‘Wonder why': Neighbors are shocked after Harmony man shot, killed wife, then confessed

18-05-2025

A man in Harmony called 911 on Friday to tell them he had shot and killed his wife in their home, according to the Iredell County Sheriff's Office.
Around 8:10 a.m., 70-year-old Bobby Lee Collins made the call to Iredell County Emergency Communications. He said he locked the door to the house when he left and was in his vehicle with the keys in his pocket at the intersection of Powell Bridge Road and Harmony Highway.
Bobby Lee Colins was located, taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder. He was issued no bond.
Deputies entered the couple's home on Powell Bridge Road and found Iona Collins dead.
Neighbors told Channel 9's Glenn Counts that they were shocked to hear about the crime.
'It makes me wonder what happened to make him actually do that, I mean, you can't help but wonder why,' said neighbor Sue York.
READ: Man charged with murder after wife found dead in Iredell County home, deputies say
York lives nearby and said she was close to the couple. She said she would visit Iona Collins every day. There had never been any signs of trouble.
'They were just good people, the kind of people you would want across, here in your front door,' she said.
She told Counts that Iona Collins had recently been facing some health challenges. But that was the only thing out of the ordinary in their quiet, sleepy part of Iredell County.
'We're a small, knit community. Country people,' she said. 'As you can tell, it's a farm area. You just don't think something like this would happen at your front door.'
York also said she has lived next to the couple for 15 years. And now, all she can think of is the couple's kids and grandkids.
'They seemed to be a tight-knit family,' she said. 'They had big gatherings at Easter.'
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