Details about the 1996 murder of Berry Bryant

June 2024 · 5 minute read

Berry Bryant's 1996 murder case has been the subject of ID's Evil Lives Here: Shadows of Death's latest episode, which aired on September 11, 2022. The Northwest College freshman was brutally murdered on the night of October 5, 1996 by a fellow college student, Levi Collen.

The 18-year-old attended a dorm room party after a college dance, but when she failed to return to her room that night, her roommate's concerns only grew. That led authorities to look for her across Powell, Wyoming, but the freshman student was nowhere to be found.

Authorities eventually discovered her badly mutilated body about 16 miles away from Powell. Her throat was slit and there were numerous visible wounds across her body, indicating that she got into a physical fight with her killer. The days that followed led to harrowing discoveries.

Here's everything one needs to know about the findings.

Three chilling details about Berry Bryant's 1996 murder

1) Berry Bryant's killer confessed to his friends about the murder

Levi Collen, another 19-year-old Northwest College student, was responsible for Berry Bryant's murder in 1996. Collen returned to his dorm covered in blood that night after killing Bryant. He also had numerous injuries all over his body and told friends he incurred them during a fight with someone. He eventually admitted to his friends that he r*ped and murdered Berry.

Collen's version of the story changed on different accounts. He allegedly told authorities that the two had consensual s*x that night, after which Berry Bryant attacked him with a beer bottle. He claimed that he had to defend himself and ended up killing her.

2) Another victim came forward during Berry's murder case

An alleged survivor also came forward and claimed that Levi Collen had r*ped her at gunpoint in the summer of 1995 and later threatened to keep it quiet. According to the victim, she had gone out drinking with a friend when they met Levi and the two went for a drive together.

Later, Levi pulled up to a secluded location with the intention of having s*x with her, but she rebuffed all his efforts. However, Levi r*ped her after he threatened her with a pistol. The woman added that Levi bit her in the face and arms and even threatened to kill her if she told anyone about it.

3) The ultimate conviction of Levi Collen in connection to the case

In November 1996, Levi was found guilty of first-degree murder, s*xual assault, and kidnapping of Berry Bryant. He was also charged with s*xual assault in relation to an incident that occurred in the summer of 1995 when he allegedly r*ped another woman at gunpoint. As a penalty, he was given three consecutive life sentences.

Years later, Berry's mother Sharon Bryant stated that she is still shaken by the tragedy and said:

"Berry fought hard for the right to say ‘no,’ and it’s my obligation to continue to tell women they can say ‘no’ and to tell men they need to respect that."

Catch the full story on Evil Lives Here: Shadows of Death on Investigation Discovery.

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