Former Oklahoma state senator Jonathan Nichols, was found dead with a gunshot wound Wednesday at his home in Norman, Oklahoma on June 5

The 53-year-old GOP politician was discovered inside his house and a police source reportedly said a gun was in the room where he was discovered on Wednesday

Police would not confirm or deny the detail due to their ongoing investigation

A family member called 911 from the home where Nichols lived with his wife and two daughters

Nichols who served in the state senate from 2001 to 2013 was among those fired from University of Oklahoma on the current college president’s first day in office, last year

His most recent role was Senior Policy Advisor to House Speaker Charles McCall 

latest GOP loss happened  500 miles from Linda Collins-Smith, a former GOP Arkansas state senator, who was found shot dead in her home on Tuesday

Police are treating death of Collins-Smith is being treated as a homicide investigation, but Norman PD said they are not looking for suspects in the Nichols case

Former state senator Jonathan Nichols, [photo], was found dead with a gunshot wound on Wednesday, June 5,  inside his house in Norman, Oklahoma police said

Oklahoma police are investigating after former state Senator Jonathan Nichols was found dead of an apparent gunshot wound inside his house.

He is the second GOP former state senator found shot dead at home in just over 24 hours after a former Arkansas senator was discovered Tuesday.
Police confirmed Thursday that the 53-year-old was found dead at the property in west Norman at about 8.44pm Wednesday. A gun was on a table in the same room, law enforcement sources told The Oklahoman.
They discovered the former Assistant District Attorney – who served as a member of the Oklahoma Senate 2001 to 2013 – after responding to a report of an individual with a gunshot wound.
Nichols represented Cleveland County as a Republican from 2000 to 2012 before serving subsequent legislative leaders in staff capacities.
At the time of his death, Nichols was working as a senior policy advisor for Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall

Oklahoma GOP State Sen Senator Jonathan Nichols (left) was found dead with a gunshot wound Wednesday at his Oklahoma home. Former Arkansas GOP State Sen Linda Collins-Smith [right] was found shot dead Tuesday in Arkansas

Norman Police Department’s spokesperson said it occurred at his residence in the 3900 block of Annalane Drive. A family member called 911. He was married with two children.
‘Based on officers that arrived on scene, it was clear there was an apparent gunshot wound,’ Jensen KFOR.com.
‘This individual was a public servant in the Norman community, served not only with the District Attorney’s office but also as a legislator.’
Investigators are currently working with the Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s Office to determine the exact cause and manner of death, police said. However, they would not confirm or deny the report about a gun being found in the room with Nichols ‘based on the ongoing investigation’.

Any information previously released a spokesperson said was not released the police
NPD shared that there are no suspects and there have been no arrests in this case.
The case remains under investigation by the NPD Criminal Investigations Division who were working overnight to gather more details.
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Former Arkansas State Senator Linda Collins-Smith, a conservative is found dead from a gunshot wound and wrapped in a blanket inside her home The decomposing body of Linda […]

Responding officers found the GOP Senator dead inside his house and a police source reportedly said a gun was in the room where he was discovered at his home in Norman, Oklahoma

Coincidence? The former senators, both Republicans – one from Arkansas, the other from Oklahoma lived 500 miles apart. Nichols and  Collins-Smith died of gunshot wounds days apart – one one an apparent suicide and the other being treated as a homicide

Cops are not looking for suspects in Nichols’  case and said no one was in custody Thursday.

As a Cleveland County assistant DA Nichols was disciplined in 1995 when he got into a fist fight with another assistant DA, The Oklahoman reported.
Sex crimes prosecutor Charles Douglas was first for the scuffle where he said Nichols took a swing at him and missed but he delivered a blow back in defense.
It was reportedly after they disagreed about a case. Nichols was 30 at the time of the incident which occurred the year after District Attorney Tim Kuykendall was elected.
Douglas complained that Nichols – who worked on gang-related, weapons and assault and battery cases – had contributed to Kuykendall’s campaign.
From 2016 to 2018, Nichols was vice president of government relations at the University of Oklahoma, where he received his juris doctorate in 1993.

Along with several other staff members, the man who was hired to fight state budget cuts to higher education – was fired on James Gollogly’s first day as the school’s president.
‘We mourn his loss deeply on behalf of his family but also on behalf of the OU family and everyone who believes public service is sacred and essential for a civil society,’ OU interim president Joseph Harroz Jr. said in a statement.
‘Jonathan will be missed by me, our OU family and the many people he served in his roles as senator, prosecutor and advocate for education.’
University of Oklahoma political science and journalism professor Keith Gaddie said: ‘He distinguished himself in his ability to work across the aisle to try and make lives better.’

Clues? Norman police Dept are not looking for suspects in the death of Nichols’ [left in photo with Cliff Branan R-Oklahoma City in 1995]. Police said no one was in custody as of Thursday

Nichols’ most recent role was Senior Policy Advisor for Speaker Charles McCall at Oklahoma House.
‘I am shocked and incredibly saddened to learn that Jonathan has passed away. He was a valuable member of my staff and a friend,’ McCall said in a statement.
‘Jonathan was a very proud man, but he served humbly. He was proud of his family and loved them deeply, he was proud of Norman and he was proud of Oklahoma. He was especially proud of his service to the state, as a prosecutor, as a state Senator and later as a valued and esteemed advisor for both Senate leadership and House leadership.
‘He loved the rule of law and public safety, and he spent most of his career working tirelessly on those issues. His wife, Talitha, and his daughters, Jessica and Rachel, are in our prayers today.’
Former House member and current chief executive of the State Chamber of Oklahoma Fred Morgan said Nichols ‘always sought compromise to resolve complicated problems’.

Nichols’ most recent role was Senior Policy Advisor for Speaker of the Oklahoma House Charles McCall  [photo], who said he was ‘shocked and incredibly saddened’ to learn about Nichols

A politician whose appeal went across party lines, Nichols was liked by colleagues from both sides of the aisle.
Former Sen. Andrew Rice (D-OKC) said: ‘I also found him gracious in praising the loyal opposition of the Democratic caucus, even when we weren’t deserving. He was a good man.’
Norman Democrat Rep. Jacob Rosecrants called Nichols’ death a ‘huge loss’.
‘Every time I saw him at the Capitol in 2017, a very tumultuous time, really…it wasn’t tumultuous between he and I. He was always welcome to come to my office. I was his state rep. He knew it. He was just extremely honest,’ Rep. Rosecrants told News 4.
‘It’s such a huge loss. It was a surprise to me today when I heard this. I was just like, what? Out of all the people I met at the Capitol, this is somebody who’s indelible to me from just his personality and the connection we had.’

Rep. Jacob Rosecrants [D-Norman], said the death of Republican politician, Jonathan Nichols was a ‘huge loss’

The death was confirmed after the body of former Arkansas State Sen Linda Collins-Smith was found at her property on on June 4.
It’s not clear when she died as her remains were decomposed and a judge imposed a gag order on the release of all documents associated with the murder investigation.
During a very brief press conference held on Wednesday afternoon, Randolph County Sheriff Kevin Bell said remains were discovered inside the residence at 4023 Arkansas Highway 90 West.
She ran for the State Senate as a Republican in 2014. Three years later, Collins-Smith introduced the Arkansas Physical Privacy and Safety Act, a ‘bathroom bill’ that would have forced transgender children and adults to only use the bathroom that corresponded to the sex listed on their birth certificate.

Gun rights advocate and former Arkansas Republican State Sen, Linda Collins-Smith [photo], was found shot dead in her home on Tuesday, June 4. Her death is being investigated as a murder

Collins-Smith’s neighbors heard gunshots a day or two before her body was discovered around 7.15pm on Tuesday
Collins-Smith’s neighbors heard gunshots a day or two before her body was discovered around 7.15pm on Tuesday.
Her body was discovered wrapped in a blanket, according to Arkansas Times.
On her Facebook page, Collin-Smith described herself as a ‘Conservative’ and listed some of the issues she considered most important to her: ‘God, Family, Veterans, Guns, Patriot & Country.’
As a State Senator, Collins-Smith introduced or co-sponsored multiple bills seeking to expand the places where concealed weapons could be carried, including college and university campuses, the state Capitol, other state offices and courtrooms.
She was once quoted as telling the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: ‘You can’t be pro-gun enough in Arkansas.’
She was also the owner of Days Inn and Suites in Pocahontas.

From 2016 to 2018, Nichols was vice president of government relations at the his alma mater, University of Oklahoma, where he received his juris doctorate in 1993, but Nichols – along with several others – were fired on University of Oklahoma President James L. Gallogly’s first day, last year

Former Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Nichols who served as a member of the Oklahoma Senate 2001 to 2013 was married to wife,  Talitha. The couple have two daughters, Jessica and Rachel.
before taking on his role as Senior Policy Advisor for Speaker Charles McCall at the Oklahoma House, from 2016 to 2018, Nichols was vice president of government relations at the University of Oklahoma, where he received his juris doctorate in 1993.

Nichols, along with several others, was fired last year from his job at the school by college President James L. Gallogly, on his first day in office.