A Camden man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murder of his girlfriend, whose body was discovered during a welfare check at a home in Magnolia in June 2024.
Gregory Bratcher, 66, was sentenced on October 7, 2026, to 30 years of Level V incarceration after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in connection with the death of 72-year-old Marjeanne Lande, according to the Delaware Department of Justice.
On June 30, 2024, at approximately 4:59 p.m., Delaware State Police responded to the 200 block of Apple Blossom Drive in Magnolia after Lande’s family requested a welfare check. Family members allowed troopers into the residence, where Lande was found deceased on the living room floor with bruising to her head, chest and arms.
During the investigation, detectives identified Bratcher, Lande’s live-in boyfriend, as a suspect. According to prosecutors, Bratcher made statements indicating that he had struck and grabbed Lande before leaving her on the floor and fleeing the residence.
The Delaware Division of Forensic Sciences subsequently determined that Lande’s death was a homicide. Following a months-long investigation, a Kent County Grand Jury indicted Bratcher on November 4, 2024.
Bratcher was taken into custody on November 8, 2024, and initially charged with first-degree murder and strangulation, both felonies. He was arraigned in Kent County Superior Court and committed to Sussex Correctional Institution on a $1 million cash bond.
At the time of Bratcher’s arrest in November 2024, Delaware State Police had not previously publicly disclosed that Lande’s June death had been ruled a homicide.
Bratcher’s guilty plea to second-degree murder resulted in the 30-year prison sentence imposed earlier this month.