Detailed court records outline the circumstances of a 2003 violent attack that ultimately led to a life sentence for inmate Glen W. Ducote, who died this week while in custody.
According to findings documented in court proceedings, the incident followed the breakdown of a multi-year relationship between Ducote and the victim. The two had previously lived together and shared a residence, but after the relationship ended, Ducote continued to contact the victim on a near-daily basis.
On May 4, 2003, the victim was working at an apartment complex in the Wilmington area, performing cleaning duties in a vacant unit. While retrieving supplies from a vehicle outside, Ducote approached and initiated a confrontation. He struck the victim in the face and began yelling before escalating the assault by producing a knife.
Ducote stab the victim multiple times in the upper and lower body. During the assault, he issued repeated threats, including statements indicating an intent to kill. The attack was prolonged, with the victim attempting to stand and escape several times, only to be knocked down repeatedly as the assault continued.
After the stabbing, Ducote used materials from the scene to bind and gag the victim. The victim was then forced into a vehicle, and Ducote drove away from the apartment complex.
As the vehicle approached Route 141 Ducote briefly stopped to allow traffic to pass, the victim managed to partially free herself and reach a door handle, escaping from the vehicle. As the vehicle began moving again, part of the material used to restrain the victim became caught on the exterior of the door, forcing the victim to run alongside the moving vehicle.
Court records indicate Ducote continued to accelerate while the victim remained entangled and she was dragged. The victim fell beneath the vehicle, sustaining additional traumatic injuries before managing to break free.
Despite the severity of the injuries, the victim was able to reach a nearby residence, where a 911 call was placed. Emergency responders transported the victim to the hospital in critical condition. Medical records presented at trial detailed extensive injuries, including a collapsed lung requiring a chest tube, internal bleeding requiring surgery, and multiple fractures involving the wrist, ankle, and shoulder, along with numerous lacerations and bruising.
The severity of the assault, along with the nature of the injuries and threats made during the incident, formed the basis of the prosecution’s case. A jury later convicted Ducote of attempted first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, and multiple weapons-related offenses.
Following the conviction, Ducote was sentenced as a habitual offender to life imprisonment, a sentence that remained in place through subsequent appeals and federal court challenges.
On Thursday the Delaware Department of Correction announced the death of Ducote, 60, who was being housed through the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision at the Minnesota Correctional Facility – Oak Park Heights.
Minnesota corrections officials report that Ducote was found unresponsive in his single cell during a routine security check on the evening of April 15. A medical alert was issued and life-saving measures were immediately initiated by correctional medical and security staff. Emergency Medical Services responded on-site and continued life-saving measures. Ducote was pronounced dead at 6:38 p.m. local time.
Ducote, of Chester, Pennsylvania has been in Delaware DOC custody since 2003 and was serving a life sentence for Attempted Murder, Kidnapping, and Possession of a Deadly Weapon During the Commission of a Felony. He was subsequently convicted in Delaware in 2023 and sentenced to 2 additional years in prison for Assault in a Detention Facility.
