Murder suspect out of jail in Hickory, moving back to Asheville

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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The Hickory Daily Record has it:

Derek Colson walked out of the Catawba County jail this morning after posting an $80,000 secured bond.

Colson, 42, has been in jail since March 2006 when he was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. The murders happened in the Hickory area in March and April 2004. Colson has denied committing the crimes since his arrest.

Colson was held without bond much of that time but Feb. 13, after Superior Court Judge Yvonne Evans suppressed three interviews Colson gave to law enforcement officers the day he was arrested, she set his bond at $80,000.

When she delivered her decision on the matter Evans said, “The statements obtained from him were not obtained voluntarily or with his full understanding of the consequences of his actions.”

Colson’s wife and his parents greeted him as his attorneys escorted him from the jail. His wife, Logene Colson said that he was going back to live with her in the couple’s Asheville home.

Colson is under court orders to maintain weekly contact with the Catawba County Sheriff’s office.

The District Attorney is appealing the judge’s decision to suppress Colson’s statements.