The 23-year-old had distanced herself from the life of a streetwalker, even purchasing books for nursing school. Shortly before 6 p.m., she left the warmth of her family’s home in Newark’s Brookmont Farms development and began the 14-mile trek.Īn ex-prostitute, Ellis knew Route 40 well. Though the holiday had passed three days earlier, Ellis was carrying a Thanksgiving platter for an AIDS patient undergoing treatment at Wilmington Hospital.