On a summer evening in Glen Burnie, Maryland, the life of 22-year-old Donta Duane Collins was cut short by gunfire. On July 31, 2016, at approximately 10:24 p.m., Anne Arundel County Police responded to the 400 block of Hideaway Loop for a report of a shooting. There, they discovered Collins in the parking lot, suffering from gunshot wounds to his upper body. He was rushed to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Investigators quickly determined that the shooting was not a random act of violence.
The investigation into Collins's death led police to an acquaintance, Marc Terrell Hill Jr., also 22 years old and a resident of Glen Burnie. On September 14, 2016, Hill was arrested and charged with the murder of Donta Collins. The charges against him were extensive, including first and second-degree murder, first and second-degree assault, and several firearm-related offenses. The arrest brought a sense of hope for justice to Collins's family and the community.
However, the legal proceedings against Marc Terrell Hill Jr. would never reach a conclusion. In a tragic turn of events, on April 3, 2021, Hill himself became a victim of homicide. He was found shot in the breezeway of an apartment building in the 700 block of Newtowne Drive in Annapolis. The 25-year-old was transported to a trauma center, where he was pronounced dead. This unforeseen event brought the prosecution for the murder of Donta Duane Collins to an abrupt and unresolved end.
Following Hill's death, a new investigation was launched. This led to the arrest of 19-year-old Israel Wyaheim Thompson in connection with Hill's murder. Thompson was subsequently charged and, on April 28, 2022, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He was sentenced in June of that year, closing a chapter on a complex and tragic series of events that began with the death of Donta Duane Collins and, in a grim twist, ended with the death of his accused killer.
