A woman awaiting trial in the 2019 killing of a former Arkansas state senator was charged Tuesday with devising an elaborate plot to murder the victim's ex-husband and his new wife, prosecutors said.
Rebecca Lynn O'Donnell, 49, faces murder charges in the stabbing death of 57-year-old Linda Collins-Smith, a former Republican lawmaker whose decomposed body was found June 4 wrapped in a blanket at the end of her driveway in Pocahontas, Arkansas.
Jailed since June 14, O'Donnell has pleaded not guilty in the death of Collins-Smith but now faces two counts of criminal solicitation to commit capital murder and two counts of criminal solicitation to commit tampering with physical evidence.
Credit: Danny Johnston
Credit: Danny Johnston
Several inmates accuse O'Donnell of hatching the plot to kill Collins-Smith's ex-husband, Phil Smith, and then stage the crime scene to look like a suicide, according to an affidavit filed by prosecutors.
One of the inmates said O'Donnell gave her handwritten “suicide notes” that would make it appear as if Smith's new wife was planning to leave him, which would eventually clear her of murder charges.
Court papers also said O'Donnell discussed blowing up her vehicle “to destroy any evidence” as it sat impounded at the Randolph County Jail.
O'Donnell told four of her fellow inmates that they would find a bag of silver and gold at Phil Smith's home which they could keep as payment for the crime, investigators allege.
One inmate also accused O'Donnell of wanting to take out the prosecutor and the judge in her case.
O'Donnell's attorney denied the claims and said the inmates were desperate to plea bargain their own cases.
“It's not surprising at all — inmates do it all the time," said Lee Short in an interview with ABC News. “In high-profile cases, especially homicides, people tend to seek opportunities to improve their situations by giving statements against people.”
Collins-Smith was elected to the state House as a Democrat in 2011. Elected to the state Senate as a Republican in 2014, she was outspoken on issues including gun rights and transgender bathroom use. She served in her seat until January 2019.
O'Donnell was captured on video removing Collins-Smith's home surveillance cameras on May 28, 2019 — the last day Collins-Smith was seen alive, according to court records.
Her trial is scheduled for October. Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty.
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