Travis collins murder trial
Executive summary
Travis Collins, a Berks County man, is on trial in Dauphin County for the August 2023 beating and death of Ashley Sarazen at the Harrisburg Hilton, with prosecutors pursuing first‑degree murder as well as multiple sexual‑assault charges [1] [2] [3]. The prosecution has presented detailed injury and physical‑evidence testimony, the defense declined to call witnesses at the close of a four‑day trial, and jury deliberations and sentencing outcomes remained pending at the time of reporting [3] [4].
1. Background: the incident, arrest and arraignment
Authorities say the victim, identified as Ashley Sarazen, was found dead after an Aug. 4, 2023, incident in a guest room at the Hilton on Second Street in Harrisburg; police report finding Collins with blood on his hands and allege he punched and strangled the woman after confronting her about his wallet [1] [2]. Following his arrest, court filings added forcible rape and forcible involuntary deviate sexual intercourse (IDSI) charges alongside the homicide count, according to earlier reporting of the charging documents [5] [3].
2. The charges and the scope of the prosecution’s case
Dauphin County prosecutors are seeking a first‑degree murder conviction and have pursued related sexual‑assault charges, arguing the killing involved severe physical violence and sexual assault; prosecutors presented autopsy findings and photographs documenting internal and external injuries as part of their case [3]. Testimony cited an autopsy that found dozens of injuries and “severe trauma to her organs,” which prosecutors used to characterize the killing as violent and intentional [3].
3. Key evidence highlighted at trial
Prosecutors introduced multiple pieces of physical evidence and testimony, including photographs of injuries and a sex‑themed coin they said Collins left behind, which they argued linked him to the hotel room and the assault [3]. Investigators testified to visible blood on Collins when they encountered him, and medical testimony described 76 injuries to Sarazen’s body, a detail emphasized during days of witness testimony [1] [3].
4. Defense approach and courtroom developments
By the close of the four‑day trial the defense elected not to call any witnesses on Collins’s behalf, a tactical choice reported as the defense rested without presenting affirmative counter‑testimony [4]. Jury selection had begun earlier in the proceedings in Dauphin County, and the trial schedule ran into multiple days of testimony as the prosecution unfolded its case [1] [2] [3].
5. Current status and what remains unresolved in reporting
At the end of the reported proceedings, the trial had run several days with the prosecution resting and the defense declining to present witnesses; continuing expected activity included deliberations and any post‑trial motions or sentencing if a verdict were reached, but the reporting does not include a final verdict or sentence [4] [3]. The available reporting covers testimony and exhibits through the close of the four‑day trial but does not provide jury verdict details or appeals activity, so those outcomes remain unreported in the provided sources [4].
6. Wider context and caveats
Reporting also underscores the risk of name confusion: separate news stories document other criminal trials involving men named Travis Collins in different states, which are unrelated to the Dauphin County case and highlight the need to rely on location and case specifics when researching [6] [7]. This account confines itself to the Dauphin County trial coverage in the provided reporting; any factual claims beyond what those sources cover cannot be confirmed here and therefore are not asserted.