The mystery surrounding the death of Debbie Collier has taken yet another bizarre turn with police sources now saying it might not be a homicide – and the slain woman’s son lashing out at the sheriff who he claims “snickered” at his pleas for help.
The 59-year-old’s partly-burned, naked body was discovered at the bottom of a ravine on 11 September around 60 miles from her home in Athens, Georgia.
Her family had reported her missing one day earlier after she sent a $2,400 Venmo payment to her daughter and left a cryptic message saying that unidentified people would “not let me go”.
Her death was quickly ruled a homicide with police describing it as a “personal and targeted” murder and “’not a random act of violence”.
Yet, more than six weeks on, no arrests have been made, no suspects named and her cause of death still remains under wraps.
Habersham County Sheriff’s Office Col Murray Kogod told the Northeast Georgian on Wednesday that “very significant progress” had been made in the investigation and that he now believes they are “close to a breakthrough”.
Now, investigators are said to be walking back the bold assertions about that Collier was murdered and are instead exploring the possibility that she died by suicide or in an accident.
Two law enforcement sources told FOX News Digital that evidence found at the scene indicated that it may not be a homicide.
It is not clear what evidence the sources were referring to, however police previously revealed that she was found near an uprooted tree close to a partially burned blue tarp and a red tote bag.
The sources also said that there is no evidence linking Collier’s husband, daughter or daughter’s boyfriend to the scene of her death between the hours she went missing on 10 September and her charred body being discovered the following day.
The latest twist comes as Collier’s grieving son hit out at the Georgia sheriff’s department investigating her death, accusing officers of laughing at him when he reached out for help.
In a scathing Facebook post on Wednesday, Jeffrey Bearden said that he now questioned the “ability” of the department to get to the bottom of his mother’s case.
“I have been patiently waiting on my hands for weeks now for any type of information to understand what happened to my mother. My family and I have been forced to navigate moments we could have never expected. To say it’s been surreal is an understatement,” he wrote.
“While feeling emboldened to help protect my mother and my family’s safety, I made the poor decision today to reach out to Habersham County Law Enforcement.
“After several attempts and requests to be up to date on any information shared regarding my mother’s case Debbie Collier, I finally found myself on the phone with the Habersham County Sheriff to express my concerns.”
Mr Bearden said he was seeking information about his mother’s case but was “met with a Sheriff who did not empathize with my situation, my concerns for my personal and family’s safety after being doxxed online, or potential leaks coming out of his office despite several media outlets claiming sources in his own department”.
“He instead used his time to snicker and laugh at my attempts to discuss my concerns and to tell me directly that he wasn’t trying to hang up on me when pressing him on his office’s actions. Additionally, he claimed that some of their errors regarding poor communication came from short staffing,” he wrote.
Mr Bearden said that he hung up on the call “after he continued to snicker despite my request for him not to laugh at my situation”.
“Unfortunately, the elected Sheriff’s attitude and lack of understanding does not give me faith or confidence in their ability to handle her “deliberate and personal” death, nor does his inability to understand my concerns regarding leaks of information that I assume is only known by those directly working the investigation,” he wrote.
In an update on Thursday, he said that he had filed a complaint with the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office.
Several of Collier’s family members have been questioned as part of the investigation and Mr Bearden has previously begged for “privacy and respect” as they grieve her sudden death.
Collier was last seen on surveillance footage sitting inside her car from around 3.09pm to 3.19pm on 10 September in the parking lot of a Family Dollar store.
During that time, she sent a Venmo payment of $2,385 to her daughter Amanda Bearden, telling her: “They are not going to let me go love you there is a key to the house in the flue flower pot by the door.”
The payment was close to the sum that Collier’s daughter’s boyfriend Andrew Giegerich owed in probation fines.
The couple had moved back in with Collier just two days earlier after returning to Georgia from Maryland.
Minutes earlier she was captured entering the store alone at 2.55pm.
There, she bought a rain poncho, a two-roll pack of paper towels, a refillable torch lighter, an OBD Trap and a reusable tote bag — some of the same items later found next to her body.
Ms Bearden initially told investigators that her mother had left her purse and phone at home, according to an incident report.
However, Collier was spotted carrying her purse in the footage from the discount store. Her purse and her phone were also found at the site where her body was found.
Law enforcement sources told FOX that she also visited a Chick-Fil-A restaurant before heading to the Dollar Store.
Her Chrysler Pacifica had been spotted on traffic cameras driving toward the store.
Police said that Collier died sometime between 3.19pm on 10 September when she left the Dollar Store in her car and 12.44pm on 11 September when law enforcement found her body in the ravine, after spotting her vehicle closeby.
The 59-year-old was naked, laying on her back and grasping a small tree with her right hand, according to an incident report.
Her stomach had been badly burned and she was lying just a few feet from the site of a small fire. An unfired bullet was also found at the scene.
Toxicology results have not been released but authorities previously told The Daily Beast that the incident is believed to be drug-related.
In yet another twist, it emerged that Collier had been involved in a car accident one month before her death with a man who was out on parole. The man had reportedly begged her not to call the police about the incident as driving was a violation of his parole.
The Independent has reached out to Habersham County Sheriff’s Office for further details about the latest developments in the case.
