Michael David Collins
Accused of attempted murder
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KATU
Kevin Tracey of Washougal testifies Monday about being attacked near Dougan Falls. The trial continues today.
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replica breitling watchesSTEVENSON When the two attackers accosted him on a snowy trail, demanding his car keys, Kevin Tracey thought it would be a simple robbery. He handed over his keys and then his backpack, thinking the men would be satisfied and go away.
But, as he recounted Monday to a jury, the next moments turned into a horrifying ordeal of being brutally clubbed, strangled and left to die in the woods near Dougan Falls on the Washougal River.
Calm, cool and collected, they just kept hitting me, Tracey, of Washougal, said, pausing briefly, apparently to collect his emotions.
Tracey took the stand Monday afternoon as the prosecutions first witness in the trial of Michael D. Collins, accused of first-degree attempted murder and first-degree robbery. The trial is taking place in Skamania County Superior Court in Stevenson.
Collins, 34, and his 17-year-old son, Teven Collins, are charged in the Feb. 9, 2009, attack.
On Friday, Teven Collins agreed to plead guilty to second-degree attempted murder. As part of the plea deal, he must testify against his father.
The father and son were apprehended March 25 in Ensenada, Mexico, shortly after the case was featured on a segment of the Americas Most Wanted TV program. Skamania County Sheriffs detectives used a tip generated by the TV show and Teven Collins MySpace account to find the father and son.
replica tag heruer watchesJury selection began Monday morning, and 12 jurors were seated from a pool of 89 people, one of the largest ever in Skamania County Superior Court. Thats approximately 2 percent of the countys registered voters.
We cant let you go
Brief opening statements followed in the afternoon with Judge E. Thompson Reynolds presiding. Tracey took the stand just before 4 p.m.
He told the jury about a routine cross-country skiing trip that turned nearly deadly. Tracey was calm as he testified, breaking down in tears in a few parts of his story.
After he handed over his keys and backpack, Tracey remembered, one of the attackers told him, Im sorry, but we cant let you go.
What were you feeling at that time, Mr. Tracey? Skamania County Deputy Prosecutor Chris Lanz asked.
Horror, Tracey said.
He pleaded with the men to let him go.
If you murder me, theyre going to come find me, he remembered saying.
The men cornered him. Preparing to run, Tracey took off his skis. At that point, I was thinking that Im probably going to be shot, he said.
He saw a chance and ran. Only 50 feet away, he heard one of them yell, Get him.
Thats when the younger attacker jumped on him from behind and grabbed his arms, pulling them behind Traceys back. Next came five or six blows with a club to his forehead.
Next, the older attacker wrapped a nylon cord around his neck, pulling tightly.
What are you thinking at that point
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