POCAHONTAS -- A gag order issued Wednesday confirmed the death of former state Sen. Linda Collins-Smith, whose body was found outside her home the evening before.
An Arkansas State Police spokesman said the agency is investigating the death as a homicide, but didn't identify the victim or the cause of death.
The Randolph County sheriff's office was called Tuesday evening to a home belonging to the 57-year-old Republican at 4023 W. Arkansas 90 in Pocahontas.
In a Wednesday afternoon news conference, Sheriff Kevin Bell said the condition of the body prevented investigators from immediately identifying the person.
Bell spoke for less than two minutes and declined to answer questions, including whether police have made any arrests or have any suspects.
State police spokesman Bill Sadler said the state Crime Laboratory is performing an autopsy and would identify the deceased afterward.
Circuit Judge Harold Erwin signed off on a gag order Wednesday morning that prevents the release of major material in the investigation, including law enforcement and medical reports.
The order refers to the investigation into Collins-Smith's death but provides no additional information about how she died.
Prosecutors asked the judge to sign off on the seal, writing in a motion that releasing documents typically public in any criminal case "could hamper the ability of the court to impanel a fair and impartial jury by prejudicial pretrial publicity."
Prosecuting attorney Henry Boyce did not return messages seeking further comment.
Property records show the home is also owned by Collins-Smith's ex-husband, Philip Smith, a retired circuit judge whose district covered Randolph County. The couple separated in 2016 before filing for divorce the following year, according to court records.
Divorce records showed disputes over a large sum of money and property the couple owned. The couple married in 1995 and had two adult children.
Collins-Smith ruffled feathers within Democratic and Republican circles during her stints in both parties, over the course of six years in the Legislature.
She was a staunch opponent of Arkansas' version of Medicaid expansion and a fierce advocate of gun rights. She once said, "You can't be pro-gun enough in Arkansas."
"It takes my breath away to think she is no longer here to fight over what is best for Arkansas," former Rep. Charlotte Douglas, R-Alma, said in an interview. "The people have lost a powerful advocate who probably had the best backbone in the state."
Collins-Smith served on the Arkansas Ethics Commission from November 2008-July 2009. She was appointed by then-Senate President Pro Tempore Jack Critcher, D-Batesville, and resigned to run for the state House of Representatives. She served one term, from 2011 to 2013.
Nine months after her November 2010 election as a Democrat to the House, Collins-Smith announced she had switched to the Republican Party because the state Democratic Party had become more liberal.
At that time, state and national Republican leaders called the move a sign that the party could be able to take over one chamber of the Arkansas Legislature in 2012. But Democrats brushed off Collins-Smith's switch, with then-Gov. Mike Beebe saying it wasn't a loss for the state Democratic Party.
She donated $1,000 in 2004 to then-President George W. Bush and then $2,300 to Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in 2007.
In the 2012 general election, she lost a challenge to Sen. David Wyatt, D-Batesville, in District 19, which includes Independence, Izard and Sharp counties and parts of Fulton and Randolph counties.
That year, Republicans gained control of both houses of the Legislature for the first time since Reconstruction.
Wyatt decided not to seek re-election in 2014. Collins-Smith ran and defeated Rep. James McLean, D-Batesville, to win a four-year term in the Senate that began in 2015 and ended in January of this year.
Republican Asa Hutchinson became governor in 2015. Collins-Smith clashed at times with Hutchinson. They disagreed over continuing the state's version of Medicaid expansion, which provides private health insurance to low-income people.
In 2017, she introduced a bill that would have restricted which public restrooms transgender people could use. Hutchinson expressed a desire to avoid debating such a "bathroom bill," and it failed to clear the Senate Judiciary Committee.
In 2017, she also was unsuccessful in fighting Hutchinson's efforts to add a training requirement to legislation allowing concealed carry of guns on college campuses. She introduced her own bill, called the True Campus Carry Act.
Collins-Smith also fell short of winning the Senate's approval for her bill that would have barred state lawmakers from appearing as attorneys or consultants for another person, firm, corporation or entity before a legislative panel.
In the Republican primary in 2018, she lost to then-Rep. James Sturch, R-Batesville, who was backed by Hutchinson.
Sturch, whose wife is Macy, on Tuesday night tweeted: "Macy and I were sorry to hear the news of Senator Collins passing.
"While Senator Collins and I didn't always agree, there is no doubt she was a passionate advocate for what she believed. I ask all of Senate District 19 to join me in praying for her family during this time," Sturch wrote in his tweet.
"I'm both stunned and saddened by the death of former State Senator Linda Collins-Smith," Hutchinson said in a written statement. "She was a good person who served in the public arena with passion and conviction. The First Lady and I extend our deepest sympathies to her family and friends during this difficult time."
There had been some recent speculation in political circles about whether Collins-Smith would seek election to the House next year against Rep. Marsh Davis, R-Cherokee Village.
Ken Yang, a former spokesman for Collins-Smith, said he talked briefly with her about that possibility in either March or early April. He was under the impression she hadn't made up her mind.
Douglas, the former state representative, posted a statement on Facebook early Wednesday in which she referred to her recent conversation with Collins-Smith.
"As I talked to her a week ago we discussed her optimism for a new opportunity in DC," Douglas wrote.
Douglas said Wednesday in an interview that Collins-Smith told her that she had an interview in Washington, D.C., and "was excited about it." Douglas said she doesn't know the position the interview involved.
Metro on 06/06/2019