A Minnesota jury convicted Jordan Collins Sr., a father who acted as his own lawyer, of murdering his 16-year-old son, Manny, in a verdict returned Wednesday, October 7.
Story Highlights
- Jurors found Collins, 39, of Columbia Heights, guilty of second-degree intentional murder after about three and a half hours of deliberation.
- Investigators followed surveillance video and garbage truck records from a dumpster behind his apartment to the Elk River landfill.
- Crews searched the landfill for about six weeks and found the teen’s remains; DNA confirmed it was Manny.
- Collins faces up to 40 years in prison when he is sentenced on December 2.
The jury convicted Collins of second-degree intentional murder, which in Minnesota means killing someone on purpose without proof that it was planned ahead. Prosecutors said DNA tests found Manny’s blood on the floor and bedding of his father’s apartment, and that his remains were traced from a dumpster outside that apartment to a landfill. Court documents have not laid out a motive. “I still want to know why,” Manny’s mother, Ashley Berry, said after the verdict.
How Investigators Found Manny
Manny normally lived with his mother in St. Paul but was staying for a time with his father in Columbia Heights, in Anoka County. He was last seen on May 8, 2025. His mother, not Collins, reported him missing on May 12, and police said Collins did not cooperate with the search.
According to investigators, surveillance video showed what they believe were Manny’s remains being thrown into a dumpster behind Collins’s apartment. Investigators then tracked the garbage truck that emptied that dumpster to a weigh station and on to the Waste Management landfill in Elk River.
Crews began searching the landfill on June 4 and kept going until July 18. They found human remains, a torso, and DNA testing matched them to Manny on June 30. Collins was arrested on July 7 and charged on July 9, 2025.
How Collins Defended Himself
Collins chose to act as his own lawyer at the three-week trial, sitting alone as he defended himself. He waited until the state finished its case to give his opening statement, then spoke for about 30 minutes, focusing on his constitutional rights rather than the facts of the case. He called four witnesses; two others he planned to call never came. He did not testify.
Judge Dyanna Street, who oversaw the trial, repeatedly scolded him for asking questions she had ruled off-limits before the trial began. Collins pointed to testimony that family and friends entered his apartment after police had roped it off as a crime scene, and he asked whether that could have spoiled evidence. In his closing, he argued that police did not collect all the evidence, such as reported sightings of his son, and that experts could not prove who caused Manny’s death.
What Comes Next
The judge asked jurors to answer 10 more questions, including whether Collins hid the body and caused the family added pain. Those answers will help decide his sentence. He is being held without bail until sentencing at 1:30 p.m. on December 2.
“It didn’t take the pain away, but it felt good to know that he’s going away,” Berry said. Anoka County Attorney Brad Johnson, the county’s chief prosecutor, said, “None of us should outlive our children.” Columbia Heights Police Chief Matt Markham said his department is “extremely thankful for the guilty verdict.”
Sources:
cbsnews.com, fox9.com, audacy.com, kstp.com
