A Chattanooga man admitted to police that he felt bumps when he ran over the body of a missing woman in a Lookout Valley motel parking lot, according to an arrest report.
Donte Taylor, 40, is facing charges of abuse of a corpse and evidence tampering after Chattanooga police found Elysia Kinsella, 22, dead in the parking lot of a motel off Patten Chapel Road on Wednesday. Officers had responded to the Studio 6 Suites, off the Browns Ferry Road exit of Interstate 24, after a call around 4:30 p.m., according to an arrest report.
At the scene, police couldn’t initially identify the woman due to the extent of decomposition, the report said. Investigators found camera footage and discovered she was taken from a room rented by Taylor, who, according to the report, arrived at the motel around 4:15 p.m.
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The video showed Taylor drag what appeared to be a body wrapped in blankets down the motel’s steps, according to the arrest report. Police said he tried to load the body into the trunk of his gray sedan.
“After multiple failed attempts, he laid the victim down in the parking lot and got back into his vehicle,” the report said. “Taylor then turned his vehicle around and ran over the victim’s body, dragging her several feet and partially uncovering her body.”
Taylor then fled, according to the report. Police found him around 10 p.m., the report said, and cameras nearby showed him wiping off what appeared to be blood or bodily fluids from his rear bumper with a napkin and cleaning solution.
After he was advised of his rights, Taylor told police he remembered feeling the bumps when he ran over the body, the report said.
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Kinsella was reported missing a week before she was found, according to a police press release. Her cause of death remains under investigation.
When asked whether there’s a homicide investigation surrounding the circumstances of Kinsella’s death, Andrew Coyle with the Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office said by text that his office cannot comment due to the pending nature of the case.
The Chattanooga Times Free Press has reached out to the Chattanooga Police Department with questions, and responses will be published online when received.
Taylor’s first court appearance for the case is scheduled for Tuesday morning before Hamilton County General Sessions Judge Larry Ables. Taylor’s bond is set at $300,000, and he is represented by the Public Defender’s Office, according to the Hamilton County General Sessions Court Criminal Division’s Office.
Deputy public defender Mike Little said by email his office is still gathering information on the case and has no comment at this time.
Online court records list over 40 charges against Taylor, with some dating back to 2004. According to Hamilton County’s online case information records, he has multiple prior felony and misdemeanor charges listed for alleged offenses, including driving offenses, drug possession and resale, trespassing, evidence tampering and others.
Contact courts reporter Mason Edwards at medwards@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6409.