Suspect dad's bank account had $6,000 withdrawn before Barway Collins disappeared

May 7, 2015 at 5:21AM
This April 14, 2015, booking photo provided by the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office shows Pierre Barlee Collins, who is charged with second-degree murder in the death of his son, Barway. A criminal complaint cited cell phone location data that police said places him, on the day the boy disappeared, near the spot in the river where the fourth-grader's body was found. (Hennepin County Sheriff's Office via AP) ORG XMIT: MIN2015041813362106
This April 14, 2015, booking photo provided by the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office shows Pierre Barlee Collins, who is charged with second-degree murder in the death of his son, Barway. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Pierre Collins' personal bank account had $6,000 withdrawn from it in a period of less than a month before the Crystal man reported his son missing, according to a search warrant application filed this week.

On March 18, the day 10-year-old Barway Collins disappeared, Pierre Collins checked his account balance at a TCF Bank inside Cub Foods, authorities say. Investigators later found a receipt in his car showing that a month earlier, the account had a balance of about $6,000.

The search warrant application was filed for a Dell laptop computer authorities found hidden under a couch the day Collins was arrested. "The computer appeared to be placed there in a surreptitious manner," the document said.

Collins, 33, and his wife, Yamah, did not mention the laptop when authorities asked for electronic devices early in the investigation.

Collins was arrested on April 13, two days after the boy's body, bound with gray duct tape, was recovered from the Mississippi River. Collins is in the Hennepin County jail, charged with second-degree murder. His next court appearance is May 14.

On the day Collins was arrested, authorities searched the Collinses' apartment and found the laptop, six knives, two plastic air conditioner covers with duct tape on them, and a red towel with "plant material on it."

The charges against Collins focus heavily on cellphone signals that provide a detailed account of his whereabouts on the day Barway disappeared.

Collins, who was deeply in debt and had no income, had two life insurance policies on his son, authorities say. One covered Collins himself for $100,000 and each of his children for $20,000. The other, for $30,000 on Barway, was purchased through a different company. On March 16, Collins paid on that policy and asked about raising the coverage to $50,000, the complaint says.

Authorities have said they hope to present evidence to a grand jury for possible first-degree murder charges.

Karen Zamora • 612-673-4647

Twitter: @KarenAnelZamora

Barway Collins
Barway Collins (Vince Tuss — Barway Collins/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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