A Delaware man has been indicted for murdering his grandmother at a hotel after he was arrested because of chilling admissions he made to the staff and police.
Arrest and Initial Charges
Dempsey Fritchey, 30, was arrested by Delaware State Police on January 29 after he allegedly told staff at the Hyatt House in Lewes that he had murdered his grandmother in one of the hotel's rooms. The staff immediately called police, who responded around 5:45 p.m. to the hotel, where a stay starts at around $140 per night. Troopers interrogated Fritchey near the hotel's lobby, where the alleged killer told them that he 'may have' murdered his grandmother. They promptly detained him 'without incident,' according to Delaware State Police.
Discovery of the Victim
The troopers then went up to the hotel room and found Fritchey's 72-year-old grandmother unconscious with life-threatening injuries to her face and head. Police said that detectives determined the grandson had used his 'hands and feet' to commit the assault, and that he had done so 'suddenly' and 'for unknown reasons.' The troopers gave the elderly woman medical aid until EMS arrived and transported her to a local hospital. She died from her injuries 12 days later on February 10.
Indictment and Legal Proceedings
Shortly after he was detained, Fritchey was charged with first-degree felony assault due to the risk of death caused by the injuries he allegedly inflicted. He was booked into the Sussex Correctional Institution on a $300,000 cash bond. On Friday, Delaware State Police announced that a Sussex County Grand Jury indicted Fritchey for first-degree murder on April 13. He was transferred to the Delaware Department of Correction, where he remains locked up.
Potential Penalties
Fritchey's original charge of first-degree assault was already quite serious, as under Delaware law, it is a Class B felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison. First-degree murder is a Class A felony punishable by life in prison without the possibility of parole or a reduced sentence. Delaware does not have the death penalty, as it was abolished in 2024 following a 2016 ruling by the state's supreme court that declared the punishment unconstitutional.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Delaware State Police for comment and additional details.
Similar Cases
Last year, another grandchild was arrested on suspicion that she had beaten her grandmother to death. An 18-year-old from Alabama named Jailen Mia Lupton was charged with murdering her 70-year-old grandmother, Diane Trest, with a mallet in the front yard of the elderly woman's home. The teenager was captured on video admitting to the crime by a neighbor's doorbell camera. And in 2024, a Texas man named Michael Alexander Ferguson, 35, was accused of murdering his 106-year-old grandmother, Cecilia Agnes Ferguson, with whom he was living. Police did not give any information about how Cecilia died, or what tied Ferguson to the crime other than living with her.
