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William Stevenson, the former husband of Jill Biden, has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of his wife, Linda Stevenson, who was found unresponsive in their Delaware home late last year.
The New Castle County Police Department confirmed that Stevenson, 77, was indicted by a grand jury on February 2 following what authorities described as an "extensive weeks-long investigation." He was taken into custody without incident and later arraigned. Police said he is currently being held at the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution after failing to post $500,000 bail.
Linda Stevenson, 64, was discovered in the living room of the couple's home in the Oak Hill area of Wilmington on December 28, after officers responded to a call reporting a domestic dispute. According to police, officers "immediately administered life-saving measures; however, despite their efforts, Linda was later pronounced deceased." Her body was turned over to the Delaware Division of Forensic Science for an autopsy, though authorities have not disclosed her cause of death.
Following the incident, detectives from the department's Criminal Investigations Unit took over the case. Police have not said whether Stevenson has entered a plea or retained legal counsel.
Stevenson was previously married to Jill Biden from 1970 to 1975. At the time, Jill Biden was a student at the University of Delaware, and Stevenson was a college football player. After their divorce, she later married Joe Biden in 1977. Joe Biden went on to serve as the 46th president of the United States.
In a 2022 interview with Harper's Bazaar, Jill Biden reflected on her first marriage, saying, "I believed so much in the institution of marriage. When the marriage fell apart, I fell hard because of that." She also spoke about the importance of financial independence following the divorce, noting that she resolved never to place herself in that position again.
Biographer Julie Pace previously said of the relationship, "She had these expectations of sort of what that marriage was going to be, and the marriage did not live up to those expectations."
Beyond his personal life, Stevenson is known as the founder of The Stone Balloon, a well-known music venue in Newark, Delaware, which has hosted performances by artists including Bruce Springsteen, Metallica, and the Dave Matthews Band.
Representatives for Joe and Jill Biden have been contacted for comment. As of now, police say the investigation remains ongoing, and no further details have been released regarding the circumstances surrounding Linda Stevenson's death.
