No Hate Crime Charges In The Death Of Bowie Student Richard Collins III

The 22-year-old white man who is accused of stabbing black Bowie State University student Richard Collins III to death in May won’t face hate crime charges.

Collins died after Sean Urbanski allegedly attacked him with a knife at a University of Maryland bus stop three days before he was set to graduate from college. The unprovoked killing, captured on a security camera, was investigated by local police and the FBI as a hate crime. Officials found that Urbanski was a part of a racist Facebook group called “Alt-Reich Nation,” CBS Baltimore reports. Yet Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks said there wasn’t enough information to add the murder charge.

“Developing a motive is always a challenging aspect of a case. In this case, and in any other case, you can’t get it wrong,” she said at a press conference on Thursday. 

The investigation is ongoing, according to NBC Washington . Alsobrooks added that officials are still in the process of seizing Urbanski’s digital equipment. If new information found warrants it, there’s a possibility Urbanski could face hate crime charges in the future. 

Urbanski is currently facing one count of murder for the death of Collins. Prosecutors will seek a life sentence without parole, the local outlet reports.

Collins, who served in the ROTC, had just been commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army before he was killed. Bowie State honored the 23-year-old during their May 23 commencement when they draped his graduation gown over a front row seat in his remembrance.