CONWAY, SC (WBTW) – The 911 call that was made to police by a man in Florida regarding the incident that led to a woman’s body being found in a closet in a Little River apartment has been released by county officials.
A more than seven minute phone call from a man in Florida asks for police help for a “childhood friend” whom he has been speaking with and fears “he may hurt himself and [believes] he may have already hurt someone.”
911 CALL: Florida man calls 911 in fear that murder suspect Leon Collier “may have already hurt someone”
A separate call was made by a man in upstate New York with similar concerns that Collier, a “childhood friend,” would kill himself. The caller was reluctant to give information, fearing that he would “implicate himself.”
911 CALL: New York man calls 911 in fear that Leon Collier will kill himself
On December 3, the magistrate judge denied bond for Leon Edward Collier, 45, of Little River, the man accused of killing a woman and leaving her body in an apartment closet. In South Carolina, bond in murder cases must be set by circuit court judges.
Horry County Police filed murder charges against Collier in the death of Christian Hope Phipps, 29, of Little River. Officers found her body Tuesday morning inside apartment P9 at 4250 Pinehurst Circle.
Members of her family were at the bond hearing. They pleaded with the judge to keep Collier in jail because he is suicidal. They told the judge they feared if Collier was released he would kill himself before he could be put on trial and potentially punished for the crime. Family members also said they did not understand why someone would kill Phipps.
“I wanted to know why too but that’s not the time to be doing it because that wasn’t what we was here for today. I mean I couldn’t believe he didn’t say he was sorry or try to say anything. You know what I mean, even to the judge towards us. I mean I know you can’t talk to me but I mean I understand,” Phipp’s brother Chris Williams said.
Collier did not speak during the hearing beyond giving one-word answers to the judge. He will be appointed a public defender. His next court date was scheduled for January.
Collier was booked into J. Reuben Long Detention Center at 3:35 p.m. Tuesday, but his charges were not listed on the booking website until just after 3 p.m. Wednesday. According to the detention center’s records, Collier is charged with murder and two counts of unlawful neglect of a child.
Arrest warrants state that Collier placed a 6-year-old and a 10-year-old child in “unreasonable risk of harm affecting the child’s physical and mental health and safety” due to “unsanitary home conditions and lack of food in the residence.”
Lt. Raul Denis says the children are in protective custody with DSS now. Family members say their main priority is being there for the kids.
“I’m trying to be there as much as I can. I’m their uncle. I’m the only one left of that family and that’s my part left too is the kids,” Williams said.
Police responded to an apartment complex in Little River Tuesday morning around 10:30 a.m. after receiving a call for a “suicidal situation.” The caller reported that the man at the apartment was threatening to harm himself and saying he had “done something wrong.”
A police report shows when officers arrived to the apartment, they could smell a foul odor coming from outside the door. Police say when they arrived no one came to the door, so they took the screen off the front bedroom window.
Once officers entered the apartment through the bedroom window they discovered the room’s door to be closed. Officers announced themselves and knocked on the door before opening it. After several seconds, Leon Collier “came from around the corner of the short hallway into the bedroom.” Officers immediately took Collier into custody as police were told during the emergency call that he possibly had a gun and a box cutter.
When asked where his girlfriend was, Collier told police that “she went out shopping earlier in the morning” and that police wouldn’t be able to reach her because she didn’t have a cell phone with her.
Officers continued to search the apartment for any other occupants and upon opening the master bedroom closet, police discovered the body of Christian Hope Phipps. The police report details that items had been piled upon Phipps’ body and her skin was cold to the touch when officers attempted to find a pulse.
Investigators determined that a homicide had taken place, and Collier is responsible for killing the woman, police say. Lt. Denis confirms Collier was taken to the Horry County Detention Center Tuesday afternoon.
Horry County Deputy Coroner Darris Fowler confirms the victim as Christian Hope Phipps. Fowler says Phipps died several days before her body was discovered by Horry County Police. An autopsy was performed Tuesday and preliminary findings are still under investigation to determine the cause of death. It could take 90 to 120 days for autopsy results as the body was badly decomposed, adds Fowler.
An arrest warrant for Collier states that he reportedly killed Phipps on or about November 23.
After officers arrived on scene Tuesday, Phipps’ body could not be removed from the apartment even hours after the discovery because a search warrant was needed. Crime scene investigators could be seen going into and out of the apartment all afternoon into the early evening Tuesday, removing potential evidence like cell phones and computers from the home.
Neighbors within the apartment complex say a crime this heinous is unthinkable, but is a reminder to always be safe.
“I think it causes you to be a little bit more cautious when you go to bed and make sure everything is locked up when you go to bed at night, just in case,” says neighbor William Bartleson.
