Van Lear Man pleads guilty to daughter’s murder

By Roberta Cantrell

BSN Editor

PAINTSVILLE — A Van Lear man charged with the kidnapping and murder of his 13-year-old daughter, Stacia Leigh Collins in August of 2022, entered a guilty plea in Johnson County Circuit Court on March 11.

In the plea agreement between Stacy Allen Collins, 50, and the Johnson County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office it is recommended that Collins will receive a life sentence to serve with the eligibility of parole after serving 25 years on the two charges which will run concurrent.

In 2022, Collins was indicted by a special-called Johnson County Grand Jury on Sept. 6, on one count of murder and one count of kidnapping.

The indictment said he restrained his daughter “with the intent to inflict bodily injury, or to terrorize another, or to accomplish or advance the commission of a felony” prior to shooting her.

After Collins shot his daughter on Aug. 11, 2022, and then shot himself. Johnson County Coroner J.R. Frisby confirmed that the body of the girl who had been reported missing, was found in the Miller’s Creek area of Boons Camp.

Frisby stated that there had been a lot of people out looking for the girl and confirmed that her father had also been found suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

“He shot her and then shot himself,” Frisby said. He was still alive when they discovered Collins suffering from what was believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound and was taken to Highlands ARH Hospital, and officers continued to search for the daughter.

After exhausting numerous leads in an attempt to locate the juvenile, the sheriff’s office and Emergency Management Director Gary McClure began assembling search crews in an attempt to locate her, the release said. The search was to initially concentrate in the area that her father was found.

“Sadly, with public assistance, the juvenile was soon located, but was deceased,” a release from the sheriff’s office said.

Collins will not be eligible for parole until he is 75 years old.