Linda Collins and Rebecca O’Donnell.Photo: Facebook
A friend who helped slain formerArkansas State Senator Linda Collinswith her most recent campaign was charged with capital murder — but the suspect’s fiancé says that there’s “not a chance” that she is responsible.
Collins, 57, was found dead of a gunshot wound outside of her Pocahontas, Arkansas, home on June 4. Her body had been wrapped in a blanket.
Rebecca Lynn O’Donnell, 48,was arrested last week. She was later charged with capital murder, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.
Rebecca O’Donnell.
The arrest shocked Collins’ family. “We are sickened and upset that someone so close to Linda would be involved in such a terrible, heartless crime,” they said in a statement. “The family is very confident that the Randolph County Sheriff’s Department and the Arkansas State Police will continue to work diligently to bring justice to this case.”
But not everyone is convinced of O’Donnell’s guilt.
In an interview withGood Morning America, O’Donnell’s fiancé Tim Loggains says the police have arrested the wrong person — and that O’Donnell would never have killed someone she considered her best friend.
Loggains says that O’Donnell was on her way to Collins-Smith’s memorial service when cops stopped their vehicle and arrested her with their AR-15 guns drawn. “You could see the look of utter disbelief on her face when that happened,” he says.
Collins, who switched from the Democratic to Republican party in 2011, served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 2010 to 2012. O’Donnell was with her every step of the way, claims the fiancé.
“Becky worked for Linda, but Linda was a family friend,” says Loggains. “She was like a sister.”
“Becky’s not capable of this,” Loggains continues. “I haven’t questioned that. Either she is the best actress in the world and a sociopath and has totally fooled me, or there’s not a chance she did this.”
O’Donnell will appear in court next month on a pretrial hearing. She has not yet entered a plea and is being held without bond. In her preliminary hearing last week, the judge ruled that O’Donnell would need a court-appointed lawyer. Court records do not reflect an attorney authorized to speak on her behalf.
source: people.com
