The Girl Next Door
Headline from the Polaris County weekly Reporter, July 19, 2023:
WOMAN FOUND RAN OVER OUTSIDE HOME SUCCUMBS TO INJURIES
From the transcript of Detective Washburn’s first interview with Abel Kingsley (July 17, 2023):
Q. You and Ms. Sheriza Collins were an item, were you not?
A. We were, sir.
Q. Aren’t you a little old for? She was nineteen and you… says here you are twenty-five years old.
A. Well, I, uh –
Q. How did that come about?
A. I knew her because she dated my friend first. We all hung out together, became good friends. Sometimes I was the third wheel, sometimes our friend, Hoss, came with us. When Tobey and Sherry didn’t work out, Sherry and me kept on being friends. One thing led to another and suddenly we were dating. It wasn’t anything crazy or weird or creepy, I swear. She’s technically of age… sir.
Q. Yes, she is of age, technically, and that isn’t why you’re here.
A. Why am I here?
Q. Can you tell me where you were the night of Saturday, July 15th?
A. Wait, you don’t think I did it? You don’t think I ran her over, right?
Q. Well, can you tell me where you were the night your girlfriend was run down in your vehicle?
A. I was at her house, but just for a little bit. We argued that night. It got kind of heated, I admit it, but I didn’t run her over. I swear. I just walked off. I never put my hands on her. We’d been arguing a lot lately and I realized that was the better option, walking away.
Q. The night your girlfriend was killed, what were you two arguing about?
A. Hoss. We were arguing about Hoss Dawson.
From Tobey Jackson’s guest essay “Hindsight” on the true crime blog The Death Knell (March 2024):
…Hoss and I met in high school. It was the summer before our freshman year, and Abel’s younger brother, Aldwin, invited us both, and bunch of others, to a spot he and some other hooligans found exploring the woods near the school. We had to walk down an overgrown path until we reached train tracks. Hoss, I remember, was afraid that a train might come rushing around the bend and take us out. He stayed as far away from the tracks as he could without climbing up back into the brush or down into more vegetation. We had to climb down a steep, narrow muddy hill, and I busted my ass trying to keep my feet under me, but it was worth it.
Aldwin and his gang of misfits had found a stream, which they dammed up and turned into a little pool. There were two rocks which rose high on either side of the stream right at its mouth, which made for prime jumping. Somehow, we all ended up skinny dipping. It was weird, but it was fun. Innocent. I always used to bring that up to Hoss, you know? Like, “Hey, the first time we met, we saw each other’s assholes. We’re stuck together.”
All throughout high school, we were best friends. He lived with his grandmother and she loved me. In fact, she’d be the one to suggest I sleep over when I would stay late at their house. Hoss introduced me to his friend, Amber, and we dated on and off for three years, and he seemed supportive throughout the relationship. To date, my relationship with Amber is my longest relationship, and I have Hoss to thank for that. She was a big bitch, but he was a great mediator.
Maybe that was something I should have taken heed of. Hoss was always single, but gave great relationship advice.
I started dating Sherry after he went off to college. She and her best friend Amanda had dated on the periphery of our friend group; it was only matter of time before they made their way to us. Hoss and I stayed close, but he didn’t really come around while Sherry and I dated. He was bust with school and everything. But while he was away, she and her family moved from Torrington to Polaris County, into the house right next to Hoss’s grandma’s. A weird turn of events, if you ask me.
Soon after that I broke up with Sherry. She was your typical teenage crazy. Checking my phone. Going through social media. Wanting my location. Needing to know at all times who I was with, and if she didn’t believe me, she’d want to speak with them. None of my friends were females. I was scared she’d try to kill them. Sherry and Amber even threw hands once in the Brass Mill Center parking lot out in Waterbury. Amber had sent me a text that said “Happy birthday.”
Sherry took the breakup badly. She hit me up constantly. When I wouldn’t answer my phone, she would call or text through Facebook and Instagram. I couldn’t handle the crazy, so I blocked her every time she reached out. My sanity was numero uno in my book. Eventually, she gave up. I thought – hoped, really – that she got the picture, understood that I wanted nothing to do with her. Abel told me the message was clear, and that Sherry was, and I quote, “a psycho bitch.”
After not getting texts and calls from random and blocked numbers for a few weeks, I thought the coast was clear. Hoss and Abel did, too. Sure, she lived next door to Hoss, but that wouldn’t stop me from seeing my boy. And that was the plan when Hoss invited us over for the standard young adult bro sleepover. Videogames. Junk food. Horror movies. I arrived first, as usual.
When Abel showed up, however, Sherry was on his arm. Hoss and I acted like it was cool, and for me, I think it was. I wanted nothing to do with her anymore, but if Abel wanted her, even after knowing what I went through, then good for him. He was desperate to get laid like that. It was harder on Hoss, though, for sure. Abel didn’t stay the night like he was supposed to. He stayed at Sherry’s house, right next door.
Statement from Amanda Matos to the Hartford Courant (published March 5, 2024):
“Was she in love with Abel? Love? I mean, I wouldn’t call it love. But we were young, you know? I think she liked being around Tobey, and that group of people. She got accustomed to it. There was nothing wrong with Abel, but love it was not. And I think he knew that. Maybe not on the surface, but deep down where he keeps all his secrets, he knew it. The sex is what probably made it okay for him. Sherry and Abel fucked like all the time.”
From The Complete Journals of Hoss Dawson (published February 2024, Scribner):
5/12/23
I’m finally home for the summer. My freshman year was something, let me tell you. I really enjoy my psychology classes, but English still has my heart. I think I may double major. If I focus, I can do it. But for now, I am ready for a hot boy summer with the guys.
Abel is supposed to come by around four. I haven’t seen him in months. Every time I come home, he’s busy with Sherry. Tobey thinks it’s weird, that she’s using Abel to get close him, but he won’t tell Abel. He doesn’t want to burst Abel’s bubble. I get that, really. This is the first time a woman’s been this interested in him since God knows when. Usually, they just want a ride or for him to fix their cars. Good for him, though, I guess.
This summer is going to be great. I can feel it. Starting with tonight, I’ll make sure it’s one I remember forever.
5/12/23 (later)
It’s six o’clock and still no sign of Abel. No texts or calls. Tobey and his brother Alwin haven’t heard from him either. He’s probably with Sherry, but I hope he’s all right. Maybe he just lost track of time. He does that a lot, the fucking airhead. He –
Abel just called. Said he lost track of time (what did I say? lol). He and Sherry were just out joyriding, he said. He’s bringing her tonight. He didn’t really ask. It was more like telling me. It was supposed to be just the boys, though. Whatever.
From the transcript of Detective Washburn’s second interview with Abel Kingsley (July 20, 2023):
Q. I need to know when shit hit the fan with you and Sheriza. Spare me no details, son, she’s dead now. This was already a serious matter, and now it couldn’t get any more serious. Tell me everything.
A. Hoss and Sherry, they didn’t get along. At first they did. But things started to go downhill. He didn’t want Sherry around anymore, but that, for me, wasn’t acceptable. She was my girlfriend, you know? She had a right to go wherever I went. Hoss thought she was using me to get to Tobey, so he confronted her about it. It was easy to do, them living next door to each other, and all.
Q. Were you there for this confrontation?
A. No, but Sherry confirmed everything he told me.
Q. And when was this?
A. The end of June, sir. I think the twenty-fifth or -sixth.
Q. What happened during this confrontation?
A. Hoss accused her of, well, fucking me to make me her slave. She told him she was thinking of ending our relationship because she felt smothered. Sherry said I always insisted on being around or texting, and it was unbearable. But what can I say, man? I loved her. I still do. She… she… said I was obsessed with her and everybody saw it, except me. I… I….
Q. Do you need a break?
A. Please.
[There is a cut in the audio. When it resumes, Kingsley has regained his composure.]
Q. Why did Hoss Dawson care so much, Mr. Kingsley?
A. I don’t know. Maybe he felt like Sherry was stealing me away from him. Me and Sherry hung out a lot. Guess I was smothering her then, too. Hoss was jealous.
Q. Now what would make you say that?
From The Complete Journals of Hoss Dawson (published February 2024, Scribner):
5/21/22
I really don’t know if I should be writing about this… but I need to tell someone about last night, and I have no one else. No one I can trust, at least.
The actual Homecoming dance was definitely not my style. I had to rent a tux and it was itchy and didn’t fit right. It was fun to hang out with my friends, though. Seeing them all dressed in their suits and dresses and dancing made me happy. If they’re happy, I’m happy.
What I really want to talk about is the afterparty. Misty had everyone over to her place, and of course, there were drinks and some pot. Abel was there, even though he graduated years ago. He might be older, but he’s one of us, through and through. My grandma still thinks he’s too old for me to hang around, but what does she know? Times are different.
Late into the night, I stumbled into a backroom and Abel was sitting alone at a piano bench, just tapping away on the keys. He looked sad; his head hung low. I slid over to him, and I don’t know why, but I sat on his lap and it all poured out of him, like a waterfall.
“Why didn’t she want me?”
I had no idea what to say. I didn’t know who he was talking about.
“She left us all,” he went on. “How can someone just up and leave their whole family, fly across the country, and start a new life with some dude they met on the internet?”
Then it clicked. Abel and Aldwin’s mother had left them and their father months earlier. The whole thing was quick, but messy. This was the first time I saw him get emotional about it. He started crying, sobbing and shaking while I sat on his lap. There were no words for the kind of pain that species of abandonment brings, so I said nothing. We held each other in silence as he let out all the hurt he’d be bottling up. It was bound to burst, and now, as he buried his head into my chest, it did.
Many of us were too drunk to drive home, so a lot of people stayed over. Me and Abel found ourselves in that piano room, lying on the floor under some found blanket, surrounded by a bunch of passed out high schoolers. I cuddled up close to him. He put an arm around me. I placed my hand low on his stomach.
After a while like that he said, “Can I take my pants off?”
Confused that he asked me permission, I said, “Sure.”
Off came his pants and my hand crept lower, and groped the considerable tent he was pitching in his boxer briefs. I’m still a virgin, but touching led to… Well, I think you get the picture.
And yes, I am just as shocked as you are.
Facebook post from Misty McKenna (April 2024):
“Since everyone keeps asking me, we all knew Hoss preferred men. He never came out & said it, but we knew. It was like a unspoken open secret. But Abel????? We had no idea he was [painted nails emoji], but honestly who the fuck cares?? Its the roarin 20s. Hell, one time I kissed a girl and even liked it. Katy Perry said it best. If you really wanna question something, let’s talk about Hoss’s parents selling his diary to the book publisher. Sick!!!!!!”
From Tobey Jackson’s guest essay “Hindsight” on the true crime blog The Death Knell (March 2024):
…Things were rough for a bit. There was obvious tension whenever we were all together. Sherry and I had our past, Hoss and Sherry had their own problems. Abel and Sherry had some issues, too.
Sherry was super outgoing, and I guess that could come off as flirtatious to an outsider, or to a man who is madly in love with you. Abel hated how much she interacted with other men on social media. If she was on her phone too long while they were together, he’d snatch it from her. He was controlling in that aspect. Abel let his emotions get the best of him when it came to Sherry, which was weird because he was usually reserved. His mother fucked off to Arizona and he didn’t shed a single tear. But with Sherry, everything kind of set him off. Once at a park, he pulled her away into a copse by the arm, and she resisted weakly but went along. I could hear them shouting back and forth. Sherry came out first. After a few minutes and one final guttural grunt, Abel returned. The knuckles on his right hand were bloody.
When Hoss told Abel what Sherry had said about his attachment issues, and how she thought he was clingy, and wanted to break it off, he lost it. He started throwing shit around the room; he broke the lamp his mother had bought for him when he was twelve. It had heroes like Spiderman and Ironman on the glass lampshade. He was fucking livid, but of course that was hurt and disappointment manifesting as the only acceptable emotion for men: anger. Still, I thought he was stressed enough to murder someone.
Abel and Sherry didn’t speak for weeks, and during that time Hoss and Abel spent a lot of time together. A lot of sleepovers. I was there for a few of them. Videogames, shit talking. That kind of stuff. There was one night – they thought I was sleeping – where I heard things happening. I never said anything to them about it because why would I? We never judged each other for shit like that. They could have made sure I was actually sleeping, though.
We three hung out the day before Sherry was found on her lawn. Abel and I played Injustice 2 while Hoss sat on the computer watching music videos. Abel’s phone went off. The number wasn’t saved. We all traded looks before Abel answered on speakerphone.
“Abel,” Sherry began. “I miss you. I love you. I’m so sorry for everything I said to Hoss. I was just feeling so overwhelmed…”
He cut off the speaker and went upstairs for at least an hour. Probably more. Hoss slammed his fist down on the desk. The crack of his fist against the wood startled a jump out of me.
When Abel returned he said, “Sorry, guys, where were we?”
“I think I was just leaving,” Hoss said, getting up from the desk.
All he’d said to me while Abel was going was that Sherry is playing the fuck out of him. I agreed, but I wasn’t so sure. She had left me alone for quite some time at this point.
“But we were supposed to have a sleepover before the beach tomorrow,” Abel said.
“The feeling of my own bed, my own sheets is just more appealing to me than staying out tonight,” Hoss said.
Abel sighed. “Well… if it’s okay with you, Sherry is going to come to the beach with us tomorrow.”
Hoss rolled his eyes slowly, dramatically. “The more the merrier – isn’t that what they say?” On that note, he grabbed his backpack and left. If he went home that night is anyone’s guess.
Not wanting to be in the middle of this, as well as the cause, I left too, thinking, maybe, cooler heads would prevail in the morning. It was longshot thinking, as my father called it, but it was all I clung to. Things had to get better, and the beach trip could have been the start of healing.
But the trip, as we all know, never happened.
Notes from Detective Washburn’s interview with Lois Allen, July 20, 2023:
Spoke with neighbor, Lois Allen, 68. Claims she heard argument suspected night of incident. Sun, 7/16/23. Witness claims she heard two voices, male & female. Looked outside living room window. Noticed neighbor, “the Collins girl.” Unable to identify by name male party, but said he looked familiar. “Around a lot at the Dawsons, I think.” Argument became heated. Saw male grab female by the shoulders. Claims male cried, “Why do you make me do this shit? Why?” Female was upset, crying. Allen wanted to say something, but deciding against it, citing “back in my day, we minded our own when it came to spouses.” Shrugged and wished me a good day.
From The Complete Journals of Hoss Dawson (published February 2024, Scribner):
7/16/23
I just got back from Abel’s house. I was supposed to sleep over, but I couldn’t bring myself to stay and trust myself not be a vicious bitch.
Abel and Sherry are back together. Just like that. A fucking phone call. After all the shit she said about using him, and him being annoying. It makes me so fucking mad. He always wants to bring her around, and I can’t stand it. Is he stupid or just that desperate to fill the hole his mom left in him?
Ugh. I should be a more supportive friend, I know. I want to be. I will be. Starting tomorrow at the beach, I’ll turn over a new leaf. Sherry and I used to be friends, and I think we can be again. Or at least be cordial. I need to try. For Abel. For our friendship. I owe him that.
I hope I can keep it together.
From the Hartford Courant, July 21, 2023:
SUSPECT ARRESTED IN POLARIS COUNTY LAWN MURDER CASE
…Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a source close to the case claims the victim’s boyfriend has been detained in connection with the murder. Not only do police say it was his vehicle used in the slaying, but witnesses claim to have seen him arguing with the victim and getting physical with her the night of the savage motor vehicle attack.
Sheriza Collins was found…
Various Facebook posts after the funeral of Sheriza Collins (July 28, 2023):
Parker Taylor: “I always knew he was little… off.”
Stephen Upton: “What the fuck? I hope he gets what’s coming him.”
Damian Campanella: “That group of friends was weird. A little too touchy-feely, if you know what I mean. Not surprised that one lost his shit. More surprised that the others haven’t lost theirs, too [crying laughing emoji x3]”
Isabel Davenport: “What a mess. I’m praying for everyone involved. My heart goes out to Sherry’s family for all the pain and suffering they’re going through right now. I hope they can find peace with all these revelations. And poor, poor Abel. May there be swift and powerful justice served.”
Wilson King: “When’s the Netflix documentary coming? Sounds like a love triangle for the ages? LOL”
From the Polaris County weekly Reporter, July 29, 2023:
LAWN MURDER KILLER CONFESSES!
The funeral of the slain Sheriza Collins, 19, of Polaris County was meant to be a solemn affair, a celebration of her life where loved ones could share memories of the deceased. Collins’s parents and sister shared stories of beaches, Sheriza’s favorite things to do, and other colorful memories which painted the deceased in a flattering light. However, the mood of the occasion changed when the last person to share spoke. Seemingly waiting until no other person wanted to share, Hoss Dawson, 20, also of Polaris County took the podium.
Standing at the head of the church, he explained: “I heard them arguing that night. I was tired of it, tired of her hurting him. Tired of being overlooked and forgotten. He was my best friend, and she was only using him as revenge. It wasn’t even working.
“It was easy. After he walked off I slipped outside. Sherry was upset, sobbing, and never saw me coming. She had left her car running, and all I had to do was climb in and floor it. I wore gloves, of course, but I always planned this confession, here at her funeral. My life, too, I guess is over.”
Dawson started his speech with the words, “This is how I killed the girl next door.”
As he finished his monologue, he pulled a large pocketknife from his black dress pants pocket and went for his own throat, but an enraged Mr. Collins tackled Dawson before any damage could be done.
Speaking with the Reporter later, Mr. Collins said, “He thought he could murder my daughter and then take the easy way out? No way in hell, which, by the way, is exactly where he’s headed. After a lengthy stay Polaris County Correctional, that is.”
Horror Sleaze Trash 