Who presented testimony at Travis Collins' trial?
Executive summary
The prosecution in the Dauphin County trial of Travis Collins called a range of witnesses that included prosecutors themselves presenting narrative openings, Harrisburg police investigators who described physical evidence and Collins’ statements, and medical/forensic testimony about the victim’s injuries; the defense chose not to present any witnesses at the close of the four‑day trial [1] [2] [3]. Local coverage shows the state’s case unfolded over multiple days with physical items — including a sex‑themed coin and photographs of injuries — introduced through police and forensic witnesses [2] [1].
1. Prosecution framed the case from the bench and to jurors
Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Zawisky led the prosecution’s narrative in court, telling jurors that Collins “brutally and savagely” beat Ashley Sarazen and recounting Collins’ alleged post‑crime remark that he didn’t care about the victim, which prosecutors say was told to Harrisburg police hours after the killing [1]. Local reporting attributes the opening narrative and characterization of facts directly to the Dauphin County prosecution team as they set out charges including first‑degree murder, rape and related sexual‑assault counts [1].
2. Harrisburg police investigators testified about statements and physical evidence
Harrisburg police officers and detectives were among the state’s central witnesses, testifying about finding Collins with blood on his hands, the circumstances at the Hilton guest room, and statements Collins allegedly made to officers after the homicide [4] [1]. Investigators also tied Collins to specific items and scene observations: police presented that Collins had a wallet with crude printing and that an item described as a sex‑themed coin — which prosecutors believe belonged to Collins — was introduced during testimony [2] [4].
3. Forensic and medical testimony detailed the victim’s injuries
Forensic testimony supplied the medical gravity of the case: reporting cites an autopsy finding of 76 injuries to the inside and outside of Ashley Sarazen’s body and mentions severe trauma to organs, details that were introduced through prior trial testimony and discussed by prosecutors during their multi‑day presentation [2]. A named investigator, Shetterly, tested and photographed irritated skin and scratches on Collins, including marks on his back and forehead, which prosecution witnesses used to connect physical evidence to the alleged assault [2].
4. Prosecutors used demonstrative items to bolster witness testimony
Beyond witness statements, the state introduced tangible items through witnesses on the stand: the sex‑themed coin was shown during hours of testimony, and photographic evidence of injuries was presented and discussed by investigators and medical witnesses to corroborate the timeline and nature of the assault [2]. Local articles emphasize that those exhibits were part of the Wednesday testimony in the multi‑day trial, underscoring how the prosecution paired witness recollection with physical evidence [2].
5. Defense strategy: no witness testimony for Collins
When the trial concluded after four days of evidence, Collins’ defense did not present any witnesses on his behalf; multiple local reports note explicitly that the defense rested without calling its own witnesses, leaving the prosecution’s witnesses and introduced exhibits unchallenged by rebuttal testimony [3]. That silence from the defense is documented in coverage describing the end of the trial and signals the factual record the jury weighed was largely composed of prosecution witnesses and physical evidence [3].
6. Limits of available public reporting and alternative perspectives
Available local reporting lists the prosecution team, police investigators, and forensic/medical witnesses as the principal testifiers and notes the absence of defense witnesses, but it does not provide a full clerical roster of every individual witness by name beyond a few (for example, Zawisky and Shetterly) nor does it quote every witness transcript in full; consequently, an exhaustive, line‑by‑line list of every person who took the stand cannot be compiled from these sources alone [1] [2] [3]. Alternative views and defense arguments were reported in broad strokes — the defense contested circumstances though, according to earlier reporting, Collins had not disputed that he killed Sarazen — but the public articles emphasize the prosecution’s witnesses and exhibits as the substance of the trial record [5] [3].