Rebecca O’Donnell/KAIT
The day after new charges were filed, the family of slain former Arkansas Sen. Linda Collins released a statement in which they affirmed their faith in authorities. Wednesday’s statement comes on the heels of two additional charges of solicitation to commit capital murder being filed against Rebecca O’Donnell, a friend of Collins, previously charged with capital murder in the case.
The new charges were filed Tuesday after jail inmates alleged O’Donnell asked them to kill Collins’ ex-husband, Philip Smith, and others.
News outlets across the state report in the statement, the family said, “We have full faith that the investigators acted on solid evidence supporting these charges and not just on a whim. We appreciate the transparency shown by all agencies involved in this matter.”
O’Donnell, who has pleaded not guilty to capital murder in the killing of Collins, was also charged Tuesday with two counts of criminal solicitation to commit tampering with physical evidence.
According to an affidavit filed Tuesday, four inmates told State Police O’Donnell had talked with them about killing Collins’ ex-husband and arranging to have the death look like suicide. The affidavit notes O’Donnell also talked with inmates about blowing up her vehicle, which is being held at the Randolph County jail, “to destroy any evidence that may be in the vehicle.”
One inmate said O’Donnell “told her that Phil Smith needed to be killed and a ‘suicide note’ was to be left so the ‘charges would be dropped off her,'” according to the affidavit.
Three inmates said O’Donnell told them they could take a bag of gold and silver at Phil Smith’s home as payment. Another inmate gave the investigator handwritten “suicide notes” she said O’Donnell had written.
Others allegedly targeted in the jailhouse plot include Smith’s current wife, a prosecutor formerly assigned to the case and a county judge.
Collins’ family said they remain certain of the veracity of investigators’ findings.
“These newest charges further cement in our minds that the police have arrested the right person,” the family said in the statement. “Rebecca O’Donnell’s threats are being treated very seriously but have not deterred our faith in what we are committed to, justice for Linda.”
Photo: Linda Collins
O’Donnell’s attorney, Lee Short of Little Rock, said on Tuesday the “outlandish” allegations included in an affidavit were likely the result of inmates attempting to get favorable plea deals by agreeing to testify about made-up claims.
Robert Dittrich, the prosecutor now assigned to the Collins murder, said he did not expect any charges to be filed against the women who spoke to the police about the alleged plots. He said he didn’t know if any of the women had been given plea deals on other charges for agreeing to speak to the police.
Collins was elected to the Arkansas State Senate for District 19 in 2014. The district includes eastern Fulton County and all of Izard, Sharp, Independence and Randolph counties. She lost her re-election bid in 2018.
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