Sandy MaloneNewark, DE – A missing 17-year-old Delaware girl was found bludgeoned to death and police have charged her 19-year-old ex-boyfriend with murder.
Madison Sparrow’s family reported her missing at about 8:30 p.m. on Friday, the Delaware News Journal reported.
Police issued a Gold Alert for the missing 17 year old on Saturday night.
Investigators learned through interviews conducted with family and friends after Sparrow disappeared that the teen had gone “to an area in Newark where her ex-boyfriend, Noah [Sharp], was located,” the Delaware News Journal reported.
On Monday afternoon, the state police announced Sparrow had been found dead.
“The investigation revealed the homicide occurred in the Newark area due to blunt force trauma to her body,” Delaware State Police said in a statement. “After the homicide occurred, she was transported to a secluded wooded location in Newark, where law enforcement officers discovered her body.”
Detectives identified 19-year-old Noah Sharp as a suspect in his former girlfriend’s murder, the Delaware News Journal reported.
Sharp was arrested on Monday, three days after Sparrow disappeared, and charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy, and possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony.
He was arraigned and booked into the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution on $1,021,000.00 cash bail, WCAU reported.
Please share to help find our neice, Madison Sparrow. Last seen in Newark, Delaware, Friday Oct 2. #whereismadisonsparrow pic.twitter.com/yNSwHcSrbM
— Bill Meyer (@meyerfitness) October 3, 2020
Police have not released any information about a motive in the 17-year-old girl’s murder, but said “there is information indicating additional individuals may be involved” in Sparrow’s death, the Delaware News Journal reported.
They also said police did not believe there was any threat to public safety.
A Facebook page entitled “Help Us Find Madison Sparrow” posted a sad update on Oct. 5.
“It is with incredible sadness that I share this,” the post began. “Law enforcement has found Madison’s body.”
“There is an ongoing investigation and we need to allow them to do their job so that anyone involved can be held accountable,” the post continued. “Please understand that we cannot provide any additional information at this time. There will be no comments to media. Law enforcement will handle this for the time being.”
The post finished by expressing thanks for the support to the family and asking that they be allowed to process and grieve Sparrow’s death privately.
Holly Matkin