Milford police say teen was having ‘mental health issues.’ He is now charged with murder


An 18-year-old man, whom Milford police described as having “mental health issues,” told officers on Sunday that he’d killed someone.

The man, Edouard Risch Oldens, now faces charges he killed a 50-year-old woman who police found in a home in the city’s 400 block of Lakeview Ave.

The woman has not been identified as of early Monday, and police did not provide the cause of death.

This is Milford’s third homicide so far in 2024 – a year that has seen a spike in gun violence including four people who police said were found shot earlier this month.

More:4 people were wounded in Milford shooting Sept. 1

Milford, which straddles Kent and Sussex counties, has not reported such numbers of gun violence since Delaware Online/The News Journal started tracking shootings statewide in 2018. The city’s previous high – in this time period – occurred in 2021 when there were six people shot. No fatalities were reported that year as a result of the gunplay.

Without knowing the cause of death in Sunday’s homicide, Milford police have reported nine shootings so far this year – two of them fatal.

More:Tracking gun violence in Delaware

What happened Sunday

Milford officers were dispatched to North Church Street, near SW Front Street, about 12:55 p.m. Sunday for a man having “mental health issues.”

The man, Risch Oldens, told responding officers that he had killed someone. 

Officers responded to a Lakeview Avenue house, about half a mile away, and found a dead woman. Police did not say how the woman was killed.

Risch Oldens has been charged with first-degree murder and a weapons charge.

Police said he was placed with the state Department of Correction after failing to post $680,000 bail.

Send tips or story ideas to Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299 or eparra@delawareonline.com.

Author: Health Watch Minute

Health Watch Minute Provides the latest health information, from around the globe.