By Craig Anderson

DOVER — When visitors fully return to the Delaware State Police Museum — hopefully by the end of the month, officials say — they’ll likely be drawn to an added attraction.

A new exhibit details the Lambertson murder case, which began with the shooting deaths of an elderly Kent County couple in their farmhouse on May 21, 1979, and concluded with the hanging of convicted murderer Billy Bailey on Jan. 25, 1996.

Museum board of directors president John Miller (a retired DSP captain) said creating the exhibit was a two-year project and the case was selected to spotlight because of “the outrageousness of the crime. It was a case that got a lot of publicity not only statewide but across the country.”

The display includes several photos taken as events unfolded at the time, along with a detailed recap of the case and evidence collected.

The project moved forward with blessing of the victims’ relatives, museum board member Capt. Jason Sapp said. Family members themselves have eschewed any spotlight regarding the tragic turn of events.

Also, Mr. Miller said, “I know the family is a very private family and they’re not interested in any publicity now or then.”

The dramatic case has plenty of elements to be a natural attention-getter, and figures to draw the interest of museum visitors.

“It’s education in the sense that it’s something that the Delaware State Police investigated, they got their guy, they arrested and convicted the bad guy, Billy Bailey,” Mr. Miller said.

“It also shows the kind of cases that the Delaware State Police have handled over the years, plus it gives our visitors a fresh look at another case.”

The idea for the exhibit was hatched and orchestrated by retired DSP Col. James Ford and the museum’s education committee, which included intern Ashley Cox of Wilmington University, retired Sgt. Richard Foskey, Capt. Sapp, and Riley McCalister of Kent Signs.

Ms. Cox was instrumental with her research efforts, Mr. Miller said, while Mr. McCalister served as lead designer while working with committee members.

“He’s a craftsman, he really is a craftsman,” Mr. Miller said of Mr. McCalister. “In my personal opinion, he became as excited about the project as any of us did.”

With all the twists and turns of the case, there was plenty of material to work with.

Nearly two decades after shooting Clara and Gilbert Lambertson to death at their home just north of Dover, Bailey became the first person to be hanged in Delaware since 1946. He died on an outdoor gallows at the Delaware Correctional Center in Smyrna, and remains the last person to be executed by a hanging in the United States.

A paper program distributed at an exhibit unveiling at the museum on June 1 dubbed the incident as “An Execution in the Old Way.”

According to details described in the exhibit, a lengthy trial followed the Lambertsons’ deaths and Bailey was ultimately convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in 1980.

Bailey reportedly rejected an option to die by lethal injection and instead chose to be hanged. He was quoted at the time as saying “Go ahead and hang me.

“You ain’t putting me down like a dog. I was sentenced to hang so hang me.”

Since there hadn’t been a hanging execution in Delaware in over 50 years, the Delaware Department of Correction had to construct a gallows.

The deadly saga began when Mr. Bailey absconded from Plummer House in Wilmington, a correctional work release facility. He had just learned that he faced life in prison as a habitual offender for a recent check forgery conviction, according to a recap of the case provided by the museum.

Bailey, who was born in Smyrna, fled to his sister’s residence and then used his brother-in-law’s truck to go to a liquor store that he then held up at gunpoint. He entered the Lambertsons’ home shortly after the robbery and fatally shot the couple, the recap said.

Authorities quickly converged on the area, officials said, Bailey was taken into custody after a DSP trooper jumped from a hovering helicopter and chased him on foot. Bailey discharged a firearm once toward the officer. He was eventually tackled to the ground and apprehended by two pursuing troopers.

Following a lengthy trial, Bailey was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in 1980. He was later sentenced to die.

Though state legislators in 1986 replaced hanging with lethal injection as the only option for an execution in Delaware, Bailey retained the right to choose his manner of death due to the earlier date of his conviction.

Visits to the museum at 1425 N. DuPont Highway are currently available by appointment only. They can be scheduled by calling 739-7700.