Barway Collins' birth mom thanks Minnesota community, visits school

The birth mother of 10-year-old Barway Collins made several stops in the Twin Cities on Thursday, but said very little to the public.

Louise Karluah, who arrived this week from Liberia for her son's weekend funeral, thanked Minnesotans for their concern about her son's case, but declined to say anything about their lives in Liberia before he came to Minnesota a few years ago. She also would not address the investigation into Barway's death in which his father, Pierre Collins, has been charged.

"Thank you to all those who stood by me in my sympathy," she said.

At an afternoon news conference, she thanked everyone who helped search for Barway and to arrange Saturday's funeral. She asked those attending Saturday's services to wear white, which represents purity, to honor her son's life and memory.

Karluah then stopped by Estes Funeral Chapel in north Minneapolis, which is handling arrangements for Barway's funeral, leaving in tears.

She also visited Evergreen Park World Cultures Community School in Brooklyn Center, where Barway was a fourth-grader, toured the school and spoke with his teachers; no students were present during her visit.

On Thursday evening, she met with the pastor at Shiloh Temple in north Minneapolis, where Barway's funeral will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday.

When Karluah arrived at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Wednesday night, she was rushed into a car without speaking to media, according to several Liberian community leaders who were present.

Barway was last seen alive getting off his school bus in front of his Crystal apartment building on March 18. His body, bound with duct tape, was found in the Mississippi River on April 11 by volunteer searchers.

Pierre Collins, who has been charged with second-degree murder in his son's death, is being held in the Hennepin County jail on $2 million bond. His request to see his son's body before burial was quickly denied by a judge.

Barway came to the United States from Liberia when he was 5 to join his father, who had arrived a few years earlier. He lived with his father, stepmother, Yamah Collins, and two younger half-siblings.

Karen Zamora • 612-673-4647