
“A 16 year-old boy was killed Saturday afternoon when a pistol apparently was discharged accidentally and his companion is being held by city police for investigation.”
“Pearl Collins, 16, of 3040 Gallia street, died in Portsmouth General hospital at 2:10 PM about 40 minutes after he was shot in the head at 1428 Mabert road.”
“Police arrested Harold Adkins, 20, of 1428 Mabert road, for investigation of the shooting. He told police that the pistol discharged accidentally.”

“Coroner JD Rose held a postmortem to trace the bullet and found it entered in the region of the right temple and above the eye, pierced the skull, ranged downward and lodged on the left side at the base of the brain. A brain hemorrhage and general paralysis caused death, the corner said. Examination also showed the victim had a bruise above the left eye, bruises above the nose and a bruise on the arm.”
“The Collins youth was seated at a table in the kitchen of the Adkins home when Harold Adkins entered the kitchen from another room. A pistol in the pocket of Adkins’ jacket was discharged, police were told. The bullet from the small caliber pistol struck the Collins youth over the right eye.”
“Harold Adkins told police that he had been cleaning the pistol, and put it in his jacket pocket and expected to put it in a locker.”

“Durl Adkins, 26, of 2339 Seventh street, brother of Harold Adkins, was in the kitchen cooking when he heard a shot and saw the Collins youth collapse.”
“Detective Charles Clowe said the pistol was of a type which required pulling of the trigger to discharge a shell in the chamber.”
“Witnesses, Mrs. Martha Adkins, mother of Howard Adkins, and sons, Durl and Junior, told the same stories, that they heard the shot and Collins collapsed. All said no words passed between the youth.”
“Police were advised that Collins frequently visited the Adkins home and arrived there Saturday morning.”

“Harold and Junior Adkins and Collings went hunting in the rear of the home, Harold carrying a shotgun. When they reached the top of the hill Collins left the party to go in search of work. When the brothers returned home they found Collins sitting at the kitchen table. They had been home about an hour when Harold Adkins cleaned the pistol.”

“Patrolmen Joseph Cook and Roscoe Bussa arrested Harold Adkins. Detectives John Smith and Clowe questioned witnesses.”
“Pearl Collins was born April 28, 1924, a son of Calvin and Susie Brown Collins. He was a student at Garfield school.”
“He is survived by these brothers and sisters: Delbert Collins and Mrs. Myrtle Hardy of Bonser Run, Ernest Collins of Baltimore, Dorothy and Katherine Collins at home, and Violet Collins of Delaware. He also is survived by a half-brother, William McGraw of Baltimore.”
“The body is at the Windel-Howland funeral home.”1
Windel-Howland Funeral Home Record of Funeral

Ohio Certificate of Death for Pearl Collins

Grand Jury to Probe Shooting of Collins Boy

“Coroner JD Rose recommended this afternoon following an inquest that the grand jury make further investigation of the fatal shooting of 16 year-old Peal Collins, 3040 Gallia street.”
“Police Chief Harry S. Sheets announced that a charge- possibly manslaughter- will be filed against Harold Adkins, 20, of 1428 Mabert road in order to take the case before the grand jury. His arraignment in municipal court is scheduled for Wednesday.”
“At the inquest in city hall this morning Adkins told Dr. Rose that the .22 caliber revolver which fired the fatal shot was discharged accidentally Saturday in the kitchen of his home where Collins was seated at a table.”

“While his mother, Mrs. Martha Adkins, was whipping eggs and his brother, Durl, 26, of 2339 Seventh street, was mixing a cake at the table, the youth entered the room with the revolver in the left-hand pocket of his jacket, he told the coroner.”
“His mother previously had told him to put the gun away, she said. He had purchased it last Thursday from Earl D. Sowards, testimony at the inquest showed, and had been cleaning it.”
“As he entered the door with his hand on the gun in his pocket, he was pulling the zipper on his jacket with his right hand and the bullet was fired, the youth testified. The barrel was protruding from a hole in his jacket pocket, he asserted.”

“Katherine Collins, 11, sister of the slain lad, told the coroner that Adkins had spent ‘a lot of time’ lately with her sister-in-law, Mrs. Nan Collins of Valley street. The latter’s husband, Jack, brother of the dead boy, recently went to Baltimore, where he obtained a job.”
“Mrs. Susie Arnold, the Collins lad’s mother, testified her son had stated ‘many times’ that he would ‘tell’ on Adkins after he discovered he had been visiting his sister-in-law.

“Adkins told Dr. Rose he had known the Collins youth for a year and a half and that ‘we never had any arguments’. After the gun was discharged, he said the lad fell to the floor and he told other members of the family to call an ambulance and police.”
“Adkins’ mother and his brother, who were working at the kitchen table, said they did not see the shot fired but heard the report and saw the lad slump to the floor.”
“A sister, Mary Jean Adkins, 11, said she was just going out the kitchen door when she heard the shot and turned back to see Collins fall.”
“Chief Sheets and Detective Charles Clowe, head of the police record bureau, attended the inquest.”
“Funeral services for the Collins boy will be held at 10 AM Tuesday at the WIndel-Howland funeral home with burial in Greenlawn cemetery. The body is at the Collins home.”2
Adkins Denies County of Manslaughter

“Harold Adkins, 20, of 1428 Mabert road, pleased not guilty to a charge of manslaughter this morning when arraigned in municipal court and was held for grand jury investigation under a $500 bond.”
“He waived preliminary examination. He was committed to the Scioto county jail in default of bond.”
“Adkins is charged with the death of Pearl Collins, 16, of 3040 Gallia street, who was wounded fatally Saturday afternoon while at the Adkins home.
“Police Chief Harry S. Sheets said the charge was filed to get the case to the grand jury to be investigated thoroughly.”
“Adkins claims the shooting was accidental and the pistol went off while it was in his jacket pocket. He claims Collins was his friend and denied pointing the pistol at the victim.”
“The bullet struck the boy’s head and he died in a local hospital shortly after he was hurt.”3