Missing Minn. Teen Found Dead in Landfill Weeks After He Vanished
Human remains found in a landfill over the weekend have been identified as Jordan "Manny" Collins Jr., 16, police announced at a press conference on July 1
Authorities have indicated it's a homicide investigation but have not named any suspectsThe remains of a Minnesota teenager who vanished in May have been found, authorities said, bringing a tragic end to a weeks-long search.
Jordan "Manny" Collins Jr., 16, was last seen on May 8 in Columbia Heights, Minn., and reported missing on May 12, Columbia Heights Police Chief Matt Markham said at a press conference on Tuesday, July 1.
Over the weekend, investigators found human remains at the Waste Management Landfill in Elk River, Minn., which have now been positively identified as Collins, the chief announced. Markham said authorities have been searching the landfill since June 4. The Midwest Medical Examiner's Office will determine the cause of death.
'I think the fact that a four-week search of the landfill illustrates pretty clearly the tenacity of law enforcement in bringing justice," Anoka County Sheriff Sheriff Brad Wise said at the press conference. "This is a complex investigation."
Wise said that investigators obtained a "video that showed some evidence that would suggest the body might have made its way into a dumpster and into a garbage truck."
Authorities have indicated the matter is being investigated as a homicide, but have not named any suspects.
"Well, a dead body wound up in a landfill, so I guess draw your own conclusion, yes," Wise told reporters.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
Collins' mother, Ashley Berry, spoke with KARE 11 before he was confirmed to be dead, telling the news station, "He's a really good kid, and anybody who's crossed paths with him knows that he has an old soul."
A GoFundMe campaign created by Berry to help her with basic expenses had raised more than $8,000 as of July 1.
"Since that day, my life has been turned upside down," she wrote on the fundraising page. "Every moment of every day has been focused on finding him — talking to authorities, sharing his story, posting flyers, and following every lead possible."
Read the original article on People
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Family of 4 Revealed as Victims of Crash on Texas Highway After Truck Driver Allegedly Fell Asleep: Reports
Family members Shaun and Zabar McKellar, their 15-year-old son Kason and grandfather Billy McKellar, 79, died in the June 28 car crash in Terrell, Texas, according to reports Evan McKellar is the only family member to reportedly have survived the incident and is in critical condition in hospital Alexis Osmani Gonzalez-Companioni, 27, was charged with five counts of manslaughter in relation to the crashFour members of the same Fort Worth family have been revealed as among the victims of a recent multi-vehicle crash in Texas. Shaun and Zabar McKellar died along with their 15-year-old son Kason and grandfather Billy McKellar, 79, when a semi-truck crashed into several vehicles on Interstate 20 in Terrell on Saturday, June 28, NBC News and CBS News reported, citing the Texas Department of Public Safety. Evan McKellar, 20, was the only family member to survive the crash. She had been riding with her family in a Ford F-150 truck at the time and was sent to the ICU at Parkland Hospital with critical injuries, according to the outlets. The fifth victim who died in the crash has been identified as the driver of another vehicle, 49-year-old Nicole Gregory from Dallas, per NBC News. She died at the scene. The crash happened after a semi-truck hit two 18-wheelers and three passenger vehicles, causing a 'mass casualty' event, CBS reported at the time of the incident, citing the Terrell Volunteer Fire Department. Alexis Osmani Gonzalez-Companioni, 27, allegedly told police that he fell asleep at the wheel before crashing into the back of a pickup truck carrying five people at around 2:40 p.m. local time, KLTV, CBS News Texas and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram previously reported. Gonzalez-Companioni was charged with five counts of manslaughter and an additional count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon related to the crash, PEOPLE confirmed. He is currently in custody at the Kaufman County Jail. The McKellar family were coming back from a trip in East Texas at the time of the crash, the family's attorney John Nohinek, of Witherite Law Group, told NBC News at the time. 'Our focus as attorneys turns toward trying to locate the source, from a legal standpoint, of the wreck,' he told the outlet. 'While the family grieves, we work to make sure that we get this information as soon as possible. It's very important information to get an idea of what was happening inside that vehicle at the time.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The loss of the McKellars has been described as 'heartbreaking' by loved ones. 'We lost a beautiful family in a tragic motor vehicle accident in Terrell, Texas,' Kirbie Nichols wrote on a GoFundMe page supporting the family. 'This unimaginable tragedy has deeply touched the hearts of many, and we are incredibly grateful for the overwhelming love, prayers, and support shown during this time. So many have reached out asking how they can help or give back to the family in this moment of sorrow,' the page read. According to CBS News, Kason was a student at North Crowley High School, while Evan McKellar is a college student. PEOPLE has contacted Texas Department of Public Safety for comment. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Idaho Murders Timeline: Everything to Know About the Case as Bryan Kohberger Is Expected to Accept Plea Deal
Four students from the University of Idaho were stabbed to death at a home in Moscow, Idaho on Nov. 13, 2022 The victims include Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20 Suspect Bryan Kohberger was arrested more than a month after the murders and is expected to enter a guilty plea on July 2, 2025The court proceedings involving the brutal killings of four students at the University of Idaho on Nov. 13, 2022, may finally be coming to an end. On July 2, suspect Bryan Kohberger is expected to plead guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary after he reportedly agreed to a plea deal days earlier. Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were all stabbed to death in bedrooms on the second and third floors of a home in Moscow, Idaho. The killing shocked the campus of the University of Idaho, where all four victims attended, especially as the case began with no suspects or apparent motive. More than a month after the murders took place, Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania in connection with the murders — the same day a memorial was scheduled for best friends Mogen and Goncalves. "It was amazing they caught him the night before their memorial — such a blessing and relief for all of us," Jessie Frost, a family friend of Mogen's, told PEOPLE. "It brought a little peace that day." In May 2023, Kohberger was indicted by a grand jury. Though at the time, he pleaded not guilty to four counts of murder and one count of felony burglary, that will change if his plea deal is confirmed in court. Here's a complete timeline of the case and ongoing legal proceedings. According to a probable cause affidavit released in January 2023, Kohberger's cellphone pinged in the area of the 1122 King Road home where the killings took place on at least 12 occasions prior to Nov. 13, 2022. "All of these occasions, except for one, occurred in the late evening and early morning hours of their respective days," the affidavit reads. On Aug. 21, 2022, Kohberger's cellphone was in the vicinity of the home from approximately 10:34 p.m to 11:35 p.m. At 11:37 p.m., Kohberger was stopped by a Latah County Sheriff's Deputy while driving a white Hyundai Elantra, the affidavit alleges. The same vehicle was taken from Kohberger's parents' home on the day of his arrest. In January 2023, an investigator familiar with the case told PEOPLE that Kohberger sent a series of messages to one of the victims on Instagram. In late October, an account that authorities believe belonged to Bryan Kohberger sent a greeting to one of the female victims, the source said. When he didn't get a reply, he sent several more messages to her. "He slid into one of the girls' DMs several times but she didn't respond," the source told PEOPLE. "Basically, it was just him saying, 'Hey, how are you?' But he did it again and again." Authorities have not said if the victims knew Kohberger, but the suspect's now-deleted Instagram account — which was reviewed by PEOPLE before it was removed — followed the accounts of Mogen, Goncalves and Kernodle. According to a former employee at the Mad Greek restaurant in Moscow, Idaho, Kohberger ate at the restaurant where two of the victims, Mogen and Kernodle, worked as servers. On Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022, Chapin, Mogen, Kernodle and Goncalves were found stabbed to death in an off-campus apartment from an apparent knife attack near the University of Idaho. According to the probable cause affidavit, authorities believe the killings took place between 4 and 4:25 a.m. Authorities confirmed that two additional roommates were home during the attack but slept through it and were unharmed. Several days after the killings took place, an Idaho coroner revealed the four victims were stabbed to death, and their deaths were officially ruled homicides. Latah County Coroner Catherine Mabbutt told NBC News that authorities suspect a large knife was used. "It would have had to have been ... not a pocket knife," she said. "It would have been a bigger knife." Mabbutt also told the outlet that their wounds "were pretty extensive" and the crime scene was unlike anything she'd experienced before. On Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022, loved ones and fellow students gathered at the University of Idaho to remember the four young students who were killed. During the vigil — which began and ended with a live choir — Ethan's mother Stacy Chapin, Kaylee's father Steve Goncalves and Maddie's father Ben Mogen spoke about their children on campus with hundreds in attendance. During a press conference on Friday, Dec. 30, 2022, Moscow Police Chief James Fry confirmed that Bryan Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania in connection with the murders of Chapin, Kernodle, Mogen, and Goncalves. Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson confirmed during the press conference that Kohberger was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and felony burglary. Chapin's family later released a statement about the arrest, saying, "We are relieved this chapter is over because it provides a form of closure ... However, it doesn't alter the outcome or alleviate the pain. We miss Ethan, and our family is forever changed." Following Kohberger's arrest, the suspect's family broke their silence in a statement sent to PEOPLE by Bryan's lawyer Jason A. LaBar. "First and foremost, we care deeply for the four families who have lost their precious children," wrote the suspect's father, Michael Kohberger, his mother, Marianne Kohberger, and his sister, Amanda. They added, "There are no words that can adequately express the sadness we feel, and we pray each day for them. We will continue to let the legal process unfold and as a family we will love and support our son and brother." They continued, "We have fully cooperated with law enforcement agencies in an attempt to seek the truth and promote his presumption of innocence rather than judge unknown facts and make erroneous assumptions. We respect privacy in this matter as our family and the families suffering loss can move forward through the legal process." On Jan. 3, 2023, Kohberger appeared in a Pennsylvania courtroom and waived his extradition to Idaho, meaning that he agreed to return to Idaho to face the charges against him. The following day, Kohberger was transported to Idaho. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 12, where he will enter a plea to the charges against him. After Kohberger was returned to Idaho, the probable cause affidavit was released, shedding light on what led investigators to arrest Kohberger. According to the affidavit, which was reviewed by PEOPLE, a sheath of the knife used in the stabbings was left at the scene in the bed where Mogen and Goncalves were found deceased. This is where detectives found DNA linking Kohberger, according to the affidavit: Agents took trash from Kohberger's parents' home in Pennsylvania to test for a DNA match. Per the affidavit, one of the surviving roommates said they saw the killer, described in the affidavit as "a figure clad in black clothing and a mask," who walked past her as he left the crime scene. The roommate also said she heard crying on the night of the killings, as well as a male voice saying something along the lines of "It's OK, I'm going to help you." Kohberger was linked to the crime scene from DNA and cell phone pings, the affidavit alleges. Around 4:20 a.m., a white sedan referred to as "Suspect Vehicle 1" in the affidavit was seen leaving the area of the home at a fast rate of speed, the affidavit alleges. According to the document, the vehicle and phone associated with Kohberger returned to the scene between 9:12 a.m. and 9:21 a.m. While he was being extradited from his home in Pennsylvania and then booked into the Latah County Jail, a police source told PEOPLE that Kohberger made small talk with officers, including making mention of the Idaho students who were killed. "He seemed really nervous," a police source who was involved in the process told PEOPLE. "He was narrating to himself everything that was happening. At one point, he was saying something to himself like 'I'm fine, this is okay.' Like he was reassuring himself that this whole thing wasn't awful." Kohberger was read his Miranda rights during his arrest, and cannot be questioned about the case without an attorney present. He didn't speak directly to officers about the case, but the police source said that he did make an offhand comment about it. "He did say, 'It's really sad what happened to them,' but he didn't say anything more," the source said. "He's smarter than that." In newly unsealed search warrant records, authorities detailed the items they seized from Kohberger's residence after he was arrested and charged with the murders of four University of Idaho students. The items seized from Kohberger's residence include one disposable black glove, receipts from Walmart and Marshalls, a dust container vacuum, possible hair strands, one "Fire TV" stick, one possible animal hair strand, one computer tower, an item with a dark red spot, two pieces of an uncased pillow with a "reddish/brown" stain and mattress covers, according to the search warrant, which was obtained by PEOPLE. Kohberger was indicted by a grand jury in May 2023. The indictment allowed prosecutors to bypass the previously scheduled June 26 preliminary hearing, which meant the two surviving roommates would not need to be cross-examined. Days later, a judge entered not guilty pleas for Kohberger after he was "standing silent" in the courtroom, according to reporters who were present in the courtroom. In August 2023, Kohberger's trial, which had been scheduled to begin on Oct. 2, was delayed indefinitely when he signed a waiver for his right to a speedy trial. That same month, Kohberger's attorneys declared his alibi claim in a new court filing. 'Mr. Kohberger has long had a habit of going for drives alone,' his lawyers wrote in the filing. 'Often he would go for drives at night. He did so late on November 12 and into November 13, 2022.' His lawyers added that Kohberger 'is not claiming to be at a specific location at a specific time; at this time there is not a specific witness to say precisely where Mr. Kohberger was at each moment of the hours between late night November 12, 2022 and early morning November 13, 2022.' Kohberger appeared in court for two hearings in January 2024. Newsweek reported that the first hearing was closed to the public and was to address the defense's motion to dismiss the indictment on claims of a biased jury, insufficient evidence and other claims. During the second hearing, which was live-streamed, Judge John Judge dismissed the defense's motion to dismiss the indictment and the appeal to take their claims to the Idaho Supreme Court. The prosecution has requested a summer 2024 trial date, while the defense is asking for March or summer 2025. Judge Judge said that he needed more time to set a new trial date, apologizing to the families of the victims. In an order filed by Judge John C. Judge, he granted Kohberger's attorneys' change of venue motion, citing that letting the trial play out locally could lead to 'prejudicial' media coverage. 'Considering the undisputed evidence presented by the defense, the extreme nature of the news coverage in this case, and the smaller population in Latah County, the defense has met the rather low standard of demonstrating a 'reasonable likelihood' that prejudicial news coverage will compromise a fair trial in Latah County,' the judge wrote. A court order granted the prosecutors' request to present text message exchanges between the surviving roommates and testimony about the night the victims were killed, revealing new details about the murder. The text messages revealed that Goncalves and Mogen had discussed going back out with their roommates, who were identified as D.M. and B.F. in court documents, the night they were stabbed, but ultimately decided against it. Around 4 a.m., D.M. said she "heard strange noises and crying coming from the bathroom" and discovered a person "dressed in black with a ski mask on walking by her bedroom door." At 4:26 a.m., D.M. unknowingly saw Kernodle's dead body "lying on the floor of her bedroom," though at the time she "thought Xana was drunk." She then locked herself in B.F.'s bedroom, where they stayed for eight hours trying to reach the victims. Ahead of the trial that was set to begin in August, a letter from prosecutors to the victims' families that was obtained by ABC News revealed that Kohberger had reportedly accepted a plea deal. At a July 2 hearing, he is expected to plead guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary. If confirmed by a judge, accepting the plea deal also means waiving his rights to an appeal. Read the original article on People
New York Post
4 hours ago
- New York Post
Tupac's friends and family smoked his ashes hours after his death, Suge Knight claims
Tupac Shakur's closest friends and family rolled the rapper's cremated ashes into a blunt and smoked it just hours after he died, his pal Suge Knight sensationally claimed in a new interview. The former Death Row Records CEO told People on Tuesday that he coughed up $1 million in cash to have the slain rapper immediately cremated so the bizarre ritual could take place — and because he was so terrified of Shakur's mom. 'A bag with his ashes was passed around,' Knight said. 'His homies rolled him up. They smoked him. Advertisement 4 Tupac Shakur was shot and killed on September 13, 1996. Getty Images 4 Former Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight is currently serving a prison sentence. Getty Images 'You gotta understand, that's what made sense. It was symbolic. It's like… you keep part of him,' he added. Advertisement Knight — who was behind the wheel when Shakur was shot dead in the passenger seat — claimed he was the only one who didn't partake. 'I was so happy to say I was on probation — I couldn't smoke,' Knight said. 'I told his mother, 'Moms, I'd love to, but if I hit that, I'll get in trouble.'. I was probably the only one who didn't hit him.' 4 Tupac Shakur was 26 years old at the time of his death. Getty Images Advertisement Knight, who is currently serving time in California for manslaughter, said he paid a huge sum to have his pal cremated because Shakur's mom, Afeni Shakur, demanded it just moments after he was pronounced dead. 'She came up to me and said, 'Get it done. Now,'' Knight recalled. He said he hesitated because Shakur had told him just weeks earlier that he didn't want to be cremated. 'He told me, 'When I go, I want every rapper at my funeral to grab the mic. I want them to kiss me head to toe. Just like in 'Life Goes On.'' Knight said. 'He didn't want to be cremated.' Advertisement 4 Suge Knight with Tupac Shakur in 1996. BEI/REX/Shutterstock After telling his mom he didn't think he could make the cremation happen so soon, Knight said the rapper's grieving mom 'gave me one of those mama looks, like, 'Shut your a– up and do what I said.'' 'Then she started cussing me out. 'Get this sh-t done!'' Knight said, adding, 'I paid someone a million dollars cash to take care of it.'
