POCAHONTAS, Ark. — Rebecca O'Donnell, who was a reported close friend of the victim, pleaded not guilty to former state Senator Linda Collins-Smith's murder on Tuesday. She faces the death penalty.
During the arraignment Tuesday, Judge David Goodson opened court files in the murder case to the public. Judge Goodson urged anyone who may become emotional to leave the courtroom as he made an opening statement.
According to the affidavit, it was Collins's son and father that discovered a body wrapped in a blanket under a tarp in the driveway. It took the crime lab a few days to identify the body as Linda Collins-Smith.
Once identified, officials ruled the death as a homicide and determined that the body had been moved from inside the home. That's when investigators started looking at Collins-Smith's security videos.
Security footage from Collins's home shows O'Donnell removing the cameras from the home, which led to the charges she is now facing.
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Prosecuting Attorney Henry Boyce offered an explanation on why he is seeking the death penalty.
"It's the number one question everybody wants to know the answer to, and I was in court and had the opportunity to declare my intent and I did," said Boyce.
O'Donnell, also a former campaign worker, was charged with capital murder, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence.
Collins, who went by Collins-Smith in the Legislature, was found dead June 4 outside her home in Pocahontas, Arkansas.