Ex-bailiff's sentence satisfies victim's kin
Posted on 12/03/2002 1:31:57 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
Ex-bailiff's sentence satisfies victim's kin
He won't be eligible for parole until he's 73 in murder case deal
12/03/2002
FLOWER MOUND - The family and friends of a 30-year-old Flower Mound woman slain by her husband in March said Monday that they were satisfied with a plea bargain in which the husband agreed to serve 40 years in prison in exchange for a guilty plea.
The deal came unexpectedly just before the Thanksgiving holiday, when 52-year-old Thomas Lee Collins, a former Denton County bailiff who had refused offers for plea bargains since June, changed his mind Wednesday, attorney Jerry Cobb said.
Mr. Collins admitted shooting his wife, Susan Grace Collins, in the head at close range. The killing occurred March 12 in the couple's Flower Mound home.
Mr. Collins was being held Monday in the Denton County Jail, where he was awaiting transfer to state prison, officials said. He will not be eligible for parole until he is 73, officials said. Before the plea agreement, his case had been set for trial Monday.
Denton County District Attorney Bruce Isaacks said his prosecutors offer deals in every felony case except death-penalty cases, in an attempt to save taxpayers the expense of trials.
"In this particular case, the defendant, for all practical purposes, pleaded to two-thirds of the actual sentence he could have gotten," Mr. Isaacks said. "I think it will keep Mr. Collins off the street and away from any opportunity to hurt anybody."
If convicted by a jury, Mr. Collins could have faced five to 99 years, but parole boards don't honor sentences of more than 60 years, Mr. Isaacks said. Mr. Isaacks stressed that because Mr. Collins had no criminal history, he could have received a sentence as light as probation.
Prosecutors in June offered Mr. Collins 50 years in prison in exchange for a guilty plea, officials said. At that time, the defense made a counteroffer of 20 years.
Peter Decoste, Mrs. Collins' eldest brother, said the family told prosecutors in June that they would agree to a minimum of 40 years.
"Forty years, to us, is as good as 90," Mr. Decoste, of Wilmington, Mass., said Monday. "If he was 25 years old, we would have gone to court today."
Early on, family and friends of the victim balked at Judge Bruce McFarling's decision in the case to set bail at $150,000, saying it seemed Mr. Collins was getting preferential treatment because of his former position with the county. Mr. Collins posted bail in March and had been staying with his daughter in South Texas for months.
After the deal was struck Wednesday, relatives and friends praised the decision, saying they preferred a plea bargain because they didn't want to endure a murder trial.
"It was too much for our family to go through," Mr. Decoste said. "Our father is sick as it is, and we've already buried our mother and our little brother, too."
Nearly nine months after the slaying, neither the family nor law enforcement officials who investigated the case understand the motive, they said.
Mr. Collins had filed for divorce two months before the killing at his wife's request, and their relationship was rocky, said Mrs. Collins' close friend Kristi Salisbury.
But 30 minutes before the slaying, things seemed normal, said Ms. Salisbury, who had the couple over for dinner that night. Ms. Salisbury, who worked with Mrs. Collins at the Justin Road Veterinary Hospital, said her friend had to go home after dinner to give her diabetic cat an insulin injection.
"She called me when she got home and asked if she left her cellphone here, and I said, 'You might want to check with Tom and ask him where it is,' " Ms. Salisbury said.
Mr. Collins frequently took his wife's phone and checked to see who she had been talking to, Ms. Salisbury said.
"He was paranoid," she said. "He wanted to know everyone she was talking to and how she was spending all her time."
While Ms. Salisbury was still on the phone with her friend, Mrs. Collins walked to the garage and found her husband, Ms. Salisbury said.
"She told me, 'Oh, here he is and yep, he's got my cellphone, so I'll see you at work tomorrow.' That was the last I heard from her," she said.
E-mail rhorton@dallasnews.com
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