Opinion ID: 2382857
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 33

Heading: State v. Collins

Text: Darrell Collins killed his wife and eighteen-month-old son to obtain the proceeds from of insurance policies on their lives, which had been taken out nine weeks before the murders. The jury convicted Collins of the murder of his wife and of the capital murder of his son, but it did not find the alleged c(4)(d) (murder for pecuniary value) aggravating factor to be present. Because the evidence was overwhelming that he killed for pecuniary gain, I regard the jury's determination that there were no aggravating factors as a deathworthiness judgment rather than a death-eligibility judgment. The case is similar to Marshall's in that there was a pecuniary motive (the trial court cited that motive in sentencing Collins) and it involved the murder of defenseless family members. Moreover, Collins's was a multiple murder, and therefore easily could be seen as having enhanced culpability. See Final Report 81 & table 7 (multiple victims is first on list of factors that increase a defendant's culpability). The murder of the wife was violent and brutal as he slashed her neck and stabbed her neck and breasts; and the evidence showed that the victim had fought back during the attack, suggesting that she, unlike Maria Marshall, was aware of her impending death. Collins suffocated his infant son  a defenseless victim  by pressing his head into the mattress of the crib, causing hemorrhages on the child's head.