A partially dressed Texas woman wearing broken shackles, caught on camera Friday morning while frantically ringing doorbells, was apparently escaping sexual assault from a man who later shot himself in the head.
ABC reports that the mystery woman’s reported boyfriend, identified as 49-year-old Dennis Ray Collins, allegedly killed himself on Wednesday afternoon inside a Montgomery home, causing fatal injuries. According to Lt. Scott Spencer of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department, Collins was previously convicted of attempted sexual assault, second-degree felony, in 2000. He served five years probation.
When officers arrived to Collins’ home in the Sunrise Ranch neighborhood, they found Collins in the back bedroom of the residence with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. Authorities responded to home after Collins’ ex-wife called in for a welfare check and explained that Collins was likely suicidal. She was concerned after Collins reportedly sent her disturbing text messages. She also said she thought the mystery woman was Collins’ girlfriend.
Had Collins been convicted of another sexual assault-related charge, the punishment would have probably increased, according to authorities. Although there is no confirmation that Collins committed suicide in fear of being convicted again, the incident happened shortly after the surveillance video of a mystery woman began trending online, eventually going viral and reaching the masses.
During a press conference on Thursday, Spencer explained that the woman caught on surveillance video said Collins’ was holding her captive while sexually abusing her.
“The female described her actions that night in detail (as confirmed by area videos), and mentioned items of evidence located at the residence known only to the detectives at the scene. The female also described the restraints seen on the previously released video as restraints commonly used in private intimate encounters.”
“Due to allegations of sexual assault, we will not be naming the victim at this time. We are confident, based on the totality of the circumstances, and the evidence available to us, that we have identified the female in the doorbell video and that she is safe.”
For Immediate Release August 29, 2018Update-MCTXSheriff Deputies Investigating Suspicious Incident in Montgomery, TX On August 29, 2018 at about 11:00 AM the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to a welfare check in the 18400 block of Sunrise Pines, which is located in the Sunrise Ranch Subdivision in Montgomery, TX. Upon arrival deputies met with a female who stated that she had received a concerning text message from her ex-husband and was concerned he may have hurt himself, and that she believed his girlfriend was the woman seen in the doorbell videos. Deputies attempted to make contact with the male by phone and by knocking at the door, but received no response. Due to the content of the messages received by the ex-wife, deputies forced entry into the residence and found the male deceased in bed with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Detectives responded to the scene and found evidence that the girlfriend is the woman in the video, including text messages from the deceased explaining what occurred. Detectives were able to locate family members of the girlfriend in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and through those family members, made contact with the female. Texas Rangers in that area met with the female and confirmed her identity, and she provided information that only the female in the video would have known. The female described her actions that night in detail (as confirmed by area videos), and mentioned items of evidence located at the residence known only to the detectives at the scene. The female also described the restraints seen on the previously released video as restraints commonly used in private intimate encounters. Due to allegations of sexual assault, we will not be naming the victim at this time. We are confident, based on the totality of the circumstances, and the evidence available to us, that we have identified the female in the doorbell video and that she is safe. Information Source:Lieutenant Scott SpencerMontgomery County Sheriff’s OfficeExecutive DivisionFollow us on: @MCTXSheriff
Posted by Montgomery County Sheriff's Office on Thursday, August 30, 2018
During the investigation of Collins’ home, investigators uncovered a suicide note that explained his connection to the mystery woman. Details of the note have not been made available to the public.
The mystery woman is now in another city, safe with family members.
The story continues to develop. Check back with CrimeOnline as additional details become available.
[Feature Photo: Dennis Collins/Police Handout]
