Latrice “Peaches” Blackshear, a 25-year-old White/Caucasian woman from Wilmington, Delaware, was killed on August 10, 2015, when an armed robbery and home invasion erupted into gunfire at her residence in the 400 block of West Seventh Street. Wilmington police were called to the area shortly before 2 p.m. and found Blackshear suffering from gunshot wounds to her upper torso. Her four-year-old daughter had also been struck by gunfire in the legs.
A third victim, 51-year-old Marta Wright, was wounded in the leg nearby. Blackshear received emergency treatment before being transported to Christiana Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Her daughter was ultimately transferred to Nemours/A.I. duPont Hospital for Children and was reported in stable condition, while Wright also survived her injuries.
In the immediate aftermath, the circumstances surrounding the shooting were not fully understood. Early reports described a chaotic scene, and witnesses initially offered differing accounts of what had happened. Blackshear's son had also been inside the residence and reportedly ran from the house seeking help after the shooting. As detectives continued gathering evidence, however, the investigation increasingly pointed toward a deliberate robbery rather than a random burst of violence. What ultimately emerged through the prosecution was that two men, Tyler Carter and Thomas Robles, had entered Blackshear's home intending to commit a robbery. During that crime, Carter opened fire, killing Blackshear and injuring the two surviving victims.
Investigators moved quickly against Carter. Within approximately a day of the killing, detectives had identified him as a suspect, and on August 12, 2015, members of the United States Marshals Service located him at the Oak Tree Apartments in Newark, Delaware. Carter, then 21 and from New Castle, was taken into custody without incident. He initially faced extremely serious charges that included first-degree murder, first-degree murder during the commission of a felony, first-degree robbery, first-degree assault, and multiple counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. At the time of the arrest, police had not publicly described a motive, but the later criminal proceedings established that robbery was the reason Carter and Robles had entered the residence.
The prosecution did not ultimately end with a murder trial. In November 2016, both Carter and Robles entered guilty pleas to charges arising from Blackshear's killing and the attack inside her home. Delaware prosecutors identified Carter as the person who fired the fatal shots. Carter pleaded guilty to offenses that included second-degree murder, first-degree assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, home invasion, and second-degree conspiracy. He was later sentenced to 32 years in prison.
Robles was also held criminally responsible for his role in the home invasion and robbery even though prosecutors identified Carter as the shooter. Robles pleaded guilty to manslaughter, first-degree robbery, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, home invasion, and first-degree assault. He received a 24-year prison sentence. The convictions established that Blackshear's death was the result of a planned intrusion into her home for the purpose of robbery, a crime that escalated into a shooting that took her life, wounded her young daughter, and injured another person. With Carter and Robles both pleading guilty and receiving lengthy prison terms, the homicide resulted in convictions and substantial sentences for both men responsible for the attack.
