Madison Sparrow was happy as she walked along Maclary Elementary School’s nature trail on the afternoon of Oct. 2, 2020.
The 17-year-old had reason to be ‒ she hadn’t seen longtime friend Annika Stalczynski in months, and they were finally hanging out. The plan, Sparrow thought, was to get ice cream and then head to the mall to buy her younger sister a birthday present.
What Sparrow didn’t know as she stepped over fallen leaves and twigs that covered the path was that her ex-boyfriend, Noah Sharp, was waiting in the woods with a baseball bat. She also didn’t know that Stalczynski, who was now dating Sharp, was in on the plot to kill the teen.
This is some of what a New Castle County jury heard during the first five days of the trial against Sharp, who is charged with murder, conspiracy and possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony in connection with Sparrow’s death.
Stalczynski pleaded guilty earlier this year to murder and conspiracy.
READ:3 things to watch for as trial against suspect in Madison Sparrow’s killing begins
What was presented to the jury?
Throughout the week, the jury of six men and six women ‒ plus four alternates ‒ saw, through text messages, how then-19-year-old Sharp and then-17-year-old Stalczynski planned for at least 10 days to kill Sparrow.
Watching video interviews, they listened to Sharp’s differing stories to police, with him first feigning any knowledge of Sparrow’s death, then ultimately admitting to hitting the teen with a black and blue baseball bat.
They viewed images of Sparrow’s dead body, which had been left in a shallow grave only a couple of feet deep, and heard how DNA found on several items near the burial site matched Sharp’s.
But perhaps more poignantly, they saw Sharp tell police at least four times just how unsuspecting Sparrow was the day of her murder.
“Madi sounded so happy and excited,” Sharp told police as he described how he hid in the woods, waiting for her to walk by with Stalczynski.
“She was so excited,” he repeated to police in the same interview several hours later.
While Delaware Department of Justice prosecutors have yet to conclude their arguments, the jury has already gotten some inkling as to why Sparrow was murdered.
Why was Madison Sparrow killed?
In his interviews with police, Sharp claimed Stalczynski was jealous of his relationship with Sparrow.
Though the two had broken up months before Sparrow’s murder, Sharp was still close enough with the teen that he visited her on her Sept. 12 birthday, bringing her a present that day, Sparrow’s mother testified. She said while Sparrow seemed “fine” with the breakup, Sharp was still upset.
Sharp told police that because of this, as well as his continued contact with Sparrow, “Annika was jealous.”
“I’m the reason Annika hated Madi,” Sharp claimed.
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The veracity of these statements remains to be seen, though Stalczynski is expected to testify this week. And while it’s unclear exactly what she will say, she may provide a reason for Sparrow’s murder.
Still, for Sparrow’s dozen or so family and friends who have attended court daily proceedings, no explanation will ever be enough.
“There’s never going to be a reason that would make any sense,” Sparrow’s mother, Heather Sparrow Murphy, previously told Delaware Online/The News Journal. “As I’ve said from day one, I just don’t want them to be able to hurt anybody else or themselves ever again.”
Got a story tip or idea? Send to Isabel Hughes at ihughes@delawareonline.com. For all things breaking news, follow her on Twitter at @izzihughes_
