23.8.11

Bodies Of Gunman, Mother-In-Law Believed To Be In Burned Home

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Police found the body of an infant girl believed to be 14-month-old Rhilee Collier in a truck belonging to her father, Kevin Collier. Collier's wife recently filed for divorce.

Man Suspected Of Shooting Officer Jared Slocum Also Killed Baby, Mother-In-Law

Amplify’d from www.10news.com
Two bodies were found Monday inside a burned San Diego County home, and investigators believe the deceased are a woman and her son-in-law, who is accused of shooting and critically wounding an El Cajon police officer and killing his own daughter.
Police found the body of an infant girl believed to be 14-month-old Rhilee Collier in a truck belonging to her father, Kevin Collier. Kevin Collier is accused of torching an El Cajon-area home after, relatives assert, he killed his daughter and his mother-in-law, Beverli Rakov. Collier was identified by police as the man who shot El Cajon Police Officer Jared Slocum, a four-year veteran of the force.
According to El Cajon police, investigators found a body in the front portion of the fire-damaged house in the 1000 block of Prince Street. A second body was discovered in the rear of the home, and investigators said the bodies are believed to be Collier and Rakov. The Medical Examiner's Office has not officially confirmed the identities of the bodies found in the home.

Investigators learned Collier sent text messages to family members saying that he killed his mother-in-law and his daughter and then started the fire at the home.

A family friend said Collier's wife, who is safe, recently filed for divorce.

According to divorce paperwork obtained by 10News that was filed August 17, Alyssa Collier cited "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for asking for a divorce from Kevin Collier. She was asking for sole custody of their daughter.

The couple married in January 2010 and filed for legal separation in July.

In the documents, Alyssa Collier stated she was the primary caregiver and stayed at home, while Kevin Collier worked long hours.

According to the court documents, Alyssa said Kevin "is a good dad, but spends very little time with Rhilee."

She also wrote they have a "nice standard of living" and asked for spousal support.

In the divorce documents, Collier's wife asked for $2,000 a month in child support, writing: "I need help transitioning to a more stable life style."

10News learned Collier and his wife also ran a dog breeding business. The Big Dogs website is filled with pictures of the couple with their Mastiffs.

There were no allegations of abuse and the exact reason for their failed marriage is unclear.

10News found what appears to be the Facebook page of Alyssa Collier. While a family friend told 10News Alyssa Collier used to work at Cheetah's strip club in San Diego, her latest job listing on Facebook is "full-time wife and mom." Her job description says "I plan to sit on my butt and take all my ex's money."

Friends told 10News that Kevin Collier may have manipulated the Facebook page.

On Monday, a spokesman for Cheetah’s told 10News Alyssa Rakov (Collier) hasn’t worked for the nightclub for more than a year and a half. The club declined to comment on Sunday's incident.

10News learned both Collier's brother and father filed restraining orders against him in 2003.

Collier's brother filed first and wrote: Kevin "slapped me as hard as he could."

Two days later, Collier's father followed, filing because Kevin started harassing him.

His father wrote: Kevin "called on my cell phone and was very angry and used a lot of profanity … Kevin came to my house and I had to call the sheriff's to escort him off the property."

"He seemed cool at first, the first time," said a Collier acquaintance, who did not want to be identified. "The second time, he wasn't so cool."

According to Collier's bankruptcy record, he earned more than $40,000 a month at a Miramar strip mall where he met the acquaintance.

The source described Collier as a hot-headed man who warned people to keep him away from alcohol.

It isn't clear what Collier did at the mall, but his former office is now a strip club.

The acquaintance said Collier was only in the mall for three months and told 10News he saw Collier angry once.

"He just freaked out, like a super hot head," he said. "He just instantly exploded."


On Sunday, the violence erupted after two El Cajon police officers responded shortly after 5 p.m. to a caller who said he saw a man with a gun who had started a fire, El Cajon police Lt. Mark Coit said. Slocum, one of the responding officers, was hit by gunfire that came from the house, he said.

The other officer, identified as Officer Tim McFarland, pulled Slocum to safety, Coit said. Slocum, a 28-year-old married father of two young children, was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital, where he underwent surgery and was listed in critical but stable condition.

After the shooting, the fire surged out of control and firefighters with police protection and aid from a water-dropping helicopter put it out at about 7 p.m., Heartland Fire spokesman Sonny Saghera said.

Several homes in the area were evacuated and eastbound Interstate 8 was shut down while the fire burned. The freeway was reopened after about 90 minutes.

A SWAT team surrounded the house for much of Sunday night, but turned the scene over to detectives when they determined it was safe, Coit said.

After the burning house was doused by firefighters on the ground and in the air, a police SWAT team entered and found a body near the front door.

Witness Dave Lembcke said he saw everything from the moment Kevin Collier pulled up to the home in a truck.

"He pulled out a gun and he didn't run across the street but he walked real fast," he said.

Moments later, Lembcke said he saw Collier return to the truck.

"He went back to his truck," Lembcke said. "He got something else and it didn't look like a gun but it was something kind of shaped like one and went back in."



Officers from San Diego, National City and Chula Vista, and deputies from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department were also at the scene to assist.

Neighbor Pam Gatar who lives about a block from the scene said she was outside when she heard officers exchange fire with the suspect.

"We were walking towards the corner, and we start hearing gunshots, and we don't understand why," Gatar said. "There had to have been at least 15, 20 shots fired. Then we saw the police."

Richard Ogunsalu, who lives in the same complex as Gatar, was in the shower when he heard sirens and ran outside to see police everywhere and the house burning.

"I saw about 30 police cars, it was like martial law in the streets, man," Ogunsalu said. "There was black roaring smoke in the sky, it was crazy, it just kept coming up. It was like a movie man, it was surreal."

Ogunsalu said he saw a pedestrian praying over the downed officer.

"There's some good people out here," he said.

10News learned someone posted a Craigslist ad on Friday for an "Everything must go" yard sale at the same home on Prince Street.

The ad read: "Everything you need for your kitchen and more. Name your own price. I just want the stuff gone."

10News confirmed with one neighbor that there have been yard sales at the home over the last couple of weekends, including one on Saturday.

It's unclear who posted the ad or whether it has anything to do with Sunday's incident.

One family friend told 10News he is in shock over what has happened.

"We've known them longer than we've known anybody," said friend Jarrad McCarthy. "A few days ago, I guess they were having problems."

McCarthy said the family was afraid something like this would happen.

"[They've] been worried about this for some time," he said. "They've been expressing concerns to a lot of people for a while and nothing happened."
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