The 2005 abduction, sexual molestation and murder of Katie Collman will be the subject of another TV documentary. A production crew with LMNO (Leave My Name Off) Productions was in Crothersville and other parts of Jackson County last week to conduct interviews and video the area, according to Annette Lassen, producer for the series “Unusual Suspects” aired on the Investigation Discovery Network.
“In order to tell the story of Katie Collman as accurately as possible, we will be shooting some scenes and interviews in the Crothersville area,” said Lassen.
Producers wanted to use the Crothersville Fire Station, which was a command post during the investigation, but the local facility was already reserved for fire training and was not available, according to Crothersville-Vernon Township VFD Chief Lynn Howard.
According to a Brownstown town official, the video crew used the upstairs of the Brownstown Town Hall for the command post re-enactment.
Ironically, the filming was taking place during the six year anniversary of the investigation.
Ten-year-old Katlyn ‘Katie’ Collman was reported missing on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2005 and found dead in a creek near Cypress Lake north of Seymour five days later. Three days after finding her body, police arrested Charles ‘Chuckie’ Hickman of Crothersville for her murder after Hickman claimed the little girl was abducted to scare her and keep her quiet about drug activities she witnessed at the some apartments in Crothersville.
Hickman’s claims were later proved to be false and it was proved that Collman’s death had nothing to do with drug activity. The ordeal focused the community’s attention on drug use and resulted in numerous police crackdowns on meth labs in the area.
In early April 2005, after DNA results were complete, police arrested Anthony Stockelman of Seymour, charging him with Collman’s sexual molestation and murder. Stockelman later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Lassen said that Unusual Suspects’ is in its second season and is a true-crime, documentary series that showcases some of the most notable and challenging investigations in contemporary law enforcement.
“Each one-hour episode will profile adjudicated cases that were anything but ‘cut and dry’ with twists and turns, multiple suspects, and the unlikely culprits who almost got away with it,” she said.
Stories utilize news footage, recorded 911 calls, home videos, and re-creations and are told through eyewitnesses, victims and their families, and the investigators who took part in these complex cases, she said.
This will be the second documentary on the Collman murder. A Canadian production company earlier produced “The Menthol Murderer” (named due to the unique cigarette Stockelman smoked and threw down at Cypress Lake when led to his arrest) for the Crime Stories series.
Information on LMNO Productions in Encino, California can be found on the web at www.lmno.com.
