Thursday marked one year since Susan Ledyard was found dead along the Brandywine River in Wilmington.
It was just before 8:00 on July 23, 2019, when Wilmington firefighters and police were called to Brandywine River near Northeast Boulevard for reports a woman in the water. The woman’s body was recovered and would later be identified as 50-year-old Susan Ledyard of Wilmington.
About an hour after Susan was recovered, at approximately 8:54 a.m., Delaware State Troopers responded to Walkers Mill Road in the area of the Rising Sun Lane Bridge after callers reported a suspicious unoccupied vehicle. Upon arrival, Troopers found a black 2016 Honda Civic that was registered to Susan. The location where the vehicle was found is where the Rising Sun Lane Bridge spans the Brandywine River, approximately three miles upstream from where Susan’s body was recovered.
As authorities began their investigation, Susan was turned over to the medical examiner’s office who later determined that she died by homicide from blunt force trauma and drowning.
As the investigation into Susan’s death continued detectives were able to account for Susan’s activity until 3:00 a.m. on July 23, 2019, just hours before she was found.
A year after Susan’s death investigators still need help in determining where she was between 3:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. that morning. Detectives are asking that anyone who believes that they may have seen Susan during this four-hour time frame, know the identity of her killer, or who may have any information regarding this case to please come forward.
Susan is described as a white female, 5’4” tall, 130 lbs., with shoulder-length brown hair, and was wearing a purple tank top.
If anyone has information regarding this incident, they are asked to contact Detective Daniel Grassi at (302) 365-8441 or Detective Amy Lloyd at (302) 365-8411.
Last September Ledyard’s family held a press conference asking for the publics’ help in solving her death. That press conference can be viewed below.
