Harry Collins sobbed Tuesday while a Fayette County psychologist testified the Connellsville man has mild mental retardation and a psychotic disorder in which he hears a voice that comments on his behavior.
The testimony by Dr. Adam Sedlock Jr. is expected to be the only defense offered against prosecution charges that Collins is responsible for four arsons in Connellsville in 2004 and 2005. Jurors are likely to begin their deliberations this morning.
The second day of Collins' trial was dominated by the contradictory statements he gave investigators during a series of seven interviews and Sedlock's evaluation after a June 2005 meeting at the Fayette County Prison.
Collins is accused of arsons at Pujia's Hair Salon at 107 W. Church Place on June 27, 2004; a home at 1116 Race St. on Aug. 16, 2004; an unoccupied apartment at 407 S. Arch St. on Nov. 29, 2004; and the Wesley United Methodist Church at 417 S. Pittsburgh St. on Feb. 23, 2005. Fire investigators determined the small fires were caused by an open flame, like that from a lighter or match.
All the buildings are within six blocks of Collins' city home on South Pittsburgh Street. The jury saw video footage yesterday that showed Collins among the spectators at the fires at the hair salon and the apartment duplex.
Connellsville police and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have gone so far as to say Collins lied repeatedly during their interviews -- all of which were conducted without legal counsel for the 58-year-old Collins.
However, Sedlock testified that the illiterate defendant has a short attention span, shows signs of confusion and suffers from long- and short-term memory lapses.
Authorities said they continued to question Collins until his April 11 arrest because he was inconsistent about his whereabouts and the change in his appearance on the morning of the church fire, in particular.
Sedlock said someone of Collins' mental capacity is likely to follow commands to appease a questioner.
"When you have someone like Harry, who functions at a lower level of intelligence, they're likely to do what you want them to do," Sedlock said.
Investigators told Collins he was free to stop the interviews at any time, but Collins usually was cordial in answering questions and even initiated a meeting a day after the church fire to profess his innocence, according to prosecution testimony.
Although Sedlock said Collins spoke of an inner voice that tried to influence him to be good, authorities testified Collins described a "bad Harry" that sometimes got a "good Harry" into trouble.
In the church fire case, Collins told Connellsville police Sgt. Ronald Haggerty Jr. that he decided to leave a church alley because a voice told him someone had lit a fire.
Haggerty said Collins changed his story about his whereabouts several times and gave three stories about whether he had touched the trash bag that investigators testified was set on fire against a church door.
"He went on to describe that he walked slowly because he didn't want anyone to think he had set the fire," Haggerty said.
When questioned about the Race Street fire, Collins said he was walking with his wife, but became separated and "did something that I shouldn't have done," Haggerty said. Collins refused to elaborate, though.
Collins frequently told investigators that he "didn't set all the fires," but expressed worry that his family and friends would think he was an arsonist, several investigators testified.
During those interviews, Collins often cried when he talked about a difficult childhood that included a five-year stint at a Delaware County school for children with special needs. As a teenager, two doctors described Collins as a truant who "sets fires, threatens harm to himself and others and to burn buildings down," according to court documents.
Arguing Collins' childhood was irrelevant, defense attorney Thomas W. Shaffer objected to prosecution attempts to include Collins' claims about the former Elwyn Training School in testimony. After sidebars with Judge Gerald Solomon, District Attorney Nancy Vernon continued her questioning without referring to the school.
Vernon later questioned Sedlock about Collins' time at Elwyn, but the psychologist said he had no information about that period in Collins' life.
