Levi Collen is a convicted murderer and rapist serving three consecutive life sentences at the Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution in Torrington for the 1996 rape and murder of Berry Bryant, an 18-year-old freshman at Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming. Collen was 19 and a fellow student at the college when he abducted Bryant from campus on the night of October 5, 1996, drove her to a remote area north of Powell, and killed her with a hunting knife. He confessed the same night after his own dormmates restrained him and turned him in to police.
The Murder of Berry Bryant
On the night of October 5, 1996, Bryant attended a school dance at Northwest College and afterward went to a dormitory party where she had some alcoholic drinks.1Cowboy State Daily. Murder of Wyoming College Student Still Raw for Family After Nearly 30 Years A friend, Jessie LeClair, noticed Bryant had rejected advances from Collen earlier that evening. Bryant was later seen leaving with him.2The Denver Post. Mom Keeps Sex-Violence Issue at Fore
According to police, Collen drove Bryant roughly 16 miles north of Powell to Polecat Bench, a remote stretch of land near the Powell Airport along Wyoming Highway 295.3Powell Tribune. Memorial to Berry Bryant Refurbished When Bryant tried to walk back toward town, Collen pursued her with a hunting knife, tackled her, and sexually assaulted her. He then stabbed her repeatedly in the face and neck, cut her throat, and hid her body in the sagebrush.2The Denver Post. Mom Keeps Sex-Violence Issue at Fore Bryant’s hands carried deep defensive wounds. Her mother later noted Berry had taken a self-defense class that taught grabbing a knife blade rather than surrendering, and the cuts on her hands showed she had fought back.4Powell Tribune. 20 Years Later, Lessons Learned After Berry Bryant’s Rape and Murder
Former Powell police chief John Cox, who oversaw the investigation, later called it “probably the most brutal homicide I had been associated with as a law enforcement officer.”2The Denver Post. Mom Keeps Sex-Violence Issue at Fore
How Collen Was Caught
After the murder, Collen returned to his residence hall covered in blood. He first told dormmates he had been in a fight with another man and tried to recruit friends to drive him back to the remote location, ostensibly to retrieve something.2The Denver Post. Mom Keeps Sex-Violence Issue at Fore During the drive, Collen admitted to the other students that he had raped and killed a woman. They restrained him and drove him directly to the Powell Police Department, where they turned him in.1Cowboy State Daily. Murder of Wyoming College Student Still Raw for Family After Nearly 30 Years
Collen gave police a full confession, admitting he had driven Bryant against her will to the secluded area, raped her, and stabbed her to death. Officers then located her body in what they described as an extremely remote area on private property.5Powell Tribune. Never Forgotten
Earlier Sexual Violence
The investigation and sentencing proceedings revealed that Bryant’s murder was not Collen’s first act of sexual violence. Two months before the killing, he had raped another woman in the Ten Sleep area after luring her to his car under the pretense of showing her his 1989 Pontiac. That rape did not come to light until after Bryant’s murder.1Cowboy State Daily. Murder of Wyoming College Student Still Raw for Family After Nearly 30 Years
There were also allegations that Collen had been accused of sexual assault at Northwest College shortly before killing Bryant but was never charged, and that he had been accused of fondling a female student in grade school.1Cowboy State Daily. Murder of Wyoming College Student Still Raw for Family After Nearly 30 Years Berry Bryant’s brother, Ryan Bryant, later said the family refused to accept apologies from Collen’s family because of these prior incidents that had gone unaddressed.
Guilty Plea and Sentence
Levi Collen pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, and two counts of sexual assault, one for the murder of Bryant and one for the earlier rape near Ten Sleep. On November 27, 1996, less than two months after the crime, District Judge Hunter Patrick sentenced Collen to three consecutive life sentences.6Wyoming Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. The Wyoming Silent Witnesses – Berry Bryant
At sentencing, Judge Patrick told the courtroom the murder was “one of the most violent crimes he had ever heard of.”7Powell Tribune. Berry Bryant Remembered Park County Prosecutor Michelle Marker read a victim impact statement from Ryan Bryant, which said: “I always knew I’d have to bury her, but not this soon. I hope and know you will be haunted by the spirit of my sister.”1Cowboy State Daily. Murder of Wyoming College Student Still Raw for Family After Nearly 30 Years The victim’s family, including Sharon Bryant and Ryan, were permitted to sit in the jury seats during the hearing. Collen made a statement that Ryan Bryant later characterized as self-pitying, focused on what Collen himself was losing rather than what he had taken from the victim and her family.
Where Levi Collen Is Now
Levi Collen, now 47 years old, remains incarcerated at the Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution in Torrington, where he is serving his three consecutive life sentences.6Wyoming Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. The Wyoming Silent Witnesses – Berry Bryant