Friend Arrested In Death Of Former Arkansas State Senator Linda Collins-Smith

A friend of former Arkansas state senator Linda Collins-Smith has been arrested and charged with her murder.

Rebecca O'Donnell, 48, who was onetime campaign aide for Linda-Smith, was charged with one count of murder, one count of abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence on Monday, 17th June.

Smith's former press secretary, Ken Yang told NBC News that O'Donnell and Smith were friends and worked together last year. According to the reports, O'Donnell was arrested on Friday, 14th June.

As previously reported, Collins-Smith was found dead outside her Pocahontas home with a gunshot wound. Yang announced the death news to KATV reported Collins-Smith's neighbors reportedly heard several gunshots one or two days before she was found dead.

Arkansas Association of Public Defenders executive director, Gregg Parrish, said O'Donnell didn't have any means to hire an attorney.

Collins-Smith served as the Arkansas State Senator representing the District 19 in the 2014 election. She also served in the Arkansas House of Representatives for two years from 2010 to 2012.

Stay tuned to ArticleBio for more updates.