Minn. Teen’s Autopsy Reveals Decapitation — and Police Say His Father Is the Killer

Authorities in Minnesota have released a shocking detail about the death of a teenage boy just days after his father was arrested on murder charge in connection with the case.

Jordan Dupree Collins Sr. was arraigned on a second-degree murder charge in Anoka County court on Wednesday, July 9, according to a statement from the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office. He was being held on $2 million bail, the sheriff’s office said. PEOPLE couldn’t immediately confirm his plea or identify an attorney to speak on his behalf.

Collins, who was arrested on Monday, July 7, is accused by authorities of killing his 16-year-old son, Jordan “Manny” Collins Jr., PEOPLE previously reported. The boy’s remains were found after a nearly month-long search of a landfill in Elk River, Minn., the sheriff’s office announced on July 1. He was last seen on May 8 in a Columbia Heights, Minn., neighborhood and reported missing on May 12.

Anoka County Sheriff Brad Wise said during a press conference at the time that investigators obtained a “video that showed some evidence that would suggest the body might have made its way into a dumpster and into a garbage truck.”

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According to a criminal complaint filed this week and obtained by Minnesota Public Radio, KTSP-TV and KROC, a preliminary autopsy found evidence that the teen had been decapitated. During a search of the father’s home on May 17, investigators allegedly found knives and blood-stained items, per the complaint. The blood was later confirmed to be the boy’s.

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The father allegedly told investigators that he last saw his son on May 8 when the boy left his house, per the complaint cited by KTSP. Authorities also said that a garbage truck that collected waste from behind the suspect’s apartment on May 13 led investigators to the landfill, the outlet reported, citing the complaint. A motive remains unclear.

Soon after he disappeared, a GoFundMe was set up to help the boy’s mother, Ashley Berry, as she struggled to return to work while searching for her son.

“He’s a really good kid, and anybody who’s crossed paths with him knows that he has an old soul,” Berry told KARE 11 last month.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.