Man Arrested In Burglary at Site of Slaying

Until the break-in, police expressed doubt about the intruder theory. There was no sign of forced entry, the killer used a knife from the kitchen, and the crime scene appeared to have been cleaned before officers arrived, police said.

Investigators have convened a grand jury and enlisted the help of the FBI in the homicide. They kept control of the $1.2 million house for more than three weeks after the killing, removing flooring, pieces of walls, a chunk of staircase, the washing machine and sink traps in a search for blood and other evidence.

Although he is not charged in the burglary, Michael Price also faces legal trouble. He was arrested in Silver Spring hours after the break-in, accused of stealing a 1998 Mercury Sable belonging to his domestic partner, who had reported it stolen. During the arrest, Montgomery County police found a "broken glass pipe," the kind that often is used to smoke cocaine, in the pocket of his sweat pants, according to charging papers.

Collins, who is unemployed, has a criminal history that includes four drug convictions between 1998 and 2004 in the District and Montgomery, records show.

Authorities said some items taken in the burglary turned up at Sam's Pawnbrokers on 14th Street NW, a few blocks away.

Sam Levy, a manager at the store, said in an interview that Collins had pawned goods at the shop in the past. Detectives visited the store last week to retrieve the items.

Levy said a detective whom he declined to identify told him that the burglary is "connected possibly to a homicide."

Staff writers Henri E. Cauvin and Ernesto Londoño contributed to this report.