84-Year-Old Conowingo Man Charged in Relative's Murder: Sheriff

A Conowingo man has been charged with murder after his relative’s body was found with multiple stab wounds in the backyard, according to the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office.

Silas D. Richardson, 84, of the 100 block of Schoolhouse Lane in Conowingo, faces charges of first- and second-degree murder; first- and second-degree assault; robbery; and theft over $10,000, the sheriff’s office said.

The murder victim was Richardson’s 87-year-old brother, according to the Cecil Whig.

Deputies went to Richardson’s residence in Cecil County at 8:45 p.m. Monday after the Neptune Police Department in Neptune, NJ, asked them to check on a relative who was supposedly staying there, authorities said.

When deputies arrived at the home on Schoolhouse Lane, the door was unlocked, there was a smell of bleach coming from the residence, blood stains were visible and there was a body with multiple stab wounds in the backyard that someone had attempted to cover, the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office reported.

The victim was identified as 87-year-old George Carlton Richardson Sr., of the 2300 block of West Bangs Avenue in Neptune Township, NJ, according to the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office.

George Richardson Sr. had driven from New Jersey to Maryland to be of assistance to his brother—the suspect—whose wife had died last week, the sheriff’s office reported.

On Monday, George Richardson’s girlfriend notified police of a suspicious circumstance—Silas Richardson had driven up to New Jersey in his brother’s blue Honda Civic, a vehicle that the victim didn’t allow others to drive, and told the woman that her boyfriend had died, The Whig reported.

The Cecil Whig said the circumstances of the wife’s death were unknown.

Silas Richardson was taken into custody in New Jersey and is awaiting extradition to Maryland, the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office reported.