High-profile Delaware murder case against Jill Biden’s ex-husband shrouded in secrecy

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Police and prosecutors have provided hardly any details about their murder case against the ex-husband of former first lady Jill Biden, who is charged with killing his wife of nearly 40 years at their home near Elsmere nearly two months ago.

All that has been revealed is that New Castle County police were called to Bill and Linda Stevenson’s split-level home on Dec. 28 for a “reported domestic dispute” and that 64-year-old Linda Stevenson was found “unresponsive” on the living room floor.

She was pronounced dead the next day. The state conducted an autopsy, but her cause of death has not been released by her family or law enforcement authorities.

In her Dec. 29 obituary, her family only said she “passed away unexpectedly.” Notably, however, the obituary mentioned that she is survived by a daughter, grandchildren, sister and other relatives, but omitted any mention of the man she had been married to since 1986.

When police announced on Feb. 3 that 77-year-old Bill Stevenson was arrested the previous day on a first-degree murder charge, no additional information was released. The case instantly drew nationwide media coverage because of Stevenson’s former connection to Jill Biden, whom he met while the two attended the University of Delaware. They were married from 1970 to 1975.

But outlets have had little to report.

Instead of filing a public arrest affidavit that details how police developed the evidence to charge Stevenson, and which must be approved by a judge, authorities instead obtained a grand jury indictment on Feb. 2 after what police called an “extensive” investigation. The one-sentence indictment simply alleges that Bill Stevenson “did intentionally cause the death of Linda Stevenson.”

Stevenson has long been a well-known figure in Delaware.

In 1971 — while married to the woman who would become first lady in 2021, when Joe Biden became president — Stevenson and his brother bought a run-down tavern on Newark’s Main Street, just off UD’s campus, which they transformed into the Stone Balloon. The college bar and nightclub became a nationally known live music venue that featured performers such as Bruce Springsteen, Metallica and David Crosby. Stevenson sold the club in the mid-1980s but remained as manager for several years and wrote a book about the club in 2005, when it closed.

In 2024, Stevenson also self-published a book about his relationship with Jill Biden, who married then-Delaware U.S. Sen. Joe Biden in 1977. Stevenson also appeared periodically on Newsmax and other right-wing outlets to discuss the book and the Bidens.

Now, however, Stevenson is a high-profile defendant in a murder case where little is known publicly about what law enforcement authorities claim he did.

Bail quadrupled to $2M after Stevenson deemed ‘flight risk’

After Stevenson was taken into custody, he appeared before a court magistrate who ordered him to be detained at Howard R. Young Correctional Institution in Wilmington in lieu of $500,000 cash bail.

Authorities decided that wasn’t enough, however. During a Feb. 5 Zoom hearing, prosecutor Jenna Milecki successfully argued to Superior Court Commissioner Lynne Parker that Stevenson’s bail should be quadrupled to $2 million cash bail.

While no paperwork was filed with the request to increase bail, the Attorney General’s Office acted based on the “severity of the crime” and because they considered Stevenson a “flight risk,” Caroline Harrison, spokesperson for Attorney General Kathy Jennings, said.

Harrison said Stevenson did not have an attorney representing him at that virtual hearing, but a member of the public defender’s office monitored the event from the prison.

WHYY News asked Harrison and county police spokesman Richard Chambers this week for other details about the investigation, including how they believe Stevenson killed his wife, but both said they could not reveal any more information.

On Tuesday, Stevenson was finally arraigned on the charge, again on Zoom. The normally clean-shaved Stevenson, who now has a thick goatee, appeared on camera before Parker, and Adia Berkel, the public defender handling the arraignment, entered a not guilty plea for him.

Berkel requested a speedy trial and also said that Ross Flockerzie of the taxpayer-funded Office of Defense Services is Stevenson’s attorney. The office represents clients who cannot afford to pay for their own attorney.

Stevenson sat silently in his grey prison jumpsuit until Parker wished him good luck. “Thank you very much, your honor,” he responded in his deep baritone voice.

When a prison official told Stevenson the hearing arraignment was over, the defendant said, “Ok, cool,” and stood up and walked off camera.

Parker said the case has been assigned to Judge Meghan Adams, who would be scheduling a case review and a pending trial date.

Flockerzie did not respond to a request for comment on the case.

‘My life has changed forever,’ defendant posted before arrest

Stevenson, however, made several posts about his wife’s death on his Facebook page.

He responded often to friends who offered their condolences. “Thank you for your prayers for Linda and I,” he wrote to one Facebook friend.

On Jan. 13 — 16 days after police found his wife unresponsive on the floor — Stevenson posted this: “Ok. I will never get over the loss of Linda. I thank God more than ever for all of you and your prayers for Linda. I have a tough road ahead of me. Life will never be the same. Please be patient, and more soon. I truly love you all.”

And on Jan. 29, he posted this message:

“I have had a month to think. Yes, my life has changed forever, but then I realized over my life, I have read your comments, I have felt sadness, and happiness for you. You know I have prayed for you, and your families. But then I realized so many of you have partied with Linda and me.

“For decades, Linda had shared our lives with all of you. You all know she was amazing, as I know your losses, were amazing too. Thank you all for your prayers. Thank you for sharing our lives together, I will always, Love you all. If you see me out, don’t be shy, say Hi, I’ll share a hug with you. Linda will feel it too.”

Four days later, prosecutors obtained the indictment, and county police descended on Stevenson’s home at 1313 Idlewood Road in the Oak Hill neighborhood to arrest him.

Alleged victim’s daughter posts about ‘paralyzing’ loss

The arrest and subsequent headlines and broadcast coverage drew a strident reaction on Facebook from Christina Vettori, Linda Stevenson’s daughter from a relationship that preceded her marriage to Bill Stevenson.

Vettori, posting on Feb. 3 from an account identifying herself as Christina Mae, wrote that she was “tired of seeing regurgitated stories of Bill Stevenson’s life from a half a century ago and none actually about my mother. She deserves her own story and not the story of ‘Jill Biden’s ex husbands other wife.’”

Vettori wrote that her “beautiful mother” was born in Wilmington and “made the brave choice” to give birth to her at a young age.

She described her mother, who ran a bookkeeping service, as her best friend and a woman who read avidly, ran 5K races with her and supported local charities.

“The pain of losing her is paralyzing and the emptiness in my heart is an abyss,” Vettori wrote. “Most days I can barely breathe. For those who knew her, I’m sorry for the light that was stolen from you too. Together we will honor her memory by seeking justice for her murder and never letting her legacy to be overshadowed by her murderer.”

On Feb. 4. Vettori shared the post again, telling media outlets such as WHYY, CNN, Inside Edition and Fox News to use it in their stories.

“Please help me,” she wrote about her slain mother, “share her story.”