The Delaware State Police have arrested 24-year-old Shawn Wootson, of New Castle, Delaware, on murder and attempted rape charges following a 2024 death investigation in Newark.
On November 23, 2024, at approximately 8:30 p.m., troopers responded to the area of a retention pond at the Christiana Hospital campus, located at 4755 Ogletown Stanton Road in Newark. Troopers found 42-year-old Amie Bradley from North Carolina unresponsive and began life-saving efforts. The victim was transported to the hospital by EMS, where she later died.
Due to the suspicious nature of the case, the Delaware State Police Criminal Investigations Unit, with assistance from the Homicide Unit, took over the case. Through extensive investigation, Wootson was identified as a person of interest, and detectives found evidence indicating he strangled and attempted to sexually assault the victim. Until recently, detectives were unable to contact him as he fled out of the state shortly after the incident.
On March 16, 2026, detectives presented their investigative findings to a New Castle County Grand Jury, which indicted Wootson for Bradley’s murder. On March 17, 2026, detectives, with the assistance of the DSP Special Operations Response Team (SORT), took Wootson into custody and transported him to Troop 2.
At Troop 2, during a break in Wootson’s interview and while he was confined in a formal interview room, he accessed the ceiling and attempted to escape. Wootson was quickly apprehended following a taser deployment. During this incident, a large police presence was deployed around the Troop’s exterior as a precaution. Additional charges are pending for Wootson’s attempted escape.
Wootson was charged with the below listed offenses, arraigned by Justice of the Peace Court 2, and committed to the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution on a $2,060,000 cash bond.
- Murder in the First Degree (Felony) – 2 counts
- Attempted Rape Second Degree