In the quiet community of Sumter, South Carolina, the life of 81-year-old Stephen Edward Collins, a respected United States Air Force veteran and local business owner, was brought to a tragic and violent end. On the morning of July 8, 2022, employees of his business, Collins Tree Service, grew concerned when he failed to meet with them as scheduled. One of his employees went to his home on Edgehill Road to check on him and made a grim discovery.
Inside, Collins was found unresponsive.
Authorities were immediately called to the scene, and it was soon determined that Collins' death was a homicide. An autopsy later confirmed that he had been shot multiple times. Investigators believe that sometime between the evening of July 7 and the morning of July 8, 2022, two individuals forcibly entered Collins' home with the intent to steal from him. During the course of the burglary, the elderly man, who lived alone, was fatally shot while sitting on his couch.
For nearly two years, the case remained a high priority for the Sumter County Sheriff's Office. As investigators diligently followed leads, a breakthrough finally came. In July 2024, authorities announced the first arrest in connection with the murder. Elijah Keith Fleming, a 20-year-old resident of Hapeville, Georgia, was charged with murder and first-degree burglary. At the time of his charging in the Collins case, Fleming was already incarcerated in Clayton County, Georgia, on unrelated murder charges. His extradition to South Carolina is pending the resolution of his legal matters in Georgia.
The investigation continued, leading to a second arrest in February 2025. Mala'Kiy Raphel Brooks, 20, of Lexington, South Carolina, was taken into custody and also charged with murder and first-degree burglary. He is currently being held without bond at the Sumter County Sheriff's Office Detention Center. According to law enforcement, both Fleming and Brooks were armed when they entered Collins' home. The diligent work of multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Sumter Police Department and agencies from several surrounding counties, contributed to the arrests, bringing a measure of resolution to a case that had deeply affected the Sumter community.
