Suspect arrested in Linda Collins death [View all]
State Police announced tonight that they believed theyd solved the killing of Linda Collins, the former Republican senator from Pocahontas, who was found dead in the driveway of her home outside Pocahontas the night of June 4.
The release:
Special Agents of the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division and Deputies of the Randolph County Sheriffs Department, in coordination with the Third Judicial District Prosecuting Attorneys Office, have arrested one person in connection with the homicide of former Arkansas State Senator Linda Collins-Smith.
Rebecca Lynn ODonnell, 48, of Pocahontas is currently in custody. Criminal charges are pending.
The investigation is presently at a critical juncture and no further information will be released at this hour until authorities are confident it will not comprise the integrity of the criminal case.
Collins, known as Linda Collins-Smith until her divorce in the fall from retired Circuit Judge Phil Smith, was identified from the beginning as a homicide victim, but the cause of death has not been revealed. Prosecuting Attorney Henry Boyce of Newport got a court order sealing documents about the case. Police werent barred from talking, but comments have been few.
Collins, who originally ran for office as a Democrat, was among the most conservative members of the Senate, so conservative that a Republican who defeated her for re-election in 2018 ran slightly to her left, being open particularly to the states Medicaid expansion. She was pro-gun, anti-abortion and supported laws to limit rights of LGBT people.
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https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2019/06/14/suspect-identified-in-linda-collins-death