File photo: Courtesy KAIT
The woman accused of killing former state senator Linda Collins was in court Wednesday where she pleaded innocent to related charges of conspiring to arrange additional murders while being incarcerated.
The Arkansas Democrat Gazette reports Rebecca O’Donnell was charged earlier this month with two counts each of solicitation to commit capital murder and solicitation to tamper with physical evidence. The charges follow police saying multiple women at the Jackson County jail accused O’Donnell of seeking their help in arranging the murders of Collins’ ex-husband, Phil Smith, as well as other officials connected to her murder case.
Police also accused O’Donnell of seeking someone to “blow up” her car being held in police impound.
O’Donnell’s attorneys have called the accusations “outlandish,” and say they are driven by women seeking lighter sentences while in jail.
Collins’ family has said the charges strengthen the case against O’Donnell, a close friend and campaign aide to the former Republican lawmaker.
O’Donnell pleaded innocent to charges last year of killed Collins at the woman’s home in Pocahontas.
While the charges in the murder case stem from Randolph County, the newest charges against O’Donnell were filed in Jackson County, where she had been held in jail until recently being transferred to the detention center outside Pocahontas.
O’Donnell’s first appearance Wednesday, however, was held at the Randolph County Courthouse, where judge John Fogleman was considering other matters in the murder case.
On Wednesday, Fogleman issued a modified order sealing search warrant affidavits and the investigative file from the murder investigation, which had been sought by attorneys for ABC News and the Arkansas Press Association.
Fogleman said he would review other documents already submitted with the circuit clerk to see if any additional materials would be released to the public.
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