Jury convicts Anoka County man of killing his teenage son
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An Anoka County jury on Wednesday found a Columbia Heights man guilty of second-degree murder in the killing of his 16-year-old son.
Jordan Dupree Collins Sr. will be sentenced in December for the death of Manny Collins.
The teen’s remains were found in an Elk River landfill in June 2025, weeks after he went missing. Authorities seized several knives from his father’s apartment, and court filings said bloodstains found in the apartment matched Manny’s DNA.
Authorities were able to use GPS data kept by Waste Management to determine where garbage collected from the dumpster outside the apartment was dumped in the Elk River landfill and pinpoint the search. That led to the eventual discovery of Manny’s remains.
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Jordan Collins Sr. represented himself during the trial that lasted several weeks. Court documents have not outlined a possible motive for the killing.
Manny’s mother, Ashley Berry, described her son as someone who “had the biggest heart.”
“He was always helping others, spreading kindness and lifting up those around him,” she wrote on an online fundraiser to create a foundation in honor of Manny.
In a statement issued after the verdict, Anoka County Attorney Brad Johnson said he has “never heard from so many people about a single case. I am grateful for all the people who showed up to rally behind Manny, his mother Ashley and their family, and all those who continually supported the work of law enforcement and our office.”
“Like many others who worked on this case, I took Manny’s death and discovery as a personal loss. None of us should outlive our children. But to have a child — a child in our community — taken from us in this way is simply unconscionable,” Johnson wrote.
Jordan Collins Sr.’s sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 2.
