Man charged with attempted murder, rape in Elkton motel attack

ELKTON — A man is charged with attempted murder and other offenses after he allegedly beat, choked and raped a woman during a protracted assault inside an Elkton motel room, after they had interacted on a dating app and agreed to meet for a consensual encounter, according to Cecil County District Court records and the Elkton Police Department.

Investigators identified the suspect as Lawrence L. Wilson, 44, of Camden, Del.

EPD officers rushed to Room 219 at the Red Carpet Inn in the 300 block of Belle Hill Road at approximately 3:30 a.m. on Thursday (Sept. 26), after receiving a report regarding a rape, police reported.

An ambulance crew drove the 26-year-old woman to ChristianaCare’s Union Hospital in Elkton for treatment of her “obvious injuries,” which included bruising beneath her left eye and abdomen, red marks on her cheeks and near her right ear and redness on her chest and upper back, court records show.

The woman told investigators that she and the suspect met on a dating app and agreed to meet at the Red Carpet Inn to have a consensual encounter, police said. The woman also told investigators that she became uncomfortable while engaging in the encounter with the suspect and told him to stop several times, police added.

At that point, according to the charging document, the suspect “became violent.”

Court records allege that the suspect slapped the woman’s face, struck her back with a bottle, suffocated her and choked her with objects — including a cell phone charger chord, causing her to lose consciousness. The suspect continued to rape the woman throughout most the assault, court records allege. The woman unsuccessfully tried to fend him off and escape, police noted.

The suspect allegedly kicked the woman in the abdomen, which caused her to regain consciousness, and then fled moments later, according to the charging document.

Court records indicate that Room 219 was “in disarray” and that, during a court-approved search of that room, EPD investigators collected “evidence consistent with the information and details provided by the victim,” police reported.

During the next 36 hours after the incident had been reported, EPD Det. Edward Donnelly was able to identify Wilson as the suspect, police said. With the assistance of the United States Marshal’s Service Fugitive Task Force and the Delaware State Police, EPD investigators arrested Wilson on Friday (Sept. 27), police added.

Wilson is facing 10 criminal charges, including attempted first-degree murder, first-degree rape, first-degree assault, reckless endangerment and false imprisonment, court records show.

He remained in the Cecil County Detention Center on no bond Thursday, one day after his bail review hearing, according to court records, which indicate that Visiting Retired Baltimore County District Court Judge Steven D. Wyman presided over that proceeding.