In the quiet town of Keller, Virginia, a domestic dispute on October 16, 2015, escalated into a tragedy that claimed the life of 13-year-old Breonya Collins. The young male was fatally shot at a residence on Keller Pond Road, a place that should have been a sanctuary. The events of that fateful morning began with a heated argument between 23-year-old Nicholas Martinez White and his 16-year-old girlfriend over text messages.
The confrontation turned physical when the girlfriend stabbed White with a fork.
Hearing the commotion and fearing for his sister's safety, Breonya Collins, a student at Nandua Middle School, intervened. He entered the room armed with a shotgun and confronted White, warning him not to harm his sister. In the tense moments that followed, White retrieved and loaded his own firearm. A shot was fired, striking Collins in the head. A portion of the altercation leading up to the shooting was captured on the girlfriend's cell phone video, though it did not record the fatal moment itself. Emergency services were called to the scene, and Collins was rushed to Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.
The investigation into the shooting led to the arrest of Nicholas Martinez White. Initially, warrants were issued for second-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a murder. White was subsequently indicted on charges of voluntary manslaughter and possession of a sawed-off shotgun. The indictment noted that the fatal wounding occurred 'while engaged in mutual combat.'
In the ensuing legal proceedings, Nicholas White pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and the use of a sawed-off shotgun. In March 2018, he was sentenced to a total of 30 years in prison. However, all but 10 of those years were suspended. His sentence also included an order to pay $5,000 in restitution to the Virginia Victim's Fund and to be on indefinite supervised probation upon his release.
