STATE POLICE INVESTIGATE DEATH OF A DELAWARE WOMAN

(Whaleyville, MD) – Investigators from the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit are investigating the murder of a woman found in an embankment off of a dirt road in Worcester County.

The victim is identified as Nicole Bennett, 35, of the 33,000 block of Windswept Drive in Millsboro, Delaware. Bennett was found deceased and lying in an embankment off of a dirt road in Worcester County, in an area where there are no homes in the immediate vicinity. Bennett’s body has been transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for an autopsy. The cause of death has not yet been determined.

Shortly before 9:00 a.m. today, Worcester Central received a 9-1-1 call reporting the body of an unidentified woman found deceased on Swamp Road, a dirt road east of Nelson Road. The caller told police he was in the area walking when he noticed the woman’s body lying in an embankment which slopes downward from the roadway.

During the course of the initial investigation, police learned Bennett was the subject of a missing person’s case being investigated by the Delaware State Police. Bennett’s husband had called 9-1-1 at about 8:00 a.m. this morning reporting his wife missing after not coming home from work the night before.

According to the missing person report and family members, Bennett had a rose tattoo on the inside of her right ankle. The woman found in the embankment had the same rose tattoo as verified by Delaware State Police and Bennett’s family.

A family member told police they had last heard from Bennett on the night of June 14, 2012. At this time, a monetary reward is being offered to anyone with information leading to the arrest of the individual(s) responsible for Bennett’s murder. Calls are being taken by the Worcester County Lower Eastern Shore Crime Solvers at 410-548-1776. Calls will remain confidential.

Deputies from the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, investigators from the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation, Delaware State Police and the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit responded to the scene. Crime scene technicians from the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division responded to gather evidence. The Worcester County State’s Attorney’s Office, the Wicomico County Bureau of Investigation, and the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation have also been assisting with the investigation.

As of this update, Maryland law enforcement is taking the lead on this case. Delaware State Police are assisting in the investigation. Police are interviewing suspects while the investigation continues...