Police in South Carolina are investigating the death of 32-year-old David Hutchinson, a Massachusetts barber who was reported missing in January and later found decomposing inside a rolling trash can, as authorities work to determine who killed him and why he came to the area.
The case has unsettled Marion, a small city near the North Carolina line, because investigators say Hutchinson’s death appears tied to events that unfolded quietly over several weeks, with few public signs of trouble before his body was discovered. A woman has been arrested on an accessory charge, and police say they are still sorting through who was at the property where Hutchinson was last believed to be staying. An autopsy is expected to help clarify how he died and when, while detectives continue interviews and review tips that pointed them to the body.
Hutchinson left Massachusetts in December 2025 and traveled by bus to Marion, police said. His family told authorities he was supposed to return home in the first week of January but did not. Relatives said they last heard from him on Dec. 29, 2025, and reported him missing on Jan. 12 when repeated attempts to reach him failed. For weeks, his family searched for answers across state lines, trying to understand why he stopped communicating and whether he was stranded, injured or being held somewhere against his will.
Those questions took a grim turn on the afternoon of Jan. 29, when Hutchinson’s body was found inside a trash can on Pearl Street in Marion, authorities said. Police and the Marion County coroner said the remains were in a decomposing state, suggesting the body had been there for some time. Investigators said the trash can had been moved to the front of an abandoned home, and the circumstances of how it got there became a central focus of the early investigation. Marion Police Chief Tony Flowers said the death is being handled as a homicide.
Jaida Monique Braddy, 41, was arrested in late January and charged with accessory after the fact to a felony or murder in Hutchinson’s death, police and jail records show. Authorities have not accused Braddy of killing Hutchinson, but investigators say they believe she played a role after his death. Flowers said the accessory allegation is tied to how Hutchinson’s body ended up where it was discovered. Braddy was being held at the Marion County Detention Center on a $15,000 bond, authorities said. Court records available publicly did not immediately show whether she had an attorney who could comment on her behalf.
Flowers said investigators have not ruled out additional suspects and are still determining how many people may have been involved. In interviews with local media, he said the property tied to the case had frequent traffic, with people coming and going, complicating efforts to pin down who was present at key moments. “It could be 12,” Flowers said when asked about the number of possible persons of interest, adding that investigators are trying to determine whether the critical events happened inside a house, outside, or elsewhere in the area. Police have not released a full list of persons of interest or described specific roles beyond Braddy’s charge.
Authorities have been cautious about releasing details of the evidence, and they have not publicly confirmed a cause of death. Flowers said evidence indicates Hutchinson was shot earlier in January, but police have not announced an arrest on a murder charge. Investigators said an autopsy and related testing are expected to provide a clearer picture of Hutchinson’s manner and cause of death, information that can help detectives narrow timelines and compare witness statements with medical findings. Police also said they received at least two tips during January that helped steer the investigation, including a report of a possible homicide and a later tip that led to the discovery of the body.
While police have offered limited information, Hutchinson’s family has shared its own account of what he told them before he disappeared. A GoFundMe page created by his sister says Hutchinson went to South Carolina after a woman he met online described herself as an entrepreneur and promised he could make money. The family wrote that Hutchinson quickly realized the situation was not what he expected and that he believed he had been set up and robbed. The account said his phone and money were taken and that he was left at a house where other people were present. The family also wrote that his barber equipment was stolen and that a confrontation over the missing items turned violent, with a gun displayed, shortly before he vanished.
The family’s account has not been confirmed in full by police, and investigators have not described the woman Hutchinson met online or whether she is tied to Braddy or other possible suspects. Detectives typically treat such statements as leads that must be checked against messages, travel records, surveillance video and witness interviews. Police have not said whether they have recovered Hutchinson’s phone or other personal property. They also have not said whether they have identified the last person known to have spoken with him in Marion.
In Marion, the case has circulated quickly, driven by the unsettling nature of the discovery and the uncertainty surrounding Hutchinson’s final days. The abandoned home on Pearl Street, where the trash can was found outside, became a focal point for investigators looking for any evidence that might establish when Hutchinson arrived, who he met and where he stayed. Flowers said there were no reports of gunfire in the area when investigators believe Hutchinson was shot, a detail that can happen in cases where shots are fired indoors, in isolated spots, or when witnesses are reluctant to call police. Investigators have not said whether they recovered a firearm or shell casings.
Hutchinson’s relatives have pushed back on portrayals that reduce him to the circumstances of his death. His brother said the family wants the public to remember him as more than a headline about a body in a trash container. He described Hutchinson as trusting and outgoing, someone who made mistakes but was loved by family and friends. The family has said he worked as a barber and took pride in his trade, and they have posted photos showing him smiling with friends and clients, aiming to emphasize the life he lived before his final trip south.
Investigators now face a series of questions that will shape the next stage of the case. Police will need to determine where Hutchinson died, who was with him and what motive drove the killing. Detectives are also expected to examine digital communications that led him to travel to Marion, including messages and calls connected to the job promise his family described. Cases that begin with online connections often require careful tracing of accounts, devices and locations, with search warrants for data and interviews to confirm identities behind usernames and phone numbers.
Authorities said the autopsy findings will be a major next milestone, along with any additional arrests or upgraded charges if evidence supports them. Police have not announced a date for a full public briefing, but Flowers has said investigators are continuing to receive tips and track leads in the community. For Hutchinson’s family, the focus has shifted from searching for a missing loved one to demanding accountability for his death and clarity on who lured him to Marion and what happened after he arrived.
Author note: Last updated February 8, 2026.