Hiker who found beaten skier: 'He was completely bloody'

STEVENSON, Wash. -- A man who was nearly beaten to death while cross-country skiing in Skamania County last year described his attackers as "cold and calculated" Tuesday during his second day of court testimony.

Kevin Tracey said the brutal beating from Michael Collins and his 17-year-old son, Teven Collins, left a hole in Tracey's head. The skier added he begged them to spare his life.

Michael Collins is charged with first-degree attempted murder and robbery and faces life in prison without parole. Teven Collins accepted a plea deal and agreed to testify against his father in exchange for an eight-year prison sentence.

As Tracey described the events of Feb. 9 2009, the attorney for Michael Collins questioned the description that Tracey and law enforcement officers first gave of the  attackers.

The attorney said that Tracey's descriptions of his attackers misjudged their weight. He added there was some question about their race in witness descriptions, and Tracey was never asked to pick Collins out of a lineup.

When Tracey was asked during Tuesday's testimony if he was sure that Michael Collins was one of his attackers, he said he had "no doubt whatsoever".

The defense also questioned producers of the show "America's Most Wanted," which featured the Collins men while they were on the run and led to their arrest in Mexico.

Tracey's neighbor also took the witness stand, and said she noticed Tracey's vehicle speeding by her house with two passengers inside, which she found unusual. Additionally, several law enforcement officers testified, and the defense questioned their descriptions of the accused and whether the crime scene was properly secured.

Nicole Stewart, who found Tracey while hiking, said she found him holding on to a tree, barely alive.

"He was completely bloody," she said. "You could barely see his face. (There were) cuts on his forehead that went down to his skull."

The neighbor testified that Tracey usually drove slowly and by himself. She didn't call police about it until several days later. Collins' attorney wanted her testimony thrown out because her initial police report didn't mention the two people inside the vehicle. The judge, however, kept it in.

Meanwhile, Teven Collins' attorney, Randy Krog, spoke to the media about why his client chose not to go on trial.

"He wanted to come forward and apologize to Mr. Tracey and say he's sorry and not live a lie," said Krog. "(To say) how sorry he is that Mr. Tracey went through this, that he was a part of causing Mr. Tracey to go through this horrific event."

Teven is scheduled to testify against his father Wednesday.

Also in court on Tuesday,  a juror was contacted during the lunch hour by someone in the community who shouted some profanities at him. The defense asked the judge for a mistrial, but the judge denied the request.