The Habersham County Sheriff’s Department received camera footage that aids in their investigation into the death of Debbie Collier, an Athens woman who was found dead in Habersham County on Sept. 11.
The footage was from a security camera belonging to a business neighboring the Family Dollar that Collier entered on Sept. 10 at 2:55 p.m. It depicts Collier leaving the store at 3:09 p.m. and waiting in her vehicle — a black 2022 Chrysler Pacifica van — before departing the parking lot at 3:19 p.m. and heading south on Highway 15.
“This tells us that the timeframe is actually narrowed a little further for this case to begin at 3:19 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10, and ending at 12:44 Sunday, Sept. 11 the time of the discovery,” said Col. Murray Kogod during the sheriff department’s press conference on Sept. 30.
Video footage from the Family Dollar shows that Collier visited the store alone without showing signs of distress. Investigators confirmed that she purchased a rain poncho, refillable torch lighter, a 2-pack roll of paper towels, a tarp and a reusable tote bag.
All of the items that Collier purchased were found at the crime scene.
Lead investigator George Cason confirmed that cameras in the Tallulah Falls School speed zone captured Collier’s car traveling northbound on Georgia Highway 15 at 2:17 p.m. on Sept. 10.
“We have been in coordination with Chief Elrod for the Tallulah Falls Police Department. She has spent many countless, sleepless nights looking through cameras,” Cason said. “There's probably upwards of 150,000 to 160,000 cars that come through there. So they are still looking through to see if we can find her coming back south.”
Collier’s daughter, Amanda Bearden, moved back to Georgia on Sept. 8 after living with her brother in Maryland. Police confirmed that she talked with Collier on Saturday afternoon. They also confirmed that Collier’s husband was working in the Synovus Bank parking lot from 9:00 a.m. to 4:06 p.m. on Saturday.
The burn marks found on Collier’s body provide cause for the police department to treat her case as a murder investigation.
“We do not believe that this is a random act of violence,” Kogod said. “We do not believe that this is the act of a serial killer. We believe that this act was deliberate and personal.”
Kogod informed reporters that Collier’s autopsy and an analysis of items submitted to the crime lab are still pending.
“Please understand that this case is very complex in nature and has a lot of questions and unknowns that aren't found in a typical death investigation,” Kogod said. “It is going to take significantly more time than the 19 days that have passed since the discovery to solve this crime.”
