The man who once shared a life and a last name with Jill Biden is now at the center of a homicide case in Delaware, accused of killing his current wife after what authorities describe as a domestic dispute. William “Bill” Stevenson, a 77-year-old businessman long known in local circles, is charged with murder in the death of Linda Stevenson, pulling a decades-old personal connection to the former first lady into a deeply grim story.
Investigators say Linda was found unresponsive in the couple’s home late last year and later pronounced dead, and a grand jury has now decided there is enough evidence to move forward with serious charges. While Jill Biden has declined to comment and is not connected to the case beyond her past marriage to Stevenson, the allegations against her former husband have quickly become a national flashpoint around domestic violence, aging, and the way old relationships suddenly feel newly relevant when tragedy hits.
The December death that set the case in motion
According to investigators, the criminal case began when Linda Stevenson was discovered unresponsive in the living room of the couple’s home in the Elsmere area late in December, and the 77-year-old husband was the one living there with her at the time. Authorities say she was later declared dead, and the circumstances around that scene, including what officers observed and what medical personnel found, ultimately fed into a homicide investigation that would stretch into the new year before charges were filed against Elsmere.
Police have described the incident as stemming from a domestic dispute inside the Delaware home, and they say Linda’s death was not treated as a simple medical emergency but as a potential crime scene from the start. That framing, laid out in early summaries from local authorities, is what later allowed a grand jury to review the evidence and return an indictment accusing William Stevenson of killing his wife during a confrontation in their house in Delaware.
From investigation to indictment and arrest
After Linda’s death, detectives spent weeks building a case, and earlier this week a grand jury handed up an indictment that accuses William Stevenson of murder in connection with what prosecutors describe as a domestic dispute turned deadly. Officials say that indictment, returned on a Monday after the review of witness statements and forensic findings, was the basis for his arrest on a murder charge in the death of his current wife at a home in Delaware, a step authorities detailed in a public statement.
Police say Stevenson was taken into custody at his home without incident after the indictment came down, and he now faces a legal fight that could define the rest of his life. Officials have not publicly released a specific cause of death for Linda, noting only that the grand jury’s decision followed a detailed review of the evidence, and they have emphasized that the charges reflect what they believe happened inside the house that night, not his past as the ex-husband of Former first lady Jill Biden.
Who William “Bill” Stevenson is outside this case
Long before his name resurfaced in connection with a murder charge, Stevenson was a familiar figure in Delaware’s social and business circles, particularly as the former owner of The Stone Balloon, a Newark music venue that once hosted rock acts like Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band. That history, which turned him into a kind of local character, is now being revisited as people try to square the image of a club owner who booked Bruce Springsteen with the man accused of killing his wife in their suburban home in The Stone Balloon.
Stevenson is also known for his personal history with Jill Biden, whom he married when she was still Jill Jacobs and with whom he shared several formative years before their relationship ended. Profiles of his life note that he is now 77, that he has spent decades rooted in Wilmington and Newark, and that his story has long been intertwined with Delaware’s political and cultural scene, a backdrop that is now being reexamined in light of the murder charge described in recent coverage of What to Know About Jill Biden’s ex-husband.
The marriage to Jill Biden and why it matters now
Stevenson’s earlier marriage to Jill Biden is the reason this case is drawing national attention, even though she has no role in the alleged crime and has stayed silent about it. He was married to Jill Biden years before she met Joe Biden, and that relationship, which played out in Wilmington and nearby communities, has been part of his public identity ever since, a detail now resurfacing in reports that describe him as the former husband of Jill Biden.
That past connection has inevitably pulled the former first lady’s name into coverage of Linda’s death, even as officials stress that the case is about what allegedly happened inside one Delaware home late last year. Jill Biden has declined to comment on the charges, according to reporting that notes her decision to stay out of the public back and forth, and the focus from law enforcement remains squarely on the evidence against Stevenson and the domestic dispute that investigators say ended in Linda’s death in News.
Linda Stevenson, the relationship, and the alleged dispute
Linda Stevenson is at the heart of this story, not just as a victim in a criminal case but as the woman William Stevenson publicly described as the love of his life. In past interviews, he called Linda “the greatest thing” in his life and spoke warmly about their relationship, painting a picture of a partnership that, at least outwardly, seemed steady and affectionate before authorities later accused him of killing her after a domestic dispute in their home, a jarring contrast highlighted in coverage of how he once praised his wife in NEED to KNOW.
Investigators say Linda’s death followed a domestic dispute, though they have not publicly detailed what sparked the argument or how it escalated to the point where she was found unresponsive in the living room. What is clear from the charging documents is that prosecutors believe the confrontation turned violent and that Stevenson bears criminal responsibility for her death, a claim that sits in stark tension with his earlier public comments about Linda being the “greatest thing” in his life, remarks also noted in Fox News Flash coverage.
What authorities say about the scene and the charges
Law enforcement officials have laid out a basic narrative of what they say happened, even as they hold back some specifics for court. They describe Linda being found unresponsive in the Elsmere-area living room, with the 77-year-old husband present, and say that the evidence gathered there and in subsequent medical examinations supported a charge of murder rather than any lesser offense, a conclusion detailed in local reporting on the 77-year-old husband.
Officials have emphasized that a cause of death has not been publicly released, even as they move forward with the prosecution, and that the grand jury’s indictment reflects what they see as sufficient probable cause to believe a crime occurred. The charging documents and public statements describe the case as a domestic killing inside a Delaware home, not an accident or unexplained medical event, a framing that has been repeated in national coverage of Jill Biden’s ex-husband being arrested and charged with killing his current wife at a home in Delaware.
Inside the courtroom: bail, custody, and what comes next
Once Stevenson was arrested, the focus quickly shifted to the courtroom, where a judge had to decide whether he would await trial behind bars or at home.
Prosecutors have also outlined financial conditions that would apply if Stevenson were ever granted release, including a requirement that he post $500,000 in cash bail, a steep figure that reflects both the gravity of the charge and the court’s concern about ensuring he appears for trial. For now, though, he remains in custody as lawyers on both sides prepare for a legal battle that will likely hinge on forensic evidence from the home, any history of domestic disputes, and the credibility of witnesses who can speak to what life was like inside the house before Linda was found unresponsive in the living room, details that have been sketched out in local reporting on the cash bail and custody terms for Stevenson.
More from Vinyl and Velvet:
Leave a Reply