A Minnesota man was recently arrested in connection with his teenage son’s death. Jordan Dupree Collins Jr., also known as Manny Collins, disappeared around May 8, 2025. He was allegedly on his way to a relative’s home, but the teen never made it. Although there is not an exact date he went missing, his social media and phone activity stopped around Mother’s Day. Nearly two months after Manny Collins went missing, remains were found in a landfill. They were soon identified as those of the boy. Almost a week later, police showed up on his father’s doorstep.
Thirty-eight-year-old Jordan Dupree Collins Sr. was charged with one count of second-degree murder, KARE 11 reported. He was arrested on July 7 and charged on July 9. According to the criminal complaint, Jordan Collins Sr. stopped communicating with authorities after a May 15 search of his home. During the search, investigators uncovered blood stains in garbage bags in a closet as well as several knives.
“I’m happy about that, I hope he don’t get out and we needed justice for Manny; he didn’t deserve that at all,” Manny’s great-grandmother, Mary Berry, told KSTP about the arrest.
Berry told the news outlet that Jordan Collins Sr. picked up the boy from her home and brought him to Columbia Heights. Before Mother’s Day, she asked when the boy was returning, and his father told her the teen was on the bus, heading her way, per KSTP. Manny Collins never made it back, however, and when she told his father, the older man allegedly stopped answering her messages.
The boy’s mother, Ashley Berry, said the last time she talked to her son was around 4 a.m. May 8, according to KSTP. Shortly after his disappearance, she created a GoFundMe account to “cover basic needs” as she searched for her son. “He’s a really good kid, and anybody who’s crossed paths with him knows that he has an old soul,” she told KARE 11.
In the same interview, she expressed suspicions that Jordan Collins Sr. might have been involved in their son’s disappearance. Like Mary Berry, she claimed the man suddenly didn’t “want to talk to anybody.” She called the behavior “a red flag.” Currently, it is unclear what prompted police to arrest Jordan Collins Sr.
On July 1, the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office released a statement sharing that human remains had been found the weekend before. “After further testing, the remains were identified as Jordan (Manny) Collins, Jr. We wish to express our condolences to his mother, family, and loved ones during this tragic time,” the statement read.
“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 Brad Wise said in a press conference. “This is a complex investigation.”
An autopsy determined the cause of death was decapitation by knife. His death is being treated as a homicide, KARE 11 reported. When police took Jordan Collins Sr. into custody, he had a large amount of money on him. He was also planning to leave the state, necessitating the prosecution to charge him quickly.
Jordan Collins Sr. is being held on a $2 million bond. He will return to court in early August.
