Debbie Collier murder: Alarming 911 call by Georgia mom's sister mentions mysterious ex-con truck driver
HABERSHAM COUNTY, GEORGIA: Four 911 calls have revealed how frantically murdered Debbie Collier's family members searched for her when she first went missing. Collier's body was found naked and charred in the woods, and she was reportedly grasping a small tree with her hand, police claimed. Officials are treating her death as a homicide.
Now, some of the 911 calls that followed Collier's disappearance have been revealed by Fox News. Notably, in one of the calls, placed by a woman identifying herself as Collier's sister Diane Shirley, she mentioned a previous encounter with an unidentified ex-con driving a truck involved in a car crash with Collier.
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Family of Debbie Collier who was found burned and in ravine are being ‘looked at as suspects’
Diane Shirley's 911 call
"From my niece, she said that [Collier] was in an accident about a month ago," Shirley told a dispatcher, adding that a paint can fell off and struck Collier's car while she was driving behind a truck. "The paint went everywhere, and the driver was trying to convince my sister not to tell the cops that he was driving because he was out on parole," Shirley said. "And there was a stipulation to his parole that he could not drive." Athens-Clarke County police said Collier was involved in a minor traffic accident on April 30, but provided no further details.
Steven Collier's 911 call
Collier's husband, Steven Collier, told the dispatcher that Collier's purse was found in her home by his stepdaughter Amanda Bearden. "Came home, my wife wasn't home, her driver's license still in there, the rental car is gone, and her daughter's here," he said on September 10 around 6 pm, as he made the initial missing person report. "We're kind of worried about what's happening and where she's at. I was wondering if you could send somebody over here."
Steven added his wife had no medical issues. He said he had been out all day "parking cars for the football game", referring to the Georgia Bulldogs' home game that afternoon. "According to her daughter, who went up and, uh, her purse is still here with her driver's license, the only thing is the phone is gone — and she sent her daughter a text about 2 hours ago saying, 'They won't let me go,'" he said. "Whatever that means, we don't know."
The dispatcher asked at one point whether Collier may have gone to someone else's house. "That's a good question," Steven said. "I thought she was out shopping for food. Her daughter came over with that strange message and then went upstairs to her bedroom and found out that her driver's license and credit card still here. So that doesn't sound like her leaving the house to go shopping, like I thought she was." He added that his wife usually does her grocery shopping on Saturdays.
Debbie Collier's murder
A private investigator has claimed the way missing mom Debbie Collier's body was found may reveal important clues about her death. A day before her death, Collier had sent her daughter money, along with a chilling message. Collier sent her daughter Amanda Bearden $2,385 with the message, "They are not going to let me go, love you." Collier disappeared on September 10. According to cops, she told her daughter there was a key to their home underneath a flower pot.
Private investigator Jason Jensen said he believes Collier had not been kidnapped as she was able to transfer money via Venmo. Jensen further said investigators would be looking for signs of a struggle if the message really was a warning that the mom had been kidnapped. He explained someone may have tried to hide DNA evidence considering Collier was found naked and burned.
Bearden, who was “hysterical” at the scene, told detectives Collier had no mental health issues and was not suicidal. Officers in Habersham County have confirmed there is no evidence to suggest she had been kidnapped before her murder. Years before her death, Collier had shared chilling photos of herself with a black eye saying she "face planted" on the sidewalk. Her husband, Steven, said he saw her at around 9 pm on September 9 for the last time. Investigators have yet to confirm how Collier died, and an autopsy has yet to be conducted.