SANTA CRUZ — The man accused of gunning down a woman and stabbing her ex-husband at their residence in the Aptos hills on Jan. 30 pleaded not guilty to the charges Wednesday during his second court appearance since his arrest.
Patrick Aaron Collins, 36, remains in custody in Santa Cruz County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail.
He is scheduled return to court on March 11 for a preliminary hearing, during which a judge determines whether there is enough evidence for a trial.
Collins wore orange jail clothes, and has shaved the Mohawk haircut he was sporting in his arrest photo.
Police say that Collins shot Victoria May Aless Seidlinger with a shotgun inside her residence, and then went to a separate residence on the same property where Seidlinger’s ex-husband lived.
A neighbor who asked not to be identified said that Collins and Seidlinger were romantically involved.
There, Collins allegedly stabbed the ex-husband, who had called 911 when he heard the first shot.
It was during that altercation that the ex-husband shot Collins, police say.
Police and prosecutors have not listed a motive for the killing, or described the relationship between Collins and Seidlinger.
Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call of a shooting at 3140 Trout Gulch Road at about 4:15 p.m. They arrived to find two people suffering from gunshot wounds, and another who was dead.
The victims were flown by air ambulance to Bay Area trauma centers. Collins was arrested upon his release from the hospital.
