Man, 82, beaten, robbed in Milton cemetery
An 82-year-old man remains hospitalized with serious head wounds suffered after he was beaten and robbed while placing flowers on a grave in Milton Cemetery Inc.
Milton police have not identified the victim, who lives in Bridgeville. Police said the assault and robbery occurred between 3:30 and 5 p.m., April 19, the day before Easter. The victim was taken by ambulance to Christiana Medical Center and remained there at press time April 24.
His condition has not been available to media because of federal health privacy regulations.
“It happened in broad daylight on a street that’s pretty busy,” said Milton Police Department Chief William Phillips. Police say the assailant ran toward the intersection of Union Street and Route 16 and was wearing a gray, hooded jacket or sweatshirt.
Phillips said someone passing might have seen something and not realize they were witnessing a crime.
Criminals sometimes brag about what they’ve done, word gets around and someone comes forward with information that leads to an arrest, Phillips said.
Capt. John Cornwell, Milton Police Department’s investigating officer, said witnesses saw the suspect fleeing on foot, but no further description has been developed. He also said police are not releasing what was taken from the victim because the investigation is ongoing.
On the day of the crime, a Delaware State Police K-9 unit and a state police helicopter unit assisted Milton police, but the department is not now being assisted, Cornwell said.
The assailant faces charges of first-degree robbery, first-degree assault and wearing a disguise during the commission of a felony. Police declined to discuss the disguise.
Cornwell said the last robbery in Milton occurred Sept. 13, when a 22-year-old Lincoln man robbed a man at gunpoint in a parking lot near H.O. Brittingham Elementary School.
Anyone with information about the April 19 assault and robbery is asked to call Capt. John Cornwell, Milton Police Department at 684-8547 or CrimeStoppers at 800-847-3333.
