Trooper Accused of Sexual Misconduct Found Dead

Police Cpl. Joshua A. Giddings

A state trooper who had been arrested for sexual misconduct and placed on suspension has been found dead at his Smyrna home.

Police say that the body of 32-year-old Joshua Giddings was found in the shed at his home at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 26. No foul play is suspected, and police are investigating Giddings’ death as a suicide.

Giddings, formerly a corporal with Troop 9 in Odessa, was arrested May 11 after an investigation revealed he engaged in inappropriate sexual relations with a 39-year-old New Castle woman he arrested for shoplifting in JC Penny’s at the Christiana Mall.

He was out on $8,000 bail.

Because of the arrest, Delaware State Police Superintendent Col. Thomas F. Mac Leish had placed Giddings on suspension without pay and benefits with the intent to dismiss him from the division.

According to police, the investigation is still ongoing.