Main: David Hutchinson (GoFundMe). Inset: Jaida M. Braddy (Marion County Sheriff’s Office).
In a shocking development, authorities in South Carolina have arrested a 41-year-old woman in connection to the death of a Massachusetts man, whose body was discovered in a decomposing state inside a curbside trash can. The victim had been missing for nearly a month before this grim discovery.
Jaida Monique Braddy is facing charges of being an accessory after the fact to a felony or murder, related to the death of 32-year-old David Hutchinson. She was apprehended late last month.
Hutchinson was first reported missing on January 12 by his family in Massachusetts. According to CBS affiliate WBTW in Florence, South Carolina, his relatives mentioned that he had traveled to Marion, South Carolina, by bus in December 2025, with plans to return in early January. However, they lost contact with him after December 29, 2025.
The chilling discovery of his body occurred on January 29, when it was found inside a trash can placed in front of an abandoned house on Pearl Street in Marion.
Although the exact cause of Hutchinson’s death remains undisclosed, authorities have classified the case as a homicide. An autopsy scheduled for this week is expected to provide more details regarding the cause and manner of death.
Marion Police Chief Tony Flowers has indicated that evidence suggests Hutchinson was shot in the area earlier in January, further supporting the homicide investigation.
“January 12th, we received a tip of a possible homicide that occurred over in this area, a residence,” Flowers told Myrtle Beach NBC affiliate WMBF. “We’ve had no reports of any gunshot fires or anything out of the ordinary in this area during that time frame. Our investigators did a report and started kind of following up on it. We were really getting nothing on it, and they started digging a little more, and we started getting leads on the person who is now deceased, Mr. David Hutchinson.”
The chief said a second tip came in that ultimately led to authorities locating Hutchinson’s body.
At this point, Braddy is accused of moving the trash can in front of the abandoned home where it was later discovered, the Telegram & Gazette reported. It was not immediately clear if she was also suspected of being involved in his death.
While authorities have been tight-lipped about the details in the case, Hutchinson’s family provided additional details about what may have happened in his final days on a GoFundMe page created by his older sister.
The page states that Hutchinson, a barber by trade, was “lured” to South Carolina with the “promise of making money” by a woman “who claimed to be an entrepreneur.” However, when he arrived, he “quickly figured out it was all a set up,” she wrote.
“After being taken for his money, he was dropped off at trap house where his phone was also stolen,” the GoFundMe page says. “In the time leading up to his disappearance there was an altercation with his barbering equipment being stolen as well. When Dave confronted the individual(s) he thought took his belongings, he was met with violence and a gun was pulled. Later that same day he vanished without a trace. His belongings remained where he left them but there was no sign of [Hutchinson].”
Hutchinson’s brother told WBTW that his brother’s life should be about more than simply the way he died.
“[He was] naive and too trusting, but a good kid who made bad decisions at times, and this time he sadly had to pay the ultimate price for it,” Hutchinson’s brother told the station. “The news headlines all flashing ‘man found in trash decomposing’ are extremely upsetting for us. I know it’s captivating, but he was a lot more than that.”
Braddy currently remains in the Marion County Detention Center on a $15,000 bond.
