Dianna Brice: Body of missing pregnant woman found in Philadelphia

‘Words don’t describe how sad it is for her and her family,’ says superintendent Timothy Bernhardt

The body of Dianna Brice, a 21-year-old woman who was pregnant with her second child, has been found nearly a week after she was reported missing.

Upper Darby Police officials confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that the body of Ms Brice, who was four-and-a-half months pregnant, was found on Monday evening in a wooded lot in Southwest Philadelphia.

Ms Brice, who also had a four-year-old son, was last seen alive at around 1pm on 30 March close to the K Laundry laundromat in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, with her boyfriend Justin Smith.

Her mother, Betty Cellini, told Dateline on Monday that she spoke with Mr Smith not long after they were last seen, with him informing her that Ms Brice left his car after an argument and that he was unable to find her.

She said he stopped answering his phone at around 5:00pm, and just 30 minutes later, Mr Smith’s car was found on fire. He is still missing and the police are continuing their efforts to find him.

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Ms Brice’s body was discovered around a mile away from where Mr Smith’s car was set on fire, with the family’s private investigator Kevin Ryan telling Dateline that she was identified by her tattoos.

The police have not yet disclosed Ms Brice’s cause of death, but at a press conference on Tuesday, superintendent Timothy Bernhardt called the incident “terrible”.

Mr Bernhardt said that the discovery of Ms Brice’s body was the result of determined police efforts, with officers from multiple agencies searching for her round-the-clock.

“Words don’t express how sad it is for a young woman who leaves behind a 4-year-old child and was three to four months pregnant with her second,” he said on Tuesday, adding: “Words don’t describe how sad it is for her and her family.”

The investigation is now being classified as a homicide with the Philadelphia Police taking over the case. Mr Smith is at this time being considered a person of interest.