The woman who appeared in a surveillance video that sparked international headlines has spoken to police.
According to police, she was tied up by Collins and was sexually assaulted. She managed to break free and rang the doorbells of two neighbors.
When the neighbors didn’t answer the rings, she went back to Collins’ house and went to Dallas, Texas, to be with her family.
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 ABC13.
The woman in the video is still with family in Dallas, recovering from the ordeal, ABC reported.
“She’s very distraught about this, she’s embarrassed, she’s upset, she’s in shock that it’s come to this, so we’re giving her her time and we’re staying in communication with her to get further details,” Spencer told ABC.
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.
What Should Residents Do in a Similar Situation?
“Answer the door but call from the other side of the door don’t actually open the door. Unfortunately, times have changed from yesterday so you have to be very careful we have had a lot of home invasions,” Spencer told Click2Houston.He said that if the person needs someone to help, offer to call 911.
“The door was not answered, but video surveillance shows an unknown male suspect, armed with what appears to be a handgun, exiting a vehicle parked out front on the roadway. The suspect had an altercation with the victim on the front porch of the residence and dragged her back to his vehicle by her hair and drove away. The male can be heard in the video threatening to kill the victim,” said police in a statement.
