Naman Shrestha
George Jodoin was a successful businessman known for being a kind-hearted family man. When he met his untimely demise in late 2001, the entire community mourned his loss, especially his loved ones. The episode titled ‘.44 Magnum’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘Homicide Hunter: American Detective’ chronicles the murder case of George Jodoin and the years-long investigation that it took for the authorities to bring the perpetrator responsible for the killing to justice. The documentary also features insightful and in-depth interviews with his family and friends, talking about the impact it had on their lives.
George Jodoin’s Remains Were Discovered at His House by His Business Partner
Born on May 26, 1951, to George Jean Baptiste “J.B.” Jodoin and Anita Marguerite Plante Jodoin, George Isadore Jodoin was brought up on a 20-acre farm in Auburn, New Hampshire, alongside his nine siblings, including four brothers — Robert, Peter, David, and Thomas Jodoin — and five sisters — Georgette Davis, Marguerite Glidden, Angeline Pinard, Annette Gervais, and Andrea Taber. Being the big brother, he served as an inspiration to his siblings, who all looked up to him. George grew up to be a talented individual who was a jack of all trades and believed in living his life to the fullest.
The compassionate and high-spirited man was a businessman, a pilot, a sailor, a beekeeper, a realtor, and even a pianist. He, alongside one of his friends named Glenn Baroody, opened a pawn shop in Manchester called I Buy and Sell Everything several years before his demise. In March 2001, George reportedly also ran for town selectman in Auburn, but failed to win the seat. Being an avid traveler, he was excited for a Thailand trip on his calendar for early 2002. In order to instruct his friend and business partner, Glenn, on how to take care of his farm animals while he was on vacation, he asked him to stop by his house at 718 Chester Road in Auburn, New Hampshire. However, Glenn was greeted by a horrific sight when he arrived at his farmhouse on the morning of December 27, 2001.
When the 50-year-old businessman didn’t respond to the knock on the door, Glenn searched the house and found George dead in his bedroom. He immediately called 911 and reported the situation to the police. The authorities inspected the crime scene as well as the remains, only to learn that he had died of three fatal gunshot wounds to his head and neck. Much to their surprise, they could neither find any bullet casing nor a gun in the crime scene despite searching the entire property and the surrounding areas. Without wasting any time, the police launched a homicide investigation.
George Jodoin’s Killer Was Apprehended About a Decade Later
First things first, the investigators interviewed George Jodoin’s loved ones and regular customers at his pawn shop, including Glenn, Rick Carron, and Arthur Collins, who were identified as some of the many potential suspects. Despite the best efforts from the detectives, the lack of evidence resulted in the case eventually going cold. Several years later, a Cold Case Unit was finally established in New Hampshire in 2009, which led to the revival of George Jodoin’s unsolved murder case in 2011, thanks to the constant pressure from his brother, Robert Jodoin. The investigators went over their list of prime suspects, reexamined each of their alibis, and interrogated them again before finding inconsistencies in Arthur Collins’ version of the fateful day.
As per Arthur, he left George’s house on the fateful night of December 26, 2001, after having a few drinks. He also ended up changing his story several times. Although he agreed to a lie detector test, the suspect failed it and was deemed to be lying to the investigators. Subsequently, he confessed to the detectives that he was responsible for shooting George Jodoin three times while he was asleep in his house in late 2001. In May 2012, he was finally arrested and charged with first-degree murder. At first, the investigators believed that money was the motive behind the killing, but Arthur claimed that George made sexual advances towards him, which made him lose his cool and kill him. The accused also told the detectives that he had blacked out and was not thinking straight.
Arthur Collins is Currently Incarcerated at a New Hampshire Prison
After learning that Arthur Delbert Collins was diagnosed with psychological and behavioral abnormalities in 2010, he underwent a mental evaluation in 2013 in order to determine if he was competent to stand trial. Several months later, in April 2014, he was found competent enough to stand trial, but the finding was challenged by the defence, leading to a further delay in the trial. Finally, in 2015, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree murder. During his sentencing hearing at the Rockingham County Superior Court in Brentwood on July 1 of the same year, several members of George Jodoin took the stand and addressed the killer.
George’s niece, Melanie Godbout, stated, “We were treated like criminals. All along, you were the criminal. You ran freely for more than 10 years. How could you walk around like nothing happened?” His brother, Robert Jodoin, also took the stand and stated, “George was our big brother, to our family and friends we all looked up to him. George enjoyed life maybe more than he should have, he did it with style. He was a warrior at heart…He should have died with a sword in his hand, not a bullet in his head.” Eventually, Arthur was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for his crimes.
A few years after his sentencing, Arthur Collins filed an appeal to set aside his guilty plea, claiming that his defense attorneys were incompetent and refused to let him see the evidence against him. He also deemed his guilty plea a mistake. However, the judge decided that it was not necessary for the defense lawyers to show the evidence to their client. Thus, his motion was denied by the judge in January 2021. As of today, the killer is serving his sentence at Northern New Hampshire Correctional Facility in Berlin, New Hampshire.
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