Background: Erica Young spoke to WTOC about being stabbed by Delano Middleton in 2021 (WTOC). Inset: Delano Middleton (Chatham County Detention Center).
A Georgia man accused of fatally stabbing a teenager in Walmart last month has a history of similar crimes, including an attack on a woman who ended up fleeing the state.
Delano Middleton, 48, was arrested on Oct. 30 after police said he was responsible for the fatal stabbing of 18-year-old J.T. Schroeder at a Walmart in Whitemarsh Island. As Law&Crime previously reported, Middleton had several convictions for violent crimes and was on probation at the time of the alleged attack on Schroeder.
One of Middleton”s victims, Erica Young, spoke to local CBS affiliate WTOC about what happened when Middleton attacked her at her job.
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Young was working at a U-Haul location in Savannah, Georgia, on Oct. 22, 2021, when she first made contact with Middleton, whom she never saw before that fateful day. When Young saw Middleton, she told WTOC that she asked him if he needed help. He responded by “shov[ing] a cart over on top of me and just started stabbing me.”
In the middle of the unprovoked attack, Young said Middleton told her “he wanted to watch me bleed out.” He stabbed Young in the head and the stomach, and she told WTOC that she is still affected by memory loss as a result of her injuries.
As Middleton’s case went through the legal system, he was in jail for two years before ultimately pleading guilty to aggravated assault. He was sentenced to two years in jail and eight years probation. After receiving credit for time served, he was released in December 2023.
Young told WTOC that out of fear, she and her two children left the state of Georgia after Middleton was released. She said that she would be willing to testify against him if the murder case goes to trial. But she told WTOC that “the system failed that kid’s family,” referring to Schroeder. She said, “If they would have did their job in my case or the other cases, because there’s other victims besides myself, then he wouldn’t have been on the streets to be able to hurt a child.”
According to police, Middleton was leaving the Walmart store on the evening of Oct. 23 when Schroeder purportedly kicked his shopping cart. This incident allegedly led to the altercation that cost Schroeder his life. The teenager was taken to the hospital and died the following day after being taken off life support and donating his organs.
Middleton is charged with murder and is being held without bond at Chatham County Detention Center.
