Police in Texas believe the suspect in the murder of a 23-year-old mother of two orchestrated his entire relationship with her, including her death, as revenge for the killing of his half brother four years ago.
As police in Seabrook, Texas continue their manhunt for the primary suspect in the murder of a 23-year-old mother of two, they’re now working off a belief that her death was part of an elaborate and twisted revenge plot.
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of 22-year-old Dawayland Hurst, as reported by ABC affiliate KTRK, for the murder of MaryJayne Collins. The father of her two children shares a shocking connection to the suspect.
On July 31, 2020, Hurst’s half-brother Diajwan Triplett was killed, with a man named Michael King convicted of that murder and sentenced to prison, per KTRK. It is King who is the father of Collins’ two children.
Police believe that Hurst’s entire relationship with Collins, which started in June 2024, was part of an elaborate revenge plot against King, with one particular video appearing to show him taunting King via FaceTime.
On October 4 at approximately 10 a.m., just hours before Collins’ body was found, King made a video call from prison, per KTRK. In the video, which was captured and subsequently sent to friends, Hurst can be seen taunting King and slapping his son.
In the days leading up to her death, Collins had told friends that Hurst was abusing her, with KTRK reporting that she showed them injuries, according to court records.
In the video, which is the last time Collins was seen alive, she is heard crying and telling Hurst to “get away from him,” according to CrimeOnline. The outlet further notes it is believed King made the call on a smuggled phone.
Video of the call made its way to King’s mother, who then posted on Facebook that someone should check on Collins, per the outlet. Friends seeing the post called 911, which led police to the apartment later that day.
Upon their arrival, police found Collins’ body; she had been stabbed to death. The outlet reports that both of her sons were physically okay, but scared. In a press release, the Seabrook Police Department said they have reason to believe Hurst was not only present at the time of Collins’ death, but that he “assaulted one of the victim’s children only minutes before officers arrived.”
The probable cause affidavit seen by CrimeOnline details a Ring doorbell camera capturing Hurst leaving the apartment just before 11 a.m. and taking an “evasive path.”
The ongoing investigation has led police to believe, per the outlet, that Hurst was “motivated to revenge the death of his brother” and “thus, befriended, abused and then murdered the victim who was the mother of Michael King’s children.”
The suspect is still at large.
Collins’ family told KTRK they want justice for her and that “Hurst needs to be arrested.” Her children will be raised by their grandmother, according to a GoFundMe set up by Collins’ cousin
