Photo by Michael Galkovsky
A white University of Maryland student accused of killing Army Lt. Richard Collins III on the school’s College Park campus is being charged with a hate crime.
Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks announced on Tuesday that a grand jury returned the hate crime charge against Sean Urbanski, who was also charged in July with one count of murder in the case.
Early on, officials said that he was a member of a Facebook group that posts racist content. Alsobrooks said Tuesday that authorities reviewed digital evidence, including Urbanski’s computer and phone, that led them to believe that Collins was targeted for being black.
“We believe that Lt. Collins was murdered—it was unjustified, it was premeditated, and it was as a result of his race,” she said.
Prosecutors were already seeking life without parole for the murder charge. The hate crime charge would add 20 years to that sentence.
The FBI is still determining whether federal officials will pursue hate crime charges in the case, as well.
The murder happened on May 20—two days after Collins was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He was slated to graduate from Bowie State University the following week, but his father accepted the diploma in his place.
Police said that around 3 a.m. Urbanski, who was a U-Md. student at the time, approached Collins and a group of friends. They said Urbanski screamed to move out of his way, but Collins refused.
Urbanski then stabbed Collins in the chest and fled, according to police, who arrested Urbanski nearby after he was identified by witnesses. Collins was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
In response to the murder, UMD’s president announced several steps to tackle hate-bias incidents, which continue to persist on campus. Last week, officials said that they are investigating three recent incidents involving a swastika and other offensive marks found in a dining hall. Less than a week earlier, they announced that a 52-year-old man was charged in connection to another swastika that was reported outside of a residence hall.
On Tuesday, U-Md. officials released a statement saying that the Collins family “remains in our thoughts, following their tragic loss.”
Alsobrooks said at the press conference that “it is our great hope that we will bring peace and healing to the family in the case.” She also acknowledged that there may not be “anything that can ever be done to really completely heal a wound like this.”
Urbanski is slated to go to trial in January.
