A Gaston County social worker was fatally shot and her estranged boyfriend has been charged with murder in her death. Zelda D. Kollock, 51, had worked with Gaston County since September 2012 as a supervisor in adult protective services.
Kollock lived in a Gastonia apartment during the week, and would return to her home in Columbia, S.C., on the weekends, according to co-workers. The killing took place Saturday at her home in South Carolina, said Richland County Sheriff’s Sgt. Curtis Wilson.
John Washington, 58, faces a murder charge in her death. He remains in custody at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Columbia without bond. Washington and Kollock had an estranged relationship, Wilson said.
“They had a relationship where basically she did not want to talk to him anymore,” Wilson said. “He came by wanting to talk to her, and when she didn’t want to talk to him he left. He came back 15 minutes later and did what he did,” Wilson said. Kollock died from complications of those gunshot wounds, according to Richland County Coroner Gary Watts.
Officers arrested Washington after they say he got into a car accident on Interstate 77 and was ejected from the vehicle. He was taken to the hospital, The State newspaper in Columbia reports.
Keith Moon, social services director for the Gaston County Department of Health and Human Services, said Kollock had recently retired from the state social services agency in South Carolina, where she spent most of her career, before starting a new one here. Moon actually worked with Kollock for a time in the same Aiken County, S.C., agency years ago. “She was a delightful lady who everybody really liked here,” he said.
Kollock worked directly under Adult Services Administrator Brenda Yeatman. Kollock had just celebrated her 51st birthday and had treated herself with a trip to Jamaica earlier this month, which she was still glowing about, Yeatman said. During her year here, she touched everyone in the department personally and professionally, she said. “She found a way to connect with each of the workers in adult and aging services,” said Yeatman. “She fit in almost immediately. She was always a very professional and upbeat person and we’ll miss her tremendously.”
Officials planned to hold a moment of silence for Kollock during the Health and Human Services board meeting Thursday night. Moon said several of Kollock’s co-workers would be traveling to Columbia to attend a memorial service for her on Saturday morning. Several of them also planned to tie a black ribbon around a tree in front of the DHHS building on Marietta Street.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and a memory walk that takes place here on Oct. 2 will be held partly in Kollock’s honor, Yeatman said.
You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-869-1823 or twitter.com/TheGazetteKevin.