MARION, SC – David Hutchinson traveled hundreds of miles from his home in Massachusetts to South Carolina, hoping for new opportunities. That journey ended in tragedy, with his body discovered weeks later in a discarded trash can outside an abandoned home.
Hutchinson, 32, was reported missing by family members in Massachusetts on January 12. According to relatives, he had journeyed to Marion, South Carolina, in December, intending to return home at the start of the new year. However, his loved ones lost contact with him after December 29, and his disappearance soon raised alarms.
For weeks, searches and mounting concern led nowhere until a tip brought investigators to Pearl Street in Marion on January 29. There, police found Hutchinson’s remains in a curbside trash can left outside a vacant house. Authorities are treating his death as a homicide, though the official cause and manner of death have not yet been released pending autopsy results.
Marion police have since arrested Jaida Monique Braddy, 41, charging her with accessory after the fact to a felony or murder. Investigators allege Braddy moved the trash can containing Hutchinson’s body to its discovery location, but her involvement in Hutchinson’s death itself remains under investigation.
According to authorities, Hutchinson may have been shot sometime in early January. Detectives received initial tips about a possible homicide in the area, though no local reports of gunshots or related disturbances were filed at the time. Investigators pursued numerous leads before a second tip helped them locate Hutchinson’s body.
Family members are grappling with grief and frustration. On a GoFundMe page, his older sister described Hutchinson as a skilled barber lured to South Carolina by promises of profit from a woman claiming entrepreneurial pursuits. Upon his arrival, she wrote, he was robbed and left without his phone at what was described as a “trap house.” Conflicts over his stolen barbering tools escalated the situation, and when Hutchinson sought to reclaim his belongings, violence erupted. He vanished that same day, according to the family account.
Hutchinson’s family emphasized that he was much more than the headlines that now circulate his name. They spoke about his trusting nature and noted that, while he may have made mistakes, he deserved to be remembered beyond the grim details of his death.
After weeks of searching, both police and family continue to seek closure in a case shrouded by unanswered questions. Braddy remains held on a $15,000 bond in Marion County as investigators work to determine all those responsible for the deadly episode that cut Hutchinson’s life short.
While the investigation is ongoing, Hutchinson’s relatives hope that his story serves as a reminder of the dangers faced by those pursuing better opportunities far from home—and of the enduring love of those left seeking answers in the wake of violence.