Daughter of murdered Georgia mom Debbie Collier has long history of arrests, including battery, fights with boyfriends
Murdered Georgia mom Debbie Collier’s daughter has a rap sheet that includes an arrest for battery, being thrown in jail for faking a drug test and fighting with her boyfriends, according to court documents.
Amanda Bearden, 36, had a number of encounters with law enforcement in Athens, Ga., most recently for a domestic incident that took place in May 2021.
Bearden claimed her boyfriend, Andrew Tyler Giegerich, had broken into her home, screamed at her and attacked her, showing police bruises on her shoulders and arms, according to a police report obtained by The Post.
However, officers from the Athens-Clark County police determined the couple lived together and arrested Bearden for making a false report of a robbery. Giegerich was also arrested and hit with various charges, including battery.
Documents associated with his case noted, “Giegerich and Bearden have a family violence relationship.”
Giegerich was sentenced to time in jail, ordered not to contact Bearden and to complete domestic violence courses. Bearden’s case appears to be ongoing, according to online court records.
However, the couple now appear to be back together and living in the same home.
Giegerich spoke to a reporter from The Post on Thursday, saying the police had “confiscated” his and Bearden’s phones, and griped: “The [police have] interrogated all of us. The people who are closest to [Collier] are kind of looked at as suspects right now.”
There is no suggestion that Bearden or Giegerich had any involvement in Collier’s tragic disappearance, and police have not yet named any suspects or motive in the case.
It was Bearden who raised the alarm on September 10, after her 59-year-old mother mysteriously disappeared and cryptically texted her: “They are not going to let me go, love you.”
Collier’s body was found the next day, 60 miles from her home, naked and partially burned in what appeared to be a hasty attempt to cover up evidence.
In an emotional interview, Bearden voiced her distress at losing her mother, telling CBS 46: “Somebody took my whole world from me,” and “She was a beautiful, kind, giving woman — and she didn’t deserve any of this … I want justice for my mom.”
Bearden — who said she had last seen her mother the day before she disappeared — also has a string of prior arrests.
In 2008 and 2012, she was arrested for arguing with her boyfriends. The 2008 charges were dropped after she completed a pre-trial intervention program, in the latter case, she was charged with misdemeanor battery, simple battery, disorderly conduct and criminal trespass.
Her boyfriend told cops he “had to hold [her] back” as she broke his video game.
Officers noticed marks on the man’s chest and back, and hand prints on both his arms.
Bearden admitted the altercation was entirely her fault. She pleaded guilty to the disorderly conduct charge and the other charges were dismissed in November 2012, earning her 12 months’ probation, an order to take anger management courses and to have no contact with her boyfriend.
In 2013, Bearden, then 27, broke probation after she “attempted to provide a fraudulent sample” to a drug test lab and was sentenced to 30 days in the local jail. It is unclear how much time she spent in confinement.
The house where Bearden has been living is owned by her stepfather and she has occupied it on and off for a number of years. She is also believed to have a good relationship with her mother and stepfather, who have supported her through her legal troubles.
Debbie and Steve Collier’s house is located on a quiet street. A neighbor said they had heard a “commotion” on the night before she died, although it is unclear who was involved.
Steve was the last person to see his wife alive, telling investigators he last saw Debbie at 9 p.m. Saturday and her car was still in the driveway when he left for work the following morning. He noted they slept in separate rooms because of his snoring.
Another neighbor was perplexed by the police response to the homicide, which is being conducted in part by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, saying: “I don’t understand what’s taking so long. They’re slow out here.”
