Images: Donte Taylor and Elysia Kinsella (Chattanooga Police Department). Scene: Studio 6 Suites in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where Taylor is reported to have driven over Kinsella’s body (Google Maps).
Authorities in Tennessee have charged a man with the disturbing act of dragging a woman’s bundled body down stairs at a hotel, attempting to load it into his car, and then running over it when those efforts failed.
Donte Taylor, aged 40, is accused of corpse abuse and evidence tampering, linked to the demise of 22-year-old Elysia Kinsella, according to a statement from the Chattanooga Police Department.
Police responded just before 4:30 p.m. on July 8 to reports at Studio 6 Suites located on Patten Chapel Road. They discovered the lifeless form of Kinsella in the parking lot. Her family had reported her missing following a halt in communication, and she had last been sighted on June 26.
An arrest report accessed by ABC affiliate WTVC indicated surveillance footage captured Taylor’s arrival in a Ford Crown Victoria. He is seen entering a room and re-emerging moments later with what seemed to be a blanket-shrouded body, as per the affidavit. It’s reported that Taylor dragged Kinsella’s body down a stairway and attempted to load it into his trunk, but was unsuccessful.
Taylor reportedly left the body behind his car and ran it over when he backed up. He then drove forward and ran the body over again and dragged it several feet, cops allege.
The suspect was later seen on video wiping what appeared to be blood off his rear bumper, the affidavit reportedly said. Cops arrested Taylor later that day.
The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported that Kinsella’s body was in a state of decomposition that initially made it difficult for authorities to identify the remains. An autopsy will determine the cause and manner of death.
Taylor is in the Hamilton County Jail on a $265,000 bond and was appointed a public defender. But a family member was reportedly set to pay Taylor’s bond — a development that apparently didn’t sit well with the judge in the case.
“That’s troubling to me that there’s somebody who’s represented by the public defender’s office is out on a $265,000 bond,” Hamilton County Judge Larry Ables said, according to a courtroom report from local NBC affiliate WRCB. “In fact, I would think that the legislature would find it appalling that that would be happening. So, I’ve got some concerns.”
Kinsella’s mother was irate. She said she knew the family member who wanted to pay the bond.
“How could you? I get you love your nephew or family member, but knowing what he did, why would you help him get out? That right there just says you’re just as heartless as he is,” she told the TV station.
Ray Fowler used to work with Kinsella at Domino’s. In an interview with WRCB, he described her as “vibrant” and said “you could hear her laugh from a mile away.”
“She commanded attention in such a way that you just couldn’t ignore her,” Fowler told the TV station. “She was so fun.”
Taylor is next slated to appear in court on Aug. 11.