Sheriff Donna Hanscum

Name	Donna Hanscum
Actor	Briana Buckmaster
Dates
Location	Stillwater, Minnesota
Occupation	Sheriff Hunter
Episode(s)	9.13 The Purge 10.08 Hibbing 911 11.07 Plush 13.10 Wayward Sisters 13.11 Breakdown 14.11 Damaged Goods

So, fresh corpse, jerk ex-husband, out-of-control teen. Want to get blingo'd on my minibar and watch pay-per-view? – Sheriff Donna Hanscum, 10.08 Hibbing 911

History

Donna grew up in Hibbing, Minnesota, and is the Sheriff in Stillwater, Minnesota. Due to budget cuts, her jurisdiction later extends to include Larsen County, and a few years later she appears to be the sheriff of Hibbing itself. Donna meets Sam and Dean in 2014 when they arrive hunting a pishtaco that is killing guests at a spa. After a stoned Donna blows their cover, they kill the creature and the Winchesters tell her that a "psycho killer" was responsible for the deaths.

Donna was married to Sheriff Doug Kontos but he left her in 2013 because he was a douchebag and thought she was too fat. She later has some chemistry with Officer Doug Stover the Deputy Sheriff in Cottage Grove, Minnesota, where she works on a vengeful spirit case, and they end up dating for two years.

Donna goes on to become a successful hunter in her own right, being stated by Jody at one point to have "killed a lot of vampires."

Episodes

9.13 The Purge

Sam and Dean are in Stillwater to investigate the death of a competitive eater who died after a hot dog-eating contest, who had mysteriously lost 200 pounds in a matter of minutes. The Winchesters pose as FBI agents to get the details about the victim, Wayne McNut, from Sheriff Donna Hanscum who shares her powdered sugar donuts with Dean.

Following another death, Sam and Dean investigate the Canyon Valley Health club. Coincidentally Sheriff Hanscum is at the club as a guest having been on a waiting list for six months to get in. Donna has a session with Maritza who tells her that she will be using a procedure called “cupping” that helps with weight loss. As the Sheriff falls asleep, Maritza sticks out her pishtaco proboscis and begins to suck fat out of the sheriff.

Sam and Dean then question Sheriff Hanscum, who is happy because she lost 10 pounds on her first day at the spa. They discuss the case, and are interested when she shows them suction marks supposedly left by Maritza's "cupping procedure".

After the Winchesters work out that it is Maritza's brother Alonso, who is a pishtaco is the murderer and he is killed by Dean, they tell Sheriff Hanscum that a "psycho killer" was responsible.

10.08 Hibbing 911

At a sheriff's retreat in Hibbing, Minnesota, Donna acts as the greeter and welcomes Sheriff Jody Mills when she arrives. Donna tries to cheer Jody up when she sees how down she is, but they are interrupted by Donna's ex-husband Sheriff Doug Kontos, who makes fun of her weight and is rude.

When the retreat starts, Donna and Jody end up partnered together. Donna gets excited about the things there are to do at the retreat until her friend Kevin tells her about a body that was found. Donna is interested and asks about it, but Kevin doesn't know more than it is apparently an animal attack. When Jody leaves to call Sam and Dean, Donna promises to save her a seat.

Wanting to help investigate the death as she grew up in Hibbing, Donna goes to the morgue where she gets the coroner, Shelly, let her and Jody see the body. While Jody looks into the victim's personal effects, Donna examines the body itself and finds that she can't tell what bit the man which confuses her greatly. When Jody says she'd been afraid of that, Donna questions it but Jody brushes it off.

Wanting to know if the sheriff knows more, Jody and Donna approach him, but he is unhelpful until his deputy pulls him away to tell him about another victim under the guise of telling him about a raffle. Unlike Jody, Donna believes that Len knows nothing and suggests they just let Animal Control figure things out. Donna is disheartened when she sees Doug having fun and is annoyed with Jody for calling him a "dick" as she still cares about him. She then goes to the bathroom so she doesn't have to see any more. When she comes out, she finds Jody outside and is annoyed when she realizes Jody was going to leave without her until Jody tells her that she was going to the morgue to investigate another animal attack. Donna comforts Jody over her troubles with her adopted daughter Alex and suggests they hang out together, but Jody decides to go to bed instead.

The next morning, Donna brings Jody coffee and is excited to see Sam and Dean and offers her help though they decline. Jody asks Donna to go with her to see the weapons that are being displayed and, though reluctant as she thought they were going to look into the morgue, Donna agrees. At the display, both Jody and Donna are unimpressed by the weapons the man shows them and Doug shows up to pick on Donna until Jody tells him off. However, Donna is annoyed at Jody's actions and tells her that until she loses a husband, not to say anything about hers. After realizing that Jody did lose a husband, Donna apologizes and goes to get some air.

Donna after killing her first vampire.

Outside, Donna finds and follows a trail of blood to where Len is crouching over another sheriff's body, his vampire fangs extended. Frightened, Donna hides while Len runs off. Returning inside, Donna pulls Jody aside to tell her what she has seen. To Donna's relief, Jody believes her and after Jody can't reach Sam and Dean, they break into Len's room. Searching the room, Donna is confused by the amount of sunscreen Len has but finds an address on a piece of paper before Sam and Dean arrive. Donna is shocked when Jody explains to Sam and Dean that Len is a vampire and Jody is forced to explain the truth about what's out there to her. Donna is freaked out by everything, especially after learning about the fat-eating monsters from the last time they met, but gives them the address she found and insists on coming with them. Though Sam and Dean are reluctant, Jody convinces them to let Donna come along and she agrees to let the Winchesters take the lead.

At the farm, Dean gives Donna a machete and tells her that to kill a vampire, she needs to decapitate it. However, the group gets captured by the vampires led by Starr and tied up. During the confrontation that follows, Donna points out that she found Len over the dead sheriff when he tells them he no longer hurts people anymore but he explains he found her like that and his instincts caused him to pull out his fangs, but he didn't hurt her. As Starr explains that Len turned them and taught them to eat everything of a victim, Donna breaks one of the lenses of her glasses and uses it to work on cutting herself free. Donna is horrified by Starr's killing of Len for refusing to harm them and breaks free during Dean's fight with the vampires in time to kill Starr and save Jody from the enraged vampire.

Afterwards, while she feels sick after what she saw, Donna is excited that she killed a vampire and was good at it. Donna tells Jody that knowing monsters are out there makes the world seem bigger and darker and Jody offers to fill her in on how to fight monsters which Donna accepts.

11.07 Plush

Donna enlists Sam and Dean's help when a guy turns up in a rabbit mask that can't be removed. Later when the guy attacks Donna and she kills him the mask falls off. Later that night in the woods, Donna and the boys are disposing of the bunny head. Donna shows grief over the innocent victim. Next a school coach is attacked, seemingly by the school mascot (a jester), and ends up in a coma.

Back at the station, Sam, Dean, and Donna are in the holding area cell with the jester. They use the EMF meter and determine ghost possession. Donna wants to know how you can unpossess someone. Dean pulls out a shotgun loaded with salt pellets and shoots the mascot, which sends the girl flying back and ejects the spirit from her body.

With the girl cuffed at the desk for questioning, Donna again expresses frustration that this girl is a victim, too. Sam tells her to let her go. Dean suggests saying she was a drifter who overpowered Donna and escaped. Donna’s not happy with how incompetent she’ll look but agrees that she can't book the poor girl for attempted murder. They talk with her a bit and learn that the mask overtook her as soon as she put it on. She knew Coach Evans but doesn’t remember attacking him, and didn’t wish him any harm. She tells them the mask had been donated to the high school.

The next day, Donna and the boys visit Rita Johnson. Donna takes Rita's son, Max, out to look at the cruiser while Sam and Dean go inside with Rita. The boys learn the masks belonged to her brother, Chester Johnson. He was a performer for kids' parties. Rita explains that Chester was depressed, and he'd killed himself by jumping from a bridge a few months back. Max had begged her to keep his uncle’s costumes, as he was close to his uncle and liked them, but she was sad and got rid of them, to the thrift shop, schools, etc... The boys ask for a list of all the costumes, and whether Chester had any history with Stan Hinkle or Phil Evans. She says no, he didn’t even know them.

Donna tells Sam and Dean she remembers Chester’s suicide and wonders how to stop these possessions. They explain that usually you burn the bones, but Chester was cremated. Donna asks if they are up a creek, but Sam explains that it seems Chester is tied to the costumes, so if they can gather all the costumes and burn them, that should stop the deaths. Donna is happy as she already has Doug gathering the other costumes from the high school. Sam gives her the list of all the donated costumes and she and Doug are to gather them all. Dean says he and Sam will try to find out what Chester’s beef was with Stan and Coach Evans, as usually ghost possession is powered by revenge or unfinished business. Sam leaves for the hospital to check on Evans and Dean says he will check on Stan’s widow.

At the hospital, a man in a clown mask and costume, holding a bouquet of balloons, slowly makes his way into Phil Evans' room. The clown pulls out a knife and slashes the comatose man's throat, stands there watching him suffocate, then calmly leaves the room. The clown gets in the elevator with Sam, who attacks the clown; he pulls an iron railroad spike from his pocket and presses it to the clown’s neck, causing Chester to be ejected from the body. Sam turns back to the clown and removes the mask, revealing a shaken and confused old man.

As Phil Evans' body is being carted away from the hospital room, Sam enters with the clown mask and explains to Donna that the old man had put on the costume for his granddaughter’s party and didn’t even know how he’d gotten to the hospital. Sam admits the old man "escaped" too, and Donna moans she is so losing her job. Doug enters the room, saying that he had got the call about Coach Evans while on his way to pick up another costume. He is not buying the "copycat killers" story, but goes off to get the other costume. Sam confronts Donna with not giving Doug a chance, and she tells him to mind his own beeswax.

Meanwhile, Dean is at the widow’s home. She tells him that Stan and the coach were best friends and like brothers. He asks if they knew Chester. She is disgusted at the mention of him and tells Dean how she despises him. The victims had accused Chester of crossing the line with their kids. They went to confront Chester on their own instead of going to the police, but Rita was the one that answered the door and told them to leave him alone. After hearing what they were accusing him of, before they could confront him, Chester killed himself, leading to his now-vengeful spirit. Dean wonders if maybe it wasn’t suicide.

Later that night Dean shows up at Rita’s door, but Max answers. He tells him his mom isn’t home, but invites Dean in to wait for her. Dean notices Max playing with cards, practicing magic tricks his uncle Chester taught him. Max was close to Chester, and tells Dean what the men said about him wasn’t true. Rita comes storming in, followed by Sam. Rita tells them Chester was like a dad to Max and that she told Stan and Coach Evans to go to the police and leave them alone. They had no evidence, but after they left, she began to have doubts. Chester was different: sweet, caring, and he loved kids. She began to worry, wondering if maybe he was too close to Max.

She called Stan and the coach back and told them where Chester was doing a show at the elementary school in a deer costume. They ambushed him and took him out to the bridge to "scare" him. But instead, things went bad as Chester struggled and he fell from the bridge and died. Stan told Rita that if she reported it, they would all go to jail and she couldn’t risk Max losing her after he’d already lost his dad and now his uncle.

Donna calls to say they have tracked down and burned every costume. Just then, Max enters the room, wearing the deer head, and he throws Dean into the wall. The possessed Max begins approaching Rita. Sam tries to take him, but he tosses Sam into the china cabinet. Dean comes to as Rita is being choked and he rushes Max, pressing his railroad spike against the boy’s back, ejecting Chester's spirit. Dean tosses him the mask to go burn outside. Sam is getting gasoline from the trunk when Chester comes from behind and knocks him out. Back inside, Dean tells Rita and her son to stay inside the circle, explaining that Chester is a ghost, before Chester comes up behind him and throws him into the other room. Sam has regained consciousness and douses the deer head in gas and torches it. Inside, Chester suddenly stops choking Dean and is consumed by flames before finally disappearing.

Later, Donna and Doug arrive at the scene. Donna tells them to come back for better reasons some time. She sympathizes with Sam and Dean, trying to tell who is possessed and who isn’t -- “Your life’s one big poop storm.” Dean tells her that was spoken like a true hunter. She is surprised, but Sam agrees: with three cases under her belt now, she’s earned it. Elated, she gives them two big bear hugs. Dean grins and the boys make their way out.

Officer Doug approaches her and Donna apologizes for the recent way she’s treated him. Doug says he understands, and that everyone has baggage. He offers to let her call him by his middle name, Lonnie. But she says Doug is just fine.

12.22 Who We Are

When Jody goes off with Sam and the other hunters to fight the British Men of Letters, Jody has Donna meet Alex Jones at a safe house and watch over her.

13.10 Wayward Sisters

Jody calls on Donna for help after Sam and Dean go missing, and she and the girls are attacked by canids who have come through the portal from the Bad Place. Donna arrives in a truck sporting the license plate "D-Train" with a trunk full of monster-hunting weapons. She hugs hello with Alex and Claire, whom she affectionately calls "Rainbow Bright". Donna and Jody head to the abandoned shipyard where Kaia and Jack opened the portal. At the boat, Donna and Jody find the portal still open, but are soon besieged by canids. Eventually Alex, Claire, Kaia, and Patience arrive, and together they fight them off. Claire and Kaia enter the portal to the Bad Place and rescue Sam and Dean, but Kaia is mortally wounded in the process. Back at Jody's place, Donna helps with the clean-up and shares a meal with Jody and the girls.

14.05 Nightmare Logic

In order to give his mother and the alternate Bobby Singer a break from hunting, Sam contacts Donna and gets her permission for them to use her family cabin.

14.11 Damaged Goods

On his way to Donna's Cabin to see his mother, Dean visits with Donna and they sit down to a meal together. Dean dodges Donna's questions about himself, instead asking about Donna, who has had a bit of a rough time since her breakup with Doug and has continued to help Jody train her adopted family as hunters. Before he leaves, Dean gives Donna a hug, making her even more suspicious that something is wrong with him.

Donna later receives a call from a grocery store clerk reporting a strange man asking about Mary Winchester. Donna pulls the man over that night and discovers that he is driving a stolen van. After he won't cooperate, Donna runs the man's fingerprints, only to learn that he is a serial killer named Nick from Delaware. Nick is able to subdue Donna with a stun gun and learns Mary's location from emails on Donna's cell phone. Nick leaves Donna otherwise unharmed.

After waking up in her cruiser's driver's seat, Donna calls Dean to warn him, but Nick has already kidnapped Mary. Donna has her deputies search for the stolen van and they finally spot it on a traffic camera pulling into Mary's Lock-Up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Donna provides the Winchesters a police escort to the lock-up, where she comes face to face with her very first demon, Abraxas. After Nick kills Abraxas with an angel blade, Donna shoots Nick in the leg to stop his attack on Mary, allowing Mary to knock Nick unconscious.

In the aftermath of the events at the lock-up, Donna arrests Nick for his crime spree, but allows Sam a moment to talk with Nick before taking him away.

Trivia

• Brianna Buckmaster was 7 months pregnant when 9.13 The Purge was filmed.
• Due to the case the Winchesters first met her on with the pishtaco, Donna is occasionally called "fat-sucker Donna."
• In her earlier appearances, Donna is the sheriff of Stillwater and later Larsen County, Minnesota, due to budget cuts extending her jurisdiction. However, in 14.11 Damaged Goods, she appears to be the sheriff of Hibbing, Minnesota, where Donna grew up, with no explanation for the change. This change presumably occurred in the time period between 13.11 Breakdown and 14.11 Damaged Goods because in the former episode, Donna makes a comment to Doug Stover about returning home to Stillwater.
• Donna drives a truck with the license plate D-Train. In the back is an impressive case of weapons that includes a flamethrower. Donna's explanation for it is that "I'm from Minnesota."
• In 13.11 Breakdown and 14.11 Damaged Goods, Donna acts outside of her jurisdiction when she searches for her missing niece and arrests Nick respectively. Legally, she is not allowed to do this without permission. In the first instance, Agent Terrance Clegg gave everyone permission with the excuse that he could use the help while he was in fact the bad guy.