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Background: News footage of the scene outside the Chicago, Ill. home of George Levin (WBBM). Inset left: Jefferson Ubilla-Delgado (Chicago Police Department). Inset right: Geiderwuin Bello Morales (Chicago Police Department).
Two men were charged with murder in connection to the death of an Illinois man, whom prosecutors say they met for sex after connecting on a dating app before they robbed and assaulted him.
George Levin, 63, was found by his sister on Jan. 26 in the basement apartment in the Chicago home they shared with their mother. He was reportedly bound and gagged, and had been beaten, according to reporting by WBBM, a local CBS affiliate. Levin was taken to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
In a press release, the Chicago Police Department announced the arrests of Geiderwuin Bello Morales, 21, and Jefferson Ubilla-Delgado, 29. Both were charged with felony murder and robbery of a victim over the age of 60. They made their first court appearance on Feb. 1, where prosecutors alleged that the two men met Levin on the Grindr dating app.
At around 8 p.m. on the night of Jan. 26, Levin’s sister reportedly heard a noise coming from her brother’s apartment. When she went to investigate, she allegedly saw Bello Morales coming out of her brother’s bedroom. According to a police report obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times, he allegedly told her, “Yes, I am with your brother. I will have him call you.” She was later able to identify Bello Morales in a police lineup.
Still suspicious, Levin’s sister returned to her brother’s apartment a couple of hours later, when she found Levin gagged with a sock and duct tape and bound with an electrical cord. She attempted CPR until paramedics arrived to take him to Ascension Resurrection hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The medical examiner performed an autopsy and ruled the manner of death as homicide. Levin had suffered several injuries including hemorrhages to the neck and head and fractured ribs.
Police also alleged that the suspects took several items from Levin’s apartment, including his wallet and phone, which they used to place more than $4,000 in Amazon orders. Both men were caught on surveillance camera the night of the alleged murder trying to use Levin’s credit cards to withdraw money.
Defense attorneys for the suspects claimed that the phone was given to the suspects as a payment for sex. They also claimed that the otherwise consensual visit resulted in an “unfortunate accident,” per WBBM’s reporting on the court appearance.
Prosecutors said that Bello Morales had been arrested two weeks ago on assault charges against a 13-year-old. They also noted that Ubilla-Delgado was wearing a GPS ankle monitor from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the time of the alleged crime.
Judge William Fahy denied pretrial release for both suspects and called the alleged crime “much more than sheer tragic” and “horrifying.”