Inset left: Jordan Dupree Collins Sr. (Anoka County Sheriff”s Office) Inset right: Jordan “Manny” Collins, Jr. (Anoka County Sheriff’s Office) Background: Law enforcement searches the Waste Management Landfill in Elk River, Minnesota, for the body of Manny Collins (KMSP/YouTube)
A 16-year-old boy’s body was found in a Minnesota landfill after weeks of law enforcement searching for him, and his father is the prime suspect in his death.
Jordan Collins Jr., commonly known as “Manny,” was last seen on May 8, according to authorities, who said he was staying with his father in Columbia Heights when his mother lost contact with him. On May 12, he was reported missing.
On Saturday, June 28, Collins Jr.’s body was found in a landfill in Elk River, about 30 minutes away, Anoka County Sheriff Brad Wise said at a July 1 press conference. Wise confirmed at the time that law enforcement was speaking to the father, 38-year-old Jordan Dupree Collins Sr., though the sheriff wouldn’t go into further details.
Six days later, Collins Sr. was arrested, and he has since been charged with second-degree murder.
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According to Twin Cities ABC affiliate KSTP, a criminal complaint filed on Wednesday showed there was “evidence of decapitation by knife,” and the death of Collins Jr. is considered to be a homicide. The same criminal complaint detailed that authorities searched the elder Collins’ home on May 11 and found incriminating material.
They reportedly located items with apparent blood stains in garbage cans in a living room closet, as well as multiple “butcher and hunting style knives” in a bedroom closet, and evidence of a mattress and carpet both missing pieces. The father maintained that his son left his apartment on May 8 to visit his grandma and girlfriend – with the latter appearing dubious about this, saying they had made no such plans.
Collins Sr. also said the knives were used to “butcher goats and sheep,” CBS affiliate WCCO reported.
Blood inside the apartment was reportedly later revealed to match the son’s DNA.
On May 13, authorities watched a video that “showed some evidence that would suggest the body might have made its way into a dumpster and into a garbage truck,” Wise, the Anoka County sheriff, said – and this led them to the landfill in Elk River.
Over the subsequent weeks, hundreds of people from over 30 different agencies helped search the landfill for signs of Collins Jr., Wise added, with a search area of almost 180,000 cubic feet. Approximately 10,000 hours of work were put in before they found the victim’s body.
During an interview with Fox affiliate KMSP in June, Ashley Berry, Collins Jr.’s mother, expressed skepticism that her son was safe.
“Do you think he’s OK?” the interviewer asked.
“No,” Berry replied. “As hard as it is for me to say that I don’t, I don’t think he is.”
“Physically?” the reporter sought to clarify.
“I don’t,” she answered. “I think other people know that as well.”
Berry suggested her hope had waned in early June. “Of course people, they want me to hope for the best – he’s just somewhere hiding out. But I don’t feel that way.”
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In a GoFundMe fundraiser posted by Berry before her son’s body was found, she said her “life has been turned upside down.”
“Every moment of every day has been focused on finding him — talking to authorities, sharing his story, posting flyers, and following every lead possible. My heart is breaking, but I refuse to stop looking,” she wrote.
It is unclear what, if any, motive behind the victim’s killing there may have been. Collins Sr. is being held in the Anoka County Jail on a $3 million bond, and his next court date is reportedly on Aug. 4.
