Father Charged After 16-Year-Old Son Found Dead in Landfill

Jul 9

A Columbia Heights man is charged with second-degree murder after investigators say he killed his 16-year-old son and discarded the body in an Anoka County landfill.

Jordan Dupree Collins Sr., 38, is accused of intentionally killing his son, Jordan “Manny” Dupree Collins Jr., on or around May 8.

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Manny’s remains were recovered nearly two months later during a large-scale search of the Elk River landfill coordinated by local, state and federal authorities.

On May 12, Columbia Heights police received a missing person report from Manny’s mother, who said she last heard from her son early on May 8, when he reacted to a text message around 4 a.m. At the time, Manny was living with his father at an apartment on the 4900 block of University Avenue Northeast in Columbia Heights. Shortly after the report, Collins Sr. told the boy’s mother—and later told police—that Manny left the apartment on May 8 to visit his grandmother and girlfriend in Saint Paul, but investigators determined he never arrived at either location.

Manny’s girlfriend told police her last contact with him was during a video call that ended around 2:30 a.m. on May 8. She said he was in the apartment at the time, did not seem upset, and never said he was planning to visit her. She also had access to his social media accounts and reported there had been no activity on any of them since their video call ended.

On May 15, police executed a search warrant at the apartment and found blood-stained items inside garbage bags stored in a living room closet. They also located several butcher-style knives in a bedroom closet and observed a mattress on the floor that was missing sections of fabric on the underside. Investigators noted the cut pieces of mattress and underlying carpet were gone and could not be found in the apartment. A neighbor who had given the mattress to the family just weeks earlier told police it was fully intact when given to them.

Forensic testing later confirmed that blood found on the mattress, wall and flooring inside the bedroom matched Manny. After the May 15 search, Collins Sr. stopped communicating with law enforcement.

*Jordan Collins Jr.* ***Via Anoka County Sheriff’s Office***

Investigators obtained surveillance footage from May 13 showing a garbage truck emptying a large dumpster behind the apartment. That led to a coordinated search of the Elk River landfill that began on June 4. Using GPS data from the garbage truck, search teams were able to narrow the search to a specific section of the landfill site.

PREVIOUSLY: Police Searching Landfill In Connection To Missing Anoka County Teen

Cellphone data also placed Collins Sr. and his son’s phones at the apartment on the morning of May 8. Manny’s phone shut off at 5:33 a.m. that day. It briefly turned on again at the apartment on May 11 for about three minutes—at the same time Collins Sr.’s phone was also there. Manny’s phone had not connected to any network since. Collins Sr.’s phone was powered off from the morning of May 8 until the next day, according to the complaint.

On June 20, Collins Sr. gave a voluntary statement and changed his account. During that statement, Collins Sr. said he last saw his son on May 10, when Manny left the apartment wearing a black windbreaker jacket and carrying his phone. Collins Sr. claimed he told his son to call when he got to his grandmother’s, and said he tried calling “a couple of times” when he didn’t hear back. Records showed just one attempt—on May 13—and the call lasted 22 seconds.

On June 28, investigators located human remains in the Elk River landfill. DNA testing confirmed they belonged to Manny. He was still wearing the black windbreaker described by his father.

PREVIOUSLY: Remains Found in Landfill Confirmed as Missing Columbia Heights Teen

On July 7, Collins Sr. gave another statement to police, acknowledging that he had cut the mattress and carpet to “clean up his own blood.” But investigators say no blood matching Collins Sr. was found anywhere in the apartment. Additional knives were seized during his arrest, along with roughly $1,300 in cash.

Preliminary autopsy results show Manny died from decapitation by knife. The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide. A motive for the killing was not disclosed in the criminal complaint.

Collins Sr. was arrested on July 7 and is charged with one count of second-degree murder with intent, not premeditated. He is expected to make an initial court appearance on Wednesday morning. If convicted, he faces up to 40 years in prison.

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