Who Killed Wilmington, Delaware Native Laquisha Thompson?

In all of his years on the force, Wilmington, Delaware Detective André Wellingtion had never seen such carnage.

“I mean there was blood everywhere. The walls, the floor, the goddamn ceiling had blood on it. It was a nasty sight. The victim’s face looked different in a major way from high school pictures and glamour shots. Her body had been mangled by the blunt force of a tool. I had a hard time handling the matter, but that’s what I’m here for. We found the murder weapon was a hammer. A hammer.”

That was just the beginning of the horrors. According to police records, Jameesen Alexander, 31 had sexually assaulted, and beaten 28 year-old Laquisha Thompson, to death with that hammer.

“We had to reconstruct the entire murder scene to get a better understanding of how the perpetrator carried out this vicious crime.”

The Delaware State Police Department had not seen anything of such force and brutality in years. This all occurred in the winter of 2017.

“I wanted to nab this guy for doing this to the poor young woman. He was no Nobel Prize Laureate, so he made it simple for us to catch him,” Wellington said.

Alexander had committed the crime sometime in the morning of February 5. He traveled down to Dover to stay at a friend’s house.

“We found him in less than twenty-four hours due to a series of slip-ups,” the detective said.

“For one thing, he had awoken and sexually assaulted Laquisha’s younger sister right after he killed her. Though distraught, Rankia Thompson put on a brave front, and detailed what Alexander looked like and The places he frequented. So that gave us a good indication of where we would find him.”

In Dover, Alexander had met up with some high school pals. He had scars on his face that indicated that Rankia put up a fight and then he fled.

“Rankia Thompson was the one who dialed 9-1-1. A 14-year-old girl just went through hell, and discovered her older sister’s mutilated body. It just astounds me, the courage of that young girl.”

Police officers and detectives, with Wellington leading the way, surrounded the house Alexander had occupied. The arrest warrant allowed the police officers to enter the residence. With weapons drawn, the law enforcement officials used force. There, they found Alexander and two of his associates. They kneeled with their hands behind their backs. They knew they had been busted so they just complied with the officers. Delton Smith and Kwamaine Granger had each served two years in prison, and five years probation for harboring a fugitive of the law.

“The guys he was hanging with were just as ‘brilliant’ as Alexander. I mean they caught more time for having dirty guns at this house. In addition to the two/five arrangement, they were sentenced to serve felony time, at least ten years in federal prison. Sometimes we’re just fortunate to deal with offenders who don’t have all the smarts. It’s not every time. Sometimes we get the ones that are methodical in their motives. This was not one of them. ”

The detective met with Rankia and the rest of the family right after they had apprehended Alexander.

“She had tears in her eyes. The pain and anguish I saw in them made me want to be a better detective. I wanted to ensure that I would be able to protect the next potential vic’ and assure them of their safety.”

Judge Arnold Gold sentenced Alexander to one life sentence. He escaped the death penalty by pleading guilty to Laquisha Thompson’s murder and the first-degree sexual assault of her sister.