‘The system failed’: Woman reveals man accused of killing 18-year-old at Walmart randomly stabbed her 4 years ago

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC/Gray News) - A woman in Georgia revealed that the same man who is accused of killing an 18-year-old at Walmart after kicking his cart, randomly stabbed her years prior.

Police say Delano Middleton is accused of stabbing and killing 18-year-old JT Schroeder on October 23 after police say the teen kicked the man’s cart.

That same suspect stabbed a woman multiple times four years ago.

On October 22, 2021, Erica Young says that day has forever impacted her life, causing her to flee the state with her children.

She was working as a manager at U-Haul on Ogeechee Road.

Savannah Police say Middleton walked in, stole keys from behind the desk, and went outside to take a truck.

“I asked him did he needed help finding his vehicle, and he shoved a cart over on top of me and just started stabbing me,” said Young.

Young was stabbed in the stomach and the head multiple times. She says the attack was unprovoked.

“When I was on the ground, he told me that he wanted to watch me bleed out,” Young said. “I’ve never met him before that day, never had any contact with him.”

The courts said Middleton needed a mental evaluation.

A doctor said he was incompetent in 2022.

Several months later, he was evaluated by the same doctor and ruled competent.

He took a negotiated plea deal in December of 2023 and pleaded guilty to one charge of aggravated assault.

He was sentenced to two years in jail and eight years on probation.

“Honestly, this is my true opinion on it,” Young said. “He got away with the stabbing of me, so he thought he could get away with it again.”

Middleton already spent the two years in jail while his case went through the system, so he received credit for time served and was released.

Fast forward to last month.

Middleton was still on probation when police say he stabbed the 18-year-old at Walmart.

“The system failed that kid’s family,” Young said.

“I’m so sorry for their loss. It made me wish I fought more- then he wouldn’t have been able to get out of the streets,” she said. “But I have two kids, so I fled. We packed up our entire house.”

Middleton is charged with murder and is being held on no bond. He is due back in court on the 20th for a preliminary hearing.

Young says it still affects her everyday life, including memory loss. She says she is willing to testify in JT’s case now, if need be.