Initial hearing held for man charged with abuse of woman’s corpse found at Lookout Valley motel

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- A man charged with abusing the corpse of a young woman found dead outside of a Lookout Valley motel had his initial court hearing Tuesday morning.

40-year-old Donte Taylor himself was not physically present for the hearing.

He is charged with abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence after police found the body of 22-year-old Elysia Kinsella at the Super 6 Suites on Patten Chapel Road.

Investigators in the police report say they have video showing Taylor trying to load a wrapped body in the trunk of his car.   

He failed and left it in the parking lot.   

But they say he ran over the body before driving off.

Tuesday morning, an attorney for Taylor said a family member is preparing to pay a $265,000 bond for him, but that he still wants to retain a public defender.

This confused Hamilton County Judge Larry Ables.

Judge Ables said, “That’s troubling to me that there’s somebody that is being represented by the public defender’s office that’s out on a $265,000 bond. In fact I would think that the legislature would find it appalling that would be happening.”

Taylor currently remains incarcerated at the Hamilton County Jail.