UPDATE: Selbyville Man Arrested for Murdering Mother-In-Law

2 hours ago

Sophia Peters,

UPDATE: The Delaware State Police have identified the victim in Monday’s homicide as 71-year-old Liudmyla Levchenko.

Levchenko has also been identified as the mother-in-law of the suspected killer, 28-year-old Jesus Palacio-Hernandez.

A GoFundMe has been launched by a family friend to support Levchenko’s daughter and Palacio-Hernandez’s wife, Anastasiia Levchenko. According to the post, Anastasiia is an ICU nurse and has three young children with Palacio-Hernandez, aged three, six, and eight-years-old. She reportedly found her mother deceased after arriving home from a hospital shift.

SELBYVILLE, Del. – The Delaware State Police (DSP) arrested a man for the murder of a family member on Monday.

Police have arrested 28-year-old Jesus Palacio-Hernandez of Selbyville on one count of first degree murder. He was arraigned and committed to the Sussex Correctional Institution on a $1,000,000 cash bond.

At 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 2, troopers responded to a residence on the 37000 block of Pinto Drive after a 71-year-old woman was found deceased in a ditch behind the property. Upon arrival on the scene, troopers learned that a family member of Palacio-Hernandez became concerned following a conversation with him. Afterwards, the family member was unable to locate the victim and contacted 911.

While troopers were responding to the scene, family members found the victim in a ditch behind the residence, where she was confirmed deceased by emergency medical services. Through investigative means, Palacio-Hernandez was located in the Selbyville area and taken into custody without incident following a traffic stop.

Due to the nature of the incident, the DSP Homicide Unit assumed the investigation. Preliminary findings revealed that during the overnight hours, Palacio-Hernandez had an altercation with the victim inside the residence. He physically assaulted her before moving her body to the ditch where she was later found.

This article was originally published on Feb. 3 at 10:39 a.m.