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In July 2015, a handyman from Manchester named Arthur Collins was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to the 2001 shooting murder of Auburn, New Hampshire-based real estate investor and pawn shop owner George Jodoin, who was found shot to death inside his home on the day after Christmas.
Jodoin's case remained unsolved for over a decade until it was reopened for re-examination in 2011. Collins was arrested in May 2012. He confessed that on the night of the murder, George made a s*xual move which led to the shooting. The victim died of gunshot wounds to the head and neck.
Sources state that Arthur Collins is currently serving time at the Northern New Hampshire Correctional Facility in Berlin, New Hampshire.
ID's Murder Comes to Town is scheduled to revisit Jodoin's decades-old murder case and the lengthy investigation that led to Collins' getting arrested years later. The episode, titled The Nightmare After Christmas, airs on Thursday, December 22, at 7 pm ET.
Here's more to know about the case.
Arthur Collins was sentenced after entering a guilty plea in 2015 in George Jodoin's 2001 murder case
Arthur Collins was handed a sentence in 2015, thirteen years after George Jodoin was shot dead in his Auburn home. In 2011, investigators reopened the cold case from 2001 and interrogated Collins once again. They allegedly discovered gaps in his alibi, prompting him to change his story, initially claiming that he was present at the time Jodoin was shot but later claiming that someone else pulled the trigger.
Authorities had suspected Collins all along but lacked sufficient leads and evidence to make an arrest when the investigation was still active. They tracked him over the years. He eventually failed a polygraph test and ultimately confessed to shooting the real estate investor three times all those years ago. Collins' alleged motive for shooting Jodoin was financial gain.
The lead prosecutor on George Jodoin's case, Jeff Strelzin, reportedly stated that,
"We really narrowed it down to, 'Who do we think were the last people that saw him alive?' Obviously there could have been a fourth killer, an unknown killer, but that is rare in New Hampshire. Fortunately or unfortunately, most people are killed by people they know."
Handyman Arthus Collins claimed he shot 50-year-old George Jodoin after he made s*xual advances on him
Arthur Collins, 43, was arrested in May 2012 and charged with second-degree murder in connection to Jodoin's murder. Sources state that the two were acquainted and that Collins would often work as a handyman for the victim.
Collins stated that Jodoin made s*xual advances on him that night, which drove him to fire the gun. He alleged that Jodoin had dragged him into a bedroom to "do stuff to him." Collins then sprinted to the kitchen, grabbed a gun from the table, and hurried back into the bedroom, where he pointed it at the victim and fired. He claimed to have seen two bright flashes from the gun as it went off.
Before this confession, those close to the victim were still under the radar. One of Jodoin's close friends, Ricky Carron, stated that being on the suspect list for a murder led to his divorce. According to reports, Carron made a statement in court, saying,
"There was a lot of doubt out there towards me. Rumor mill hits without any control, my ex-wife, her mother, packed it up, moved to Holden, Maine fearing for her life. All those days my kids suffered."
Family members of the victim claimed that they were emotionally and physically consumed by the investigation that dragged on for years. Jodoin's niece, Melanie Godbout reportedly said,
"We were treated like criminals, and all along you were the criminal, moving around freely or more than ten years. How could you walk around like nothing happened? Eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, go to work, you spent time with your family and friends while you took ours away."
Where is convicted murderer Arthur Collins now?
Arthur Collins pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2015 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. He is currently serving time at the Northern New Hampshire Correctional Facility in Berlin, New Hampshire, and will likely be eligible for parole in 2042.
Murder Comes to Town to airs on ID this Thursday, December 22, 2022.
