KPEL Exclusive: Woman Accused of Lying About Being Raped and Held Hostage
St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz says that a woman who knocked on the door of a camp in his parish told the lady that answered the door that she had been held hostage in the woods for three weeks and raped.
Major Eddie Thibodeaux says the Sheriff's investigators have told them that the woman, 37-year-old Candice Collier of Irvington, Alabama, lied.
Officials say that Collier has been arrested and charged with 'Felony False Swearing For Purpose Of Violating Public Health And Safety'. Her male companion, who was shot by the property owner's son, is still in the hospital after being grazed on the side of the head by a bullet.
Authorities say Collier was knocking on the door of the camp in the Krotz Springs area to see if anyone was there. They say her companion, David Atkins, was walking at the back of the property when the son of the woman who lives there pulled up in his boat.
Thibodeaux says Atkins raised his gun and fired at the son. The son shot back in self defense and ended up grazing Atkins on the side of the head.
The investigation started Wednesday afternoon after two separate calls came into the Sheriff's Office about things happening at the camp. One call was the woman who owns the property reporting to police about the visitor's claims of sexual assault, and the second call was from the son saying that a trespasser was on the property.
Here are some snap shots of items believed to be stolen by the two: