MINNEAPOLIS - The father of Barway Collins has been officially charged with murder, after his son's
body was found in the Mississippi River over the weekend.
Pierre Collins, 33, has been charged with second-degree murder, with intent but not premeditated. His bail has been set at $2 million.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman says that while Collins is charged with second-degree murder, he believes that they have enough evidence for a grand jury to indict him for first-degree.
According to the
criminal complaint, when Barway's body was recovered from the Mississippi on April 11, his feet were bound together with duct tape and a piece of duct tape was also wrapped around his torso.
The investigation into Barway's death revealed Pierre had two life insurance policies on Barway -- one with a coverage of $30,000. On March 16, two days before Barway was last seen, Pierre made a payment on that life insurance policy and also made a call to the company, asking about raising the amount of coverage from $30,000 to $50,000. A second policy, through a different company, covers Pierre for $100,000 and each of his dependents at $20,000 each.
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The criminal complaint states Pierre and Yamah have "considerable financial obligations, debt and no current income." Still, charges state Pierre was offered a temporary job on March 17 and was supposed to report at 4 p.m. on March 18 for his first day. He allegedly turned down the job, saying he was not able to come in on that date and time.
On April 13, police spoke to Pierre and at that time, he said, if they had enough, they should come and get him, according to the charges.
Freeman said he believes they have enough evidence to bring to a grand jury to ask for first-degree premeditated murder charges.
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He said they believe Pierre acted alone but they still haven't identified the "uncle" Barway referenced on the day he disappeared.
The cause of Barway's death has not yet been determined.
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Criminal charges state during several interviews with police, Pierre maintained he was never at the river and had no explanation for why his phone was tracked there. Police indicated in the charges there were several inconsistencies with Pierre's story.
In an interview with police, Pierre's wife Yamah said at 4:15 p.m. on March 18, Pierre was watching TV when he got up suddenly saying he had to go to the bank and the store. He left the apartment and did not return until after she told him Barway was missing.
Crystal Police have focused on
Pierre Collins as their prime suspect in the case, ever since Barway disappeared nearly four weeks ago.
On Saturday afternoon, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner confirmed the body pulled from the river was Barway Collins.