Overview
- A Worcester County grand jury indicted 29-year-old Donovan Foster on one count of murder, prosecutors said Thursday, and his arraignment is set for July 17 in Worcester Superior Court.
- The victim, 30-year-old Joanna Brown, was last seen the morning of Oct. 31, 2025, was reported missing on Nov. 2, and was found dead inside her parked SUV on Nov. 3.
- The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled in February that Brown’s cause and manner of death were undetermined and not the result of an injury, and prosecutors have not publicly provided detailed medical findings to explain the discrepancy with the indictment.
- Foster is a former romantic partner of Brown and has a lengthy criminal record that includes a prior home-invasion sentence, weapons charges tied to a separate shooting, multiple probation violations, an inmate-assault allegation in January, and a June 4 transfer to state prison after admitting probation breaches.
- Filing an indictment starts formal prosecution but does not resolve forensic questions, so upcoming court dates — beginning with the July 17 arraignment and any pretrial motions or evidence disclosures — will determine what proof prosecutors will present and how the defense responds.