June 19, 2013
News
Kathleen Teen charged with murder of younger sister
NewsCentral Staff
A Kathleen teenager was arrested Thursday morning and charged with murder and first degree arson in relation to the death of her 12-year-old sister.
Houston County Sheriff's investigators and police in Columbus arrested 17-year-old Carmen Kaneisha Collins without incident in Columbus around 2:00 a.m. Thursday. She is currently being held without bond.
According to the Houston County Sheriff's Office, the suspect's sister, India Collins, was pronounced dead on Tuesday, July 3rd, after her body was found inside a burning house on Addington Drive in Kathleen.
"I could smell smoke, so I assumed it was fire. We walked down here with a couple of neighbors and we found out it was fire. We saw a bunch of fire trucks go by and we came down here and found out it was India. She is my close friend. They said she passed away," said Emily White.
Houston County Coroner Danny Galpin tells Newscentral Collins' body will be taken to the crime lab Thursday morning in Atlanta to determine the official cause of death. Galpin says it's unclear when official results will be available, but Jon Holland with the Houston County sheriff's Office says preliminary results should be available Thursday.
Holland says Collins may face additional charges related to the incident, but he would not say what those charges were. He says when the body was discovered there were signs of foul play, but would not elaborate.
The case is still under investigation. Anyone with more information is asked to contact Houston County Sheriff's investigator, Cpl. Slate Simons at (478)-542-2080 or (478)-542-2085.
