Jill Biden’s former husband has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife at their Delaware home, authorities said.
William “Bill” Stevenson, 77, the ex-husband of the former first lady, was taken into custody Monday following a weeks-long investigation into the death of his current wife, Linda Stevenson, 64. A New Castle County grand jury returned a murder indictment, police confirmed Tuesday.
Stevenson is accused of killing his wife inside their home after what police described as a domestic dispute late last year. He was arraigned on a charge of first-degree murder and committed to the Howard Young Correctional Institution after failing to post $500,000 cash bail, according to authorities.
Police were called to the Stevenson residence just after 11 p.m. on Dec. 28 to investigate a reported domestic dispute. When officers arrived, they found Linda Stevenson unresponsive on the floor. Despite emergency efforts, she was pronounced dead at the scene. The official cause of death has not yet been released.
Investigators spent weeks reviewing evidence before presenting the case to a grand jury, which ultimately approved the murder charge, police said.
Stevenson and Linda Stevenson had been married for nearly four decades. His earlier marriage to Jill Jacobs ended in divorce in 1975. Jacobs went on to marry then-Sen. Joe Biden two years later, in 1977.
Stevenson is a longtime Delaware businessman and the owner of The Stone Balloon, a well-known bar near the University of Delaware campus that he opened in 1972. The venue later earned national attention after being named “One of the 100 Top College Bars in America” by Playboy magazine, according to its website.
Jill Biden, now 74, has not commented publicly on her former husband’s arrest. Authorities said the investigation remains active as the case moves forward through the court system.
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