Pregnant Mom Was Found Bludgeoned to Death in Shopping Cart — and Search of Man’s Home Revealed Horrific Scene
Brittany Hopkins was found dead in February, nearly a month before Donnie Danell White was arrested in connection with her killing
A pregnant woman who was killed in February was found wrapped in a blood-soaked comforter and stuffed inside a shopping cart, according to newly released court documents.
Brittany Hopkins, 38, was found dead on Feb. 28, in a residential area in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, by officers responding to a report of a deceased person, the Cedar Rapids Police Department said in a statement at the time.
On March 19, Donnie Danell White was arrested in Nevada on a murder charge regarding a homicide in Cedar Rapids, according to a statement from the U.S. Marshals, the agency that made the arrest.
White was arrested in connection with Hopkins’ murder, a spokesperson for Cedar Rapids Police Department confirmed to PEOPLE. Online court records show the alleged murder took place on Feb. 26.
White, 51, is accused of beating Hopkins to death, covering her body in a comforter and putting her in a shopping cart, according to a newly released criminal complaint cited by CBS 2 Iowa, KCRG and The Gazette.
Hopkins was pregnant at the time she was killed, Cedar Rapids police confirmed to PEOPLE.
The comforter she was wrapped in was soaked with blood and had been tied with tape, per the complaint, The Gazette and KCRG reported. Her body was underneath several bags of garbage.
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Police say after they released information about Hopkins, they were tipped off about White, who was reportedly seen with the slain woman the day before her body was found, per The Gazette, KCRG and CBS 2 Iowa.
One witness told police they had seen White and Hopkins on Feb. 26, and he had assaulted the woman in front of the witness, per the complaint, The Gazette and KCRG reported.
Security footage reviewed during the investigation showed Hopkins and White in the parking lot of a storage facility on Feb. 22, per the complaint.
During a search of White’s residence, police found a bloodied scene, including blood spatter on the wall, bleach stains on the carpet resembling the outline of a human body and a hammer that had hair and blood on it, the complaint stated.
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In an online fundraiser, Hopkins’ family says she was the mother of three children, ages 14, 4 and a toddler “just shy of 2 years old.”
“They now have to learn to live without the woman that provided them life,” her mother wrote, adding that Hopkins had been “fearing for her life.” They further allege Hopkins may have fallen victim to human trafficking.
Cedar Rapids declined to comment on these claims, citing the pending investigation.
It wasn’t immediately clear how White may have known the victim.
He has been charged with first-degree murder and nonconsensual termination of pregnancy, according to online court records, which do not indicate plea or attorney information.
Cedar Rapids police: Murdered woman was found wrapped in comforter in shopping cart
Surveillance video, witness place defendant with woman before the killing
Mar. 31, 2025 12:24 pm
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CEDAR RAPIDS — The body of a Cedar Rapids woman found dead last month in southwest Cedar Rapids had been wrapped in a comforter and left in a shopping cart, according to new court documents filed Monday after the man charged with her murder was extradited to Iowa from Nevada, where he was arrested.
Donnie Danell White, 51, of Cedar Rapids, is charged with first-degree murder and nonconsensual termination of pregnancy in relation to the death of Brittany Hopkins, who was pregnant at the time of her death at the end of February.
According to a criminal complaint filed Monday, police were called at 8:33 a.m. Feb. 28 to a parking lot at 2110 Westdale Dr. SW after someone found Hopkins’ body left outside in a shopping cart. The body was wrapped in a blood-soaked white comforter and secured with electrical tape. Bags of garbage had been placed on top of the body.
Investigators identified the body as Hopkins and an autopsy determined she had died from blunt-force head injuries. After police released Hopkins’ name, someone contacted the police department to report that White had been with Hopkins in the days before she was found dead. Video surveillance from the Westdale Town Center parking lot confirmed this, showing White and Hopkins together Feb. 22 at the U-Haul at Westdale. Another witness also reported he had seen Hopkins and White together on Feb. 26 and that White has assaulted Hopkins in his presence, according to the complaint.
Police learned that White had been living in an apartment building at 4215 21st Ave. SW, less than a block from where Hopkins’ body was found. They checked out the apartment building and found marks in the hallway leading from White’s apartment to the building exit that appeared to be from a shopping cart wheel scraping the carpet.
Video surveillance from a nearby building from Feb. 27 showed someone pushing an empty shopping cart up to the building, and leaving about 15 minutes later with a full shopping cart and heading in the direction of 2110 Westdale Parkway SW, where Hopkins was found the next day. Records from the apartment building show the access card associated with White’s apartment was used to enter the building at the time shown in the video, and again about 30 minutes later, the complaint states.
Police executed a search warrant on White’s apartment and found blood spatter on the walls, bleach stains on the carpet that were about the size and dimensions of a human body, a hammer with hair and blood on it, a broken CO2 air gun with more hair and blood on it, scuff and drag marks on the carpet, black electrical tape, documents that belonged to White and a bloody handprint that was identified as belonging to White, according to the complaint.
Police contacted the U.S. Marshals Service on March 14 to request help locating and apprehending White, who had left Cedar Rapids, according to a news release from the police department. He was found and arrested March 19 by marshals in Las Vegas.
He was extradited to Iowa and arrived Sunday in the Linn County Jail. He had his initial appearance in court on Monday and is being held on a cash-only, $2.5 million bail.
Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com
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Emily Andersen
Public Safety Reporter, The Gazette
I cover breaking news and trends related to public safety for The Gazette.Man publicly arrested by ICE in Iowa City released from custodyTiffin shooting victim identifiedNonprofit C.R. grocery store continues effort to become self-sustainingC.R. violent crime increases slightly, reports of shots fired decrease in 2025Missing Tama County man found dead
