Cedar Rapids, IA – A 51-year-old man from Iowa faces serious allegations in connection with the death of a 38-year-old pregnant woman. He is accused of brutally beating her, wrapping her remains in a comforter, and abandoning her body in a shopping cart, before reportedly escaping to Las Vegas.

In late March, Donnie White was arrested and faces charges of first-degree murder and nonconsensual termination of a pregnancy in connection with the violent death of Brittany Hopkins, according to records.

On February 28, at approximately 8:32 a.m., officers from the Cedar Rapids Police Department responded to a report regarding a deceased person found outside an apartment complex located in the 2100 block of Westdale Drive SW, roughly 115 miles east of Des Moines. First responders reported finding the body of an adult female upon their arrival at the scene. The individual was later identified as Hopkins, and the area was promptly secured for further investigation.

Three days later, authorities announced that they were treating Hopkins’ death as a homicide and urged anyone who might have seen something to reach out to the department.

Investigators focused their attention on White as a potential suspect and reached out to the Northern Iowa Fugitive Task Force on March 14 for help in finding and capturing him.

Officers from the Task Force initiated a pursuit of leads across Cedar Rapids and gathered intelligence suggesting that White had left the state after the murder. Authorities have started working alongside the U.S. Marshals Nevada Violent Offender Task Force, according to a statement from the U.S. Marshals Service.

Authorities from the Nevada Violent Offender Task Force have focused their search efforts on a specific location in the 2900 block of West Washington Avenue in Las Vegas. At approximately 3 p.m., U.S. Marshals made contact with the suspect, who ultimately yielded to the Nevada Violent Offender Task Force.

White was apprehended smoothly and is currently being held without bond while he awaits extradition to Iowa.

The Gazette has acquired a copy of the criminal complaint, shedding more light on the investigation surrounding the murder of Hopkins.

The report reveals that the victim’s body was found in a shopping cart, concealed beneath a white blanket and bound with black electrical tape. Multiple bags of garbage were found piled on the body, seemingly to hide its location. An autopsy revealed that the manner of death for Hopkins was classified as a homicide, with blunt force trauma to the head identified as the cause of death.

Following the police’s announcement of White as a person of interest, a caller came forward to share that they had seen him alongside Hopkins shortly before the body was found. On February 22, authorities quickly acquired surveillance footage from a nearby shopping mall that supported the information received.

A separate informant informed authorities that he was present with White and Hopkins on February 27, during which White allegedly attacked Hopkins physically.

Upon discovering that White resided just a short distance from the location of Hopkins’ body, investigators secured a search warrant. They uncovered what seemed to be wheel marks from a shopping cart in the carpeted corridor leading from White’s apartment to the exit.

Surveillance footage from a nearby building reportedly captured White pushing an empty cart into the premises on February 27, departing with a full cart towards the location where Hopkins’ body was discovered, and returning home approximately half an hour later.

Within the apartment, authorities reported finding blood splatter on the walls and bleach on the carpet. A hammer was found that seemed to have blood and human hair on it. A bloody handprint reportedly matched that of White.

On Sunday, White was returned to Iowa and is now in custody at the Linn County Jail, with a bond set at $2.5 million, cash only, according to records.