Bond Lowered for Fort Collins Babysitter Accused of Attempted Murder

Bond for the babysitter accused of attempted murder in Fort Collins has been lowered.

According to the Coloradoan, 24-year-old Caleb Collins made his first in-person court appearance Friday morning, during which his bond was lowered from $250,000 to $200,000 by Eighth Judicial District Judge Julie Kunce Field.

Collins' private lawyer, Michael Wulfsohn, deemed the original amount "oppressive," noting the accused's ties to the community and remorse over the incident. Judge Field countered the allegations are "significant and concerning" and also banned Collins from coming in contact with anyone younger than age 18.

Collins is confirmed to be a student at Colorado State University, majoring in health and exercise science. He is married and has a child of his own. Police previously said Collins knew the family of the child, whom he was babysitting during the incident occurring on June 30.

Prosecutors told the Coloradoan that the unnamed 7-month-old boy remains in the intensive care unit at Children's Hospital in Denver, where doctors say his brain injuries are among the worst that a child could suffer. Doctors say the injuries could prevent him from ever having purposeful movement.

Collins was arrested on Monday, July 11, at his home in Aurora for attempted first degree murder on a child under 12 years of age and child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury. On the day of the incident, he told investigators he had accidentally dropped the boy that he was babysitting at the family's residence. The child was taken to Medical Center of the Rockies and later to Children's Hospital in Denver with severe head trauma resulting in significant permanent damage.