ALLIE COLLIER
Police artist sketch of "Night Creeper"
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Early in the morning of Wednesday, October 7, 1987, 63-year old Richard Collier answered his door at 1703 South Willow Street to find a stranger on the front porch. The man told Richard the roof of the house next door had collapsed. When the man asked to use a phone to call police, Richard let him inside.
Collier soon learned he'd been tricked, when the unknown man robbed Richard and then beat him. Richard's 87-year old mother, Allie, was also attacked. She was beaten unconscious and remained comatose until she died several months later. The Colliers' attacker is wanted in a string of nearly two dozen beatings that began in February of 1986 and ended in October of 1987. Police believe he is responsible for at least two other deaths, the murders of Mary Alvey and Ellen Walker. The killer, dubbed "the Night Creeper" by police, is a black man who was in his mid-20's to early 30's at the time of the attacks, approximately 5-foot-9, with stocky build, a medium-length beard and a mustache. |
During a 1987 interview with the Chattanooga Times, Lt. Bill Zinkeler, then supervisor of CPD's homicide division, described the suspect this way: "He's a sociopath. He uses more physical force than necessary to complete the crime."
Major Crimes Detectives who originally worked cases involving this suspect say he is extremely violent, someone who enjoys hurting people. And his crimes were well-defined. The attacks typically occurred overnight, between 10:00pm and 4:00am, and happened in the Highland Park neighborhood. All the victims were elderly, on average 80 years old. The man sometimes broke in through a bedroom window. Other times he used trickery to get inside the victims' houses, typically ringing the door bell to ask if he could use a telephone. Additionally, the suspect did not take property that could be traced back to his victims, only cash or small things that would fit in his pockets.
Original Investigating Agency: Chattanooga Police Department
Major Crimes Detectives who originally worked cases involving this suspect say he is extremely violent, someone who enjoys hurting people. And his crimes were well-defined. The attacks typically occurred overnight, between 10:00pm and 4:00am, and happened in the Highland Park neighborhood. All the victims were elderly, on average 80 years old. The man sometimes broke in through a bedroom window. Other times he used trickery to get inside the victims' houses, typically ringing the door bell to ask if he could use a telephone. Additionally, the suspect did not take property that could be traced back to his victims, only cash or small things that would fit in his pockets.
Original Investigating Agency: Chattanooga Police Department
If you have information on this case, please use the form below or call the cold case hotline: 423-209-7470
