TACOMA, WA — Prosecutors in Pierce County have charged a Tacoma man with killing his girlfriend, disposing of her body, and using her financial accounts after she disappeared. Court records say investigators believe 30-year-old Kendrick Deshaun Bruce killed 37-year-old Dawn Dill-Pickett sometime between March 1 and March 28.
Charging documents filed Thursday include first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree identity theft, and unlawful disposal of human remains. Prosecutors also say the alleged killing involved an intimate partner relationship.
How the case surfaced
Dill-Pickett was reported missing after a friend in Idaho asked police for a welfare check on April 1. The friend said she had not heard from Dill-Pickett since March 23 and that the silence was out of character.
When Tacoma officers went to her apartment, they initially saw nothing suspicious. A neighbor later told detectives they had not seen her for about a month, according to the probable cause declaration.
Why detectives focused on Bruce
Friends told investigators that messages they received from Dill-Pickett’s phone did not sound like her. They also said she had been in a troubled relationship with Bruce, who managed the business where she worked and had recently been fired for theft…