The Delaware State Police have identified 49-year-old John Pipkin of Wilmington, Delaware, as the victim of a homicide that occurred at the Budget Inn in New Castle on December 22, 2024.
Officials said on December 22, 2024, at approximately 8:21 p.m., troopers responded to the Budget Inn, located at 3 Memorial Drive, New Castle, for a report of a shooting. Upon arriving, troopers found John Pipkin in the parking lot suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. Pipkin was transported by EMS to an area hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. The Delaware State Police Homicide Unit assumed the investigation and learned Pipkin was shot by an unknown suspect during a robbery that occurred in the rear parking lot of the motel.
Officials said through investigative means, detectives identified Marvin Clifford, 30, of North Charleston, South Carolina, as the suspect responsible for the homicide, and he was taken into custody. On December 23, 2024, at Troop 2, Clifford was charged with Murder 1st Degree (Felony), Attempted to Commit, Robbery 1st Degree (Felony, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony (Felony), and
Carrying a Concealed Firearm (Felony).
He was arraigned by Justice of the Peace Court 2, and committed to Howard R. Young Correctional Institution on a $1,110,000 cash bond.