Troopers arrested Leslie D. Small, 51, about 2 a.m., Friday, Nov. 13, after tracking him to a motel in Milford.

Small is charged with first-degree murder and possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony and robbery. He is being held without bail at Sussex Correctional Institution in Georgetown.

Investigators learned Small had been the cab driver who provided McCarson with transportation Wednesday, Nov. 11.

According to court records, Small said he had driven McCarson on errands in his taxicab.

Court records indicate a witness, who gave Small a ride early in the evening of Nov. 12, told police Small admitted to driving McCarson to the bank where he saw her get cash.

Court records indicate Small then drove her to the Bayside Beauty Salon and then to Happy Harry’s/Walgreens near Lewes.

According to court documents Small recounted what happened after he took McCarson home. The witness said he helped McCarson into her home with her bags and once inside “something took over his body.”

He attempted to strangle the woman with a towel but she wouldn’t die.

According to the witness, Small said he located a pair of scissors, stabbed McCarson to death and watched as she took her last breath.

Court documents said the victim suffered numerous stab wounds to her upper body and neck and had been beaten about the head.

The Medical Examiners Office is conducting an autopsy to determine the manner and cause of death.

Troopers were called to the Donovan Smith mobile home park just before noon on Nov. 12, after a Meals on Wheels delivery worker discovered McCarson’s body in the living room of her mobile home, just inside the unlocked door. Court documents state that she was still wearing her coat and shoes, but she had no purse or cash.

The Donovan Smith mobile home park is on Donovans Road, just off Savannah Road west of Lewes city limits.

Homicide investigators found evidence at the crime scene and later, with a search warrant for Small’s home, found additional evidence linking him to McCarson’s murder.

Investigators also found blood evidence on the driver’s side floor mat and on the steering wheel of the taxicab Small had driven.

According to court documents Small had two previous robbery convictions, in 2005, in which the victims had been older Lewes-area women.

In May 2005, police say Small grabbed a woman’s purse as she was walking into the Hampton Inn on Route 1. The victim lost her balance and fell to the ground, suffering cuts and abrasions.

Two days later, police said an 82-year-old woman was grabbed from behind as she entered her car in the Super G grocery store parking lot on Route 1 near Rehoboth.

Court documents state that Small placed his hand over the woman’s mouth to keep her from screaming, demanded money and threatened to kill her.

He robbed her of $158.

According to court records, in December 2008, after serving three years of a 10-year sentence, of which six years had been suspended, Small was granted conditional release from Sussex Correctional Institution for medical reasons related to his HIV-positive status.