In the summer of 1995, a tragic event unfolded in Monroe Township, New Jersey, forever altering the lives of an unsuspecting couple. On the evening of June 18th, William Dawson, a 27-year-old male, was with Stacey Smith in their room at the Star Motel on Black Horse Pike. Their night was violently interrupted when a man named Darnell Collins forced his way into their room. Collins, who was in the midst of a violent crime spree, shot Dawson once in the chest, inflicting a fatal wound. Smith was also shot in the neck but survived the attack; her 4-year-old son, who was also present in the room, was not physically harmed.
The attack on Dawson and Smith was not an isolated incident but part of a multi-day rampage by Collins that spread across New Jersey and New York. Collins's violent spree was reportedly triggered by a domestic dispute with his ex-girlfriend.
In the days surrounding Dawson's murder, Collins was responsible for the deaths of seven people and the injury of three others, prompting a massive law enforcement response and a multi-state manhunt.
The extensive search for Darnell Collins came to a dramatic end on June 21, 1995, just three days after he had murdered William Dawson. Law enforcement officers tracked Collins to Nutley, New Jersey, where they surrounded him. The confrontation ended with Collins being killed by the police. As the sole suspect in the murder of William Dawson was deceased, there were no subsequent arrests or trials related to his death. The investigation into Dawson's killing was closed with the death of his murderer, concluding a violent chapter that left a trail of victims in its wake.
