What were the final trial outcomes or sentencing for Travis J. Collins in the Ashley Sarazen case?

1. The verdict: jury convicts Collins of murder after high‑profile trial

Jurors found Travis Collins guilty in the Dauphin County trial for the August 2023 death of Ashley Sarazen, a case that drew extended testimony and graphic crime‑scene evidence during an August 2025 trial ^{[5] [6] [1]}. Reporting describes the moment after the verdict as explosive and emotional, with relatives shouting at Collins in the courtroom and one relative told him to “burn in hell,” underscoring the intensity of reaction to the jury’s decision ^[1].

2. Charges beyond murder: prosecutors added sexual‑assault counts

Prosecutors did not limit their case to murder; forensic examination produced injuries prosecutors said were compatible with sexual assault, and forcible rape and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse counts were added to the indictment before trial ^[3]. Photographic and physical evidence from the hotel room, including items catalogued by investigators and described at trial, figured in the prosecution’s broader narrative of sexual violence followed by a lethal beating ^[5].

3. Collins’ defense: self‑defense claim and contesting the circumstances

Collins told police he acted in self‑defense — at one point saying the victim struck him with a phone and that he was defending himself — and court filings show he “contested the circumstances of the crime but not that he did it,” meaning his team disputed how events unfolded even while he acknowledged involvement ^{[1] [4]}. That strategy — accepting responsibility for the act while arguing legal justification or differing sequence of events — was a central feature of pretrial filings and testimony ^{[4] [7]}.

4. Sentencing: life behind bars and a judge’s stark rebuke

At sentencing, the court imposed life imprisonment, a punishment family members said they wanted so Collins would “sit in prison and think” about the killing, and the judge described Collins’ actions in the strongest terms — calling them “demonic” and among the worst injuries he’d seen in four decades on the bench — language quoted in local reporting ^[2]. Coverage characterizes the sentence as the culmination of a trial in which prosecutors sought first‑degree murder convictions and a jury agreed with the state’s theory of a brutal, intentional killing ^{[2] [5]}.

5. Scene, evidence and public record that shaped outcome

Police reports and courtroom testimony detailed blood at the scene, Collins’ admission to officers on the scene, and physical evidence gathered by forensics, including a sex‑themed coin photographed in the hotel room and numerous crime‑scene photos introduced at trial — all items jurors weighed in reaching their verdict ^{[5] [8] [7]}. Local outlets tracked the case from the initial arrest and denial of bail through adding rape counts and finally jury selection and trial testimony that led to conviction and sentencing ^{[9] [3] [6]}.

6. Standards, alternate views and reporting limits

While reporting documents a guilty verdict and life sentence, defense arguments about self‑defense and contesting particulars of the encounter were reported and presented at trial, and appellate rights or post‑conviction motions remain possible though not covered in the cited reports; available sources do not provide information about appeals, resentencing petitions, or final disposition of the rape counts beyond their inclusion in the indictment ^{[4] [3]}. The record in reporting is clear that Collins was convicted and sentenced to life, but further procedural steps after sentencing are not documented in the supplied sources.