GUILTY MD - Melissa Collins, 17, raped & murdered, Hagerstown, 20 May 2015

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Man wants confession suppressed in stepdaughter's slaying

http://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/local/man-wants-confession-suppressed-in-stepdaughter-s-slaying/article_77d14ee0-7d9b-11e5-b1a5-4fd5ae28b786.html

Ernie Benjamin Chase told police he was high on drugs when he hit and strangled 17-year-old Melissa Skye Collins, but denied having sexual contact with the stepdaughter he is accused of raping and murdering on May 20, according to an interrogation video played Wednesday in Washington County Circuit Court.

Chase also told police he moved the body of the North Hagerstown High School senior from the basement to his bedroom, hiding it under a pile of clothes just 20 minutes before police arrived to look through the home a second time on the day Collins was reported missing.

Chase, 35, of East Avenue is seeking to keep his statements to police from being used at his trial, currently scheduled for May 2016. Chase was interviewed on the evening of May 20 and again during the early morning hours of May 21.

Judge to decide if confession allowed in Hagerstown teen's slaying

http://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/local/judge-to-decide-if-confession-allowed-in-hagerstown-teen-s/article_eb68e7b8-7e91-11e5-b46b-133e5f60dce7.html

Stepfather charged in teen's death indicted on rape charges - July 2015

http://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/local/stepfather-charged-in-teen-s-death-indicted-on-rape-charges/article_b167c923-5bd9-5b2d-b2fd-17195fd69540.html

 

[PastTense]

Melissa Collins was only 17 years old, and just two weeks away from her high school graduation, when her body was found inside her home last May.

On Wednesday, her step-father, 36-year-old Ernie Chase pleaded guilty to murdering her...

Chase also took an Alford plea for second-degree rape. “An Alford plea is where the defendant does not specifically admit to having committed the crime, but acknowledges that the state has overwhelming evidence to prove the crime,” said Wilson....

Chase's sentencing date has not yet been set.

http://www.your4state.com/news/news/ernie-chase-pleads-guilty-to-murder

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Scholarship to memorialize slain Hagerstown teen

http://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/local/scholarship-to-memorialize-slain-hagerstown-teen/article_a5031e9e-00a2-58ee-b12e-a9c1eedc2925.html

Ben Forrest and his family hope the community will remember his girlfriend, Melissa Skye Collins, for the way she lived, not the way she died.

"She was just such a loving and caring person," said Forrest, a senior at North Hagerstown High School. "I don't ever remember her talking badly about a person, even when she faced troubles. ... Nothing was ever negative with her."

The Forrest family created the Melissa Collins Memorial Scholarship fund through the Community Foundation of Washington County. The scholarship will go to students graduating from North Hagerstown High School who participated in school music or drama programs. The first scholarship will be awarded in the spring of 2017.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Loved ones of child abuse victims seek justice and tougher penalties in Maryland

http://www.your4state.com/news/4state-in-focus/4sif-child-abuse/loved-ones-of-child-abuse-victims-seek-justice-and-tougher-penalties-in-maryland

One of the worst issues that the four-state area faces today is child abuse. It may be uncomfortable to talk about, but it’s not going away – as statistics show physical and sexual abuse cases are rising at high rates in Maryland.

And loved ones of child abuse victims say their first-hand experiences have changed their lives forever.

Terry Hassinger, the father of Melissa Collins and a resident of central Pennsylvania, could only watch from afar as his own nightmare unfolded.

“I had suspicions pretty much right from the dot that it was something serious," he said. "I guess I didn’t want to believe it was real for awhile. It was one of those things that you hear it…no matter what, you hear it, but you just don’t want to believe it."

Melissa’s stepfather, Ernie Chase, pleaded guilty to her murder back in December. Hassinger plans on being in the courtroom for his sentencing on April 29, as hard it may be for him emotionally.

“I don’t really want to see his face. You know, I don't want to deal with it," he said. "I'm going to have to hold back my anger. I've got to take care of three kids that I got here, and I want to stay. I don't want to be the angry father who decides, 'I want to go to prison myself, just to take care of beating this guy up.'"

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Life sentence for man who raped and killed stepdaughter

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/06/10/life-sentence-for-man-who-raped-and-killed-stepdaughter.html

A Maryland judge has sentenced a man to life in prison plus 20 years for raping and killing his 17-year-old stepdaughter.

Thirty-six-year-old Ernie Chase was sentenced Friday in Hagerstown, about 75 miles west of Baltimore. He was convicted in a plea deal in December of first-degree murder and second-degree rape in the 2015 slaying of Melissa Collins.

http://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/breaking/chase-sentenced-to-life-plus-years-for-rape-and-murder/article_3787d7b8-2f21-11e6-8c8f-b314ac66feb1.html

Melissa Skye Collins was described as a "beautiful, bright young lady" whose future was violently cut short by Ernie Benjamin Chase, the stepfather who was sentenced Friday in Washington County Circuit Court to life plus 20 years for her 2015 rape and murder.

"I think everyone here would like some understanding or knowledge of just exactly what happened," Circuit Judge M. Kenneth Long Jr. said before sentencing the 36-year-old Hagerstown man. "But it hasn't been answered, at least to my satisfaction."

Wilson later revealed something else about Melissa that was not discussed in court — friends had offered her the opportunity to move out of the house where she was eventually murdered, but she wanted to protect her sister.

"She was in that household to be there for her younger sister," Wilson said. "She turned down those opportunities because she wanted to make sure her sister was OK."

Melissa's father, Lynn Hassinger, told the court about his daughter and his opinion of Chase.

"My daughter has been a wonderful, wonderful kid," he said. "Seeing that he has shown no remorse, ... I cannot forgive him."

 

[dyannaON]

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