Coroner IDs woman killed in Hilton hotel in Harrisburg

A western Pennsylvania woman was killed last week while visiting Harrisburg and staying at the city’s Hilton hotel, police said.

Ashley Sarazen, 38, a Pittsburgh-area resident, met Travis Collins at a downtown Harrisburg bar before going back to the Hilton with him early Friday, according to the Dauphin County Coroner’s Office and Harrisburg police.

Collins, 32, is from Kempton, more than an hour away from Harrisburg in Berks County. It’s unclear why he was in Harrisburg that night.

When the pair got back to the woman’s hotel room, Collins told police they engaged in sexual activities and then he went to the bathroom. He claimed the woman hit him before he punched her, knocking her onto the bed. He then hit her in the head and face several more times, before pinning her to the floor and strangling her until she died, according to court documents.

Collins called a friend on the phone and said he had “(expletive) up,” the friend told police, according to court records. The friend went to the hotel, got security officers and went to the specific hotel room provided by Collins on the 5th floor, but Collins would not open the door. Police arrived around that time.

Police were called to the hotel shortly at 3:10 a.m. by Collins, who said there was a dead woman in a room there, according to investigators. Collins told police he had an altercation with the woman, police said.

Collins had blood on his hands when he opened the door for officers, according to court records. There was also a large amount of blood on the bed and throughout the room. The victim was on the floor, still warm to the touch, without a pulse, according to court records.

Collins was charged with one count of murder and is being held at Dauphin County Prison without bail, because of the severity of the charges.

His criminal record includes two misdemeanor convictions in February related to different incidents in Carbon County in September 2022 and January of this year. Collins also was convicted of DUI and disorderly conduct for two different incidents in Lehigh County in 2021.

Collins’ Facebook page said he worked as a truck driver.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 21 in front of Magisterial District Judge James A. Lenker.

Staff writer Charlie Thompson contributed to this report.

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