Dereck A.

Wednesday, October 17, 2001

Dereck A. Collins, the Burlington man accused in the death of 3-year-old Brooklyn Hope Peters last month, now faces an aggravated murder charge, according to a Lawrence County Grand Jury indictment filed Tuesday.

The indictment cites that specific felony charge against Collins, 23, of 25 Township Road 1067, South Point, because state statutes make a murder charge "aggravated" when the victim is a child under 13 years old, said county prosecutor J.B. Collier Jr.

Collins’s arraignment was expected to be held in Lawrence County Common Pleas Court today.

A trial could come as early as December, unless the defense waives the "within 90 days" time limit.

Collier said the case should face trial by jury because of its serious nature.

"We are not going to back down," Collier said. "We will present the facts to a jury and it will be up to the jury to decide."

If convicted of aggravated murder, Collins faces a maximum of life in prison with parole eligibility after 20 years, Collier said.

Collins’s court-appointed defense attorney Philip J. Heald could not be reached for comment.

Court and sheriff’s department records show Collins was arrested early Sept. 13 on charges of murder and child endangering. The night before, he had flagged down a deputy at a Burlington gas station, saying Brooklyn – the daughter of his girlfriend, Tisha McCoy – was having trouble breathing. The deputy and EMS tried to revive the child, but she was pronounced dead at a West Virginia hospital.

Officers felt there was obvious signs of injury to the girl, especially facial injuries, that prompted charges, reports stated.

Collier said autopsy results show the cause of death as "shaken baby syndrome."

As filed, an indictment represents only a formal charge, not a court judgment.