Colby Tatom’s ex-girlfriend arrested in the death investigation of Cristi Ruso

Mourie Collier, 29, of Silsbee

BUNA, TX- On April 1st, 2025, Colby Tatom pled guilty to tampering with a human corpse, and after being sentenced to 20 years in prison, he took the witness stand in a process called “allocution”. While on the stand, Tatom, 30, of Buna, testified that he shot and killed Cristi Ruso at his residence on County Road 777 in Buna on October 21, 2021. He admitted in court and under oath that after he killed Ruso, he then burned her body on his property and then discarded the rest of her remains in the Neches River.

This evening, Jasper County Sheriff’s Deputies traveled to Hardin County and arrested Mourie Collier, 29, of Silsbee and charged her with a 3rd Degree Felony, Tampering with Physical Evidence. Collier, who was the girlfriend of Colby Tatom on October 21st, 2021 and shared his residence with him. It is believed that Collier intentionally and knowingly transported the murder weapon, a Rossi .44 Special, to the Big Thicket Pawn Shop in Silsbee and pawned it knowing the gun was used by Tatom to kill Cristi Ruso. It is alleged that the pawn shop transaction occurred on December 30th, 2021. Collier was transported to the Jasper County Jail and charged with a 3rd Degree Felony, Tampering with Physical Evidence.

Sheriff Chuck Havard stated, “Had Collier not tampered with this evidence and notified law enforcement, this investigation would have been concluded significantly sooner with an extremely different outcome. She literally destroyed this investigation by covering for Colby Tatum and concealing this information by tampering with a key piece of evidence. Her actions directly obstructed justice and hampered our ability to convict Tatum of murder.” Sheriff Havard goes on to state, “We will continue to utilize every resource and investigative tool we have at our disposal to put people in jail that had any involvement in this case.”

Our hearts and prayers are with Cristi Ruso and her family.

Respectfully,

Chuck Havard, Jasper County Sheriff

Anne Pickle, Jasper County District Attorney