Inset: Donnie White (Linn County Jail). Background: U.S. Marshals taking White into custody (Grand Rapids Police Dept.).
In Iowa, a man aged 51 has been accused of the murder of a pregnant woman, aged 38. He is suspected of causing her death by beating her, then wrapping her body in a comforter, and finally leaving her body in a shopping cart before fleeing to Las Vegas.
The suspect, Donnie White, was arrested in late March and has been charged with first-degree murder and nonconsensual termination of a pregnancy in relation to the killing of Brittany Hopkins. Records obtained by Law&Crime confirm these charges.
In response to a call about a deceased person outside an apartment complex on Westdale Drive SW on February 28 at 8:32 a.m., the Cedar Rapids Police Department dispatched officers to the location, which is approximately 115 miles to the east of Des Moines. Upon their arrival, emergency responders discovered the body of an adult female, later identified as Hopkins, and secured the area for further investigation.
Three days later, police confirmed that they were investigating Hopkins’ death as a homicide and publicly asked for any possible witnesses to contact the department.
Detectives homed in on White as a suspect and on March 14 contacted the Northern Iowa Fugitive Task Force to request assistance in locating and apprehending him.
“Task Force officers began to follow up on leads throughout Cedar Rapids and developed information indicating White had fled the state following the murder. Officials began coordinating with the U.S. Marshals Nevada Violent Offender Task Force,” a news release from the U.S. Marshals Service states. “Officers with the Nevada Violent Offender Task Force today narrowed their search to an area in the 2900 block of West Washington Avenue in Las Vegas. U.S. Marshals approached the suspect shortly after 3 p.m. and White eventually surrendered to the Nevada Violent Offender Task Force.”
White was taken into custody without incident and was held without bond as he awaited extradition back to Iowa.
A copy of the criminal complaint obtained by The Gazette provided additional details about the investigation into Hopkins’ murder.
According to the newspaper, the victim’s body was discovered inside of the shopping cart covered with a white blanket and wrapped in black electrical tape. Several bags of trash had also been placed on top of the body in an apparent attempt to conceal its whereabouts. An autopsy determined that Hopkins’ manner of death was a homicide and the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.
After police publicly released White’s name as a person of interest, an individual called to report seeing him and Hopkins together just days before the body was discovered. Investigators soon obtained surveillance footage from outside of a local shopping mall on Feb. 22 that corroborated the tip. Another tipster told investigators he was with White and Hopkins on Feb. 27 and that White had physically assaulted Hopkins.
After learning that White had been living about a block from where Hopkins’ body was found, investigators obtained a search warrant and found what appeared to be wheel marks from a shopping cart in the carpeted hallway that led from White’s apartment to the exit.
Footage from another building’s surveillance camera allegedly showed White pushing the empty cart into the building on Feb. 27, leaving with a full cart in the direction where Hopkins’ body was found, and returning home about 30 minutes later.
Inside the apartment, investigators said there was blood spatter on the walls and bleach on the rug. A hammer was also recovered with what appeared to be blood and human hair on it. There was also a bloody handprint that allegedly came up as a match for White.
White was extradited back to Iowa on Sunday and is currently being held in the Linn County Jail on a $2.5 million cash-only bond, records show.
