A 34-year-old woman was found dead inside a community dumpster near 57th Avenue and Thomas Road in west Phoenix, her body showing signs of trauma, after a tip about a man's unsettling comments led officers to the scene. The man, 41-year-old Nathaniel Brown Jr., is now facing charges of second-degree murder and concealment of a dead body in connection with her death.
The case began around 7:15 a.m. on Oct. 17, when Glendale police were called to the area of 55th Avenue and Bethany Home Road after receiving a report about a man allegedly discussing disposing of a deceased woman's body, according to abc15.com. Glendale officers detained Brown at the scene and later notified Phoenix police, who took over the investigation from there.
Phoenix police went to Brown's apartment near 57th Avenue and Thomas Road, where investigators located evidence leading from the apartment to a nearby community dumpster, the station reports. Inside that dumpster, officers found the body of 34-year-old Gabrielle Hill.
Body Showed Signs of Trauma
Hill's body showed signs of trauma, according to 12news.com. Phoenix police subsequently booked Brown on charges of second-degree murder and concealment of a dead body, and he is being held on a $1 million bond.
As reported by FOX 10 Phoenix, police have not established whether Brown and Hill knew one another or determined the events leading up to her death. Investigators also have not released Hill's cause of death, the station notes.
What Arizona Law Says About the Charges
Under Arizona law, second-degree murder is committed when, without premeditation, a person intentionally causes another's death; knows their conduct will cause death or serious physical injury and causes death; or recklessly engages in conduct that creates a grave risk of death and thereby causes death under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life, per the Arizona Legislature's statute 13-1104. Separately, state statute 13-2926 makes it unlawful to knowingly move a dead human body, or parts of one, with the intent to abandon or conceal it, according to the Arizona Legislature.
The investigation remains active, with Phoenix police and Glendale police continuing to piece together what happened between the two before Hill's body was discovered. No further details about a possible relationship between Brown and Hill, or about how she died, have been made public.
