James B. Bradt, a 45-year-old White/Caucasian male from Bridgeville, Delaware, was killed on the morning of November 27, 2019, in what Delaware State Police later classified as a homicide. The case began as a report of gunfire along the 11000 block of Evans Drive, a rural stretch near Bridgeville. Troopers were first sent to the area late that morning, with reports placing the response around 11:22 a.m. to 11:44 a.m. Evans Drive off Coverdale Road was temporarily closed while police investigated the shooting scene.
When troopers arrived, they found a blue Honda Civic sitting off the roadway in a lightly wooded area. Bradt was inside the vehicle, alone in the driver's seat and unresponsive. Investigators determined that he had suffered gunshot wounds. He was transported to Nanticoke Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, and his body was later turned over to the Delaware Division of Forensic Science.
In the early public updates, police withheld his name while they notified his family. Two days later, on November 29, 2019, Delaware State Police identified him as James B. Bradt of Bridgeville. The killing had happened just one day before Thanksgiving, turning what would normally have been a quiet holiday week into an active homicide investigation in the Bridgeville area.
Available public reports do not describe a motive, a confrontation, or the events that led Bradt's car to end up off the road. They also do not identify any suspect or suspects. Delaware State Police stated that the case remained under investigation by the Homicide Unit and asked anyone with information to contact Detective J. King or provide information through Delaware Crime Stoppers.
No online law enforcement or news updates located in the available sources report an arrest, charges, trial, plea, or conviction in connection with Bradt's death. As publicly reported, the case remained an open homicide investigation with no released suspect information.
