Mystery Woman Who Rang Doorbells Said She Was Assaulted, Broke Free of Restraints

The woman who appeared in a surveillance video that sparked international headlines has spoken to police.

The woman’s dead boyfriend was identified as 49-year-old Dennis Ray Collins, who was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office in Texas told ABC News on Aug. 30

ABC13 reported that records show Collins pleaded guilty to abusing another girlfriend back in 2000.

According to police, she was tied up by Collins and was sexually assaulted. She managed to break free and rang the doorbells of two neighbors.

When the neighbors didn’t answer the rings, she went back to Collins’ house and went to Dallas, Texas, to be with her family.

On Aug. 29, the ex-wife of Collins contacted the police and told them that she had recognized the woman in the video, saying it was the girlfriend of her ex-husband. Meanwhile, she told police that Collins had sent her text messages that made her worried that he may harm himself.

“The allegations are that she was tied up by Mr. Collins and so she went to seek help,” Montgomery County Sheriff’s Lt. Scott Spencer told ABC13.

The woman in the video is still with family in Dallas, recovering from the ordeal, ABC reported.

“She’s very distraught about this, she’s embarrassed, she’s upset, she’s in shock that it’s come to this, so we’re giving her her time and we’re staying in communication with her to get further details,”  Spencer told ABC.

Collins wrote a suicide note saying that he was aware of the surveillance video’s national attention, saying that he was responsible for the state that the woman was in. “He admitted to what he did to her, so that played into circumstances of committing suicide,” Spencer told ABC13.

“Looking at the video itself, it’s alarming when you see somebody come up to a door at 3 o'clock in the morning in those conditions,” said Spencer. “I think it’s great that not only the public but the world took interest and tried to make sure that she was safe.”

What Should Residents Do in a Similar Situation?

“Answer the door but call from the other side of the door don’t actually open the door. Unfortunately, times have changed from yesterday so you have to be very careful we have had a lot of home invasions,” Spencer told Click2Houston.

He said that if the person needs someone to help, offer to call 911.

Near Toronto, Canada, a similar situation unfolded on Aug. 23 when a woman could be seen ringing a doorbell at 2:50 a.m. That woman was safely located, but police are searching for a suspect, Jonathan McLennan.

“The door was not answered, but video surveillance shows an unknown male suspect, armed with what appears to be a handgun, exiting a vehicle parked out front on the roadway. The suspect had an altercation with the victim on the front porch of the residence and dragged her back to his vehicle by her hair and drove away. The male can be heard in the video threatening to kill the victim,” said police in a statement.

READ MORE

• Police Release Video of Abduction North of Toronto