Pregnant Woman Found Dead in Shopping Trolley After Brutal Killing—Family Begged Police for Help

A pregnant woman found dead in a shopping trolley was allegedly beaten to death in a horrifying act of violence, and her grieving family say their pleas for help were ignored for years. Brittany Hopkins, 38, was discovered wrapped in a blood-soaked blanket, tied with tape and hidden beneath rubbish in a shopping trolley left in a car park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on February 28. Police responded to a call at around 8.30am after a passerby made the grim discovery.

Now, new court documents have revealed devastating details of what Brittany endured, and the charges brought against 51-year-old Donnie White are as serious as they come: first-degree murder and non-consensual termination of a pregnancy. Brittany, it was confirmed, was pregnant at the time of her death.

CCTV footage reportedly shows White wheeling an empty trolley into a nearby block of flats before emerging 15 minutes later with it fully loaded. Not long after, police say, he fled to Las Vegas, reported the Mirror.

Inside White’s flat, investigators found blood on the walls, bleach stains on the carpet, and a hammer spattered with blood and hair. A bloody handprint, later confirmed to belong to White, was also recovered.

Marks believed to be from the trolley stretched from his flat to the exit, linking him directly to the scene. The timeline was further supported by CCTV and witness accounts placing the pair together days before Brittany’s death.

White was eventually tracked down and arrested by US Marshals on March 19, nearly three weeks after Brittany’s body was discovered. But the heartbreak doesn’t end there.

Brittany’s mum, Tempest Hampton, has started a fundraiser to fight for justice—not just for Brittany, but for her unborn son, whom she has named Sevyn. In an emotional post, she claimed the family had warned authorities multiple times that Brittany was in danger and being “drugged against her will,” but no action was taken.

“For over two years, my sister, my brother and I all notified police that Brittany was an AT RISK ADULT and in serious danger,” Tempest wrote. “They ignored us and Brittany’s pleas.”

Tempest also revealed that Brittany’s two older children had been placed in foster care and adopted without the family’s knowledge, which she believes was illegal. She claims Brittany was one of many women caught up in the shadows of sex trafficking, and points out that Iowa has one of the highest rates in the US.

“Please help us bring justice for Brittany and her unborn son,” she pleaded, “expose the corrupt system, and reunite her babies that she tried to join together up until her last moments.” It’s a case that’s shaken a community—and a family now fighting not just for justice, but for the dignity Brittany was so cruelly denied.