Jordan Collins Sr. represented himself at trial before jurors found him guilty of second-degree intentional murder in his son’s 2025 death.
ANOKA, Minn. — An Anoka County jury convicted Jordan Dupree Collins Sr. of second-degree intentional murder in the death of his 16-year-old son, Jordan “Manny” Collins Jr., bringing a three-week trial to an end more than a year after the teenager’s remains were recovered from an Elk River landfill.
The jury returned its verdict Wednesday, Oct. 7, after about three and a half hours of deliberations. Collins, 39, represented himself during the trial and did not testify in his own defense. He is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 2. After announcing the verdict, the court also directed jurors to consider additional factual questions that could affect the judge’s sentencing decision.
Manny had been staying with his father in Columbia Heights when he disappeared in May 2025. His mother, Ashley Berry, reported him missing after she had not heard from him for several days. Authorities initially treated the case as a missing-person investigation and publicly sought information about the teenager’s whereabouts.
The investigation later turned to the apartment where Manny had been staying. Trial testimony described blood evidence found inside the residence that investigators said matched Manny’s DNA. Authorities also recovered knives from the apartment. Prosecutors presented surveillance and waste-hauling evidence they said showed how material from a dumpster behind the apartment was carried to a landfill in Elk River.
Investigators used information about the garbage collection route to narrow the portion of the landfill they needed to search. Crews began examining the site in June 2025 with assistance from law enforcement, fire, emergency medical personnel and federal resources. Human remains were recovered June 28, and DNA testing later identified them as Manny’s.
The discovery changed the course of a search that had begun weeks earlier. Manny was last seen in the Columbia Heights area in early May 2025, and his mother filed a missing-person report May 12. Authorities continued seeking tips and reviewing evidence before concentrating their efforts on the landfill. Collins was arrested in July 2025, and prosecutors later charged him with second-degree intentional murder.
During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence tracing the investigation from Collins’ apartment to the landfill. Collins chose to represent himself, with an advisory attorney available, and delayed his opening statement until after the prosecution had rested. His defense presentation was brief, and he called four witnesses before resting his case.
The verdict prompted statements from law enforcement agencies that had worked on the investigation. Anoka County Sheriff Brad Wise said the verdict could not erase the family’s grief but expressed hope that it would provide “some measure of justice.” Columbia Heights Police Chief Matt Markham also credited investigators and partner agencies that worked on the case.
The conviction resolves the question of criminal guilt that was before the jury, but the case is not finished. Collins remains scheduled to return to Anoka County District Court for sentencing at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 2, when the judge will determine his punishment after considering the verdict and other sentencing factors established in court.
Author note: Last updated October 9, 2026.