Bond for one suspect in shotgun slaying of Bluffton restaurateur set at $35,000
Colette Collins, charged with her husband in the October shotgun slaying of Bluffton restaurateur Johnathan Cherol, was granted a $35,000 bond Tuesday following a hearing in Beaufort County Court.
Circuit Court Judge Michael Nettles assigned the bond to Collins, 34, around 9:30 a.m., according to the court's website. She has been held in the Beaufort County Detention Center since Dec. 3, the day she was charged with the murder along with her husband, Sam Collins, 38. As of Tuesday afternoon, she was still there.
The murder charges followed Cherol's death Oct. 28 on the back porch of his 39 Pinecrest Way home. Bluffton Police arrested the couple after officers recovered the shotgun believed to have been used in the killing following a month-long investigation, Lt. Joseph Babkiewicz said in December at a police department press conference.
Police declined to say specifically where the weapon was recovered beyond that it was found outside the Pinecrest neighborhood. Police have also not disclosed a motive in the case.
At that time, Sam Collins was already being held at the detention center on drug, burglary and auto theft charges. He was arrested on those earlier charges Nov. 4.
A bond hearing for Sam Collins is expected sometime this week, according to 14th Circuit Deputy Solicitor Sean Thornton. He could not give a specific date and time.
Follow Caitlin Turner on Twitter at twitter.com/Cait_E_Turner.
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This story was originally published January 19, 2016 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Bond for one suspect in shotgun slaying of Bluffton restaurateur set at $35,000."