What did the victims say to Travis J. Collins in the Ashley Sarazen case?

1. Collins’ immediate statements to police and the 911 dispatcher — blunt, dismissive and self-reporting

Within hours of Sarazen’s death Collins placed a 911 call and spoke to responding officers, telling the dispatcher he believed he had "broke[n] her neck" and later telling police, according to testimony, "You think I give a [expletive] about that dead girl?" — comments prosecutors used to portray him as indifferent and dismissive of the woman he had just beaten and strangled ^{[1] [2]}. On-scene accounts also record Collins telling officers he and the victim had "an altercation" and that "she was now dead," framing his initial narrative as an incident that had already concluded when police arrived ^[4].

2. Collins’ version of events — self-defense, shifting details, and the phone blow claim

Collins repeatedly gave accounts that framed his conduct as defensive: he told police Sarazen hit him over the head with a hotel phone and that, after he punched her back, he "ultimately strangled her to death" while pinning her by the neck to the floor, a sequence that he portrayed as a reaction to her alleged attack ^[5]. Court records referenced by multiple outlets note that his story changed about when and why he struck Sarazen, and prosecutors emphasized inconsistencies as they built their case ^{[2] [6]}.

3. Derogation and minimization — Collins’ post-killing language about Sarazen

Beyond describing the physical sequence, Collins is reported to have disparaged Sarazen, repeatedly and falsely labeling her a sex worker and using dehumanizing phrases like "that thing" and allegedly saying "it's some fat hooker," according to police testimony and press coverage — rhetoric that the victim’s family says compounded their grief and sought to tarnish Sarazen’s reputation after her death ^{[3] [7]}. Prosecutors and family members highlighted those comments in court as evidence of malice and callousness ^[3].

4. Victim-impact statements and family confrontation — naming him a ‘monster’

At sentencing and during the trial, Sarazen’s family packed the courtroom and delivered forceful victim-impact statements, calling Collins a "monster" who preyed on Ashley’s empathetic nature; her sister Shannon Distilo explicitly rejected Collins’ characterizations of Ashley and stated, "That thing was Ashley. My baby sister and my best friend. My person in this life," confronting the defendant with the human person behind the headlines ^[3]. Relatives publicly expressed their contempt in the courthouse — one relative shouted "Burn in hell!" after the verdict, underscoring the intensity of their condemnation ^[8].

5. Corroborating and contrasting official findings — sexual assault charges and Collins’ acceptance of responsibility for the killing

Medical and prosecutorial developments added context to what was said: a forensic pathologist identified injuries compatible with sexual assault, prompting added charges of forcible rape and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse against Collins, which prosecutors presented alongside his statements to argue a pattern of violence and exploitation ^[9]. Collins has said he will not contest that he killed Sarazen, contesting only the circumstances — a legal stance noted during pretrial proceedings and jury selection ^[10].

6. Limits of the reporting and contested narratives

The record compiled in reporting shows a clear pattern of Collins’ own admissions, derogatory language and the family’s denunciations, but the public reporting also reflects competing narratives: Collins’ self-defense account, changing explanations about the sequence of violence, and the prosecution’s emphasis on sexual assault and dehumanizing postures ^{[5] [9] [3]}. Where the sources document specific quotations and courtroom reactions, they do not provide exhaustive transcripts of every exchange between Collins and every victim-witness, so the summary relies strictly on the recorded statements and testimony cited in the cited reporting ^{[2] [4] [8]}.