‘He was ripped from me’: Homicide victims and their families recognized in Spokane

Sabrina Meyer found out she had lost her brother when a detective in Vancouver, Washington, called and told her he was reaching out because, “You were the last person he spoke to.”

David Collins-Meyer, 42, was shot dead in the chest with a hunting arrow in April following an argument with someone he knew. He left for the West Side from Spokane to Vancouver to turn his life around, Sabrina Meyer said, when “he was ripped from me.”

“I actually have a voicemail that my daughter was able to save from her birthday last year where he’s singing in this high-pitched, atrocious, atrocious voice. But it’s so beautiful. And he would just make you giggle,” she said about her brother. “No matter what, he was calling in to check on us. He never forgot anything … He was our big brother.”

Meyer, who lives locally, attended an event Wednesday at Spokane’s Public Safety Building, held by county employees in honor of the National Day of Remembrance for Homicide Victims. There, she sported a shirt with her brother’s face and name for all to see.

She listened as Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Preston McCollam told the crowd that the office’s caseloads have increased throughout the year, that nearly every corner of Spokane has been gripped by crime in some way, that most people in the courthouse have seen violent crime up close, and that it’s even worse for the families who are missing a loved one.

She listened to him say that often, that victims of crime or their families feel like they don’t have a voice in the matter. She thinks he’s right.

On Collins-Meyer’s birthday, she sent a photo of him to the victim’s advocate in Clark County who was handling the case.

“I said. ‘He would have been 43 today.’ And she didn’t get back to me for two weeks,” Meyer said. “They have a caseload, and I get that. But I have struggled to get a response.”

Congress dedicated the national day in remembrance in 2007. Meyer didn’t know about it, but she saw a post on Facebook and decided to show up in memory of her brother.

“It’s very important to me and to the office to make sure that our advocates, our prosecutors and those that support them … and making sure that we take care of the victims, the survivors and keep them informed,” Spokane County Prosecutor Larry Haskell said to the crowd Wednesday. “I try to tell victims’ family members that the criminal justice system will never mend broken lives – but what we do owe you is the information, the support and that we will do everything that we can.”

Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels, who also spoke Wednesday, told the crowd that he often considers investigating a homicide “God’s work” because of how complicated and tragic it is.

“Law enforcement want you to know that the justice system is for victims first and foremost, and we will keep fighting every day to make sure that justice is served to those who choose to take the life of another or victimize someone else,” he said.

While law enforcement and prosecutors continue working their cases, Meyer has to continue fighting for her brother. For every court hearing, she’s there on Zoom, she said, except for a time when attorneys forgot to mention the hearing was changed. She can’t continually drive from Spokane to Vancouver, but she wants his alleged killer to see her and to know she’s watching, so the forgetfulness hurt her, she said through tears.

“They say, ‘Don’t reach out to the prosecutor attorneys, because they’ll just tell you to come to me.’ Well, it’s two weeks later … I’m not being heard,” Meyer said. “I just want them to know, please don’t leave me in the dust … Please answer my calls, please give me something.”