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

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Ernie Benjamin Chase, 35, was charged with first- and second-degree murder, first-degree child abuse resulting in death and first-degree child abuse resulting in severe injury after the body of Melissa Skye Collins, 17, was found inside a home at 124 East Ave. During the course of the investigation, officers became suspicious of the information being provided. Detectives obtained a search warrant of the residence and located the body of the victim concealed within the house.

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http://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news...cle_e97cb1d8-ffab-11e4-8884-2bb6a437c918.html
 
I wonder what the whole story is. Is he just a predator or has he been married to her mother for quite a while?
 
Daily Mail article posted has a bit more detail. Apparently they contacted her bio father.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-17-year-old-police-body-hidden-basement.html

I'll snip the new (I think) details:
Officers became suspicious of her step-father Ernie Chase when they interviewed him and he refused to let them inside. Her biological father, Lynn Hassinger, told Daily Mail Online that she was found in the basement.

Detectives promptly arrested Chase, 32, and charged him with murder and multiple counts of child abuse.

Police would not say how the girl was killed, why Chase allegedly attacked her or when she may have died.

Mr Hassinger, who lives two hours north of Hagerstown in Pennsylvania, said that she told him that she was scared of her stepfather because he was a violent person. But, she decided to live with her mother and stepfather in Maryland so that she could look after her little sister and two younger brothers.
 
This is so horrible!
How can women stay with these monsters? They wait till their kids are dead!
Very sad!

Horrible, indeed! Sounds like she stayed with that monster so he wouldn't beat the younger children? She was set to graduate high school in 2 weeks and go to college nearby. This is so sad!
 
Ernie Benjamin Chase, 35, was charged with first- and second-degree murder, first-degree child abuse resulting in death and first-degree child abuse resulting in severe injury.

http://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news...cle_e97cb1d8-ffab-11e4-8884-2bb6a437c918.html

This bothers me a lot because the mother said she saw her before she left for school but the girl was found deceased in the basement. I live in Hagerstown and I live VERY close (within blocks) of where this happened. This is one of those things where you would never think it could happen in your town but it DID and it's just heart breaking....
 
UGGGHHHH. I am so sick and disgusted by these cases. Maybe the mothers should be charged along with the violent men that they CHOOSE to move in with their vulnerable children.

:rose: RIP Sweet Melissa Skye...:rose:
 
Court documents reveal new details in teenager's murder

Very detailed article telling the story of what happened. Worth reading.

Court documents detailing the death of Melissa Collins show that she was beaten and strangled to death by her stepfather, Ernie Chase.

Collins' naked body was finally found by officers in her mother and stepfather's bedroom, according to charging documents. Clothes including her own removed pajamas, were piled on top of her in an attempt to conceal her body.

During Ernie Chase's interview, he told police that Collins began getting "cocky" and started talking back to him when they passed each other in the residence's hallway around 5 a.m. on Wednesday. He continued by telling police that he struck her in the face, which caused her to fall. Before she could scream, Ernie Chase said he began choking her with his hands and pulled her down the basement steps to continue silencing her. Once in the basement, he tied a piece of chord around her neck and pulled until she became motionless.

RIP. The anger this man has inside of him is terrifying.
 
This is so horrible!
How can women stay with these monsters? They wait till their kids are dead!
Very sad!

It's unforgiveable. It should be a criminal offence to knowingly put your kids in danger by having an abusive violent partner in the home. I know sometimes women and some men have nowhere to go but she could have got a restraining order or gone to a woman's refuge anything would be better than putting your kids in jeporady.

It is terribly sad that this vibrant young woman who was doing so much despite a difficult home environment will never get the chance to live her life.
 
no words
she got cocky with him, boo hoo, even the best behaved teenager has a mouth, he was the effen adult (using the term adult in a loose maner here), he could have just ignore her
go in peace melissa, you were but a fleeting light but i am sure your family will always remember you
 
Why was she the one who had to be the protector of the little siblings? Why not her biodad, or her mother? Why was she the only small voice trying to protect the babies, and ended up sacrificing her life? I can't imagine - honestly - being a dad and having my teenage daughter tell me she was afraid of Mom's new husband but wanted to live with them to protect the younger ones. ???
 
no words
she got cocky with him, boo hoo, even the best behaved teenager has a mouth, he was the effen adult (using the term adult in a loose maner here), he could have just ignore her
go in peace melissa, you were but a fleeting light but i am sure your family will always remember you

I don't believe this creep for one second. That doesn't explain why she was naked when found.

I think that will turnout to be the real motive when more evidence comes back.

IMO
 
I read this case last week. I keep coming back to what this says about what happened. The part about returning to basement several times throughout the day to "make sure she was dead" is really sticking with me. It is almost as though she wasn't dead during this initial attack. I don't know. His story doesn't add up. I think it was MUCH worse for this poor child.
 
I'm perplexed by this as well.

And I want to know where the mother was. She said she saw her leave for school which is total BS.


Sent By Owl

Is there a link I missed? I haven't seen that Mom (or anyone) saw her that morning.

http://www.your4state.com/story/d/s...-in-teenagers-mu/33619/N4LItasfCUSY62J3c4SFpw

According to the charging documents, an officer with the Hagerstown Police Department met with Collins' mother, Kristel Chase, on Wednesday around 3:34 p.m. She told police that she was concerned about her missing daughter and was about to report her missing.

Ernie Chase accompanied Kristel Chase as she told police that her 17-year-old daughter usually leaves for school between 7:30 to 8 a.m. Ernie Chase first told police that he heard Collins in the bathroom that morning, and later heard what he thought was a car picking her up a short time later.

Kristel Chase further indicated that Collins' personal belongings that she took to school everyday were still in the house which she found to be unusual. Kristel Chase then permitted the officer to search through these items and nothing suspicious was found.
 

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