PAINTSVILLE, Ky — A Johnson County man who is accused of killing his 12-year-old daughter before turning the gun on himself has now been charged with murder.
Stacy Collins, 47, of Van Lear, was arrested Tuesday.
The body of his daughter, Stacia, was found Aug. 11 at an old strip mine in Van Lear. A short distance away, Stacy was found with what police describe as an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, injured but still alive.
Collins was taken to a hospital for treatment of his injuries. On Tuesday, he was formally charged with murder and taken into custody.
Additional details about the case were not immediately available. However, on Aug. 12, his estranged wife told Mountain Top News that she received chilling text messages from Collins just before the shootings, saying everyone in the town was against him and asking her if she wanted to speak to her daughter ”one last time.”
Collins is being held in the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center, in Paintsville.
