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La'el Collins Sought by Police for Questioning in Murder Investigation, Not a Suspect

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After the murder of a pregnant 29-year-old woman in Baton Rouge last week, police are looking to talk to La'el Collins, an offensive lineman who played last season at LSU who is now preparing for the NFL Draft.

According to ESPN, Baton Rouge police Lt. Jonny Dunnam does not consider Collins a suspect, but one of a number of individuals who might have information. Collins is expected to be in Chicago Thursday for the NFL Draft, as he is projected to go in the first round, and is apparently planning to cooperate with police fully.

"We took the investigation seriously," Jim Boren, Collins' attorney, told ESPN Tuesday. "We've tried to rule him out as a suspect. We're going to provide that information to the police, and ultimately [Collins] will sit down and talk to them. But the timing is poor."

Dunnam told the Baton Rouge Advocate the police do not have a suspect, but they believe the shooter and Mills knew each other.

"There are numerous other people who are going to be interviewed," he said. "So he is one of many."

Brittany Mills was found Friday in her Baton Rouge apartment shot to death, but doctors at the hospital that received her were able to save her baby. Collins reportedly dated Mills, but it is not known whether or not the newborn baby, who is still being treated, is his.

Boren told ESPN he retained a private investigation firm to establish Collins' whereabouts at the time of the shooting.

"We have identified where La'el was the day the lady was murdered to establish he was nowhere around," he said. "We have offered to give names, witnesses who can vouch for his whereabouts that day until after the woman's body was discovered. We believe that when [police] have verified that information, that they will rule him out as a suspect in the homicide, just as I believe he should be."

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