Community devastated after San Tan Valley mother allegedly killed by son

SAN TAN VALLEY, AZ (AZFamily) – A San Tan Valley community remains in shock as loved ones reveal new details about the woman investigators say was killed by her son.

Mary Collier’s husband and one of her sons spoke to Arizona’s family off camera and said this loss is tragic, sudden and inexplicable.

The 38-year-old was a mother of four and will be greatly missed by all who knew her. Collier is remembered as kind, loving, caring and patient.

With Halloween decorations hanging all over this quiet San Tan Valley street, neighbors are struggling to understand how something truly terrifying happened as families prepare to trick-or-treat

“Many times yesterday my stomach was in knots thinking about why someone could be so hateful and mean to the person who brought them into this world,” said Jill Appleberry, a neighbor who lives just a few doors down from the Collier family.

The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office says Collier’s 18-year-old son killed her with an edged weapon in a nearby field, then left her body and called 911 to make it look like she had been kidnapped.

“Someone who clearly doesn’t want to be caught out for what he did because he has to make up a story and say something that isn’t true because he discovered some of it was fake. No one kidnapped his mother, he did it himself. Chokeberry said.

Collier’s husband told Arizona’s Family reporter Micaela Marshall that there was an argument Tuesday night and the mother and son walked together the next morning, hoping to resolve any lingering issues.

When the son came home alone, the man asked where she was, and he said his son’s story kept changing. They went looking for her together, but a jogger made the gruesome discovery a short time later.

“Disgust that another life has to be lost to violence,” Appleberry said. “As a mother, I feel sorry for the children because their older brother took away their mother and now they have to live without a mother.”

According to police, the suspect injured himself and was taken to hospital. Once released, he will be prosecuted for murder.

The man told me his son has no history of mental illness, and officers say he has had no previous run-ins with police.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family.

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