Donna Tattersall was 24 when she disappeared from the Pawtucket, Rhode Island’s Firehouse Lounge in the early hours of April 22, 1979. That morning, her body was in a nearby parking lot just a few hours after a witness saw a man carry her out of the bar. While many believed police had captured Donna’s killer when their main suspect was tried for her murder, his acquittal prompted Pawtucket residents to believe a killer was still lurking in their midst.
Courtesy of Rhode Island Cold Case
Episode Info
If you know anything about the murder of Donna Tattersall on April 22nd, 1979, please call the Pawtucket Police Department at 401-727-9100 or the Rhode Island Tip Line at 877-747-6583.
The location of the Firehouse Lounge, the last place Donna was seen before disappearing. Photo Courtesy: Google
During the trial for Donna’s murder, David Beland told the jury that he did not know of nor interact with Donna at the Firehouse Lounge on April 22, 1979, according to an undated article from The Times. Photo Courtesy: The Times
The Providence Journal reported on Donna’s case on April 23, 1979, one day after her body was found in a parking lot near the Firehouse Lounge. Donna’s body was found at 10 a.m. the morning she left the bar. Photo Courtesy: The Providence Journal
An undated newspaper clip reported that witness Frank R. Haworth recognized David J. Beland as the person who carried Donna out of the Firehouse Lounge the night she disappeared (April 22, 1979). Haworth had two brief interactions with Beland that night: once when Beland knocked Haworth’s drink over on accident, and once when Beland shouted across the parking lot to Haworth while leaving the bar in his car with Donna. While Haworth didn’t report either altercation at the time, he eventually told the Pawtucket police about the parking lot skirmish. While Haworth identified Beland, Beland was being tried for Donna’s murder. Photo Courtesy: Pawtucket Police Department
The trial for the murder of Donna Tattersall was awaiting a verdict, according to an undated newspaper clip. Witness Denise Chapdelaine testified for the prosecution that she ran into David Beland at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel. They briefly talked — mostly so that she could check up on her friend, David’s pregnant wife Diane. Denise remembered David appearing sober and didn’t see any indications of a fight. The defense claimed David was drunk the night Donna was killed. Pawtucket Police Chief Joseph C. Roy told the jury that he talked to David a few days after Donna’s body was found and that he didn’t think David ever took a sperm test. After the testimonies, the defense asked the judge to acquit Beland, but the court denied an acquittal at this time. The prosecution’s closing arguments foregrounded David’s story with witnesses’ accounts, pointing out the holes in his testimony (Part 1). Photo Courtesy: Pawtucket Police Department
The trial for the murder of Donna Tattersall was awaiting a verdict, according to an undated newspaper clip (Part 2). Photo Courtesy: Pawtucket Police Department
The Superior Court began hearing the case of Donna’s murder, according to an undated article from The Providence Journal. The case’s main suspect, David Beland, was tried for her murder. Donna’s body was found on April 22, 1979, and she disappeared from the Firehouse Lounge, allegedly leaving with David Beland, early that morning. When police located her body, Donna was “partly disrobed,” which, coupled with the autopsy, led police to believe she was sexually assaulted. The autopsy additionally confirmed that Donna died by strangulation. Two witnesses testified at the trial: Manuel Pimentel and Frank Howarth. Manuel claimed he took a cab from Providence and walked into the Firehouse Lounge with David, and Frank told the jury that Donna looked unconscious when he saw David, nicknamed “Buzz,” carry Donna across a nearby parking lot. The second article, located on the right side of the page, reported that, after two days, David Beland was acquitted of Donna’s murder. While David said he was at the Firehouse Lounge the night Donna was killed, he told the jury that he never met her. Because of the abundance of circumstantial evidence, the jury extensively deliberated credibility and ultimately decided there wasn't enough evidence to convict David. Photo Courtesy: Pawtucket Police Department
An article published by The Times (date unknown) said that David Beland was acquitted of Donna’s murder. The jury heard from a handful of key witnesses during the trial. Joseph Davis Jr., a doorman at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel, told the jury that Beland was not one of the men involved in the only fight at Lupo’s that night, contrasting the story David told police as to why he had scraped his knees. Emanuel Pimentel told police and the jury that he and David walked into the Firehouse Lounge together, discrediting Beland’s initial story — that he did not go to the Lounge the night Donna was killed. Emanuel also said that Beland did not appear to have gotten in an altercation, adding further suspicion to the claim that David got in a fight at Lupo’s. Another witness present at the Lounge the night of Donna’s murder, Frank R. Haworth, told the jury he saw Beland leave with Donna. Dr. Arthur Burns, deputy chief R.I. medical examiner, said he found “contusions on the left part of the neck…and male sperm in her vagina.” Photo Courtesy: Pawtucket Police Department