Police: Homicide suspect spared 4 out of ‘love’

SCRANTON – Randall R. Rushing, who police say is responsible for Thursday’s triple homicide in Lackawanna County, told investigators he could not remember the killings because he blacked out, according to arrest records.

Authorities identified the victims as Justin Berrios, 21, Dustin Hintz, 22, and Leslie Collier, 16. They were found inside a home at 1604 S. Irving Ave., Scranton, before 7 a.m. Thursday.

Police said four people – Cynthia Collier, 43, her son Matthew Collier, 21, his sister, Samantha Hintz, 19, and her 2-year-old son, Tristan Berrios – were found unharmed in the house.

Rushing, 25, allegedly used a handgun to order the victims into submission, police said. He bound them and used carpentry hammers and knives to bludgeon and assault them.

Autopsies revealed the three victims died from multiple stab wounds and blunt-force trauma.

During questioning by Detective James Pappas, Rushing was asked why he didn’t kill the four others in the house.

“My love for them kept me from killing them … If I let them live they are telling the truth,” Rushing said, according to arrest records.

Police suspect a romantic relationship between Samantha Hintz and Rushing is a motive behind the killings, arrest records indicate.

According to the criminal complaint filed by Pappas and Detective Michael Schultz:

Hintz and Rushing were involved in an on-again, off-again romantic relationship. Rushing was renting an area in the basement of the South Irving Avenue home.

Last weekend, police said, Hintz indicated she intended to end the relationship with Rushing. Rushing left the home for a few days but returned on Tuesday.

At 6:53 a.m. Thursday, Scranton police responded to the residence for a reported shooting with multiple victims. The call came from a female within the home. Cynthia Collier was standing in the front doorway with her hands handcuffed behind her back, police said.

Officers Robert Stelmak and Jamie Smith entered the house and found large amounts of blood throughout the first floor. A body of a male was found lying near the kitchen and appeared to have suffered severe blunt-force trauma injuries. In a nearby bedroom, officers found Matthew Collier tied and bound, and lying on his bed.

Additional officers called to the scene found Samantha Hintz, with hands and legs bound, sitting on the bed of a second-floor bedroom. On the floor next to her was the body of Justin Berrios, police said. Their 2-year-old son, Tristan, was found alone in a crib in the next bedroom. Berrios was at the Scranton home babysitting Tristan.

Around 4:30 a.m., Cynthia Collier’s son Leslie came into his mother’s bedroom and said he was stabbed. She tried calling 911 but was ordered to the floor by Rushing, who was pointing a silver handgun at them. Cynthia Collier told police Rushing said to her “I’m going to give Samantha something she’ll remember.”

Matthew Collier, who police said is handicapped, could not get out of bed and was tied up. Cynthia Collier was forced into Matthew’s room, where both were left bound and gagged. Cynthia Collier’s other son, Dustin Hintz, came up from the basement, court papers said. Cynthia Collier told police she heard Rushing beating Dustin in another room.

At one point, Matthew Collier asked Rushing why he was doing this, the affidavit states. Rushing replied “I knew she cheated on me; I should’ve slept with someone else too,” police said. He told police Rushing was extremely jealous and suspected Samantha Hintz of having sexual relations with other men.

Samantha Hintz arrived home from work around 5:45 a.m. and was met at the front door by Rushing, the document states. The two went to an upstairs bedroom, and when they got there, Rushing told her he wanted to play “cops and robbers,” the affidavit states. There was a struggle, police said.