Debbie Collier autopsy reveals 80% burns to her body

Georgia office worker Debbie Collier’s body was 80% percent burned when she was found in a ravine 60 miles from her home, according to her autopsy report.

The report — done by the George Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and obtained by The Post through a public records request — raises more questions about Collier’s shocking death, which was ultimately ruled a suicide despite a months-long homicide investigation.

Collier, a doting mother of two adult children, was reported missing on Sept. 10 after she sent her daughter, Amanda, a Venmo payment for $2,385 with a chilling message saying, “They are not going to let me go, love you.”

She was found dead in a ravine the next day in a wooded area of rural Habersham County, more than an hour north of her Athens, Georgia, home. Officials quickly opened a murder investigation that bore no results for months, before they ruled her death a suicide in November.

Police initially said Collier had charring to her stomach, but the autopsy reveals her burns were far more extensive, describing “second and third degree burns involving 80% of the total body surface area.”

The report says Collier died from “inhalation of superheated gases, thermal injuries and a hydrocodone intoxication.” Collier often took the pain killer hydrocodone, as prescribed by a doctor, due to a prolonged back injury.

“Autopsy examination revealed thermal injuries of the external body surface and of the traceal mucosa (windpipe), no deposited soot in the airway, and no significant elevation of blood carboxyhemoglobin,” the report, which notes that “no other significant injuries were noted.

“These findings may be due to a sudden, intense ‘flash’ fire, as well as the outdoor environment of the fire,” the GBI wrote. 

Officials noted that a melted gas can was found near the burn site, perhaps the source of the “flash fire,” but did not explain the other circumstances, including that Collier was naked when discovered and why she was slightly downhill from the fire, gripping the base of a small tree with her right hand. 

Medical examiners said Collier was discovered with third-degree burns to her face, charred portions of her scalp, and “charred leathery skin” throughout her body.

The autopsy report also doesn’t explain how the death was ruled a suicide beyond a quick line that states “Investigation by law enforcement revealed circumstances consistent with a self-intentioned act and that she was alone at the time of the incident.”

Georgia police described Collier’s death in late September as “personal and targeted,” but never publicly named any suspects. The suicide ruling shocked those following the case — and even some family members. 

Police also never explained Collier’s Venmo message to her daughter, which caught the attention of the nation when revealed, or why she stopped at a Family Dollar store and bought a poncho, a refillable torch lighter, paper towels, a tarpaulin and a tote bag on the day she disappeared.

Collier, 59, worked for a local real estate agency in Athens and lived with her husband, Steve, in a small yellow home on the edge of town. Police were able to find her by tracking her rented vehicle’s SiriusXM satellite radio, which led them to US 441 near Victory Home Lane. Her body was discovered about a quarter-mile into the woods.

A neighbor told The Post in September that she heard a “commotion” coming from Collier’s home the night before she vanished and the family frequently engaged in “screaming and fighting.” Her daughter, Amanda, had only returned to town with her boyfriend, amateur MMA fighter Andrew Giegerich, a few days before her death.

Giegerich told The Post in September that he and his girlfriend were being treated like “suspects” in the case, but the couple was ultimately cleared of any involvement by police, as was her husband, who was seen on video at the time of her disappearance working parking cars at a University of Georgia Bulldogs game.