Qualeel Westcott, a 25-year-old Black male from Milford, Delaware, was killed in the early morning hours of August 27, 2020, in Ellendale. Delaware State Police said troopers were called at about 3:25 a.m. to the 12000 block of North Old State Road after a report that someone had been shot outside a residence. When they arrived, they found Westcott outside, suffering from a gunshot wound to his upper body.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation later placed him in the backyard of a residence at 12549 North Old State Road. What began as a call for help quickly became a homicide investigation, with detectives from the Delaware State Police Homicide Unit taking over the case. Public reporting described the scene only in limited terms: Westcott had been found shot outside the home, and authorities did not release details about what led up to the shooting, whether there had been an argument, whether Westcott had been targeted, or whether anyone fled before police arrived.
In the days after the killing, police publicly identified Westcott as the victim and said the case remained active and ongoing. At the time of the initial reports, authorities stated that there was no suspect information available. Investigators asked anyone with information to contact Detective M. Csapo or Delaware Crime Stoppers, indicating that they were still trying to gather leads from the public.
Publicly available reports do not show an arrest, named suspect, filed homicide charges, trial, or conviction connected to Westcott’s death. The case was listed by Delaware State Police as a murder investigation, and the available law enforcement information continued to describe it as a matter where tips were being sought rather than a case with a publicly identified offender.
