I'm Lester Holt. Tonight on Deadline, a former state senator found murdered at her own home,

a stunning loss to all who knew her. And the killer? That was a stunner too.

There's a large spot of blood that was on the floor and appeared that's where the homicide

actually took place. I was breaking down crying. It's my mom.

He said she's been murdered. I mean, my world just falls apart.

People couldn't believe that this former state senator was down to add.

She embraced hot button issues. She did. You got to consider maybe there's political

on the museum. Everyone thought the ex has been. They were going through a divorce and the divorce

was ugly. Linda had a feeling someone was trying to harm her. She was in fear for a life.

Video cameras had been placed around that house. Those cameras possibly recorded the actual

murder. You see this white sheet somebody trying to disguise themselves. They'll walk into the house.

This is our killer.

Here's Dennis Murphy with the hands of a killer.

Moving out of my office today, I was going to say how humble I am to be your senator,

how proud I was to serve you. For elected officials, it comes with a territory.

Now and then you get tossed out of office. For Arkansas State Senator Linda Collins,

that day of reckoning with the voters arrived in 2019. She'd been primaryed and lost her seat in

the state capital. That's the way I voted. As your conservative senator and your friend.

After nearly 10 years of service, she was packing up her boxes.

It was an altogether bad patch for the senator. She'd been going through a messy divorce as

well. Her kids butch and tape knew all the turbulence had taken a toll on their mom.

If you knew Linda, you knew that most important things to her were God and then her family and

...