Vanessa Rose Nessie Collier, 43, was shot to death in the late afternoon of September 28, 2023, on a logging road off Flintfield Branch in the rural Linefork, Kentucky area. She was pregnant; her unborn child did not survive. Letcher County Coroner Perry Fowler pronounced her dead at the scene at 6:30 p.m.

Authorities identified 39-year-old Lawrence Eugene Halcomb, described as Collier’s ex-boyfriend, as the suspect. Reports say Collier’s then-current boyfriend went up the road to look for her and was shot at but not hit. Halcomb is alleged to have then shot Collier in the face at close range before fleeing into the woods. Local residents experienced unease as law enforcement, including Kentucky State Police, conducted an extensive ground and air search.

Halcomb was already wanted on two felony warrants at the time, including one for the strangulation of his ex-wife, and was later arrested. A Letcher County Grand Jury indicted him on charges including murder-domestic violence, first-degree fetal homicide, first-degree robbery, and tampering with physical evidence for allegedly disposing of Collier’s cell phone and shell casings, along with additional indictments for prior assault and strangulation incidents.

If anyone was in the Linefork area that afternoon or has information about Vanessa’s last movements, please come forward.