A Georgia mother whose naked body was found at the bottom of a ravine was bruised and burned, police said.
Habersham County Sheriff Joey Terrell explained investigators have found no evidence indicating Debbie Collier’s death was from suicide or a random act of violence.
“At this time, the investigation is leading us to the proposition that Mrs. Collier’s death was personal and targeted,” Terrell said in a statement.
Collier’s corpse was found September 11 at 12:44 p.m. in a ravine adjacent to a state road in Clarkesville, Georgia, about 60 miles from her home. Collier, 59, was reported missing the previous day by her daughter, Amanda Bearden, and Collier’s husband, Steven, who last saw her at their Clayton home.
According to an Athens-Clarke County Police Department missing person report, Steven Collier said he last saw his wife the previous night, just before going to bed around 9 p.m. He informed police he saw his wife’s car in the driveway the next morning so believed she was home. Steven Collier explained he and his wife slept in separate bedrooms because of his snoring.
Bearden also provided information for the missing person report. She told police her mother transferred $2,385 using the payment app Venmo. A message sent with the funds transfer said, “They are not going to let me go love you there is a key to the house in the blue flower pot by the door.”
That message scared her, Bearden told police, adding she tried calling her mother but Collier did not pick up.
The daughter further told police her mother drove away in a black Chrysler Pacifica she rented because her vehicle had been wrecked in an accident. She added her mother only took her driver’s license and a debit card. Investigators report recovering the mother’s purse and cellphone at the crime scene, contradicting their statements.
Both the daughter and husband of the dead woman described her behavior as unusual, saying she had not done anything like this before. The two also claimed Debbie Collier had no family in the area besides them.
Footage from surveillance cameras shows the deceased mother enter a Family Dollar Store September 10 at 2:55 p.m., wearing a red shirt and carrying a large black purse. According to a receipt obtained by authorities, she purchased a rain poncho, refillable torch lighter, paper towels, a tarp and a reusable tote bag.
Other surveillance footage shows Collier sat in her car, alone, for about 10 minutes before leaving the store’s parking lot at 3:09 p.m.
“This information allows investigators to narrow the time of death to a window beginning at 3:09 p.m. on Saturday, September 10 to the discovery of the body on Sunday, September 11 at 12:44 p.m.,” said the sheriff’s public information officer Colonel Mark Kogod.
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