Former boyfriend charged with murder in death of missing Massachusetts woman pleads not guilty

A Massachusetts man pled not guilty Friday after a Worcester County Grand Jury last month handed up an indictment for the death of 30-year-old Joanna Brown, of Worcester.

29-year-old Donovan Foster, of Worcester was arraigned in Superior Court for Murder where he was held without bail.

According to Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early, Jr., on November 3, 2025, at approximately 4:00 p.m., Worcester Police located a deceased
female in the area of Mount Vernon Street in Worcester. The female was later identified as
Joanna Brown, who was reported missing by her family on November 2, 2025.

Detectives discovered Brown inside her gray Mitsubishi Outlander.

An investigation by the Worcester Police Detective Bureau, in conjunction with the
Worcester County District Attorney’s Office, identified Foster as a suspect in Brown’s death.
Foster was initially arraigned on charges stemming from an incident involving a firearm,
including carrying a loaded firearm without a license, in Worcester District Court on November
14, 2025, where he was held on dangerousness.

The indictment moves the case to Worcester Superior Court, where he is expected to be
arraigned on July 17, 2026.

Those who knew Brown described her as a beloved employee who was a great person and treated her friends and co-workers like family.

According to the Worcester Telegram, Foster is a former boyfriend of Brown.

His next scheduled court appearance is a pretrial conference on September 11th.