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Dana Collins, 63, filed a motion in January 2024 to revisit his sentence, stemming from the brutal killing in St. Mary's County nearly three decades ago.
This week, State’s Attorney Jaymi Sterling announced that the court sided with prosecutors, rejecting the motion and ensuring Collins’ sentence remains intact.
In 1995, Collins lured the victim outside his home before killing him with a crossbow, prosecutors say. He then dismembered the body and discarded the remains in a dumpster at a nearby school.
Collins initially pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in 1996 and was sentenced to life without parole.
However, a series of post-conviction motions led to a retrial in 2003, where a jury found him guilty again. He was re-sentenced to life without parole in 2004.
Since then, Collins has filed 15 motions, petitions, and appeals seeking relief.
During an October 2024 hearing, prosecutors successfully argued that Collins has exhausted all legal options.
“The court agreed with the State,” Sterling said, “denying Collins’s motion and requiring him to continue serving his life sentence without parole.”
Senior Assistant State’s Attorneys Fran Longwell and Lisa Ridge represented the State in the 2024 proceedings.
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