No bond was set Wednesday in Sequoyah County District Court in Sallisaw for the man suspected of killing Shannon Bryan Southern, 20, of Muldrow.

David Dewayne Collins, 35, of Pocola was arrested Oct. 1 in Fort Smith, Ark., for the shooting death of Southern, whose body was found Sept. 22 in a burned home on Lee’s Chapel Road, southeast of Muldrow. Collins was charged with first-degree murder Sept. 30 in Sequoyah County District Court.

John David Luton, first assistant district attorney, requested no bond for the murder suspect during Collins arraignment Wednesday and the court concurred. Collins was transported to the Sequoyah County Jail on Oct. 2. His arraignment was passed to Oct. 14 in order for him to have ample time to obtain an attorney.

Sequoyah County Sheriff Ron Lockhart said Southern’s body was found burned and shot multiple times after the fire was extinguished at the house where Southern had been staying.

Lockhart said the investigation indicated that Southern owed Collins $40. Collins allegedly went to Southern’s home in the early morning hours of Sept. 22.

Lockhart said the investigation indicates that Collins shot Southern several times, then poured a flammable liquid around the body and set the house on fire. The sheriff said investigators are still waiting on the fire marshal’s report. He said the fire marshal would be taking the report straight to the district attorney’s office since the interview with Collins went well.

On Sept. 22, after the fire destroyed the home, which belonged to Southern’s grandfather, Kenneth Lewis, firefighters found Southern’s body next to a couch. A newspaper deliverer reported the fire about 6 a.m. and the Muldrow Police Department dispatched the Muldrow, Liberty and Roland Fire Departments at 6:05 a.m. The firefighters reported the home was fully engulfed when they arrived.

After firefighters found the body, it was sent to the state medical examiner’s office. Upon learning from the medical examiner the next day that Southern had been shot, Lockhart began an immediate investigation at the scene, and had officers and investigators sifting through the remains of the home looking for clues to Southern’s death.

The sheriff said this is the first homicide he and his staff have worked since he took office in January.

“I worked homicide in Fort Smith, and I want the people to know we are going to do everything we can to keep them safe,” Lockhart said.