Arrest made in shooting murder of ex-Senator Linda Collins-Smith

[Cover photo: Police confirmed that the photo at the top of this article is of Linda Collins-Smith (L) and murder suspect Rebecca Lynn O’Donnell (R). Image credit: Facebook]

Yesterday, Special Agents of the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division and Deputies of the Randolph County Sheriff’s Department, in coordination with the Third Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, reported arresting one person in connection with the homicide of former Arkansas State Senator Linda Collins-Smith.

Rebecca Lynn O’Donnell, 48, of Pocahontas is currently in custody, according to a release from the Arkansas State Police. Criminal charges against the suspect are pending.

Officials say that the investigation is presently at a critical juncture and no further information will be released until authorities are confident it will not comprise the integrity of the criminal case.

Fox News reported that O’Donnell was a former campaign staffer of the former Senator’s who had worked on Collins-Smith’s most recent campaign.

According to Ken Yang, a former communications director for Collins, O’Donnell had worked on the former lawmaker’s most recent campaign and the two of them were friends.
Yang said Collins’ family did not have an immediate comment on the arrest but may issue a statement later. ~ KTHV-TV

The former Republican state Senator from Arkansas, Linda Collins-Smith, who served in the House from 2011 to 2013, was found shot to death in her Pocahontas, Arkansas, home on June 4. Neighbors reported hearing gunshots coming from the home, “a day or two before officials found her body,” according to The Hill. Collins-Smith was 57 years old at the time of her death – a death the police immediately began investigating as a homicide as soon as her body was discovered.

“It wasn’t immediately clear how long Collins-Smith had been dead when her body was found, but she was said to be wrapped in some sort of blanket and her body had begun to decompose,” according to The Ark Times.