Facing attempted murder, nine kidnapping charges

A man accused of stabbing the South Point Elementary School principal in late October has been indicted on 18 charges, including attempted murder, menacing by stalking and nine counts of kidnapping.

Joshua Collins is accused of stabbing Bill Christian on Oct. 24 in the lobby of the school and then breaking a window and entering the school itself. Collins was arrested at the scene and taken to a hospital and held in a West Virginia jail before being extradited back to Ohio.

Collins was indicted by the Lawrence County Grand Jury on two counts of first-degree misdemeanor menacing by stalking, first-degree misdemeanor telecommunications harassment, second-degree felony felonious assault with a specification for committing a crime in a school zone, first-degree felony attempted murder with a specification for committing a crime in a school zone, nine counts of first-degree felony kidnapping with a specification for committing a crime in a school zone, fifth-degree felony breaking and entering, first-degree felony illegal conveyance or possession of a deadly weapon or deadly ordnance in school safety zone and fourth-degree felony inducing a panic.

If convicte on all counts, the sentence would be more than 150 years in jail. 

Collins was in the Lawrence County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday and waived his right to a speedy trial. Without that waiver, a trial would have to start within 90 days of when Collins was charged.

He is currently being held in jail on a $2 million bond.

According to reports, Collins was upset over a custody issue and was creating a scene in the lobby and Christian came out to deescalate the situation. 

When Christian turned away from the man, Collins stabbed Christian in the neck and upper torso. 

Christian fled back into the office behind a locked door, at which point Collins broke the glass out of the window in the door and entered the office. 

Collins pursued Christian through multiple parts of the office and finally into the cafeteria area. 

This is where the South Point Police officer confronted Collins and took him into custody.

According to a post from Carrie Childers, the wife of Aaron Childers, pastor of Solida Baptist Church where Christian attends, the principal was released from the hospital Oct. 29 and is recovering at home.

Christian has been the South Point Elementary School principal since April, prior to that he had been the school’s assistant principal for 12 years. He replaced Chris Mathes as principal after Mathes became the school district’s superintendent.