A Relationship Built on a Lie — and a Grudge
Every now and then a story lands in our inbox and we have to just sit with it for a minute before we can even talk about it. This is one of those. It starts in 2020, when Dawayland Hurst's half-brother was killed by a man named Michael King. King was convicted and sent to prison for that crime — but Hurst, apparently, was not done. He had a plan. And that plan involved a woman named MaryJayne Collins, who happened to be the mother of King's child. According to investigators, Hurst didn't stumble into a relationship with MaryJayne by accident. They believe he sought her out deliberately, using their romantic connection as a vehicle for revenge against the man behind bars who killed someone he loved. That is a level of cold, premeditated cruelty that is genuinely hard to wrap your head around.
Red Flags MaryJayne Tried to Name Out Loud
By June 2024, MaryJayne and Hurst were together — and it did not take long for things to turn dangerous. MaryJayne confided in her friends that Hurst had physically hurt her, and she didn't just say it: she showed them proof of her injuries. She was trying to be believed. She was trying to get out. In fact, by early October 2024, she had just moved into a new apartment — a fresh start, a door closing on the chaos. That detail hits differently knowing what came next, because that new beginning lasted less than a day.
“someone takes the life of your half brother and in a Twisted Act of Revenge you decide to date his baby mother”
— the storyteller, opening the case
October 4th: The Morning Everything Broke
On the morning of October 4th, 2024, Hurst made a video call to Michael King in prison. What happened on that call is one of the most disturbing details in this entire case. Hurst reportedly taunted King and, with King's own child present in the room, put his hands on that child — a direct, visual act of dominance and menace aimed at a man who couldn't do anything about it from behind bars. That video was shared with others. Shortly after the call ended, neighbors near MaryJayne's new apartment started hearing alarming sounds. Police responded and found MaryJayne Collins unresponsive — she had been fatally stabbed. Her two young children were in the home. They were physically unharmed, but the trauma those babies carry now is unimaginable. Hurst fled the scene, and as of the time this story was covered, he remained at large.
“Collins began dating Hurst — what started as a relationship between them soon turned abusive”
— the storyteller, describing the timeline
A Community Left Holding the Grief
MaryJayne's family has been vocal in calling for justice, pushing authorities to find Hurst and hold him accountable. The Seabrook community was left reeling — not just from the violence itself, but from the revelation of the motive underneath it. This wasn't a relationship that went wrong in the usual, heartbreaking ways. Investigators believe it was engineered to go wrong from the very first conversation. MaryJayne Collins was not collateral damage in someone else's war — she was a person with friends who loved her, children who needed her, and a future she was actively trying to build. The fact that she was used as a pawn in a revenge plot, and then killed for it, is the kind of injustice that deserves to be said plainly and loudly.
“Hurst was harboring a deep desire for revenge against Michael King”
— the storyteller, citing court records
How it unfolded
- The killing that started it allIn 2020, Dawayland Hurst's half-brother was killed by Michael King, who was convicted and sent to prison for the crime.
- A targeted relationship beginsIn June 2024, MaryJayne Collins — the mother of King's child — began dating Hurst, who investigators believe sought her out as part of a revenge plan.
- Abuse surfaces, MaryJayne speaks upMaryJayne confided in friends that Hurst had physically hurt her and showed them evidence of her injuries.
- A new apartment, a last attempt to escapeBy October 2024, MaryJayne had moved into a new apartment hoping to leave the danger behind.
- The video call and the final actOn October 4th, 2024, Hurst video-called King in prison, taunted him, put his hands on King's child, then fatally stabbed MaryJayne — her two children were found unharmed but traumatized.
- Hurst flees, community demands justiceHurst fled after the killing and remained at large as of the time this story was reported, while MaryJayne's family publicly called for his capture.
Our take
MaryJayne Collins did everything the safety playbook says to do — she told people, she documented, she physically relocated her life. And she still didn't make it out. That's the part we keep returning to, because it dismantles the comfortable idea that awareness and action are always enough. If investigators have it right, the danger wasn't something that developed gradually; it was engineered into the relationship before it even began. There was no moment where she could have spotted the turn and changed course, because there was no turn — it started there. And then there are the children. King's child watching on that video call. MaryJayne's two kids found in that apartment. We think about those kids constantly — what they saw, what they'll carry, how long the shadow of one man's calculated rage is going to stretch across their lives. That's the real cost of this story, and it doesn't end with MaryJayne. It just keeps going.
MaryJayne Collins tried to leave, and she deserved to make it out safely — her story is a reminder that domestic violence resources exist for a reason, and that the people around survivors play a critical role in helping them get free.
Questions people ask
Who is Dawayland Hurst and what did he do?
Dawayland Hurst is the suspect in the murder of MaryJayne Collins in Seabrook, Texas. Investigators believe he entered a relationship with Collins — the mother of his half-brother's killer's child — as an act of revenge, and fatally stabbed her on October 4th, 2024.
Who was MaryJayne Collins?
MaryJayne Collins was a woman living in Seabrook, Texas who had a child with Michael King. She began dating Dawayland Hurst in June 2024 and was killed by him in October 2024. She had two young children who survived the attack.
Was Dawayland Hurst caught after MaryJayne Collins' murder?
As of the time this story was covered, Dawayland Hurst remained at large after fleeing the scene of MaryJayne Collins' murder.
What was the motive behind MaryJayne Collins' murder?
Investigators believe Hurst targeted MaryJayne Collins as revenge against Michael King, who killed Hurst's half-brother in 2020. Collins was the mother of King's child, and authorities suspect Hurst used their relationship to manipulate and ultimately harm her.
