Ex-State Senator Linda Collins-Smith found shot to death in her Arkansas home

The former Republican state Senator from Arkansas, Linda Collins-Smith, who served in the House from 2011 to 2013, was found shot to death in her Pocahontas, Arkansas, home earlier this week.  Neighbors reported hearing gunshots coming from the home, “a day or two before officials found her body,” according to The Hill.  Collins-Smith was 57-years-old at the time of her death – a death the police are investigating as a homicide.

Officials found her body on Tuesday. “It wasn’t immediately clear how long Collins-Smith had been dead when her body was found, but she was said to be wrapped in some sort of blanket and her body had begun to decompose,”  according to The Ark Times.

Today, we learned of the untimely death of former Senator Linda Collins Smith. She was a passionate voice for her people and a close member of our Republican family. We are praying for her loved ones during this difficult time. pic.twitter.com/uOg76yd6dF

— Arkansas GOP (@ARGOP) June 5, 2019

Collins-Smith lost to James Sturch in the Republican Party primary for the 19th district in Arkansas in May 2018 by fewer than 600 votes. She previously served one term in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013, switching parties after being elected as a Democrat. ~ ABC News

ABC went on to report that the body inside the home, although believed to be that of Linda Collins-Smith, was so badly decomposed that it needed to be sent for an autopsy before a formal identification could be made. The autopsy will also determine the cause of death, although Collins-Smith’s former press secretary, Ken Yang, told KATV, that the former Senator was found in her home with a fatal gunshot wound to the body.

I’m both stunned and saddened by the death of former State Senator Linda Collins-Smith. She was a good person who served in the public arena with passion and conviction. The First Lady and I extend our deepest sympathies to her family and friends during this difficult time.

— Gov. Asa Hutchinson (@AsaHutchinson) June 5, 2019

“The Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division has been requested by the Randolph County Sheriff’s Department to be the lead investigative agency in what is currently being handled as a homicide investigation,” an Arkansas State police spokesperson told The Daily Beast on Wednesday. “No further statements by this department will be made until additional facts in the case can be confirmed.”

Collins-Smith last posted to her Facebook page on May 21 when she was offering condolences to the Arkansas family whose three-year-old son died from being run over by a tractor.

~  Written by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Connect with Richard on Facebook and Twitter

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