Minnesota man allegedly killed 10-year-old son for insurance money

Charges against a Minnesota man focus on a life insurance motive as revealed by prior conversations and cell phone records.

Insurance News

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A Minnesota man stands accused of murdering his 10-year-old son in order to benefit from a life insurance policy on the boy.

According to a news conference held yesterday by local police, 33-year-old Pierre Collins inquired about upgrading the two life insurance policies he had on his son, Barway Collins, just two days before Barway disappeared. Collins is being held in the Hennepin County jail on $2 million bail and is said to be deeply in debt and without income.

Barway, who disappeared March 18, was found dead Saturday in the Mississippi River in Brooklyn Center. His hands and torso were bound with duct tape.

Collins is the sole suspect in Barway’s death.

“We believe the father took him to the river and dumped him in a waste water, storm water cistern, and he remained underwater for 24 days” before entering the river, said Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman.

Collins is said to have taken out two life insurance policies on his son: one covered Collins himself for $100,000 and each of his children for $20,000. The other policy covered Barway for $30,000 and was purchased through a different life insurance carrier.

Collins allegedly made a payment on Barway’s policy on March 16 and asked about raising the coverage on his son to $50,000.

Barway was last seen leaving a school van outside of the apartment building where he lived with Collins, his stepmother and his two younger siblings. The morning he went missing, Collins attended a hearing at Hennepin County Family Court regarding child support for children from a previous relationship. His phone records indicate that after the hearing, Collins was near the location where Barway’s body was later found.

Collins apparently had no reason to be there, and had not visited the area for 30 days before his son disappeared. Furthermore, cell phone records show Colin was in or near the family’s apartment building at the time Barway came home from school.

According to a report in the Star Tribune, authorities are seeking a first-degree murder indictment for Collins.

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