Current:Home > StocksTexas man accused of killing New Mexico women and kidnapping an infant faces federal charge-LoTradeCoin
Texas man accused of killing New Mexico women and kidnapping an infant faces federal charge
View Date:2024-12-24 13:49:13
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A Texas man accused of fatally shooting two New Mexico women and taking one of their children and seriously injuring another is now facing a federal kidnapping charge.
Alek Isaiah Collins, 26, appeared Tuesday before a federal judge in Abilene, Texas. He will remain in federal custody pending extradition to New Mexico, where he already faces state charges of first-degree murder in the deaths of Samantha Cisneros and Taryn Allen, both 23.
The women’s bodies were found May 3 in a park near Clovis, New Mexico, which is close to the Texas border. Authorities also discovered Cisneros’ 5-year-old daughter had been critically wounded and that her 10-month-old daughter was missing.
That kicked off a frantic search. With little to go on, investigators used cell phone records, surveillance video from stores in Clovis and a piece of a broken mirror from a vehicle to track down Collins in Texas.
The girl was found with Collins three days later. Authorities said she was unharmed.
Authorities have said a motive for the shootings and kidnapping remains unclear as Collins isn’t related to any of the victims.
District Attorney Quentin Ray told The Associated Press in an email that the investigation is ongoing.
“The community is heartbroken over the loss of these two vibrant lives and is concerned for the health of the 5-year-old girl,” Ray said. “We have seen an outpouring of love, concern and compassion for the families, in addition to overwhelming gratitude to the law enforcement entities who rescued the baby so quickly and put the alleged perpetrator behind bars.”
A public defender who is representing Collins has not returned messages seeking comment.
According to filings in both state and federal court, Collins rented a car in Texas and drove 270 miles (435 kilometers) to Clovis on May 3. The cell phone records obtained by investigators showed Collins was in the vicinity of the park around the time of the shootings and the kidnapping.
Evidence recovered from the scene included bullet casings and the piece of broken mirror from the vehicle that Collins had rented. Surveillance video showed a car — its license plate matching that of the rental car — with a broken mirror in a fast food drive-thru in Clovis.
Authorities said Collins failed to return the rental car on time and it was remotely disabled by the owner after Collins returned to Texas.
Abilene police preparing to execute a search warrant at a home where Collins was staying reported seeing him carjack an SUV at gunpoint on May 6. They stopped the vehicle, arrested Collins and found the baby girl safe in a rear passenger seat.
veryGood! (644)
Related
- The Bachelorette's Desiree Hartsock Gives Birth, Welcomes Baby No. 3 With Chris Siegfried
- Accused serial killer lured victims by asking them to help dig up buried gold, Washington state prosecutors say
- Bryant Gumbel on wrapping up HBO's Real Sports: I've kind of lived my fantasy life
- The best movies and TV of 2023, picked for you by NPR critics
- Eva Longoria calls US 'dystopian' under Trump, has moved with husband and son
- Five children, ages 2 to 13, die in house fire along Arizona-Nevada border, police say
- Fifth Harmony's Ally Brooke Is Engaged to Will Bracey
- Arkansas sheriff stripped of duties after alleged drug cover-up, using meth with informant, feds say
- US inflation may have picked up in October after months of easing
- Gérard Depardieu wax figure removed from Paris museum following allegations of sexual assault
Ranking
- Glen Powell Addresses Rumor He’ll Replace Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible Franchise
- Greek anti-terror squad investigates after a bomb was defused near riot police headquarters
- Nearly 200 false bomb threats at institutions, synagogues. Jewish community is on alert.
- U.S. passport application wait times back to normal, State Department says
- Eva Longoria Shares She and Her Family Have Moved Out of the United States
- What are your secrets to thriving as you age? We want to hear from you
- Michigan man arrested in 1980 slaying of young woman whose body was found at state game area
- She bought a vase at Goodwill for $3.99. It was a rare piece that just sold at auction for more than $100,000.
Recommendation
-
Lunchables get early dismissal: Kraft Heinz pulls the iconic snack from school lunches
-
Rachel Bilson Reflects on Feud With Whoopi Goldberg Over Men’s Sex Lives
-
Texas police: Suspect hit pedestrian mistaken for a deer, drove 38 miles with body in car
-
Tom Brady points finger at Colts QB Gardner Minshew II after Damontae Kazee hit, suspension
-
'Unfortunate error': 'Wicked' dolls with porn site on packaging pulled from Target, Amazon
-
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck announces decision to return for 2024 season
-
Wander Franco earns $700,000 bonus from MLB pool despite ongoing investigation
-
Can family doctors deliver rural America from its maternal health crisis?