entered, with cabinets and drawers rummaged through. Childers was first located by a family member in her kitchen surrounded by a "large amount of blood."
Blood was found in the kitchen and on the back porch covered up by a rock near the door.
The garage door was open and Childers' vehicle, a 2010 red Chevy Equinox, was gone. Her black purse, a shotgun, $500 in cash, bank notes and jewelry were also missing.
Hinsley, who traveled to the Galveston County Sheriff's Office on Aug. 31 to interview Collins, detailed the incident as described by Collins.
Collins had been staying with acquaintances in Omaha for some time before deciding to make camp in a tent near the rock quarry in Fort Calhoun with his dog.
After about a week, Collins intended to break into a home to collect food, Hinsley said.
"He informed he had his phone during that time," Hinsley said. "At 2:30 a.m. (Aug. 13), he got on Google and found the nearest residence... it was along (P43). And shut his phone off."
Hinsley said Collins cut through the wooded area on County Road P43 around 3 or 4 a.m. and arrived at Childers' home. Collins noted he had experience committing burglaries, and could assess that an elderly woman resided in the home alone.
"He tied his dog up (in the wooded area) and used a knife to cut the screen open to the patio," Hinsley said. "He made an attempt to pry the door open."
Collins was not able to enter the home, and waited until about 10:30 a.m. for Childers to awake.
"He was armed with a Ballista crossbow and knife," Hinsley said.
Childers had stepped outside on the patio to smoke, with her back facing Collins. He shot her from about 10 feet away and hit her with an arrow, hitting her left back shoulder.
"(Collins) stated Childers pulled it out of her back and started screaming," Hinsley said. "(And Collins) started running up at her with a knife to try and paralyze her."
Childers attempted to enter the home and lock the door behind her, but Collins entered and knocked Childers to the ground, kicking her in her head and causing her to lose consciousness.
"He looks around the house, and (Childers) comes to. They converse about if she lives alone or with anyone else," Hinsley said.
Hinsley said Collins then shot Childers a second and third time with the crossbow in the neck and face, and then used the knife to kill her.
"'To put her out of her misery,'" Hinsley said.
Hinsley then stated Collins proceeded to take her purse, car keys, shotgun, coins, jewelry and $500 in cash. He left the location and returned to take her vehicle, taking a wig and a pink hat in order to disguise himself as he drove off in the Chevy Equinox.
Corns said the purse was later recovered in Indiana, and said Collins gave the purse to his brother and father who reside in the state. Corns and Detective Brian Beckman traveled to Indiana to retrieve the purse and speak with Collins' family.
On Aug. 30, Collins was found and arrested in San Leon, Texas, just outside of Galveston, inside the vehicle identified as Childers'.
The shotgun was recovered in Omaha on Sept. 5 from an acquaintance of Collins'.
Corns testified that he sat in on Childers' autopsy on Aug. 16, and an object was found via X-ray and removed.
"It was a field tip arrowhead," he said.
Two anonymous tips were made via Crimestoppers. The first tipster, who has remained anonymous, said they had knew the person who killed Childers was William Kai, which is a name Collins uses on occasion, Corns said. During this phone call with the tipster, they revealed Collins has a crossbow, knife and was in possession of a firearm.
It was revealed that Collins had used a crossbow to shoot Childers, a detail that was previously not released to the public.
Collins' phone was searched by law enforcement, revealing that he had purchased a crossbow from Amazon.
Both the crossbow and knife used to kill Childers were retrieved.
A second tip came in from an Omaha hotel manager who identified Collins as a guest on Aug. 14.
Another tip came from Indiana, an old friend of Collins who told law enforcement that he confessed to killing a woman in Nebraska.
Judge Edward H. Matney ruled there was probable cause found during the hearing and ruled to bound the case to Washington County District Court for trial. Collins is scheduled to make his first appearance on Jan. 9.
