Authorities have launched a homicide investigation following the grim discovery of 62-year-old Donella Bryan’s body in a dumpster near Hechinger Mall in Northeast Washington, D.C. Bryan had been reported missing just a day prior.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), Bryan was last seen on Thursday, April 17, near the 300 block of N Street NE, close to her apartment. Her disappearance prompted immediate concern from neighbors and family, with her daughter reportedly canvassing the neighborhood for information.
A missing person’s alert was issued by MPD on Friday, April 18. By Saturday, Bryan’s body was found in a plastic bin inside one of several dumpsters behind Hechinger Mall — less than a mile from where she was last seen. Police said Bryan had suffered blunt force trauma and suffocation before being disposed of.
“She was a sweet person,” said longtime neighbor Tammy Chaplin. “She was in a good spirit.”
Chaplin noted she became alarmed when she saw Bryan’s daughter searching for her mother the day before the body was found.
The area around Hechinger Mall is well-trafficked and known to have surveillance cameras. It also sits across from a senior residence, and local residents, like 70-year-old Debrah Matthews, expressed shock and heartbreak.
“So sad to know life isn’t more to you than throwing it in a dumpster,” Matthews said. “We have to stick together a little better than that. I know somebody saw something.”
While the plaza where Bryan’s body was discovered once housed a Metropolitan Police station, the location is no longer active. A private security guard is assigned to the shopping center, but it remains unclear if anyone was on duty when the body was disposed of.
As of Tuesday, no suspects have been publicly named. MPD is asking anyone with information to come forward.
A reward of up to $25,000 is being offered for tips that lead to an arrest or conviction in Bryan’s death.
