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Bill Stevenson, Jill Biden's long-ago first husband, pleads not guilty in 2nd wife's death

/ CBS/AP

William Stevenson, the long-ago first husband of former first lady Jill Biden, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges that he killed his current wife in Delaware.

Stevenson, 77, was married to Jill Biden from 1970 to 1975.

A state grand jury this month charged Stevenson with killing Linda Stevenson, 64, who was found unresponsive at their home in Wilmington on Dec. 28. He has remained in custody since he was charged Feb. 3 with murder, unable to post the $2 million bail.

Stevenson appeared at Tuesday's court hearing in Wilmington on a remote video camera. His lawyer, a public defender, did not immediately return messages seeking comment. His next court hearing is set for March 16.

William Stevenson founded the Stone Balloon, a popular music venue in Newark, Delaware, in the early 1970s, which hosted rock acts from Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band to George Thorogood to Cheap Trick.

Linda Stevenson ran a bookkeeping business, BMB Bookkeeping, and was described in her obituary as a family-oriented mother and grandmother and a Philadelphia Eagles fan. The obituary does not mention her husband.

"One hug from her and all your worries would disappear," her daughter, Christine Mae, wrote in a Facebook post. "The pain of losing her is paralyzing and the emptiness in my heart is an abyss."

Neighbors outside the Stevenson residence in Delaware earlier this month declined to speak with CBS News Philadelphia, but one woman who lived down the street said she was surprised to learn about the murder charge.

"They always left and went out to dinner," Patty Master said. "She was just as nice as can be, and he was, too."  

Stevenson met Biden on the beach in Ocean City, New Jersey, in 1969 and they were married the following year, . They divorced in 1975, and about a decade later, he wed Linda.

Jill Biden married U.S. Sen. Joe Biden in 1977. He served as U.S. president from January 2021 to January 2025. Jill Biden's spokesperson has said she has no comment on the Stevenson case.  

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