It’s been one month since Deborah Collier’s body was found off Highway 441 near Tallulah Falls and now federal investigators are involved.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has joined the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office in its probe of the murder.
Chief Deputy Murray Kogod said the county is hopeful those federal resources will help local investigators solve the Athens woman's murder.
“The FBI has the ability to reach to resources at a federal level, whether it be search warrants or whether it be more advanced technology, when it comes to different aspects of the investigation than we would have at the county level,” Kogod said. “So, if at all possible, we would love to take advantage of those resources and be able to utilize them to assist us in getting the information we need to determine motive and possible people of interest.”
When the FBI offered its help last week, Kogod said the county gratefully accepted.
“We of course invited them to come look over everything and they have so now we're just waiting to see what area or areas of the investigation they can provide us assistance with to identify a possible motive and to determine if the persons of interest that we need to identify can be identified in moving toward solving this case,” Kogod said.
Collier’s partially-burned body was found Sept. 11 off U.S. 441 / Ga. 15 near Victory Home Lane just south of Tallulah Falls.
The case has gained national and even international attention, and Kogod asks anyone who had contact with Deborah Collier the weekend of Sept. 10-11 to contact investigators.
While the FBI is involved in the case, the Habersham County Sheriff's Office is leading the investigation.
