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The case against the politician's friend has been shrouded in secrecy. After a year of secrecy and mystery, the public is about to start seeing records connected with the investigation into the killing of former Arkansas state Sen. Linda Collins-Smith. During a lengthy pretrial hearing Friday in Pocahontas, Arkansas, Judge John Fogleman said in the coming days he would be unsealing at least 51 documents filed by investigators and prosecutors under one of the strictest gag orders ever seen by legal observers in Arkansas history. Fogleman did not say when he would be releasing the documents or how many pages....

Arkansas authorities have arrested a woman in connection with the murder of former state Sen. Linda Collins-Smith (R), State Police and Randolph County Sheriff's deputies announced Friday. Special agents have taken Rebecca Lynn O’Donnell, 48, into custody and criminal charges against her are pending, police said in a statement. Police said the investigation is currently at a “critical juncture,” and they are not releasing any further information to maintain the case's integrity. Collins-Smith, 57, was reportedly found in her Pocahontas, Ark., home with a gunshot wound on June 4. It wasn’t clear how long she had been dead when her...

The Arkansas State Police along with the Randolph County Sheriff’s Department have arrested 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 the Arkansas State Police. Criminal charges are pending. Arkansas State Police did not release the connection between the suspect and victim. Arkansas State Police have told The DC Patriot that no further information will be released until authorities are confident it will not compromise the integrity of the criminal case. This is a developing story and we’re on the ground here...

Oklahoma Republican state Sen. Jonathan Nichols was found dead Friday, making him the second GOP state senator to be shot to death in the last two days. Police reportedly found Nichols, 53, dead by a gunshot wound in Norman, Oklahoma, Wednesday night. His death comes two days after police reportedly discovered former Arkansas Republican state Sen. Linda Collins-Smith dead from a gunshot wound and wrapped in some kind of blanket.

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — A judge has sealed investigative files in the killing of former Arkansas senator Linda Collins-Smith. The Randolph County prosecuting attorney's office announced Wednesday that Circuit Judge Harold Erwin had sealed documents and statements obtained by police. The Randolph County sheriff's office said it will issue a "brief statement" on the case Wednesday. They did not answer The order comes after Collins-Smith was found dead from a gunshot wound at her home in Pocahontas on Tuesday. Ken Yang, her former press secretary, has said her death is being investigated as a homicide. According to Yang, neighbors heard...

NEA Report says, quoting sources, that former Republican state Sen. Linda Collins-Smith of Pocahontas has been found shot to death in her home. A State Police spokesman will not confirm this report. He says that the State Police is investigating a death at a home near Pocahontas and that identification of the body has not been completed. The body had decomposed, which added to difficulties in identification. NEA Report has posted a photo of a coroner’s vehicle at Collins-Smith’s home. The State Police would not comment on the NEA Report that the death appeared to be not a suicide. Ken...

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LITTLE ROCK — State Rep. Linda Collins-Smith, a Democrat, announced today that she is switching parties and becoming a Republican. Collins-Smith, of Pocahontas, announced the switch during a news conference at the state Capitol. She did not take questions from reporters and did not say whether she would seek re-election next year as a Republican. “I have not changed. I have not left the Democratic party, but the party left me,” she said. Rep. Linda Collins-Smith Collins-Smith called Republicans “hard-working, commonsense people” and said the GOP “most closely holds to the principles that I and most Arkansans believe in.” The...

Police have launched a murder investigation after former Arkansas State Senator Linda Collins-Smith, a Democrat-turned-Republican, has been found shot dead at her home in suspicious circumstances.Collins-Smith's former press secretary, Ken Yang, confirmed her death to local media on Tuesday night and revealed the case is being investigated by police as murder. Collins-Smith was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party eight months after taking office in 2011.