Mystery Texas Woman Seen Ringing Doorbell for Help Defends Alleged Assailant

A woman who triggered a massive search after a video showed her ringing a home’s doorbell in the middle of the night defended a man who allegedly sexually assaulted her before she fled.

“I don’t want to get into any of the specifics of that evening, other than to say that I was in a lot of fear for my safety. I was not aware of the video until Wednesday afternoon,” the woman, who asked to remain anonymous, told KTRK. “It is hard to understand how someone who treated me with such kindness is the person I saw that night.”

She broke out of handcuffs and ran to a neighbor’s home in Montgomery, Texas, because she was “in a lot of fear,” she said.

Authorities ended their search for the woman when they confirmed her identity and found her boyfriend, identified as Dennis Ray Collins, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

“I had gone to be with my family in Dallas, and I just wanted to block out the world,” she said.

She also defended Collins despite the allegations against him.

The woman said that Collins had sent her a text message right before he died and told her to give her mother “a hug and be happy.'”

“Dennis, I believe in my heart, that’s not who he truly is, so it hurts me to see him bashed online,” she said.

The woman also wanted to thank the concerned people on social media who tried to help her. “I was really touched finding out how many people were wondering if I was okay and praying for me. I didn’t even know it, but it gave me the strength to make it through a very difficult time,” the woman said.

Details of the Case

On Aug. 29, the ex-wife of Collins contacted the police and told them that she had recognized the woman in the video, saying it was the girlfriend of her ex-husband. Meanwhile, she told police that Collins had sent her text messages that made her worried that he may harm himself.

“The allegations are that she was tied up by Mr. Collins and so she went to seek help,” Montgomery County Sheriff’s Lt. Scott Spencer told KTRK.

Collins wrote a suicide note saying that he was aware of the surveillance video’s national attention, saying that he was responsible for the state that the woman was in. “He admitted to what he did to her, so that played into circumstances of committing suicide,” Spencer told ABC13.

“Looking at the video itself, it’s alarming when you see somebody come up to a door at 3 o’clock in the morning in those conditions,” said Spencer. “I think it’s great that not only the public but the world took interest and tried to make sure that she was safe.”