Where is the suspect of Sen. Linda Collins's case? Everything we know about the former Arkansas Senator case

In June 2019, the quiet town of Pocahontas, Arkansas, was rocked by the murder of former State Senator Linda Collins, found stabbed to death outside her home. The 57-year-old Republican, who served from 2011 to 2019, was discovered by her son and father under a tarp in her driveway, sparking a high-profile investigation.

Rebecca Lynn O’Donnell, Linda Collins’s close friend and former campaign aide, was arrested and later pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse. She is currently serving a 50-year sentence in an Interstate Compacts Unit of the Arkansas Department of Corrections, with her exact location undisclosed due to the nature of the program.

The case was explored in the Dateline: Secrets Uncovered episode The Hands of the Killer. It is now set to be re-aired on August 6, 2025.

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The real story behind the Linda Collins case

Dateline: Secrets Uncovered (Representative image via Unsplash/ @ Michael Förtsch)

Linda Collins, a former Arkansas State Senator, was last seen alive on May 28, 2019, in Pocahontas. On June 4, her son, Butch Smith, and father, Benny Collins, found her body wrapped in a blanket under a tarp in her driveway, in an advanced state of decomposition. Authorities confirmed she was stabbed multiple times, according to ABC News.

The Arkansas State Police and Randolph County Sheriff’s Department initially suspected her ex-husband, Philip Smith, due to a contentious divorce involving $2 million in assets. However, security footage from Linda Collins’ ARLO cameras shifted focus to Rebecca Lynn O’Donnell, her friend and former aide. The footage, recovered despite attempts to delete it, showed O’Donnell holding a blood-covered knife and removing cameras on May 28, as per ABC News.

O’Donnell was arrested on June 14, 2019, during a traffic stop en route to Collins’ memorial. Investigators determined a financial motive as O’Donnell had forged checks and stolen from a hotel they co-owned. She faced charges of capital murder, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence.

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Where is Rebecca Lynn O’Donnell now?

Dateline: Secrets Uncovered (Representative image via Unsplash/ @ Matthew Ansley)

Rebecca O’Donnell is incarcerated under the Arkansas Department of Corrections system. Department officials have not disclosed her current location for security reasons, as per The Sun.

Rebecca Lynn O’Donnell, now 54, is serving a 50-year sentence for the murder of Linda Collins. On August 6, 2020, she pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse in Randolph County, admitting, “I went to Linda’s house, and I intentionally killed her and then hid the body.” She also pleaded “no contest” to two counts of solicitation to commit capital murder in Jackson County, stemming from a jailhouse plot to kill Collins’ ex-husband, Philip Smith, and frame it as a su*cide, as per ABC News.

Her sentence consists of three years for corpse abuse, forty years for murder, and seven years for each concurrent solicitation charge. Following a media lawsuit, the case's sealed documents were made public in December 2021, verifying the specifics of her incarceration.

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Aftermath and community response

Dateline: Secrets Uncovered (Representative image via Unsplash/ @ dlxmedia.hu)

The murder profoundly impacted Linda Collins’ family and Pocahontas. Butch Smith, who discovered his mother’s body, described the traumatic scene, with the image “burned” into his memory. Tate Williams, Collins’ daughter, expressed anguish over O’Donnell’s betrayal, noting how she hugged them at the police station after the murder.

The family initially suspected Philip Smith but accepted his clearance after evidence pointed to O’Donnell. The community was stunned, as O’Donnell and Collins were close, described as “like sisters,” having worked together on campaigns and business ventures.

The case drew national attention, with Dateline episodes featuring interviews with Butch, Tate, Sheriff Kevin Bell, and Senator Gary Stubblefield. Brief speculation about political motives arose, but investigators confirmed the murder was personal. Linda Collins’ children continue to honor her memory, focusing on her love for family and Arkansas, while vowing to prevent O’Donnell’s early release.

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Stay tuned for more updates on Dateline: Secrets Uncovered.

Edited by Niharika Dabral